Am surprised this has not already got a mention, and I know it will more than likely open yet another “Ryanair-bashing” thread, however, it is news and I do actually wonder if they [Ryanair] may have gone one step too far this time round: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14917290
The article, in a nutshell:
Ryanair passengers must sign up for a new branded pre-paid card available from 4 October in order to avoid an administration fee of £6 per journey.
Passengers using Mastercard pre-paid cards, which currently exempt them from the fee, will be charged from November.
The airline will instead only waive the charge for those who sign up to the new Ryanair Cash Passport.
And, of course, as you come to expect of Ryanair, there are a whole host of “additional” charges attached to the use of this card, as outlined below:
Other charges include:
– Withdrawing cash from the card over the counter at a bank = £4
– Using the card at an ATM = £2
– All transactions, other than Ryanair bookings = 50p (from April 2012)
– “Rolling fee”, if a card is not used for six months = £2.50
The only good news…topping up the card with money = no charge/”FREE”!:D
So, over to you…what do you think to this, could this finally be the straw that breaks the camels back for all those “penny-pinching” travellers?!
By: Indiaecho - 15th September 2011 at 19:53
I’ll bite!!!
I don’t see the problem. I often fly with Ryanair, and when I do I make an informed choice over what I am letting myself in for.
Yes, it is irritating trying to book a ticket and having to go through all of the stages (“Do you want car hire? Do you want an approved cabin bag?” etc) before I get the final price but it isn’t that stressful in the greater scheme of things, and I always check the final price against a couple of other airlines as well (and while Ryanair maybe the masters of these extra charges, plenty of other airlines like them as well).
If I don’t like the Ryanair offer, I book with someone else. That is a choice I make regularly (sometimes they get my business, sometimes they don’t), and many millions of others manage to do so too.
I would much rather put up with this ‘inconvenience’ and get to where I want to go for a lot less (even when these extra charges are taken into account) than pay the sort of fares that the national flag carriers were able to get away with charging in the past before airlines like Ryanair were around.
I remember the first time that I saw a Ryanair aircraft – it was when they operated just the one Embraer Bandeirante between Gatwick and Waterford. Who would have thought then that they were going to revolutionise the airline industry in Europe and allow many millions to travel who would not have otherwise had the opportunity to do so.
It is about time that we celebrated the success of Ryanair rather than trying to knock them at every opportunity.
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September 15, 2011 at 4:55 pm