£8 is about the going rate for a credit card fee these days, and the reason the charge is so high is because the airlines do not recieve the money for the flight you purchased until you have paid off your credit card bill…and if you are paying the minimum amount off each month, airlines have to wait before receiving all the funds, so I think they have higher surcharges for using a credit card because they want to try and discourage people from using them.
Nevertheless, the one thing that does really bug me though is the surcharge applied for using a debit card, which in some cases is levied at half the price of a credit card fee. If you pay with a debit card, airlines should normally receive the full amount much quicker because it comes straight out of your bank account. It is absolute daylight robbery to charge such a high fee, especially when they receive all the money in one go and within a few days of you purchasing the ticket.
Most (if not all) airlines encourage people to book online by offering cheaper fares/discounts and e-ticketing to help speed up the process, but when faced with an additional charge like this, it is little wonder why people are put off from flying and choose alternative forms of transport such as trains, which are slowly but surely growing in popularity due to the reduced environmental impact they have compared to air travel.
Personally, I think that all airlines should be forced to set their charges at an agreed rate so that they make a marginal profit out it, and not be allowed to change them unless agreed by the regulatory authorities.
In respect of Ryanair, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I have flown with them once to DUB and back for the experience, and wont be using them again, like others have already said, I’d rather not fly than give any of my money to them.
Robbing b******s, whichever way you look at it!
WOW! This is my 1,000th post!:D
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