Ryanair, New Charges

[Lollie]

Hi

Having received notification of flight changes today,  East Midlands to Nantes now flying at 6.25am rather than lunchtime, I looked on the website and noticed they are now charging for airport checkin!! with the following rules.   I wonder what happens to people like myself who have already booked flights and have checked in luggage , do we pay now for checking in baggage and checking in ourselves, it would seem so.  Yes I know they are still cheap, but as online check n go is so restrictive in which passengers can use it, can they get away with it??

• Passengers travelling with checked baggage or on the same reservation as a passenger travelling with checked baggage.

• Children aged between 14-18 years travelling alone.

• Passengers travelling with infants

• Passengers travelling with mobility equipment (including children’s buggies)

• Passengers with reduced mobility, blind/visual impaired passengers including those travelling with a sighted companion

• Blind/visual impaired passenger travelling with a guide dog

• Passengers who require special assistance at the airport

• Passengers travelling from Italy to the UK (except if departing from Pisa, Alghero, Rome Ciampino, Milan Bergamo, Genoa and Verona Brescia)

• Passengers travelling on a passport which is due to expire within 30 days from the date of travel.

• When there are more than 9 passengers booked in a reservation

Any passenger failing to present their printed Check N'Go boarding pass at airport security and the departure gate will be charged a airport check-in fee currently at the rate of £2/€3 per person (or local currency equivalent). This is only available if airport check-in is still open.

No checked baggage is permitted when using online check-in (including mobility equipment which must be carried in the hold of the aircraft). Check N’Go passengers can carry one item of hand baggage per passenger, weighing up to 10kg with maximum dimensions of 55cm x 40cm x 20cm. If hand baggage does not fit in the Ryanair Baggage sizer, it will not be allowed on board.

Hand baggage must contain NO prohibited items EXTRA RESTRICTIONS NOW APPLY

Passengers using the Check'N Go service arriving at the airport with hand baggage that exceeds the maximum weight and dimensions will be required to check-in their baggage at a charge of £10/€12 per item of baggage at the designated check-in desk and will be issued a airport check-in fee of £2/€3 (or local currency equivalent). Check-in desks close 40 minutes prior to scheduled flight departure time.

Please note: We reserve the right to cancel your reservation, without refund, and deny you boarding, if you arrive at the boarding gate with hand baggage exceeding the maximum weight or dimensions.

Passengers must be at the boarding gate 30 minutes prior to the scheduled departure time.

Passengers who have purchased online check-in that subsequently do not qualify for the service will be offered priority boarding onto the aircraft. All Online Check-in/Priority Boarding fees are non refundable.

No further changes to the passenger name, flight date/times/route can take place once a passenger has checked in for a flight online.

We reserve the right to cancel your reservation and to deny you boarding if you do not comply with the above

 

[powerdesal]

Interesting wording  ......."will be issued a airport check-in fee of £2/€3".......In my book that means they will give you dosh, otherwise it should have said "will be charged etc etc".  Issue means they give you.

[Lollie]

Hi Steve,

But it is part of the charges that come up when you book online, so no way out.

 Issued      given,      a book in fee of 3€       fee   is a charge.

But so many people who cant use it,  its  not an add on service at an extra fee.

[memb]

Booked a flight today....for 4 people......fantastic price of £5.49 each return, total charge (with NO added extras of insurance/online checkin, priority boarding)....total cost £241.92, STILL a good price though compared to one a month later when the same flight would have cost £1000 extra.

[Chancer]

There must be something wrong with my mental arithmetic[8-)]

I make it £21.96

Have I missed something?

[Wilko]

Taxes !

[Val_2]

This came about a few weeks ago and then whilst travelling on Ryanair two weeks ago I asked about this check incharge and no one either here at Brest or at Luton knew anything about it.

[Pierre ZFP]

Flew back with R.A. last week and was NOT charged for Priority loading/web check in.  There was a fee of 3€ if I wanted to book in at the desk.  I overheard someone in the queue saying that he couldn't print off his boarding pass  for some reason and so was charged the extra 3€ at the desk!  I did notice that about half the planeload had check n' go this time insted of the usual handful.  Still got my favourite seat with extra legroom over the wings though.  All those years as a commuter to London have not been wasted [6]

[Bobbykins]

Did you watch Watchdog on BBC last night, had a section all about Ryanair with all the additional charges they now make including taxes. Where people had paid proir to flying but for some medical reason or other could not fly, not only did they not get there fare back, which Ryanair states is nonrefundable but they would not reemburse the taxes which did not go to the Government even if this should have been paid if they flew. Nice way of making money.

[Iceni]

[quote user="Bobbykins"] Where people had paid proir to flying but for some medical reason or other could not fly, not only did they not get there fare back, which Ryanair states is nonrefundable but they would not reemburse the taxes which did not go to the Government even if this should have been paid if they flew. Nice way of making money.[/quote]

Not to worry, their travel insurance will pay.

A big fan of Michael O'Ryanair

and 

[MrCanary]

Go by ferry. It is much more straightforward.

[Wilko]

And expensive !

[Mme poivre]

That does depent on how many people are going and how much luggage you want to take and when you want to go, how early you book ect.

To get cheap flights my family would have to compete a three hour journey in England first just ot get to the airport!!!!!!!!!1

[Ron Avery]

.............and how long from Oxford to the nearest Ferry port for France?  About the same as to Stansted or less?

[Mme poivre]

Agreed it is about 2.5 hours to the ferry port, but i can take up to seven people in my car, how much would it cost for 7 people to fly?  i dont have to leave my car at the airport or expect someone to drop us off, i have the car with me at the other end as well.  You either have to hire a car or get lifts back from the airport in france as well.   so as a whole i prefer the ferry/tunnel as it is much more convenient for me.  personal preference thats all.  

[Andyphilpott]

I have just booked a return flight to Toulon from Stansted for just £12.39 all in - including the debit card fee, on line check in and priority boarding - so no complaints from me. The restrictions on using on line check in are a bit wide ranging but manageable. It will keep the queue short at check in for those who do need to check in a bag so benefits all.

I admit that I do not like the general attitude of Ryanair - they do seem to look for ever more enterprising ways of adding on charges - but at these prices I am prepared to tolerate that. I can easily get a lift to Stansted as I work nearby, and friends in the village do the short drive to Toulon to pick me up when my visit is too short to justify hiring a car.

I do dometimes travel by car to the Var but 7 could go by Ryanair for £86.73 which is much less than the cost of the crossing, fuel, tolls etc and saves a day in each direction. Add back the cost of a hire car at around £12 a day for a small car - with 7 you would need 2! -and it is still good value.

Main advantage of the car is to be able to transport copious amounts of stuff down and copious amounts of wine back but I am now organised enough to just take hand baggage and if I need wine a day trip does the trick.

Andy

[Ron Avery]

No MP, I agree  with seven people,  it is probably cheaper to go by car in most cases, but it all depends on how far down in France you are going.  If you were not carrying 7 people and just going for a family visit, with the choice between a 13 hour drive from a French ferry port or 1.5 hour flight from Stansted and a 1 hour drive from the airport, which would you choose?[:D]

[Mme poivre]

ok Ron i conceede if it was as you say then i would probably fly, but it is only 4-7 hours from the ferry ports for me and have in car child minder ( dvdplayers) to keep the kids happy and i usually take some friends with me if hubby cant go so i think it will be the car for me for some time to come.  However, we do take advantage of ryanair in the summer when hubby flies down for his two week vacation by far the best way to get him there

 

[The Riff-Raff Element]

Ryanair have their place in the great travelling jigsaw, but I agree it is important to be able to add up. I had to travel on some specific dates and was delighted to be quoted €5.99 one way and €12.99 the other. But by the time I'd added in some checked baggage (no choice - it had knife-like items in it), autoroute tolls, petrol, parking charges and the Stansted express it became quickly apparent that the train Vendée-Waterloo was cheaper, and by choosing a timing that connected at Lille there was very little hassle.

And, overall, it took about 30 minutes longer to get to central London. And I got a seat number.

[dave21478]

Increasingly, I find Ryanair to be less and less competitive for me.

Typically, I need to fly from the Tarn area to Scotland, so Ryanair from Cracasonne to stanstead, then onwards from there.

Yes, the flights do often come up for a fiver or less, but more often than not, the days I need to travel on cost around £40 for the flight. Still a bargain? well, then you add the tax, the fuel surcharge, the baggage costs, the card fees, the fee for some breathable air etc, I often find it costing me £100 - £150 or so, then I have to go through all the hoops for the second flight too.

I can often get a flight with BA or KLM from toulouse to Aberdeen via london or amsterdam for the same price. The hassle of getting to toulouse is easilly outweighed by the much more pleasant flying experience!

I would be happy to continue in the scrum with Ryanair, but my luck never seems to turn up the genuinely cheap flights on the route I need on the days I need. Sods Law I suppose.

 

[The Riff-Raff Element]

I would be happy to continue in the scrum with Ryanair, but my luck

never seems to turn up the genuinely cheap flights on the route I need

on the days I need. Sods Law I suppose.

Got to admire their commercial acumen though. This priority boarding wheeze is a great idea. The last RA flight I was on (the first in ages) more than two thirds of the passengers - over one hundred people - were brandishing those little yellow tickets at £2 a throw.

Lets see, £200 pounds extra per flight multiplied by, what, 400 flights a day = £80,000 per day, £2.4 million per month or the best part of £29 million per year. For practically no overhead - just use gate crew who would have to be paid anyway to wander up and down when they are not otherwise occupied waving raffle tickets.

BRILLIANT.

Of course, once a majority of victims buy them the whole thing descends to an unseemly scrum again. I suggested to the lass who failed to sell me one that they should start issuing £5 super-priority passes to get a three class thing going, perhaps in shocking pink, but apparently that has already been pushed up the line by over-excited lower management who have really got the idea.

They're alright. They'll never be my first choice while I can afford twenty quid more to travel in a more civilised manner. But then, Skoda make perfectly good cars and I wouldn't buy one of those, either.

[dave21478]

Yep. Last time I flew a few weeks back, the priority queue was as long as the normal queue I was in. I was chatting to the guy behind me and we reckoned it was only a matter of time until another level of priority is introduced. Obviously costing a wee bit more.

£2 is too cheap for it to be a proper "bonus" to get onboard first, everyone buys it and its back to square one, so another level is obligatory. No doubt this will cost a fiver or so, and within a couple of months, this will be as over-subscribd as the curent one. An easy £5 rise on the air fare for no effort at all.

 If it were to be genuinely an exclusing priority pass, it should cost at least £20 or so, simply so only a few people will pay it.

 

[The Riff-Raff Element]

[quote user="dave21478"] If it were to be genuinely an exclusing priority pass, it should cost at least £20 or so, simply so only a few people will pay it.

 [/quote]

Or they could set up a whole new tier of service with priority boarding, bigger seats, complimentary peanuts. They could call it "Club Class." Oh, hang on a mo...

Remember when Virgin were cutting edge?

[trevour]

For those who enjoy exchanging viewpoints 'for or against' Ryan Airways may enjoy this thread:- www.airlinequality.com/forum/ryan.htm

Bon Voyage

[Wilko]

Trevour

Do you have a point to make here ??