Ryanair Baggage Allowance

[Lollie]

Anyone else noticed that their baggage allowance is to decrease again back to 15kg after 1 Nov 06 and the price is to increase after the 1 Sept 06?

I wonder what has caused the decrease?

Lollie

[YCCMB]

The cynic in me thinks it may be because Mr O'Leary knows that winter woollies are heavier?[;-)]

[Iceni]

[quote user="Lollie"]

I wonder what has caused the decrease?

Lollie

[/quote]

Many passengers seem unable to read and/or understand the instructions so this is a good way to make money from excess baggage charges. And it may be a further step in Ryanair's plan to make the airline a "no hold baggage" airline.

John

not

[Llantony]

Well, we've booked for October half term with 1 piece of luggage - so I hope they don't charge us the  September luggage price. 

Thanks for the reminder - they've just sent an email saying our flight will be 5 mins earlier - but no mention of reduced baggage allowance;  I wonder if it applies to when you booked or when you fly?

I've never travelled Ryanair before and don't want to but it's the only one from our local airport in UK now BMI Baby have decamped.

Maz

[Lollie]

The price increase is from the 1st Sept and the luggage decrease from the 1st November, according to their website.

Lollie

[Hoddy]

It it's any comfort Llantony, I've flown Ryanair three times from EMA this year and had no problems whatsoever.

Hoddy

[Iceni]

One day I might understand this dislike of Ryanair.

I used to travel for work all over the world and most was first class - I have had worse service on a flight that cost over £1300 per person than I have ever had with the no frills no plastic dinner no rude staff and no throwing of children into seats from quite a distance Ryanair (this was when the no-seatbelt sign was off and on long-haul we were told to walk about - he was only walking over to see his mother as they had put me with my disabled daughter and not him).

For goodness sake, the service works, like all companies they are trying to streamline to make money - something Ryanair is almost unique in doing. I am always amazed at the dislike anyone who makes money gets - and that is almost unique to the UK/Brits.

He and Bill Gates are two of my heroes, terrible men, they make money and jobs.

Written by Di and seconded by John.

[Owens88]

terrible men, they make money and jobs

He He

Lets face it they were amongst the leaders of low cost and they did drive innovation. Cheers.

BUT. Not all the 'low cost carriers' do things so antagonistically as Ryanair and that is where the problems step in. Many of the problems  have been documented here and often seem anti-family; not all are streamlining by any stretch of the imagination!

As a bus for work, or a cheapie for a P*** up, they work exceedingly well. But for the less frequent traveller, not reading and then re-reading the fine print frequently their tactics do seem almost designed to irritate, and so they reap what they sow in PR terms.

 

[andyh4]

Di and John

 

The only thing (well the only thing if you disregard the inefficient way they were handling passengers at Stanstead 2 weeks ago) I object to with RA is the blatant misrepresentation of their prices and constant changing of T&Cs as a revenue earner.

Do they give good value for money - yes - maybe you have to book at the right time but still yes.

Have they openned up the market for cheap travel - yes to the point that BA will sometimes drop its total price to below RA

Do they fly on time - yes - at least as much as other lines if not more

So why oh why do they Bo**ocks up a marvellous company with deceitful marketing

Why does my 1c flight have to be inflated with taxes and handling charges that are actually more than the taxes and handling that they have to pay?

Why do I have to pay extra for hold baggage, which I only find out half way through the booking procedure and not at the start?

Do they think I can predict 6 months in advance how many bags I will want to take with me?

Why at the end do they suddenly slap me with an internet and credit card booking charge?  Did they seriously think I was going to e-mail a cheque?

 

So why cannot they just be honest  "Y to Z return on these dates and flights 52€98"

I would still still buy it, it's a bl**dy good deal.

Why kid me on it'll only cost 2c.

Sheer bl**dy dishonesty and that is what riles me and many others.

[Judith]

Indeed - strange how my supposedly "cheap" flight at (say) £29.99 (if I am lucky) turns out to be nearly always about £100 return!  And I book in advance as much as poss, and travel off peak!  I would prefer honesty, so I know what I am to pay, very much like "service compris" which I do wish we could introduce here as the norm - for more than just meals - then you know immedately what you have to pay. But the marketing mindset is a strange beastie - honesty and it do not mix!

[The Riff-Raff Element]

Judith & Andy are spot on. It is not a dislike of Ryanair in

particular - I get brassed off with anyone who tries to clever clever

money out of me by hiding little charges here and there in the booking

process that add up to a thumping great wedge at the end. What I have

to admire is the dogmatic attidude they inspire in many of those who

champion them (shareholders?) that they are "always" going to be the

best value because, frequently, they are not.

[Owens88]

[quote user="Judith"] But the marketing mindset is a strange beastie - honesty and it do not mix!
[/quote]

Hey ! No fair. Do not brand all Marketers with the same tar brush.

I am a Chartered Marketer and would never advocate a policy of cheap lead-ins and massive (disproportionate) add-ons. In fact many very good Marketers have succeeded on the 'all-inclusive' positioning. 

Most business to business marketing is about building relationships not skinning your customer with add-ons and fine print.

There tends to be a 'phase' in the evolution of a market. At some point the weak salesmen are in the ascendancy and create all sorts of scams to avoid telling the truth and selling value for money (even when their company does indeed offer value for money). Then something else happens; a Richard Branson moment, more confident Marketers, consumer reaction, whatever. Then the sharp-tongued ones move on.

 

As I said earlier Mr O'leary seems to be happy aiming for the cheap end of business travel (inc expats flitting between properties) and the short booze-break market (who probably spend a lot on board !).  Each to their own . Not sure about the business model though. I would invest elsewhere !

 

 

 

[Iceni]

[quote user="Judith"]Indeed - strange how my supposedly "cheap" flight at (say) £29.99 (if I am lucky) turns out to be nearly always about £100 return!  And I book in advance as much as poss, and travel off peak!  I would prefer honesty, so I know what I am to pay, very much like "service compris" which I do wish we could introduce here as the norm - for more than just meals - then you know immedately what you have to pay. But the marketing mindset is a strange beastie - honesty and it do not mix!


[/quote]

Before you part with yr money online you know the total cost. Any extras after that are voluntary. But we are going over old ground as usual.

John

not

 

[Llantony]

Why is Ryanair unpopular?  Perhaps it started with the publicity around charging disabled people for the use of a wheelchair to get them to the aircraft -  when other airlines don't.

Maybe because they are the only airline to charge cabin staff for their training course (and so aren't likely to fail them...) and for their uniforms

Because many people complain that when a flight is cancelled there is no information, no compensation, no food or drink, often no staff available at all to help passengers.  Because they overbook and then close the flights at the departure gate,leaving a queue.  Then tell people it's their own fault for being late when they weren't.  Numerous other examples of rudeness of staff. 

Because they don't answer letters.  They claim to be the cheapest airline, and may be sometimes, but when I looked for Spring Bank Holiday week as soon as the summer schedule was out, it was £400 for 2 return to France.  So we went  BA as it was cheaper.

But this is all other people's experience, as I have yet to try them. I sincerely hope that my trip will be a pleasant one with no problems.

[Owens88]

[quote user="Llantony"]I have yet to try them. I sincerely hope that my trip will be a pleasant one with no problems.[/quote]

Lets face it the odds are in your favour. Have a good trip.

John

[Jc]

I use them regularly from Stansted to Montpellier;always take off on time-always get in early.I take my own food and drink and have never had any concerns at all.

[Rob Roy]

I'm with John and Di on this one. I used them once a month for a long weekend trip for nearly two years flying back and forth Stansted - Limoges or Rodez and only once had a delayed flight (late arriving from London). They do what most people want - A to B as cheap as possible.

"They claim to be the cheapest airline, and may be sometimes, but when I looked for Spring Bank Holiday week as soon as the summer schedule was out, it was £400 for 2 return to France.  So we went  BA as it was cheaper."

Their holiday periods are always 'blackouts' for cheap fares. I hope you get a pleasant suprise when you use them, and then judge them on your experiences and not on other peoples comments.

[Judith]

John

That is not the point - of course you do eventually find out what it is really going to cost - but what irritates is the fact that they try to say it is £0.19 - on an email this morning for example, but it becomes  at least £20 more when you add on all the charges.  I (like many others) only buy at the price I am prepared to pay, but I object strongly to marketing techniques that try to pull the wool over your eyes on the real cost.

And for the marketeer who got hot under the collar about my remarks on marketing - I accept that not all marketing people are bad, it is just that my experience over many years (including working in a marketing department) shows that it is one of the professions in which reality and honesty (as I practice it) can be bent to sell the product.  Ryanair would sell tickets even if they advertised them at the real price, (thus being truthful about the real cost) as the service they offer is often the only one available, or often the cheapest to that location.  It is "hiding" the real cost in their marketing speak which rankles.

[andyh4]

[quote user="Llantony"]

Because many people complain that when a flight is cancelled there is no information, no compensation, no food or drink, often no staff available at all to help passengers. 

Believe me this is not restricted to RA.  Only recently with the new EU regulations has compensation become anything like universal

Because they overbook

Never known RA to overbook.  BA yes, Lufthansa yes, Iberia yes, Air France yes, but RA and Easyjet no.

and then close the flights leaving a queue.  Then tell people it's their own fault for being late when they weren't. 

Yes the T&C say you have to book in 40 minutes (depending on airport it can be different I think) before the flight leaves (one of the few T&Cs they don't change).  Note it says book in.  So if you arrive 45 minutes before the flight leaves and there is a queue don't expect to be booked in in time.  I have seen so many occasions where this happens and it is always the airline at fault, not the idiot who arrives at the last minute and expects priority.  Note - this is not peculiar to RA.  Every airline has a schedule to keep and quite stringent cost penalties when they don't.

 

Apparently because they are based in Ireland they ignore some of the rules that apply in Britain.

Just as US airlines apply American rules and French, French rules etc..  What would you expect?

But this is all other people's experience, as I have yet to try them. I sincerely hope that my trip will be a pleasant one with no problems.

Beware of anecdotal evidence - including mine[:)]

[/quote]

[Smiley]

I have to admit that I was one of the members who previously complained in another thread about Ryan Air and it's baggage charges along with comments about Flybe too. I vowed not to fly with RA again.

However I have somewhat changed my opinion on this now. Last May I needed to fly out at about 3 weeks notice. When I checked I found that, by a considerable difference, RA were the cheapest and were flying out of East Mids which is much closer to where I live.. I bit the bullet and went with them.

I have to say that I found it much clearer with the baggage allowance rules, yes they did charge £5 per hold bag but this was still way way cheaper than their competitors. You don't have to book the bags in advance but it works out cheaper. The staff were helpful, friendly, the flight on time and comfortable. Also E mids is a much nicer airport to fly out of as I have always found Stanstead a bit of a nighmare.

I fly twice a year and drive twice a year so I am simply taking down spare clothes to leave at the house so that I can fly light thereby overcoming the baggage charges.

I don't have a problem with companies that make it clear up-front, just those that change the rules halfway through. 

[Jc]

It does appear that most of the people who complain about Ryanair have not flown with them!! I have and I will use them again.

[Gardian]

[quote user="Jc"]It does appear that most of the people who complain about Ryanair have not flown with them!! I have and I will use them again.[/quote]

Spot on.

Roughly 30 round trips by us, friends & relatives over the last two years.  One problem on one sector, when some plonker had a bad landing at Luton and closed the runway for 6 hrs or so - son's flt had to be diverted to Stansted. Although v irritating, hardly Ryanair's fault.  Rest of trips - no problem whatsoever & usually early arrivals.  Average cost?  £70 - £80 I'd guess, for a journey that you'd have paid £200 for 10yrs ago.

Don't get hung up with all this tax nonsense - all that matters is the bottom line when you come to pay. If you don't like the final number, look elsewhere.  The market will rule, and if Mr O'L starts to take the Michael, then he'll lose business.

I somehow doubt it though.

 

[Iceni]

Judith

You know how R works so why do you bother being irritated - vote with yr credit card and go elsewhere. Or does the fact that you are on their e-mail list indicate that you use their service yet moan about their methods ?

I have used other cheapie airlines but not recently so have no idea how Stelios Air etc advertise and sell their products but as Ryanair is one of the few that makes a profit then the others who lose money should perhaps copy a model that works. I would.

John

not

[Judith]

John

I do not have the same choice as many have. I travel alone, so driving is usually not an option, given the time I have at my disposal, so I do have to use Ryanair because it is the only airline which flies from (roughly) where I live to the (two) airports nearest to where I want to go.  So much for competition or choice!  My preference is for the train, but sometimes I can no more get good prices on that than with Ryanair.  Though its convenience factor (at both ends) is higher than with Ryanair.  This is the penalty I pay for still working in the UK and hence being limited to when I can travel. 

For the privilege of semi-convenience, I am prepared to put up with the interesting way Ryanair likes to do its business - but that does not mean I have to agree with it, nor refuse to make my opinions known!

Since I know that this is for a decreasing period of time, until I retire and can arrive permanently in France, I will put up with something I am unlikely to change, but as you know, we all feel better when we have had a good moan and put the world to rights!

And to reply to a previous poster on the subject of reliability - other than minor delays, I have only once had a problem - a 2 hour delay from Perpignan last Christmas - and my complaint there was more to do with the airport authorities who eventually (after an hour of most people having to stand up due to lack of seating) opened up more seating areas - so that the waiting crowd could sit down.

[Lollie]

Wow,

I only said Beware that RA were reducing their baggage allowance after only recently increasing it!!

I wish I had a response like this for my problems with Breizh mobile, I would have felt loads better.

Lollie