Ryanair's Tax on priority boarding

mobpd

Hi

Can someone give me some information as I cant find easily on Ryanair website on their "tax" for priority boarding...

I understand you cant use online checkin if you travelling with infants (<2years old) or with hold baggage.
But we can turn up at the the airport with our 1 year old baby and baggage and pay the priority boarding tax of €3 per person (does this include the baby) for each flight. This nows adds at least €12 to our flight cost and Mr OLeary goes on about Aerlingus's fuel charge....
Anyway we then get a priority boarding card each - what happens at the gate?
Do they pre-board the people with priority cards with babies first or are we all together with all priority people?
What happens if we then have to get a bus from the gate to the aircraft (at the return airport) - is the benefit of priority boarding lost then as everyone piles out the bus at the same time?
What happens when the majority ever start to buy this priority service? Is there some priority ranking within the priority?!!

BendiBus

Firstly it's not a tax - it's a charge for an optional service (I accept it's an important one if you've small kids with you)

They SOMETIMES board priority passengers first. Always in Dublin (in my experience). But I flew back from Gatwick on Monday evening and they boarded everyone at once. And it was a full flight. This is a common occurence at Gatwick.

There were a few upset passengers who had paid for priority boarding but ended up in the regular scrum for a preferred seat.

dowlingm

Ryanair have done a lot for the airline industry in Europe by shaking the majors out of their complacency but unfortunately some airlines, especially the two flag carriers run by fellow Micks, are following FR over a cliff. mobpd - not only should you give your business to EI (or BD), but to indicate to EI HQ via letter that you chose EI because they don't charge for advance boarding of families - this might keep them from once again letting MOL run their airline.

EI thought the challenge was to be as cheap as FR. Their challenge should have been to show the public that quality was worth paying a little extra for and they have funked that challenge.

Capt'n Midnight

dowlingm wrote:

mobpd - not only should you give your business to EI (or BD), but to indicate to EI HQ via letter that you chose EI because they don't charge for advance boarding of families - this might keep them from once again letting MOL run their airline.

EI thought the challenge was to be as cheap as FR. Their challenge should have been to show the public that quality was worth paying a little extra for and they have funked that challenge.

Went over to London recently with EI Aer Lingus.
You can pick your seat on the web - No stampede for the plane
If you only have hand luggage you check in with your credit card at the machine that prints out your boarding card

Ryanair in some cases is only a little cheaper than other airlines, and only if you play the game by their rules, otherwise you can get stung.

Re "are following FR over a cliff."
http://www.britishairways.com/travel/home/public/en_gb?countrycode=GB - click on the red circle for info on the new baggage policy
Have you seen what BA are doing on hand baggage on long haul !

Excess baggage charged at a fixed fee Longhaul
£120 per bag or £84 per bag if paid online (includes 30% discount available when travel is completed by 30 September 2007).
Shorthaul
£60 per bag or £42 per bag if paid online (includes 30% discount available when travel is completed by 30 September 2007).
UK Domestic
£30 per bag or £21 per bag if paid online (includes 30% discount available when travel is completed by 30 September 2007).

therecklessone

BendiBus wrote:

They SOMETIMES board priority passengers first. Always in Dublin (in my experience). But I flew back from Gatwick on Monday evening and they boarded everyone at once. And it was a full flight. This is a common occurence at Gatwick.

Contrasts with my experience on two occasions at Gatwick in January, both times they boarded online and priority boarding passengers first.

AlekSmart

My own experiences with Risky are of major problems with Staff Training in relation to procedures.
It is also apparrent that the famed 25 min turnaround time is placing undue straions on the airline`s own operational systems.
It is quite obvious that in some bases the 25 Min T/A cannot be achieved if the Boarding Principles are adhered to,hence the mad scramble.

What IS of great concern in the midst of all this is that once the decisions to ignore procedural guidelines are taken it becomes almost impossible to cease that principle.
Ignoring the priority boarding may well be the thin end of a wedge that will eventually end in disaster.
There are already far too many incidences of FR flights and staff featuring in OFFICIAL enquiries and reports and if Mick O Leary has any sense he will stand back a bit,shut up and take stock.

My own best experience was in Salzburg where as the ONLY two pre-cleared Priority Boarders my friend and I were escorted by an Airport Official and a Policeman around the milling throng and escorted Airside to the boarding steps and despatched up them wit a friendly wave...now THAT`s Priority.....Ye have to hand it to the Prussians !!! :eek:

i71jskz5xu42pb

mobpd wrote:

What happens when the majority ever start to buy this priority service? Is there some priority ranking within the priority?!!

As far as I know this service is limited to the first 90 (say way the priority boarding was done before). I'm open to correction on this.
That means there'll be a maximum of 90 people on the plane in advance. So if families want to sit together but cannot avail of web check in they need to just get there early and queue.

mobpd

Capt'n Midnight wrote:

Have you seen what BA are doing on hand baggage on long haul !

Thats just Excess Baggage charges - I think BA have one of the most generous checked baggage allowances?
I saw Sky News in typical style this week misinterpreted these BA charges as well and implied EVERYONE would have to pay these charges for hand luggage....not true

parsi

AlekSmart wrote:

My own best experience was in Salzburg where as the ONLY two pre-cleared Priority Boarders my friend and I were escorted by an Airport Official and a Policeman around the milling throng and escorted Airside to the boarding steps and despatched up them wit a friendly wave...now THAT`s Priority.....Ye have to hand it to the Prussians !!! :eek:

Hmm.. they mightn't like you terming them Prussians....

Chris_533976

Last time I flew with Ryanair it was madness... they said 'everyone with children can board first'.

Of course an auld fella with a 45 year old son counts as a father with children.

There was almost noone who didnt decide to board first.

Bloody scrum it was.

mackerski

parsi wrote:

Hmm.. they mightn't like you terming them Prussians....

They wouldn't. Everyone knows that Prussians are from north of Ingolstadt and west of Augsburg.

AlekSmart

U drive an Audi too.....!! :eek:
Apologies to all Prussian Generals everywhere.......Now where did I put my mustache wax

dowlingm

Capt'n Midnight wrote:

Re "are following FR over a cliff."
http://www.britishairways.com/travel/home/public/en_gb?countrycode=GB - click on the red circle for info on the new baggage policy
Have you seen what BA are doing on hand baggage on long haul !

And the common link between EI and BA in the Michael O'Leary era? Willie Walsh.