Strange Ryanair checkin procedure, any reason?

munchkin_utd

its been a half an eternity since I used Ryanair thanks to them practically ignoring Europes largest, wealthiest (yet money concious) and travel mad country, and have just tried to checkin with them (they have the odd flight from Memmingen near me but to shag all destinations)

With Lufthansa or aer lingus a few clicks and you're done. I think I managed to checkin on Aer Lingus on the phone with one hand cycling home through the park last month. Its that straight forward.

With Ryanair, I need all passport details for me, the wife, kid number 1 and kid number 2 - which of course I don't have with me at work. And for each person Nationality, Date of Birth, Document Type, Document Number, Country of Issue AND Validity date.

So Aer lingus / Lufthansa, click click and youre checked in.
Ryanair: find the 4 documents, enter 24 pieces of info and then all going well you'll have boarding passes

Is there any valid sensible reason that Ryanair would need my passport details, seeing as neither the German nor Irish government want any advance passenger data ?
I can only think that they want to have a unified checkin process for all destinations, so because Spain asks for advance passenger info, anyone flying anywhere with Ryanair gets asked for passport info.

I cannot imagine what an unnecessary pain it would be to have to checkin a group of people for a ryanair flight with having to get so many passport details and enter them.

Its now the 3rd anniversary of the Ryanair niceness offensive so its a surprise to me that they still have such an awkward checkin process.

Locker10a

I may be wrong but is its possible that this is due to they way they board their flights?
As in everyone is called to "board" about 25 mins before boarding actually starts, and during this time staff walk along the line looking at boarding cards and ID photo, then passengers are released to stand outside in a que until the aircraft is ready.
By ryanair already having your passport details saved at the time of check in it saves time during boarding as each passport doesnt have to be checked for nationality, expiry date, name etc. ?

Speedwell

Lufthansa and Aer Lingus do check those things at some part of the process before you actually get on the airplane. Ryanair is just making you do part of the data entry work for them. Nothing wrong with it.

HeidiHeidi

Just this morning I've checked in on both an Aer Lingus and a Ryanair flight (to/from the UK) - and I agree with you 100%

I did Ryanair first, and it was the usual long slow process, dodging all the added extras along the way. I thought I'd missed something out when I got to the end of the Aer Lingus check-in it was so quick!

I'd assumed it was because Ryanair require passports for travel anywhere, whereas Aer Lingus will take other ID for travel from Ireland to the UK.... but that clearly isn't the case with you since you're travelling from Germany.

Dunno, but it'd certainly be nice if Ryanair could simplify it down a bit if all that detail isn't necessary!

catbear

Ryanair frontload the procedure that Aerlingus leaves till the airport.

The positives straight walk through the airport to the boarding gate whereas with aer lingus you either do the self checkin on line or at the airport.

Downside with Ryanair is that you can't buy seats while cycling a bicycle. Aerfungus should use that in an ad.

munchkin_utd

but is it front loading anything to the airport ? When you depart from Dublin with Aer lingus your boarding pass is scanned, and at the gate they glance (if even you'd call it that) at your passport to make sure it matches the ticket, but no data is taken.

And thats the issue, if the data isnt needed, then why am I being forced to enter 24 pieces of info by ryanair for no apparant reason.

Even if it was just a declaration of your nationality in advance in order to assess if a visa check is needed (as per what ferry companies do) then at least you dont need to search for a passport number which is never checked or used.

nhunter100

munchkin_utd wrote:

I cannot imagine what an unnecessary pain it would be to have to checkin a group of people for a ryanair flight with having to get so many passport details and enter them.

Wow a whole 5 mins of your life to book in to Ryanair. First world problems eh...

Locker10a

munchkin_utd wrote: »

but is it front loading anything to the airport ? When you depart from Dublin with Aer lingus your boarding pass is scanned, and at the gate they glance (if even you'd call it that) at your passport to make sure it matches the ticket, but no data is taken.

And thats the issue, if the data isnt needed, then why am I being forced to enter 24 pieces of info by ryanair for no apparant reason.

Even if it was just a declaration of your nationality in advance in order to assess if a visa check is needed (as per what ferry companies do) then at least you dont need to search for a passport number which is never checked or used.

Again I think this is Ryanairs way of avoiding being fined for allowing travel with incorrect ID. Aer Lingus leave this to their staff to inspect, Ryanair would rather know in advance to avoid delays with passengers at the gate.
It makes things faster and easier for Ryanair but a little bit more of a pain for you! But they want things to be efficient and streamlined and so you have this requirement

Davy

You an save the details for your family in the Ryanair account on the new website if makes it easier

L1011

nhunter100 wrote: »

Wow a whole 5 mins of your life to book in to Ryanair. First world problems eh...

Its rather more than five minutes if you need to collect documents together; it also prevents impulse purchases. Which is something Ryanair used to do quite well out of in the old days with the desktop notifier app for cheap flights etc.

catbear

L1011 wrote: »

it also prevents impulse purchases. Which is something Ryanair used to do quite well out of in the old days with the desktop notifier app for cheap flights etc.

Damn Ryanair for making go see and enjoy places I'd never have thought of! The cheek of the them!

irelandrover

L1011 wrote: »

Its rather more than five minutes if you need to collect documents together; it also prevents impulse purchases. Which is something Ryanair used to do quite well out of in the old days with the desktop notifier app for cheap flights etc.

How does it prevent impulse purchases? you dont need the details to book.

Noxegon

Could be worse. My partner is American and when she flies we have to queue up at the check in desk to have her boarding pass stamped to prove someone has looked at her passport – not a big deal if you're checking bags, but a waste of an hour or more if you're not. That in itself is enough to make us fly alternatives unless Ryanair is drastically cheaper.

nhunter100

L1011 wrote:

Its rather more than five minutes if you need to collect documents together; it also prevents impulse purchases. Which is something Ryanair used to do quite well out of in the old days with the desktop notifier app for cheap flights etc.

You mean passports/ national ID card. Hardly a quest or an ordeal.

munchkin_utd

nhunter100 wrote: »

Wow a whole 5 mins of your life to book in to Ryanair. First world problems eh...

well, firstly a 4 hour wait till the mrs went home (early, especially to get details of the documents to me rather than work a little later and go straight to pick up the kids from childcare) then a good 20minutes to enter the details.

I tried doing it via saving the details on the online ryanair account but a bug in it wouldn't allow me to enter my passport which has less than 12 months validity. It confusingly seems to only allow entry of adults, but when you trick with the date of birth it does still allow a child to be entered - gender neutral for some reason.

So, now have 4 boarding passes just under 4 1/2 hours after starting the checkin process.
Very customer friendly, indeed.

Dial Hard

nhunter100 wrote: »

Wow a whole 5 mins of your life to book in to Ryanair. First world problems eh...

Believe me, it's a pain in the ass if you've to check in groups of business travellers, which I regularly had to do in my last job.

nhunter100

munchkin_utd wrote:

well, firstly a 4 hour wait till the mrs went home (early, especially to get details of the documents to me rather than work a little later and go straight to pick up the kids from childcare) then a good 20minutes to enter the details.

You know you don't need travel documents to book a flight. They're only needed for checkin.

nhunter100

Dial Hard wrote:

Believe me, it's a pain in the ass if you've to check in groups of business travellers, which I regularly had to do in my last job.

Seriously if it's such an ordeal there are alternatives to Ryanair.

munchkin_utd

nhunter100 wrote: »

You know you don't need travel documents to book a flight. They're only needed for checkin.

to be honest, it was news to me that travel documents are "needed" for checkin seeing as neither Ryanair, the airport or the government has any obvious "need" for them - I mean to store and have the FULL details in advance. Obviously a passport is needed to get from schengen to non schengen countries

as to it being an ordeal, thats the point - it actually is.
For a company listed on the stock exchange who are there to make a profit, pissing off customers unnecessarily and potentially putting them off flying with them is a strange way of operating.

nhunter100

Guess you missed Ryanair results so, seems they are continuing to grow whilst possibly pissing off a few people who feel a couple of minutes either on the phone app or PC is a huge ordeal. Fair enough one of the other multiple airlines will happily take your money.

Dial Hard

nhunter100 wrote: »

Seriously if it's such an ordeal there are alternatives to Ryanair.

Yes, because it's always perfectly possible to tell business travellers "Sorry, no, I'm not booking that flight for you because Ryanair's check-in procedure is a pain in the hoop. Go choose something else."

nhunter100

Dial Hard wrote:

Yes, because it's always perfectly possible to tell business travellers "Sorry, no, I'm not booking that flight for you because Ryanair's check-in procedure is a pain in the hoop. Go choose something else."

So it's your job to do it, which I assume you get paid for. No issue then.

munchkin_utd

nhunter100 wrote: »

So it's your job to do it, which I assume you get paid for. No issue then.

if its your job to find flights, then you can make it your job to avoid the airline that wants to make your job as awkward as possible.

When you report to the boss you do not say "I booked a return flight 20 Euro more than Ryanair" but you'll simply say "I've flights for a good price, xxx return, heres the details, and youre checked in" - of course checked in hassle free because you didnt need to ask first for their stupid passport to do it.

nhunter100

munchkin_utd wrote:

When you report to the boss you do not say "I booked a return flight 20 Euro more than Ryanair" but you'll simply say "I've flights for a good price, xxx return, heres the details, and youre checked in" - of course checked in hassle free because you didnt need to ask first for their stupid passport to do it.

Yeah again first world problems.

Dilbert75

Have you tried https://www.ryanair.com/ie/en/useful-info/help-centre/faq-overview/contact-us/Contacting-customer-service?

shar01

Muggins here usually ends up doing the on-line check-in for the family. I have their passport details in a word document. It's no big deal.

OP be thankful Ryanair don't go down the AirAsia route. You need passport details when booking and the page times out after what feels like a very short time.* Pressure or wha'!

* May have changed since I booked a few years ago

Spanish Eyes

Davy wrote: »

You an save the details for your family in the Ryanair account on the new website if makes it easier

Never noticed that, must check it out, thanks!

kevinandrew

This is where 'My Ryanair' helps, usually saves all your details and the details of any travel partners to speed up later bookings and check in. It doesn't always work though, the website never saved any of the details for me while the app always did.

Aer Lingus have a similar process on their website and app, tends to work better for me anyway.

arubex

nhunter100 wrote: »

Yeah again first world problems.

Oddly enough, because both Ireland and Germany are considered... first World countries. And this is a forum based in a first-World country. That 'quip' needs to die.


Perhaps Ryanair's check-in only takes five more minutes per traveller. However in 2016 they're anticipating carrying 113 million passengers. That's 392,361 man-days of wasted time. Imagine how many third-World problems those people could be solving in that time!

JCX BXC

nhunter100 wrote: »

Yeah again first world problems.

Horrible comparison.

Me: "My €1000 phone is broken"
Shop Assistant "First world problems!"

devnull

My Ryanair works fine for me on the website as well, The only things I have to enter are the CVV number on the card when I make a booking, everything else is populated from My Ryanair.

CelticRambler

Took me 1 minute and 30 seconds just now to check in for a flight on Saturday. I timed it especially for the purposes of this comment!

I might have managed it faster if I'd concentrated more on checking in and less on watching the stopwatch.

PS Hope I can find my passport now. Haven't seen it since last weekend.

The_Wanderer

No need for name calling of a very successful airline on this forum.

J.pilkington

The_Wanderer wrote: »

........................

Cutting off your nose to spite your face comes to mind!

Nice attitude, enjoy the restricted flight times / destination options / and potential to save money so! That'll show "riot air"(where did you even get that lame name, it makes no sense and not remotely funny?)

stefanovich

munchkin_utd wrote: »

Is there any valid sensible reason that Ryanair would need my passport details, seeing as neither the German nor Irish government want any advance passenger data ?

It's to catch you out. Enter one piece of incorrect data and you need to pay!

Anyway, after their interference in Brexit I will never fly with them again.

ectoraige

stefanovich wrote: »

It's to catch you out. Enter one piece of incorrect data and you need to pay!

Anyway, after their interference in Brexit I will never fly with them again.

I mourn the opportunity for us to have shared a flight together, we could have been friends, for just one day.

stefanovich

ectoraige wrote: »

I mourn the opportunity for us to have shared a flight together, we could have been friends, for just one day.

We wouldn't have been able to have a conversation over the air hostess ranting incoherently about scratchcards or some such.

J.pilkington

stefanovich wrote: »

It's to catch you out. Enter one piece of incorrect data and you need to pay!

Anyway, after their interference in Brexit I will never fly with them again.

That's absolute rubbish. You enter your details at check in, at no stage do they then cross reference in detail as you board, do you realise the only opportunity to do this world be at boarding and it would take several minutes to cross check each passengers info and this would lead to a plane turnaround taking a long time

Think about it, ryanair are the only airline who don't overbook so what advantage so they get to turning you away at the gate, there is nobody to take your seat

Me thinks you read the dailymail for your days facts

Mycroft H

munchkin_utd wrote: »

but is it front loading anything to the airport ? When you depart from Dublin with Aer lingus your boarding pass is scanned, and at the gate they glance (if even you'd call it that) at your passport to make sure it matches the ticket, but no data is taken.

And thats the issue, if the data isnt needed, then why am I being forced to enter 24 pieces of info by ryanair for no apparant reason.

Even if it was just a declaration of your nationality in advance in order to assess if a visa check is needed (as per what ferry companies do) then at least you dont need to search for a passport number which is never checked or used.

That's true. No data from my passport has ever been entered by Aer Lingus. Check in using the phone app.

stefanovich

J.pilkington wrote: »

That's absolute rubbish. You enter your details at check in, at no stage do they then cross reference in detail as you board, do you realise the only opportunity to do this world be at boarding and it would take several minutes to cross check each passengers info and this would lead to a plane turnaround taking a long time

Think about it, ryanair are the only airline who don't overbook so what advantage so they get to turning you away at the gate, there is nobody to take your seat

Me thinks you read the dailymail for your days facts

It specifically warns you on the check in page to enter the correct details or you will be charged a check in fee.

cowboyBuilder

They want to make it as hard as possible to check in to maximise the number of people who will give up and pay the €40 at the desk.

amber2

Davy wrote: »

You an save the details for your family in the Ryanair account on the new website if makes it easier

Can family details be retrieved on the app if you log in do you know?

Avada

I would hazard a guess that Ryanair are just ahead of others on this. With the introduction of the new EU PNR Directive, all airlines will be required to provide this information to EU countries (when requested).

goingnowhere

Aer Lingus will prompt you for passport info if needed, e.g. US, Spain, Czech Republic

BA, ask every time for everywhere and their IT really doesn't like the new passport card

Ryanair, its a hassle reduction operation more than anything else. If you provide a EU issued ID its all cool, if you provide a non EU, well off to the visa check desk for you


If you are sent back the airline is fined and has to carry you back to point of origin at there cost.

If you check luggage most airline will ask for the passport and swipe it on the computer, this does two things, firstly it pulls up the reservation but also runs a quick check, nationality vs destination and prompts the agent if a visa is requried

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.

stefanovich

Fred Swanson wrote:

You could enter completely wrong info at check in and still board the flight. No comparison is performed at boarding.

How are you so sure?

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.

Mycroft H

Same, used ryanair last week and the passport got nothing more than a cursory glance.

Another reason, why only passports?

Forgot my passport when I was flying into manchester for work. EI let me through with the driver's licence. Ryanair would have told me to go home.

devnull

cowboyBuilder wrote: »

They want to make it as hard as possible to check in to maximise the number of people who will give up and pay the €40 at the desk.

Sign up for My Ryanair.

Enter it once.

Never have to again.

What's so hard?

Talk about first world problems.

J.pilkington

devnull wrote: »

Sign up for My Ryanair.

Enter it once.

Never have to again.

What's so hard?

Talk about first world problems.

Why not read the 1st post. It's more than a FWP (btw what an annoying "buzz" word which everyone and their granny is now using) when you have a group which is what the OP is complaining about

Tenger

This thread has pretty much answered the OP's question re FF procedure versus EI and other airlines. Some here use My Ryanair App, others have their own personal system (notepad) Whatever works for you. If it deviates any more it will be locked.