Is there any authority that Ryanair must answer to?

BernieWi

My son booked a RYANAIR flight Dublin - Malaga return last November for 22nd Dec returning Dublin 27th Dec. €547.19 Obviously, booking early’s not quite as beneficial as one would be led to believe.

I have just checked the pricing on the exact same schedule (all details exact) and there is a difference of €299.23! It’s now priced at €247.96.

Is there any way to recoup anything from this. Is there any authority governing this type of practice?

ger664

Your son entered a contract at a point in time and an agreed price.

If the flight was now more expensive would Ryan Air have a right to look for the difference from your son ?

Strumms

I doubt there is a law against it.

The problem as regards the booking was the short time between the booking and the departure.. plus the demand on the back of covid... Ryanair are simply trying to recover losses... they will get it too...they did...

in a free market economy price gouging (which is what it is) while maybe seen as immoral certainly isn’t illegal...

I could charge 15,000 euros to give somebody a guitar lesson, I’m not even that great a player but there wouldn’t be anything stopping me IF I wanted to.

mystic86

The authority of your wallet.

mickdw

Why did he book it?

Why didn't he book a cheaper flight or gamble nearer the time.

Peregrinus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118299106#Comment_118299106

Because, I'm guessing, it's Christmas, and it was important to him to go. If he put off booking he would, as you point out, be gambling.

In general, airlines want to charge each passenger the maximum amount that that passenger is willing to pay for that seat, and they also want to sell all their seats. This goes back a long way; the whole point of "business class" was to charge more to business travellers, because business travellers are highly motivated to travel and will in general pay much more for what is essentially the same service as the leisure traveller on the same flight gets. The few perks - a refundable ticket, a nicer meal, a bit more legroom - are provided at a cost to the airline which is no way related to the premium they charge for the ticket.

Right. When it comes to travel at times of high demand - like Christmas - the airlines know that the people who book well in advance are highly motivated. Because they are making plans far in advance, they will be willing to pay more than a last-minute impulse traveller. And, because they are willing to pay more, the airlines naturally charge them more; why wouldn't you?

If they get their calculations just right, they will sell all their seats well in advance at the high price. Of course, they rarely get them just right. Closer to the time, they can't hope to shift unsold tickets at the same price, because the likely purchasers are not committed to travelling at Christmas - they'd like to, but they are not determined to, because if they were determined to, they'd already have booked. So, the price comes down as they try to clear the unsold tickets. But, if the airlines have their calculations right, availability can be pretty limited; you may need to be flexible about when you can travel, and you run the risk of not being able to get tickets for dates that work for you.

harmless

This is just the same as a shop buying too much stock of an iteam and reducing the price when it does not sell.

Ryanair just want to fill the plane that is underbooked. There is no consumer issue here, your son is getting what he paid for at the price he paid for it.

Masala

basic rules of business- Supply & Demand..

cant see why Ryanair the bad guys here

same as buying a coat in Dunne’s his week and next week it’s half price in a sale

gotta learn to live with your decisions..you went too early on this one and got stung. Lesson learned for next time

Sure maybe the flight will get cancelled and u will get your money back ... and he can spend the Christmas in the cold with the rest of us!!

Strumms

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058222185/is-there-any-authority-that-ryanair-must-answer-to

Now priced at 92.99..I didn’t add bags or priority boarding but still... some difference.