Paying for seats on Ryanair

The Ging and I

I have not traveled with them for a while. I used not to pay for a seat and they would pick one for me when I was confirming the flight.

This time I had to pay for a seat. Is this new or did I miss something ?

Former Former Former

You can elect not to pay for a seat and they will allocate you one when you check in.

The Ging and I

I looked again and found it , thanks

Banzai600

just as an fyi to people re ryanair and seating….

i have now heard THREE separate stories from ppl who dont know each other. bear in mind these ppl were not travelling alone either.

these people travelling with friends had NOT paid for their seating on the return flights to DUBLIN, Italy and Spain, but had to fight tooth and nail to get on the planes as they were "full" coming home. funnily enough in two cases the ppl were told, ryanair hedge their bets you wont turn up if you dont pay for seats ?? somehow i find this extraordinary. in one case they had to keep seats for staff members to return home ?

its all a bit odd, but these are the facts that im aware of.

last few times we have flown with ryanair we havent paid for seats. I am wondering is this another sneaky ploy from ryanair to get ppl to pay for their seats?

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122527651#Comment_122527651

Overbooking. Normal airline practice. If everyone paid for seat selection, they'd still do it.

Ryanair insist they don't do it; but the evidence is there that they do.

There can also be a last minute swap from a 197 seat MAX8200 to a 189 seat NG leaving up to 8 people over the number of seats the plane has.

SteM

Why do you find it extraordinary? Airlines have been doing this for years.

Dial Hard

Almost all airlines overbook. One of my travelling party was bumped coming back from a trip at the weekend. She hadn't booked a seat but she also left it til the very last minute to check in online for the flight, and I suspect that had more to do with it than anything.

Fwiw, they did ask all staff travellers on the flight to disembark, so they were genuinely doing their best to get paying customers on board.

watchclocker

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122527673#Comment_122527673

I think you're right about it being when you check in.

You used to be able to sort of cheat the seat system by leaving it until last minute and getting a premium seat that had not been sold but they closed that loophole and you're more likely to get a crappy seat (or none) if you leave it late.

elperello

You are paying for a seat when you complete the payment and book the flight

You are just not paying extra in order to get a specific seat.

artanevilla

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122527651#Comment_122527651

Standard practice in aviation since time immemorial.

Ryanair are the best at it and rarely get it wrong.

TheChizler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122527747#Comment_122527747

Standard practice to overbook but is it a new thing that you're more likely to be bumped if you haven't paid to select a seat?

artanevilla

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122527757#Comment_122527757

Paying to select a seat in the first place is new I suppose.

HeidiHeidi

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122527809#Comment_122527809

That's been a Ryanair thing for a long as I can remember.

Nothing new about it.

A pal was being offered incentives to re-route coming home on TAP a couple of weeks ago, they had clearly overbooked the flight.

thebronze14

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122527672#Comment_122527672

Yeah never experienced it with Ryanair, have with other airlines. You be well remunerated generally if it happens

CPTM

I knew this was standard in the US but I've never witnessed it in Europe so I thought we were protected from it somehow.

SteM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122528122#Comment_122528122

It could be expensive enough for Ryanair to do considering they'd have to pay compensation. I assume they have an algorithim in place that tells them how much they could make by over selling and hoping people don't show vs how much they could loose in compensation. It could be worth their while mainly in high season.

endofrainbow

I think it highly unlikely that you would be bumped for not paying for a seat. The compensation for idb would greatly outweigh the price of a seat.

Banzai600

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122529137#Comment_122529137

it happened as i posted above, i have no reason to throw ryanair under the bus, but they have given ppl fear and anxiety with their behavior, and this is just another ploy to get ppl to pay for seats IMO. Bully tactics.

and it kills me to say i booked flights with them two weeks ago, aer lingus just too dear for same route - and we paid for the seats and privilege to breathe on the plane.

bnt

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122518231#Comment_122518231

Which means you improve your chances of a good seat by checking in early, like 1 min after check-in opens 24h before the flight.

TheChizler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122531551#Comment_122531551

My go to strategy has been to check in at late as possible without picking a seat, I get an exit seat more often than not.

suvigirl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122531483#Comment_122531483

I can honestly say I have never felt any fear of anxiety when travelling with Ryanair. I never pay for a seat, just take my chances, more often then not I have gotten an exit row or a window seat.

TheChizler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122531960#Comment_122531960

Maybe we shouldn't be publicly commenting on our strategies 😁

Rocket_GD

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122531977#Comment_122531977

Best strategy is check in whenever, be the very last person on the plane and usually you've a pick of a few good seats to choose from.

Hontou

I've a better strategy if you want to sit beside your travel companion but not pay for seats. Check in last minute, but click on book a seat first so you can see what seats are still avaiable together last minute. Write down the good ones, if any. Then go back and choose random seat selection. Get on the plane last and confidently sit on the empty good seats that you know are likely still free. This strategy has worked for me 80% of the time. The only time it doesn't work is when the plane is full. In that case, you have a high chance of getting at least one good exit seat anyway.

TheChizler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122532211#Comment_122532211

This is the key piece of the jigsaw that I'm missing, thank you, I'll try Saturday

phog

In a slightly different story but Ryanair and seating related. I was flying back to Dublin once, possibly from Germany, and as advised on our tickets we entered from the end of the plane, when I got to the top of the steps there was a lady there with bags and holding a baby, I offered to take her bags or hold the baby as she made her way to here seat/s, she said "it's ok, I'm waiting for them to sort me out, I'm in Row !! and that doesn't exist on this plane" Before take off I saw that she was sorted but I'm not sure if everyone who had booked that row got on the plane.

Banzai600

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122531960#Comment_122531960

i dont suffer anxiety or the fear, but a lot of ppl seem to based on what comes up in conversations.

manshay

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122534358#Comment_122534358

I've flown BHX-DUB with Ryanair, they had to switch planes and our row didn't exist, they just got us to seat in a spare seat.

ted1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122531483#Comment_122531483

my wife and child were offered €400 by Aer Lingus last Friday ti fly on a later flight from Faro to Dublin. They refused as they were on the way home to attend a Niall Horan concert
it’s not just a Ryanair thing

Atlantic Dawn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122549829#Comment_122549829

Yes between the Max and the non there's about 8 rows of seats that if you are paying for a seat you should avoid as they conflict on each plane. For example the Max has 3 extra rows at the back and then the emergency exit/extra legroom rows are completely different rows which on the Max has a window seat removed and a 'toy' seat fitted behind where it should be that any adult who eats 3 square meals a day will struggle to squeeze in to.

Banzai600

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122550703#Comment_122550703

the point i made was ppl being told there was no laternate until next available flight…..Aer lingus offering upfront is far from what ryanair did when they gave ppl ultimatums.