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Ryanair - New reserved seating structure(s)

ekellyie

Hi there,
Could anyone give me advice on how to tackle the new reserved seating/priority boarding structure that Ryanair have in place.
I understand that now you can reserve a seat or book priority boarding with an added on cost, or you can just check in as normal online and they will reserve random seats for you free of charge.

If you haven't reserved a seat or purchased priority boarding and you're checking in as normal, do Ryanair give you the option of a Window or an Aisle seat before choosing it for you?

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degsie

irishman86 wrote: »

Because these arent in any way the same. In a ferry its first come first serve, the restaurant one has already been proven just stupid (You reserved a table) and the car one well I didnt think you get a worse example than restaurant but you did well done

Ok then mr narky pants, how about going to the cinema or a football game where you reserve seats?

cruhoortwunk

I think the main problem is they are taking away something that people had been used to getting for free. It's never good thing to start charging for something that was free/included.

daisy123

degsie wrote: »

Not an obsession, just social norm. If you go to a restaurant do you sit together? Or on a ferry? Or when travelling in the same car?

Not necessarily on the ferry. Often would leave my fellow travellers to do things...BY MYSELF! In a car...eh, there's limited choice, but I wouldn't always get the seat I wanted...but by the nature of a car I wouldn't be nearby.

I often do split ticketing rail journeys in the UK. My travel companion/s and I may not get assigned seats together for all legs. But because it's cheaper, I don't care. I'm able to entertain myself for a short time. Even 4-5 hours!! Which is also a short flight.

Maybe I'm weird because I don't mind sitting on my own. Some of the best conversations I've had on a flight was with a stranger beside me about our destination. I read a book, have snacks, do puzzles. I don't even check anymore where people are sitting. I treat it like getting a bus. Where you often don't get seats together.

Anyway, I guess people are different.

grogi

cruhoortwunk wrote: »

I think the main problem is they are taking away something that people had been used to getting for free. It's never good thing to start charging for something that was free/included.

I don't think so.

If they took the free water away (if they ever offered it at any time), people would not be delighted, but would rather understand it. Water costs, flying it costs etc... If they took away the second charge-free hand luggage - there would not be excitement around it, but again it would be somehow justified (transporting weight costs fuel). Food on board, airport check-in, luggage, boarding through the bridge - taken away, but all somehow cuts cost. Even charging for seats in better rows - as they are in short supply - can be justified.

But not this.

What happened here is a "new service" was invented - that did cost absolutely nothing to offer - and people are charged for it now. This service is not to cut costs - it actually costs Ryanair money. Introducing this service costed Ryanair money (all the IT costs associated with it), it costs money to run it (THERE WILL BE increase in boarding time because of this nonsense) and that service does not increase the quality of the service (comparing to what was there before). So the only rationale to introduce it is to bully the customers and grab more money than the increased cost. Pay or we will split you up. It is like "protection" offered by the mob.

And that is what pisses people off.

Sure - Ryanair can do it, I cannot directly stop Ryanair from doing it. But nobody can stop me from expressing how pissed I am at that. And I will try my best not to leave my money with a company that is using tactics like that, even if it costs me more to fly with someone who is a partner. If I have to, I'll play dumb and stupid, maybe not even speak English well. Because that is what Ryanair is expecting me to be - an idiot...

Bob24

daisy123 wrote: »

Maybe I'm weird because I don't mind sitting on my own. Some of the best conversations I've had on a flight was with a stranger beside me about our destination. I read a book, have snacks, do puzzles. I don't even check anymore where people are sitting. I treat it like getting a bus. Where you often don't get seats together.

Anyway, I guess people are different.

I don't mind either, but because some people don't mind is not the same as saying that it is not a social norm to seat together or that a majority of people don't prefer to sit together.

Let me put it that way: if you were travelling with a friend, family member or colleague, would you tell them "I prefer sitting next to strangers during flight so lets pick non-adjacent seats"? Wouldn't you feel you would be breaking a social norm?

EverythingGood

I've had times where I have paid for my seat, and that of the wife, if she is with me, and some random person was beside us, and that persons partner was sat elsewhere. I've been asked to move to accommodate someone else, so they could sit beside each other, but generally say no. I've paid for my seat, I've deliberately chosen that particular place to sit, so no, I am not moving, especially from a good aisle seat to a crap middle seat half way down the aisle, when my bag is directly overhead. I've had dirty looks and noises made at me my other passengers then for staying put, in a seat that I've paid for! And that's the danger here, asking people to move seats with you, but what if that person has paid for their seat? Will you give them a few bob? If you do, why not pay for seats in the first place?

grogi

EverythingGood wrote: »

I've had times where I have paid for my seat, and that of the wife, if she is with me, and some random person was beside us, and that persons partner was sat elsewhere. I've been asked to move to accommodate someone else, so they could sit beside each other, but generally say no.

They are asking you, not telling you - that is the difference. Even if you didn't pay for that seat, you are absolutely in your rights to tell them No. It is their problem, not yours.

EverythingGood

grogi wrote: »

They are asking you, not telling you - that is the difference. Even if you didn't pay for that seat, you are absolutely in your rights to tell them No. It is their problem, not yours.

True, I did say ask, but some people "ask" in such a way that they think they are entitled to move a solo traveller, because it suits them. And then are offended when you say no.

Bob24

EverythingGood wrote: »

True, I did say ask, but some people "ask" in such a way that they think they are entitled to move a solo traveller, because it suits them. And then are offended when you say no.

Yes and by voluntarily splitting-out passengers if they don't pay Ryanair will increase the occurence for these awkward situations.

They will annoy both the passengers who didn't pay to sit together and the ones who paid but keep being asked to give up the seat they paid for and getting dirty looks when they say no.

munchkin_utd

its now news in the paper today that they are sitting people separate from each other if they dont shell out for seats.
http://www.independent.ie/life/travel/travel-news/ryanair-introduces-60day-advance-checkin-but-theres-a-catch-35780869.html

Pre-booked seats cost €2 for rows 6-15 and 18-33, €7 for rows 2 (A,B,C) to 5, and €11 for extra legroom rows 1, 2 (D,E,F) and 16-17.

To be fair, their prices are way less than what Aer Lingus is charging. They look for €20 for an exit row or €13 for a place near the front.

degsie

From that article...

This week, Ryanair announced that its full year profits had risen 6pc to over €1.3 billion, with its average fares down 13pc to €41.

They must be doing something right.

MOH

There's a very simple solution. Ryanair should just add a blanket €15 to every flight. Then offer an option not to sit together, which comes with a €15 discount. Problem solved, everyone is happy. :rolleyes:

mattser

degsie wrote: »

From that article...

They must be doing something right.

Despite the whingers, but sure they're the ones that would whinge anyway.

irishman86

degsie wrote: »

Ok then mr narky pants, how about going to the cinema or a football game where you reserve seats?

You are proving my point

read what you wrote. Thanks for more examples proving my point

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.

Bob24

mattser wrote: »

Despite the whingers, but sure they're the ones that would whinge anyway.

Keep in mind their policy of the years leading to these financial results has been to do away with this type of things. Yes something they were doing right, so they shouldn't reverse the trend.

irishman86

EverythingGood wrote: »

I've had times where I have paid for my seat, and that of the wife, if she is with me, and some random person was beside us, and that persons partner was sat elsewhere. I've been asked to move to accommodate someone else, so they could sit beside each other, but generally say no. I've paid for my seat, I've deliberately chosen that particular place to sit, so no, I am not moving, especially from a good aisle seat to a crap middle seat half way down the aisle, when my bag is directly overhead. I've had dirty looks and noises made at me my other passengers then for staying put, in a seat that I've paid for! And that's the danger here, asking people to move seats with you, but what if that person has paid for their seat? Will you give them a few bob? If you do, why not pay for seats in the first place?

That could happen just as easily before though, say a late check in and couple split then they would ask you all the same.
Most people will just sit down by themselfs for 3-6 hours and not ask you to leave

irishman86

Bob24 wrote: »

Yes and by voluntarily splitting-out passengers if they don't pay Ryanair will increase the occurence for these awkward situations.

They will annoy both the passengers who didn't pay to sit together and the ones who paid but keep being asked to give up the seat they paid for and getting dirty looks when they say no.

And people should stop feeling so entitled and get the **** over it. Are we all so pampered that someone saying nah buddy I like this seat is a big deal

FreddyGotFried

Myself and my 7year old were seated at opposite ends of the plane on flights to and from Liverpool last week.
Presumably, in the event of a cabin depressurization it would have been up to the randomer beside him to affix his oxygen mask.
I also presume when they announce that small children should be accompanied when disembarking down the steps, they mean a random stranger should do this. I mean it's not like a small child has ever fallen when disembarking one of their aircraft before.

I've taken this up with the Commission for Aviation Regulation and I would suggest anyone else with similar concerns to do so to. This is a Health and Safety issue which trumps Ryanair's desire to squeeze families for a few extra euro.

Bob24

irishman86 wrote: »

That could happen just as easily before though, say a late check in and couple split then they would ask you all the same.

It could have happened, but definitely not "as easily". When you seat allocation algorithm is tweaked to change from attempting to seat people next to each other whenever possible to attempting not to seat people next to each other whenever possible, clearly you are going to cause dozen times more situations whereby people try to swap seats.

munchkin_utd

FreddyGotFried wrote: »

Myself and my 7year old were seated at opposite ends of the plane on flights to and from Liverpool last week.<snip>

when did you book those flights? Ages ago ?

Since not so long ago (March I think) its simply not possible to book a flight for kids without paying for specific seats, so I presume you have an old booking which was seatless, and with the new checkin you have to pay to sit together.

Definitely bring it up as if your 7 year old was split from you then it would be the same for a baby of 2 years and a day which is bonkers.

Bob24

irishman86 wrote: »

And people should stop feeling so entitled and get the **** over it. Are we all so pampered that someone saying nah buddy I like this seat is a big deal

What is wrong with people thinking they are entitled for a certain quality of service as a customer and choosing not to be customers anymore if it doesn't get delivered? Is your view that Ryanair is entitled to keeping its customers no matter how it treats them?

Here's the deal: you think it is OK to be charged for a seat and then having to endure people constantly moving around you and giving you accusatory looks if you refuse to swap. Great if this is not a problem for you at all and won't affect your decision to use Ryanair whatsoever.

For me (and others) it is a problem which is not a deal breaker but on which I put a price (lets say 10 euros per segment). That price is how much more I am ready to pay to make the same journey with another airline which doesn't cause me those troubles. There are other issues which increase that price differential: for exemple with Ryanair the probability of not being able to stow your cabin luggage next to you or to be forced to put in in the hold is much higher than with most other airlines.

Over the years my use of Ryanair has fluctuated depending not only on the raw pricing of their tickets compared to their competition but also on that price differential I apply (to make it clear I don't make detailed calculations as I have better things to do, but based on my experience in the past year the difference I am ready to accept lets say between Ryanair and Aer Lingus fluctuates over time and comes naturally when I book tickets). This is the reason I almost stoped using Ryanair in 2011-2014 - the differential was so high due to crap experiences that I never chose them anymore even when they were a good bit cheaper. And also the reason I started using them again around 2015 (I could clearly see they had made some changes to improve customer experience).

FreddyGotFried

when did you book those flights? Ages ago ?

Yeah, we booked the flights last year. The seats beside was unoccupied when i got on so I was able to move him beside me anyway.

I didn't realise they are now charging parents with children as a matter of course. That's surely discriminatory.

km79

FreddyGotFried wrote: »

when did you book those flights? Ages ago ?

Yeah, we booked the flights last year. The seats beside was unoccupied when i got on so I was able to move him beside me anyway.

I didn't realise they are now charging parents with children as a matter of course. That's surely discriminatory.

Yes when you see the amount of people complaining now about being separated from another ADULT then this purchasing of seats and swapping of seats when onboard then it really should be mandatory for all or none ......

munchkin_utd

FreddyGotFried wrote: »

<snip>
I didn't realise they are now charging parents with children as a matter of course. That's surely discriminatory.

no, now everyone gets charged if they want to sit together, just parents and kids have to pay earlier.
Kids get their seats for free so if anything its discrimination in favour of kids not against them

FreddyGotFried

It's forcing a parent to pay extra.

Its discriminatory.

EverythingGood

FreddyGotFried wrote: »

It's forcing a parent to pay extra.

Its discriminatory.

or it is ensuring that families are seated together.

grogi

EverythingGood wrote: »

or it is ensuring that families are seated together.

Somehow they were able to ensure it before without any issues...

I don't have issue with paying for RESERVING the seat you like and accepting the fact that if the circumstances prevent it, you will not be seated together. But what Ryanair is doing is purposely decreasing the quality of the service, unless you pay them not to do it. That I find highly unethical and wrong.

I gave you the example of screaming headrests. Maybe we need to pay more so that flight attendants wear clean cloths that not stink? Maybe we need to pay extra for the plane not to be late?

FreddyGotFried

Never previously was forced to pay to be seated with my child.

It's a new discriminatory policy to shake down parents for a few extra euros and it's quite frankly disgraceful.

Hopefully the Commission will take action.

Jayop

irishman86 wrote: »

And people should stop feeling so entitled and get the **** over it. Are we all so pampered that someone saying nah buddy I like this seat is a big deal

We get it, it doesn't bother you.

It does bother others and they're entitled to be bothered without someone being belligerent towards them.