Ryanair - New reserved seating structure(s)

Fred Swanson · 05-11-2017 11:05pm

This post has been deleted.

Haithabu · 05-11-2017 11:10pm

JohnCleary wrote: »

I guess the alternative is that Ryanair just up their prices?

They up the the prices as high as possible anyway. They will try to find out the exact maximum you are prepared to pay before not flying with them and charge you exactly that amount. Likewise with the seats. If they calculate that someone else is willing to pay even EUR 25 for seat 1A then they will charge EUR 25 for seat 1A.
But they won't up the prices for tickets because other people are not paying enough for allocated seats. They will up the prices to the maximum you are prepared to pay anyway. And additionally they take from you the maximum you are prepared to pay for a seat with legroom.

JohnCleary wrote: »

Ryanair offer (along with other airlines) very good value, as a whole.

If you are flexible then yes, you could get a good deal. If you are desperate then they will take advantage of you. For example : A flight from Edinburgh to Dublin tomorrow is EUR 235.99. That is not a good deal but there is still a seat it seems and Ryanair hopes that someone is desperate enough that he has to fly from Edinburgh to Dublin tomorrow, be it for a funeral or whatever can't wait.

JohnCleary wrote: »

If you want the extras, you pay for them.

I don't consider sitting together an "extra", after all it does not cost them extra. I am not talking about a premium seat in a premium location or a special seat with special features. I just want a seat next to my partner. But Ryanair deliberately separates people and deliberately causes inconvenience because they know that people are prepared to pay to have the inconvenience undone.

JohnCleary wrote: »

TBH, if it were again, i'd happily pay to have some of my family sitting AWAY from me, never mind beside me

But you are not in the majority with that opinion. If the majority of people would happily pay to sit AWAY from their family then Ryanair would allocate them next to each other and offer sitting AWAY from each other for a charge.

joeysoap · 06-11-2017 12:54am

The price of 1A last Sunday to Faro was €21. I paid €49 each for the flight but it went up considerably after that. AL were cheaper for the return, I tried to check in online for the return flights but not possible on the app. Airport checkin was a doddle, two together row 10, free.

(And to be fair the AL return flight also went up considerably closer to the return date as well)

JohnCleary · 06-11-2017 1:09am

joeysoap wrote: »

The price of 1A last Sunday to Faro was €21. I paid €49 each for the flight but it went up considerably after that. AL were cheaper for the return, I tried to check in online for the return flights but not possible on the app. Airport checkin was a doddle, two together row 10, free.

(And to be fair the AL return flight also went up considerably closer to the return date as well)

If people are saying to save every euro, researching one-way flights can sometimes save money (going off topic, I know) ... i'll back out now as don't want to de-rail.

joeysoap · 06-11-2017 1:13am

JohnCleary wrote: »

If people are saying to save every euro, researching one-way flights can sometimes save money (going off topic, I know) ... i'll back out now as don't want to de-rail.

The return time of 16:25 was also a deciding factor. You're correct it has no bearing on RY seat allocation, my apologies for that.

MOH · 06-11-2017 12:41pm

Haithabu wrote: »

I don't consider sitting together an "extra", after all it does not cost them extra. I am not talking about a premium seat in a premium location or a special seat with special features. I just want a seat next to my partner. But Ryanair deliberately separates people and deliberately causes inconvenience because they know that people are prepared to pay to have the inconvenience undone.

It's an extra because that's how the company chooses to sell its product.
The advertised price is the price of getting a seat on a plane. Any thing beyond that is an extra. Whether it costs the company extra or not is completely irrelevant.
That's their model. Lower headline prices, fees for everything else. Everybody know this, but people seem to have some bizarre insistence they're being ripped off. If you want to sit together, pay the extra to book seats together at time of booking. You know exactly how much you're being charged. If it's 12 quid extra to sit together, and the cost per seat with an alternative airline is <12 dearer, then book with the alternate. It's really not that complicated.

If people keep insisting they should charge a higher base price and scrap the seat reservation fee, they're really just asking other passengers who don't care where they sit to subsidise them.

joeysoap · 06-11-2017 12:53pm

MOH wrote: »

If people keep insisting they should charge a higher base price and scrap the seat reservation fee, they're really just asking other passengers who don't care where they sit to subsidise them.

No they are not, they are pointing out that RY are deliberately separating families and friends. Which is undeniable.

And as for the 'half price' seat sale- watch it disappear when families start booking seats.

Mr rebel · 06-11-2017 4:38pm

I just noticed that Ryanair are now charging extra for priority boarding when you purchase a priority seat, which used to be always be included before

Now it's like €14 to sit in 3a plus an extra €6 to board first.....this is getting out of hand.

grogi · 06-11-2017 4:39pm

Mr rebel wrote: »

I just noticed that Ryanair are now charging extra for priority boarding when you purchase a priority seat, which used to be always be included before
Now it's like €14 to sit in 3a plus an extra €6 to board first.....this is getting out of hand.

What's the problem?! That's just a few quid more... /s

Fred Swanson · 06-11-2017 4:45pm

This post has been deleted.

sept09baby · 07-06-2018 10:57am

Anyone any ideas on how to do this? Trying to choose seats but its not offering any free child seats. Says they should be in certain rows but is charging €10 per child regardless of what is chosen

k123456 · 07-06-2018 11:33am

Im not 100% certain, but when I booked to travel recently , with my two year old, this is what happened :

as an adult I had to select and pay for a seat e3 each way, my child was allocated the seat directly beside me for free

I used Ryanair phone app, to check in

munchkin_utd · 07-06-2018 1:21pm

the adult is charged, the kids are free. If your children are adults, then of course they also arent free.

I have experienced problems with getting the "free" child seats before (and reported it) and the answer is that you need to log out and log in again.
Maybe even clear cookies on that browser, but using a different browser (which manages cookies separately) would also do the trick.

satguy · 08-06-2018 1:06pm

The amount of hoops you have to jump through, just seems to multiply all the time. Looks like there is room for a kinder gentler low cost carrier to step in and carve out a niche for itself.

MOH · 08-06-2018 4:50pm

munchkin_utd wrote: »

the adult is charged, the kids are free. If your children are adults, then of course they also arent free.

I have experienced problems with getting the "free" child seats before (and reported it) and the answer is that you need to log out and log in again.
Maybe even clear cookies on that browser, but using a different browser (which manages cookies separately) would also do the trick.

Trying it in incognito mode (or the equivalent in other browsers) might help with that

sept09baby · 11-06-2018 9:58am

The issue was that it was booked through Click&Go and they weren't assigned this option. Ryanair were no help but got sorted through Click&Go

Kuva · 14-06-2018 9:19pm

Hi,

1)Do you have to upgrade your Ticket with Ryanair to a "Plus" so that you can sit together with person you are travelling with?

2)If you use Expedia to buy your Ryanair ticket, their is no way to upgrade (that I see). If you then want to upgrade, can you do it through the app or site?

3)I don't have a Dedit card, I don't want one either, few times I've rented a Car I've got away with using Debit but this seems to be a thing of the past. Credit card only with most companies.

Expedia is letting me pay for everything with Debit (haven't went through the whole checkout) will I need a credit card on the day? Expedia is not letting me see extra insurance options that the rental site itself is letting me see either.

4)Expedia is a bit sh1t?

fritzelly · 15-06-2018 7:41pm

1 and 2 - why not just book it with Ryanair direct?
3 - Debit cards are a thing of the past. Really?
4 - Yep

Kuva · 15-06-2018 8:03pm

fritzelly wrote: »

1 and 2 - why not just book it with Ryanair direct?
3 - Debit cards are a thing of the past. Really?
4 - Yep

It's cheaper all together + I meant renting a car with a debit card, you seem to have to use a credit card now.

Autocorrect changed it there.

fritzelly · 15-06-2018 8:10pm

Ryanair don't offer any discounts to sites like Expedia so I would check if you are actually getting a better deal buying it altogether

Re the car rental - every company will be different, think most of the main ones will take a debit card but then again it can vary between locations

dennyk · 15-06-2018 10:49pm

Car rental companies don't like to do debit cards because people may not have the funds to cover the large hold they'll place on your card to cover your CDW excess and such, and it causes all sorts of headaches. It can also tie up a lot of your own money for the duration of the rental, which could result in you being charged overdraft fees for any transactions that go through before the hold is reversed (which can often take several days to go through even after the rental period is over and the car hire place reverses it). You're better off biting the bullet and getting yourself a credit card; there's really no downside to having one provided you know how to properly manage your finances anyway.

And yeah, regarding the flight, you will never get a Ryanair flight cheaper than at Ryanair, it's not the way they do business. Everyone pays the same ticket price, there are no fare classes. If you are seeing a cheaper price via a third party agent, it's either a mistake or a misleading advert, so you aren't really saving anything, and you are opening yourself to a whole host of potential headaches by using a third party agent. And since it's Ryanair, most of those headaches will end up costing you money, e.g. if you can't check in online and must do it at the airport (fee!), if you don't get your checked luggage sorted properly and you have to add it after booking (fee!), if they misspell your name and it has to be changed (fee!), etc. Skip the hassle and just book on Ryanair directly; you can then just choose one of the cheap seats at the back for a few quid each rather than upgrading to a Plus ticket which might include more stuff you don't need (Priority Boarding, checked bag, etc.).

Car rentals can be cheaper via an OTA, but again, you're taking a risk that if things go wrong it may be a huge hassle to get them fixed. The car hire company usually won't talk to you since you didn't book directly with them, so you may be left at the mercy of some ****ty third party agent's overseas call center where you'll wait on hold for ages (paying international rates) just to have a rep read you some script and then hang up on you "accidentally"; in the end you may end up paying out of pocket for an expensive alternative solution and spending the next several months/years futilely chasing down the OTA to try to get some of your money back. Up to you whether the cost savings is worth the risk, though. Just remember that if something seems too good to be true, it usually is...

fritzelly · 15-06-2018 10:56pm

There is no reason not to accept debit cards since you can place an hold on funds the same as credit cards. The only difference is with a credit card its money you don't have vs a debit card where it is your money held in reserve

woodchuck · 18-06-2018 4:11pm

Expedia is great to get a rough idea of flight times and prices, but once I've decided what flight I want, I book directly with the airline.

I don't think there is any advantage going through expedia? If anything I'd think it makes things more complicated in terms of booking reference numbers, online check ins, notifications about flight changes etc.

Haithabu · 19-06-2018 8:02pm

woodchuck wrote: »

Expedia is great to get a rough idea of flight times and prices, but once I've decided what flight I want, I book directly with the airline.

I don't think there is any advantage going through expedia? If anything I'd think it makes things more complicated in terms of booking reference numbers, online check ins, notifications about flight changes etc.

If you just book a flight and nothing else, then booking directly via the airline is probably the best option, provided you get the same price.

However if you have an entire holiday in mind then expedia is a great choice. I booked three Caribbean holidays so far via expedia. I always look up a lot to get a good price and under the line, if you book flights and accommodation directly via the ailine and hotel websites, it's more expensive then via expedia. I assume they get such a great commission so they have room to lower the price.

Plus, you have only one contact in case something goes wrong. For example if you arrive in Barbados or wherever and you have booked the rental car separately via a local company then good luck if they tell you they have no cars or if you don't find them or they are bankrupt by the time you arrive. With expedia you have a 24 hour emergency number and they have to sort it for you. Same for the hotel. If you arrive and find it burned down then good luck getting your money back and finding a different hotel. Booked with expedia they can help you much better to find something else.

As for booking numbers and online check in. You will get a page full of booking numbers (but labelled what is for what) and you can probably check in online with that but I never ever needed booking numbers. Airport, car rental, hotel only ask for a passport and then they have everything on their screens.

What I don't like about expedia is that you have to make a choice for the exact dates while airlines typically give you a calendar view with the prices each day and then you have it easier to find the best days. With expedia it's a lot of trying until you have a good package.

fritzelly · 19-06-2018 8:22pm

Expedia is not a bonded travel agent so all the above is at that their discretion and they have no obligation to find another hotel etc...

Booking thru an Irish ITAA travel agent you have some comeback

grogi · 19-06-2018 9:39pm

Haithabu wrote: »

Plus, you have only one contact in case something goes wrong. For example if you arrive in Barbados or wherever and you have booked the rental car separately via a local company then good luck if they tell you they have no cars or if you don't find them or they are bankrupt by the time you arrive. With expedia you have a 24 hour emergency number and they have to sort it for you. Same for the hotel. If you arrive and find it burned down then good luck getting your money back and finding a different hotel. Booked with expedia they can help you much better to find something else.

Yeah... Expedia's system bellied up when I was in the States few years ago and I ended up with double hotel reservation (if only I got two confirmation emails, I would have checked things up weeks before)... It went as far as card chargeback, they didn't want to hear anything...

I will not use Expedia for anything now and frankly call the 24h helpline b$$t.

fritzelly · 19-06-2018 9:49pm

Ain't gonna read thru all their T&C right now but I would say with some certainty (that it states) that your contract is with the end provider and Expedia are just a platform through which you can book those services (it's par for the course with OTA's)
They get cheaper accommodation by negotiating prices and/or a very high commission but at the end of the day you can haggle anyone for the same price (especially hotels)

woodchuck · 20-06-2018 1:24pm

Getting a bit off topic, but I normally book my flights directly with the airline. As said above, I just feel more comfortable when it comes to booking reference numbers, online check, communications etc. Then for accommodation, I rarely book directly with the hotel, but use Hotels.com, Booking.com and AirBnB regularly and tend to get pretty good deals! I just shop around well ahead of time for the best value for money. I also get discount codes and rewards with Hotels.com, which come in very handy.

I'll admit I haven't used expedia to book accommodation before, but I'd be surprised if it saved me any more money compared to my own way of doing things. And as outlined by others above, I don't feel it would actually provide me with additional piece of mind or security - it's not like they're an actual travel agent!

mdwexford · 12-11-2018 8:40pm

Evening, would like some opinions on this please.

We flew to Gran Canaria a couple of weeks ago.
We paid €20.00 each for the extra legroom seats in the middle of the plane. When we got there a woman was sitting in my seat by the window. I said it to the flight attendant and he said that seat was taken. I had a bad toothache at the time and couldn’t face arguing with him about it.

He tried to put us in two aisle seats across from each other. My other half said no. So then he moved two different groups of people to sit us on the opposite side of the plane to which we had booked. He did all this with no apology or explanation.

This was very embarrassing with the whole plane watching and having to move so many people. All this time the woman in my seat sat there with headphones on and didn’t so much as look in the direction of all this.

About half way through the flight the woman in my seat got up and took off her jacket. Turns out she was a Ryanair staff member!! She then proceeded to help serve the food and drinks etc. When that was done she sat back in my seat.

This was very annoying to say the least. Seats we had booked months in advance and paid €40.00 for were just given away to some member of staff who didn’t feel like working half the flight and wanted a decent seat.

Should I be looking for compensation here and how would others feel about this?

Fann Linn · 12-11-2018 8:44pm

You paid €40 for a service you didn't get because a staff member took it.
Report same.

bigar · 12-11-2018 9:19pm

The website says: "We reserve the right to reassign allocated seats at any time, for operational, safety or security reasons."

From what I understand, you did get an emergency exit seat although not the exact one you wanted. The flight attendant did his best to accommodate you so I do not think you will get anywhere by complaining.

RocketRaccoon · 12-11-2018 9:21pm

I find it very very hard to believe a member of the cabin crew just sat down for half the flight and then got up for the food and drink service before sitting down again.

mdwexford · 12-11-2018 9:25pm

bigar wrote: »

The website says: "We reserve the right to reassign allocated seats at any time, for operational, safety or security reasons."

From what I understand, you did get an emergency exit seat although not the exact one you wanted. The flight attendant did his best to accommodate you so I do not think you will get anywhere by complaining.

None of those reasons seem applicable here though.

He moved us with no reason given and moved two other lots of people into the bargain. My seat should not have been taken in the first place.

RocketRaccoon wrote: »

I find it very very hard to believe a member of the cabin crew just sat down for half the flight and then got up for the food and drink service before sitting down again.

I’d be saying the same in your position but I can assure you that is precisely what happened.

b757 · 12-11-2018 9:32pm

Door warning light system appeared to be inoperative by the sounds of it. Extra member of cabin crew is required to be in the seat beside said door in the climb/descent when the cabin differential pressure is less than 4 psi.

Under His Eye · 12-11-2018 10:05pm

A logical explanation.

plodder · 13-11-2018 1:23pm

At the very least you should get your money back. They agreed to provide a service and didn't provide it. The small print in the T&Cs isn't the last word on contract law, by any stretch.

Under His Eye · 13-11-2018 1:27pm

I think there was a similar case where they refused to refund on seat reservations.

dzilla · 13-11-2018 2:30pm

Did you say it to said woman?

ongarboy · 13-11-2018 3:44pm

I thought you couldn't reserve emergency exit rows as the check in staff needed to confirm you were sufficiently able bodied to be able to open the emergency exits? Is that not the case with Ryanair?

Under His Eye · 13-11-2018 3:48pm

Nope. So long as you pay you can reserve them. Cabin crew would be supposed to police who actually sits in them.

Call me Al · 13-11-2018 5:03pm

ongarboy wrote: »

I thought you couldn't reserve emergency exit rows as the check in staff needed to confirm you were sufficiently able bodied to be able to open the emergency exits? Is that not the case with Ryanair?

No. I was in an emergency row last time I flew Ryanair. I was alongside a member of crew (beside door) and an elderly lady who imo wasnt able bodied enough to.open the door.
However I also flew with EI recently enough and they insisted that an older lady in an emergency row would have to sit elsewhere as they didn't feel she was able-bodied enough. She was not one bit happy about it and her family made a huge fuss about Ei taking her money for the seat selection.

plodder · 13-11-2018 5:52pm

Under His Eye wrote: »

I think there was a similar case where they refused to refund on seat reservations.

There's lots of examples where they refuse to make refunds until they are pushed and threatened with the small claims court. Even then of course, the sums are generally so small it's not really worth it, except as a point of principle.

How hard would it be to have a book of vouchers on board to handout to pax inconvenienced like this?

seamus1980 · 21-11-2018 4:55pm

Hi guys i am flying to tenerife on the 17th of december,i was looking reserved seats but the cheapest is 7 euro each way,WTF.If we all check in at the same time(4 of us)will we get seats beside each other if we check in 48 hours before the flight?Thanks all

VG31 · 21-11-2018 5:20pm

You will be 'randomly' assigned seats away from each other. If you want seats together you will have to pay.

If you really don't want to pay wait until near the check-in close time as they assign all the middle seats first. It's still very unlikely to impossible that you'll get seats together however.

finbarrk · 21-11-2018 5:21pm

€7 sounds expensive. I just booked Faro yesterday and got seats for €3.

antix80 · 21-11-2018 5:43pm

Why don't you pair off, so only 2 of you have to pay?

Wheety · 21-11-2018 5:44pm

Check different seats. The ones near the back, but not the last 3 or 4 rows, are generally the cheapest.

If these are all reserved then you will either have to pay or sit separately on the flight.

seamus1980 · 23-11-2018 1:12am

Wouldnt mind 3 euro but 7 euro is the cheapest,not paying that

tony glenn · 30-10-2019 8:16pm

Here's a sneaky one. Paid for two Ryanair seats on an outbound flight...."Take this seat for four euro"
Total came up: 12 euro.
Figured it was something I'd done wrong, so I paid it
Just bought the return seats, same story, two at 4 euro each. This time, total showed 14 euro.
Web chat guy made various excuses, but in the end had no explanation, so sent me the complaints link.
Sneaky trick, no surprise there, but does anyone know if it's legal to offer a selling price then hike it up after the sale?

30-10-2019 8:31pm

tony glenn wrote: »

Here's a sneaky one. Paid for two Ryanair seats on an outbound flight...."Take this seat for four euro"
Total came up: 12 euro.
Figured it was something I'd done wrong, so I paid it
Just bought the return seats, same story, two at 4 euro each. This time, total showed 14 euro.
Web chat guy made various excuses, but in the end had no explanation, so sent me the complaints link.
Sneaky trick, no surprise there, but does anyone know if it's legal to offer a selling price then hike it up after the sale?

If I remember rightly Ryanair were taken to task for similar type of practice years ago, when it was a huge ordeal to get to the final price and you were taken down every avenue to get you to pay optional extras. I managed to get “free” seats on Ryanair earlier in the year, but was almost brought down the pay-for-your-seat route. I mostly travel solo so couldn’t care less where I’m put sitting.

Ryanair - New reserved seating structure(s)

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