Ryanair abolish check-in desks and increase costs for hand luggage passengers

conolan · 10-03-2009 04:50PM #1

http://www.ryanair.com/site/IE/news.php?yr=09&month=mar&story=gen-en-100309

By all means abolish check-in desks. BUT DON'T slam us all with a sneaky increase too.

lynchie · 10-03-2009 05:17PM

conolan wrote: »

http://www.ryanair.com/site/IE/news.php?yr=09&month=mar&story=gen-en-100309

By all means abolish check-in desks. BUT DON'T slam us all with a sneaky increase too.

Hmmm... will be interesting to see how this plays out.. Says the only forms of id will be national id card and passport. So anybody travelling from Dub - Cork / Kerry will need to carry passport with them.

Also, I assume they will move the other restrictions such as not allowing groups of > 9 passengers to use online checkin and also those whose passports expire < 30 days.

ROVER · 10-03-2009 05:40PM

conolan wrote: »

http://www.ryanair.com/site/IE/news.php?yr=09&month=mar&story=gen-en-100309

By all means abolish check-in desks. BUT DON'T slam us all with a sneaky increase too.

+1
Quote from site
The web check-in fee of £5/€5 per person, per flight will apply to all new bookings (except promotional fares) from 1st May 2009.

This is a disgrace to have a charge that you can not avoid.

yan · 10-03-2009 05:52PM

ROVER wrote: »

+1
Quote from site
The web check-in fee of £5/€5 per person, per flight will apply to all new bookings (except promotional fares) from 1st May 2009.

This is a disgrace to have a charge that you can not avoid.

lets see what is next....

the guy is a JOKE !!!!!!

annex · 10-03-2009 05:54PM

Its stunts like this that have stopped me from using Ryanair since 2001.
I would rather be locked in a room with serial rapists than fly with them ever again.
When will people learn that flying Ryanair is not as cheap as the ads make it out to be.

hunnymonster · 10-03-2009 05:55PM

At the moment, if you have a checked-in bag, you have to check-in at a desk and there is a charge for this. It's not actually going to cost you any more, or am I missing something?

ROVER · 10-03-2009 06:06PM

hunnymonster wrote: »

At the moment, if you have a checked-in bag, you have to check-in at a desk and there is a charge for this. It's not actually going to cost you any more, or am I missing something?

Maybe not if you are checking in a bag. But if you are going to carry a bag on board you now have to pay €5 per flight for online checkin.

John_Mc · 10-03-2009 06:10PM

Never flying them again if I can avoid it, regardless of the cost!

johnnyrotten · 10-03-2009 06:15PM

I've opted to pay €200 more for the family holiday to fly with Aer lingus rather than this shower. The announcement last week that O'Leary was going to start charging for using the Jacks really takes the Piss ( Excuse the Pun)

jhegarty · 10-03-2009 06:16PM

hunnymonster wrote: »

At the moment, if you have a checked-in bag, you have to check-in at a desk and there is a charge for this. It's not actually going to cost you any more, or am I missing something?

It doesn't say anywhere that the checked bag charge is going away.

conolan · 10-03-2009 06:18PM

jhegarty wrote: »

It doesn't say anywhere that the checked bag charge is going away.

Would Michael abolish a charge? HARDLY

hunnymonster · 10-03-2009 06:23PM

sorry, I only saw phase 1.

mikedragon32 · 10-03-2009 06:30PM

It's really badly worded, but it might be taken to read that the €5 check in fee applies to those who check in online AND have a bag to check in. Not those who are checking in with only hand luggage.

Ambiguous is too kind a description for that piece of prose!

breadmonkey · 10-03-2009 06:30PM

O'Leary admitted that the toilet thing was just a cheap publicity stunt.

Anyway, I'd just like to add the standard Ryanair are a shower of **************************, Aer Lingus much better.

connellc · 10-03-2009 06:33PM

In the past Ryanair have defended their charges saying they were optional and could be avoided. That won't be the case anymore if the only way you can checkin is online and you have to pay €5 for it.

So could we have a consumer rights case here? They are selling you a product you can't use without paying an additional fee. That online checkin fee should be included in the cost of the flight.

What other product can you buy that you can't use without paying more to the supplier?

I'm sure someone will point some out but I can't think of one.

conolan · 10-03-2009 06:35PM

mikedragon32 wrote: »

It's really badly worded, but it might be taken to read that the €5 check in fee applies to those who check in online AND have a bag to check in. Not those who are checking in with only hand luggage.

Ambiguous is too kind a description for that piece of prose!

Don't think so.

Ryanair: The web check-in fee of £5/€5 per person, per flight will apply to all new bookings (except promotional fares) from 1st May 2009.

Promotional fares being the €5, €10 specials (ie anything advertised due to restrictions on advertising fares that are not the full fare)

Savman · 10-03-2009 07:18PM

Bad n' all as they are, I would be surprised if they added €5 online check in fee to passengers with no checked bags, the 'free online checkin' thing has been working quite well for them.

Dare I say it, in light of recent developments, perhaps the balance of power is shifting away from low cost carriers and back to real airlines?

Berty · 10-03-2009 07:55PM

Is Ryanair really cheap anymore outside of their €1 and €5 offers?

I have flown the last 4 times cheaper on other airlines than Ryanair. Im flying to LHR from Cork on Aer Lingus cheaper with bags than Ryanair is without bags on the same dates of travel and Aer Lingus will transfer my bags through to Singapore Airlines.

Will Ryanair? Not on your nelly.

Ryanair is a bus and we all know the bus's arent cheap anymore and neither is Ryanair.

none · 10-03-2009 10:39PM

connellc wrote: »

In the past Ryanair have defended their charges saying they were optional and could be avoided. That won't be the case anymore if the only way you can checkin is online and you have to pay €5 for it.

So could we have a consumer rights case here? They are selling you a product you can't use without paying an additional fee. That online checkin fee should be included in the cost of the flight.

What other product can you buy that you can't use without paying more to the supplier?

I'm sure someone will point some out but I can't think of one.

I was thinking similarly when they introduced EU / non-EU division which was a clear case of discrimination. I raised this issue with some consumer protection authorities and they said the fee would be refunded on application. Honestly, I don't know if this refund policy was implemented from the very beginning or in response to numerous complaints. Hoping for similar now if the public outcry will be big enough. When I first read it in Metro this morning, I thought it's a typo or something but now I see it's rather typical :cool:

RATM · 11-03-2009 01:51AM

connellc wrote: »

What other product can you buy that you can't use without paying more to the supplier?

I'm sure someone will point some out but I can't think of one.

A ticket. You won't be getting it without paying Ticketmaster's booking fee which is per ticket. Should be just included in the price of the ticket, no faffing around.

Back on topic. Ryanair sacks the lovely Julia's and Jurata's at its many airport check-in desk's. Replaces with Pavel and Ramon at the bag drop counter. They save money so they can bring you even lower fares.:rolleyes:Ryanair charges you €5 to lift your own bag onto the plane. Ryanair wins.

I'll still fly them though. Mind you I've also noticed if you don't get a bargain €1-15 flight then its often well worth your while checking out Aer Lingus, especially if going to London.

Svalbard · 11-03-2009 01:54AM

ROVER wrote: »

This is a disgrace to have a charge that you can not avoid.

Absolutely. Its not as if checking-in is an optional extra. This charge should be reflected in the advertised price.

Svalbard · 11-03-2009 01:59AM

Berty wrote: »

Is Ryanair really cheap anymore outside of their €1 and €5 offers?

I have flown the last 4 times cheaper on other airlines than Ryanair. Im flying to LHR from Cork on Aer Lingus cheaper with bags than Ryanair is without bags on the same dates of travel and Aer Lingus will transfer my bags through to Singapore Airlines.

Will Ryanair? Not on your nelly.

Ryanair is a bus and we all know the bus's arent cheap anymore and neither is Ryanair.

There were a few threads about ryanair a while back, a lot of people defending them fiercely, arguments went along the lines of "they can treat the passengers how they like because they are so cheap".
They are cheap only if you book well in advance and the ticket is not refundable and non-changeable.
To be honest there has never been a time when it has suited me to book so far in advance, usually I find them only marginally cheaper than the next competitor at best. And with ryanairs deteriorating customer service I might not bother even price checking their flights in future.

Svalbard · 11-03-2009 02:01AM

breadmonkey wrote: »

O'Leary admitted that the toilet thing was just a cheap publicity stunt.

Anyway, I'd just like to add the standard Ryanair are a shower of **************************, Aer Lingus aren't much better.

Fixed that.

Don't get me wrong, I prefer Aer Lingus, but they are nothing to boast about either.

Tony Broke · 11-03-2009 02:03AM

I would happily queue to keep a fellow man/women in a job.Whats going to happen to all the check-in workers?

Be no one working in supermarkets/petrol stations etc in a while besides security, I dont like this.

conolan · 11-03-2009 08:26AM

Interesting to see this morning which newspapers jsut reprint the press release and which cover the story.

Press release: Irish Times, Guardian
Story: Irish indo, Daily Mail, Times (London)

Imposter · 11-03-2009 08:51AM

I don't get people's point about aer lingus being better! They are pretty much the same now. Aer lingus have just been a few months behind ryanair in introducing pretty much every charge ryanair have introduced first into the market.

Advertising rules need to change regarding this. They should be allowed to claim that they are offering flight for 0, 5 , 200€ but they should also be forced to give just as much or more space on the ad for the minimum price that it is possible to book that flight at which includes all extra unavoidable costs. Then we can compare like with like because for some reason costs that should be the same are often quite different (such as airport taxes and charges!).

I've priced Lufthanza cheaper than Aer Lingus and Ryanair at times for trips to Ireland (that involves 2 flights with Lufthanza or 1 with Aer Lingus/Ryanair + a train or car journey) so they're not always as cheap as people think anymore.

wylo · 12-03-2009 12:30AM

Agreed about the advert rules.

Regarding Ryanair, that airline has given me the privilege of taking weekends away to London, Manchester, Glasgow, and Amsterdam for prices that are cheaper than a train ticket from Limerick to Dublin, until I find an even competitor I am sticking with Ryanair, and I think I speak for alot of people when I say that.

Mr Benevolent · 12-03-2009 12:42AM

Never thought I'd say this, but I'm never flying with Ryanair again. F*ck them.

doonothing · 12-03-2009 12:52AM

wylo wrote: »

Agreed about the advert rules.

Regarding Ryanair, that airline has given me the privilege of taking weekends away to London, Manchester, Glasgow, and Amsterdam for prices that are cheaper than a train ticket from Limerick to Dublin, until I find an even competitor I am sticking with Ryanair, and I think I speak for alot of people when I say that.

Exactly. I agree they should have to advertise the charge as part of the fare, but it is still cheaper for me to fly with them than anyone else, and I thank them for having gotten me on 9 holidays in the past year.

robinph · 12-03-2009 01:19AM

It is currently something along these lines:
online checkin, 0 bags - free
airport checkin, 0 bags (because of kid or non EU passport) - €5
airport checkin, + bags - €5 + €10 per bag

It will now become:
online checkin, 0 bags - ???
online checkin, + bags - €5 + €10 per bag

The only change is if they decide to yet again start charging for no bags and online checkin.

When they very first started the on-line checkin it was free during the trials at some airports. They then decided to start charging for it as a "luxury" service when they brought it in across all airports. People stopped bothering to use the on-line checkin and queued at the airport again. They then switched it to charging for the airport checkin and free for on-line once again.

All they need to clarify now is if 0 bags and EU passport still means no additional charge or not. There is no change to the charges if you have bags though.

swingking · 12-03-2009 02:52AM

Ryanair are a shower of cnuts

Ryanair abolish check-in desks and increase costs for hand luggage passengers

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