Ryanair - New reserved seating structure(s)

grimm2005 · 10-02-2014 2:06am

acquiescefc wrote: »

but thats what i mean. they should emphasise it more or adopt it in the boarding process. theres no need for people to surge as one towards the gate any more, yet they do.

just my two penn'orth

I agree, surely they'd get everything done faster if they called all the front door people first for example, and then the back door folks once all the front door people are queuing outside.

ScottSF · 10-02-2014 11:32am

My wife and I flew to Rome last weekend on our first assigned seating flight. I checked in online several days in advance and we got the window and middle seat, though we always prefer the aisle and middle. I assumed that would happen as most other airlines I've experienced assign the window before the aisle by default. Perhaps we'll pay for a guaranteed aisle on longer flights.

During the boarding process in both directions there was no measuring of carry-on bags for size nor questioning the possession of an additional "personal item" or even two small ones. The flight attendants were very friendly and professional in reminding people to sit in their assigned seat. No one seemed to question the new policy. So it went quite smoothly in general but still not as fast as "sit anywhere you like" which is I believe the most efficient way. Our flight to Rome arrived about 5-10 minutes late (caused by slow loading?) when I expected to be on time or a bit early as is typical.

The couple of people I talked to in the queue didn't even realize there was assigned seating now, as printed on their boarding passes. Even with the assigned seating, most people queued up early. On the way back the flight was delayed by an hour. It was related to a computer check-in glitch I believe but they made no announcements which I find annoying - at least tell us what is the cause of the delay. Everybody stayed in the queue and waited patiently within the non-Schengen gate.

Since on-time arrivals is still the top priority (works for me), I'm sure the process will improve over time as the flying public is made aware of the changes. Hopefully Ryanair will look for ways to speed up the boarding process based on actual customer behavior. Like boarding in zones to eliminate the queuing ugliness.

grimm2005 · 11-02-2014 1:38pm

Just checked in for a flight next week, noticed this on the boarding pass which I don't think has been on it before:

Due to cabin space limitations 90 large cabin bags (55 x 40 x 20 cms) can be carried in the cabin, any remainder will be carried free of charge in
the aircraft hold. Extra/Oversized Cabin Bags cannot be accepted at the boarding gate where possible they may be carried in the hold of the
aircraft for a fee of £/€50.

Possibly a reason for people still queuing to avoid the chance of having to wait for their luggage upon arrival? More likely just a habit though, I'll be sitting tight until the queue dissipates anyway. Got a window seat for departure and an aisle for return. I always go for aisle where possible as I'm 6ft6' which as you can imagine isn't ideal for flying!

ScottSF · 11-02-2014 2:11pm

Yes I noticed that exact phrasing as well! It makes little sense if you can fit your carry-on bag under the seat in front of you. It should be worded as 90 bags in the overhead bins (right?), but who knows what they are thinking. I carry a backpack and almost always put the bag under the seat so hopefully this will never come up. I'm sure we'll hear about it if it happens as someone will surely make a fuss

Fagashlil · 11-02-2014 10:26pm

It refers to the large bags only, ie wheeled suitcases.

Backpacks/handbags/laptop bags, are all permitted in addition to the 90 bags.

And it depends on load numbers as to how many bags they take, the general rule being adopted if the load is -130 there's enough room for all the bags.

ProudDUB · 11-02-2014 10:45pm

I just checked in for a flight to Glasgow that I am taking tomorrow. My boarding passes have me in assigned seats. On the outbound leg, it says "Priority Q Seat 12 G" and the return leg says "Other Q Seat 30D". Anyone know what is up with that? I did not select, or pay for priority boarding either when I first booked the ticket, or when I checked in.

Re the 90 bag thing, when I was flying back from Edinburgh last month, they were asking people at the top and middle of the queue how many bags the entire traveling party were bringing on board. They were specifically targeting families, where mammy and daddy and all 3 kids had at a couple of bags, which would have been 10 bags for just one family. They were asking them to put at least a couple of their bags, (especially the larger wheelie suitcase type) into the hold. They explained about their only being able to take 90 bags in total onto the plane and, that once they reached that number, everyone at the back would have to put all of their bags into the hold, which wouldn't be exactly fair.

The Ryanair staff were very nice and people took it well. If you are asked to check one of your bags, you don't have to wait at the carousels for your bag when you get to your destination. The staff at the gate put a tag on it, you take it with you onto the tarmac and you give it to one of the baggage crew at the bottom of the stairs up to the plane. When you get off the plane, it will be waiting for you in the exact same spot. You don't have to wait for it at the carousels inside the baggage hall.

lc180 · 11-02-2014 11:49pm

I flew to/from Hahn this past weekend and thought the new system worked pretty well.

No eejits queuing up half an hour before boarding was announced, I was able to board pretty much last and make my way to my seat. Didn't notice any people having any problems with the assigned seats but there was a couple people ahead of me that needed to be told they got on via the wrong side of the plane so that definitely needs to be highlighted more.

Strangely enough I was sitting beside the exact same person for the Friday flight as I was the Sunday flight. Which in this case was a massive positive cos she was well cute

grimm2005 · 12-02-2014 1:59pm

ProudDUB wrote: »

The Ryanair staff were very nice and people took it well. If you are asked to check one of your bags, you don't have to wait at the carousels for your bag when you get to your destination. The staff at the gate put a tag on it, you take it with you onto the tarmac and you give it to one of the baggage crew at the bottom of the stairs up to the plane. When you get off the plane, it will be waiting for you in the exact same spot. You don't have to wait for it at the carousels inside the baggage hall.

That's almost more convenient tbh (presuming you don't plan on taking anything from your bag on the flight) because you then don't have to battle for bag space or get involved with the baggage scrum when the flight lands

No eejits queuing up half an hour before boarding was announced, I was able to board pretty much last and make my way to my seat. Didn't notice any people having any problems with the assigned seats but there was a couple people ahead of me that needed to be told they got on via the wrong side of the plane so that definitely needs to be highlighted more.

It's pretty well highlighted tbf, right under the seat number in bold capital letters. I think people just need to use their head and actually look at their tickets before boarding!

Fr_2010 · 12-02-2014 2:58pm

ProudDUB wrote: »

If you are asked to check one of your bags, you don't have to wait at the carousels for your bag when you get to your destination. The staff at the gate put a tag on it, you take it with you onto the tarmac and you give it to one of the baggage crew at the bottom of the stairs up to the plane. When you get off the plane, it will be waiting for you in the exact same spot. You don't have to wait for it at the carousels inside the baggage hall.

The bag is tagged, placed at the bottom of the steps and collected from the baggage carousel in the arriving airport. It is not at the bottom of the steps when you disembark

Fred Swanson · 15-02-2014 6:59pm

This post has been deleted.

Jamie2k9 · 15-02-2014 7:10pm

Mr.S wrote: »

How did it go wrong? Clearly states if families want to be guaranteed to be seated next to each other they need to pay the premium!

So there customer service is to con more money out of families. Aer Lingus and Easyjet don't have such a policy. They allow you to select the seats free of charge at a certain time or at the airport.

They are trying to attract more families but at the same time they want an extra 20 euro (average families are 4) to sit together.

This won't be the first story like this, Dublin Airport in July will be interesting!

toadfly · 15-02-2014 7:15pm

Jamie2k9 wrote: »

So there customer service is to con more money out of families. Aer Lingus and Easyjet don't have such a policy. They allow you to select the seats free of charge at a certain time or at the airport.

They are trying to attract more families but at the same time they want an extra 20 euro (average families are 4) to sit together.

This won't be the first story like this, Dublin Airport in July will be interesting!

They should have paid the premium or not fly Ryanair. It's quite simple really.

A Dub in Glasgo · 16-02-2014 3:29pm

^^^^

Really? quite simple that would they have liked Ryanair to sit a 4 year old next to the parent. There is a reason an airline will not take an unaccompanied child on a flight and in an emergency that is essentially what that child is

mambo · 17-02-2014 11:58am

I've seen references to the allocated seating as being "random" (unless you pay).

Is it actually truely *random* (in which you are almost guaranteed not to be seated together), or (as I suspect), you get the next N seats available, which may be together, may be not together, you don't know until they are allocated, by which stage it's too late to decide to pay to choose seats.

Either way, it's a way of getting extra money out of the passenger, under the pretence of better customer service. Nice one Ryanair!

Another good reason not to fly Ryanair, especially families.

Fr_2010 · 17-02-2014 1:10pm

mambo wrote: »

I've seen references to the allocated seating as being "random" (unless you pay).

Is it actually truely *random* (in which you are almost guaranteed not to be seated together), or (as I suspect), you get the next N seats available, which may be together, may be not together, you don't know until they are allocated, by which stage it's too late to decide to pay to choose seats.

Either way, it's a way of getting extra money out of the passenger, under the pretence of better customer service. Nice one Ryanair!

Another good reason not to fly Ryanair, especially families.

I would think the system will allocate seats together as much as possible. It depends how close to travel people check in. If you want a seat randomly allocated its from 7 days before travel. So if more than 3/4 of the plane pay to choose there seats the people who haven't payed will get whats left.

Surrender · 19-02-2014 9:48am

Checked in for two people to fly on Sunday, allocated 2 seats that are beside each other. I doubt that the allocation is random.

ScottSF · 19-02-2014 10:02am

I doubt that the allocation is random.

I don't think anyone is suggesting it is truly random, but simply based on availability. If you are part of a couple there are likely to be two seats together somewhere on the plane which will be randomly selected for you. But if you check in online at the last minute, there may only be middle seats left so that is the risk.

That is why people are suggesting a family of four may be smart to pay for seats unless they are sure to be able to check in on the day check-in is offered online. Otherwise they may be broken up across the aisle or the row in front and back (or further if necessary) if there are no four seats left in a row. And you can't expect someone to change seats for you if they paid extra so it might prove complicated if you ask to be seated together once you arrive on the plane.

I still prefer the free-for-all because it is more predictable however I also do not think 5 EUR is much to pay for an assigned seat. When airlines started charging extra for food (at least in the US) people complained that it was part of the ticket price and would never pay for food. Now the same is happening for seats.

Fred Swanson · 19-02-2014 8:43pm

This post has been deleted.

Ms.Sunshine · 20-02-2014 1:22am

Why doesn't the mother in the video just pay the extra 20 pounds or what ever it is if she is that worried about not sitting with her daughter? I understand its not convenient but not much else she can do!

mambo · 20-02-2014 9:55am

Ms.Sunshine wrote: »

Why doesn't the mother in the video just pay the extra 20 pounds or what ever it is if she is that worried about not sitting with her daughter? I understand its not convenient but not much else she can do!

Isn't it too late at that stage? She had already chosen NOT to pay the extra charge, so was allocated seats automatically (and not contiguous) and by then it's too late to go back and choose to pay?

Gatica · 20-02-2014 10:26am

mambo wrote: »

Isn't it too late at that stage? She had already chosen NOT to pay the extra charge, so was allocated seats automatically (and not contiguous) and by then it's too late to go back and choose to pay?

It's a stupid process, if the random allocation given to you by Ryanair is not to your liking, one should have the option to then pay instead and allocate the seating. The mother in the article probably assumed the whole travelling party would be seated together (not an unreasonable assumption, but she maybe should've checked their T&Cs to be sure), which in most cases would've been done, except she probably checked-in too late for 2 seats to be available together.
I'm not a fan of Ryanair myself, and as others have said, this new policy is another way to pressure people into paying for seats as previously they could've just planned to be really early for the flight and queue up to sit together.

It was funny though when she said:

"I've already paid £150 for the flight, so what is that actually going towards?" Fiona added.

Transporting you from A to B, no?
Ha ha... come on, does she think the flight itself is free and the fees are there for other services?!

lc180 · 20-02-2014 12:19pm

The system is flawed and needs to be tweaked. As a software developer I hate it when the computer geek gets the blame but in this case it pains me to say that the IT folk should have done a better job and caught this seating scenario during testing or design, that is unless they were instructed to specifically not plan for it.

I still think its a better system than the free for all. I've lost count of how many times I've been on a flight when a family of 4 board the plane last and then complain that there isnt seats together! At least this way you can see that you are allocated separate seats and can ask staff at the gate to help fix the problem.

BrokenMan · 20-02-2014 12:29pm

lc180 wrote: »

The system is flawed and needs to be tweaked. As a software developer I hate it when the computer geek gets the blame but in this case it pains me to say that the IT folk should have done a better job and caught this seating scenario during testing or design, that is unless they were instructed to specifically not plan for it.

I still think its a better system than the free for all. I've lost count of how many times I've been on a flight when a family of 4 board the plane last and then complain that there isnt seats together! At least this way you can see that you are allocated separate seats and can ask staff at the gate to help fix the problem.

As a software developer then please give your solution. There are no seats left together on the flight when 2 people check in. How do you seat them together?

People need to realise this has always been a potential issue no matter what system was used. Back in the day when you queued up at check in to get your seat allocation it was the same thing.
At least now you have the option to check in early pay a few euro and get your seats together.

Reekwind · 20-02-2014 12:37pm

Correct me if I'm wrong, but presumably Ryanair are using the same allocation method as every other airline, just not providing a 'grace period' in which you can select your seat for free?

Gatica · 20-02-2014 12:42pm

I would imagine so, but since it costs so much to check in with them at the airport, people try to do all this seating business themselves.
At a desk an assistant may see a family travelling together and may look for better seat allocation. On the other hand, an automatic allocation system may just assign the next 2 available seats on the plane, whether beside each other or not, when perhaps there may be couple of seats together further down the back of the plane.

mambo · 20-02-2014 1:27pm

We have a 2 year old, so there's no way we would take a chance on "allocated seating" when it might not seat us together. And Mrs Mambo refuses to pay the extra fee. So we will continue to use Aer Lingus and others.

20-02-2014 1:46pm

Gatica wrote: »

It's a stupid process, if the random allocation given to you by Ryanair is not to your liking, one should have the option to then pay instead and allocate the seating

As broken man says, what if there aren't any more seats beside each other? Sometimes, its just bound to happen. They should never have separated them from each other, though. Somebody on the plane would have been willing to swap seats, im sure.

20-02-2014 1:51pm

mambo wrote: »

We have a 2 year old, so there's no way we would take a chance on "allocated seating" when it might not seat us together. And Mrs Mambo refuses to pay the extra fee. So we will continue to use Aer Lingus and others.

That's a stupid policy to have. You should factor in the 5er for picking your seats into the Overall cost, then choose accordingly.

People are very quick to tout Aer Lingus as some sort of bastion of customer service, care and support. It's not that long ago a flight to England cost the guts of €400, and you were forced to fly with them.

Since Ryanair came on the scene, it's cheaper than a train to cork.

ProudDUB · 20-02-2014 3:03pm

mambo wrote: »

We have a 2 year old, so there's no way we would take a chance on "allocated seating" when it might not seat us together. And Mrs Mambo refuses to pay the extra fee. So we will continue to use Aer Lingus and others.

She won't pay 5 euros to preselect a seat, but she'll pay possibly 20 times that for a more expensive seat on another airline, so that she can do it for free? :eek:

I really, really hope that the good Mrs Mambo is not a bank manager or an economics teacher.

zac8 · 20-02-2014 3:39pm

ProudDUB wrote: »

She won't pay 5 euros to preselect a seat, but she'll pay possibly 20 times that for a more expensive seat on another airline, so that she can do it for free? :eek:

I really, really hope that the good Mrs Mambo is not a bank manager or an economics teacher.

But its not even free on aer lingus. Its 5 euro a seat with them too.

Ryanair - New reserved seating structure(s)

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