'Puerile' RyanAir slated by OFT

richardw wrote: »

So other airlines making money out of card charges is OK then, consistency would be appreciated.

I guess Ryanair is being targetted because (1) their charges are higher than other airlines, largely because they charge per person/sector rather than per transaction (are there any other airlines that do this?) and (2) they have just changed their free payment method, perhaps because a significant number of their customers have obtained an Electron card.


I fly with Ryanair quite a lot, and while I don't find it a hugely pleasurable experience, I find that they do get me reliably from A to B at minimum cost, and are almost always on time.

It's hard to disagree with many of the statements in that report - they do seem to follow the letter rather than the spirit of the law, and it is like a game in many ways - if you're prepared to play along you can get some very cheap flights.

I've yet to find another airline that can get me to the south of France for £2 return (my most recent trip with them) - so I will continue to play along... Those who don't like the game are welcome to avoid Ryanair.

Is this the same Office of Fair Trading who gave up chasing the banks, even when there were some legal options open to them?

If so, I'm not sure how anyone can take them seriously. Sounds like they're trying to repair the damage done to their reputation and shows that they're only interested in easy targets.

richardw wrote: »

Other airline Aer Lingus is just as bad http://www.aerlingus.com/cgi-bin/obel01im1/Support/helpFeesFares.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@0614699200.1262605619@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccccadejfilmgkecefecfigdffgdfki.0&Category=2&P_OID=-536880753&C_OID=536889337#handlingfees

"Charges as follows: €5 /£5 per person, per flight. Flights originating in the USA, Infant Bookings and Bookings using Visa Electron are not subject to the handling fee."

No prizes for guessing who is a major shareholder in Aer Lingus.

Ryanair tried to buy Aer Lingus out completely a couple of years ago, but the other major shareholder, the Irish Govt, wouldn't let them.

richardw wrote: »

So other airlines making money out of card charges is OK then, consistency would be appreciated.

The other airlines are not 'headline grabbers' like Ryanair.

Rather, I think 'headline grabbing' means the O'Leary way of coveting publicity, whether good or bad.

I think he wrote somewhere that during these types of headlines (it's the #1 read thing on the BBC), bookings actually increase.