Airline Charges Rip Off Discussion

Pee

In order to get £1 flights, on which the airline can hardly be making a profit, you have to jump through hoops - use the card they prefer, check in online and only carry hand luggage. I am happy to jump through these hoops for the very cheap holidays these flights allow me to enjoy.

Anyone who is unable of unwilling to jump through the hoops may find there are better deals available with other airlines. Please don't ruin it for the rest of us by moaning about the pricing policy. Ok, so you have to pay attention when booking and read the small print, much the same as a lot of other things in life.

Spider86

Getting the cheap flights through RyanAir by "jumping through the hoops" is no different to any of the other loopholes or discounts that can be found on this website. A lot of these other loopholes you have to sometimes go through a complicated set of steps to get maximum cashback or maximum discount or some other loophole, this is no different so i don't know why everyone is complaining.

We are just exploiting this "loophole" and helping other moneysavers by explaining to them how to do it as well, but they just complain at us and moan that RyanAir are robbing them!

Albro

The reality is that the system is Ok if one is wise enough to understand what is going on here. We recently had a return trip to Dublin for 2 for £40...but it did cost us over £30 for snacks at the airport, over £12 to park for a day and around £10 for fuel to get to and from the airport!

However, in principle, I agree that all unavoidable charges should be included and that includes any charge that can only be avoided by taking out a card one wouldn't typically have any other reason to have.

Of course, whilst we are complaining about airlines, how about theatre tcikets where it is impossible to buy them at face value because they have to be bought through a ticketing agency. I once complained to Trading Standards about this and got told that legally the charges have to be separated - what a system?

Moonchild

I'm finding the way that battlelines are being drawn between the pro- and anti (or should that be con?) - Ryanair fanatics heartily amusing, and sure the great M O'L would be chuckling endlessly should he ever read it.

Doesn't mean i'm not going to have my say though!

I think that those of us (you) that only pay £1 per flight should calm down a bit and be happy, and appreciate that many people do not fly as often, are unable to understand the myriad of Ryanair rulings, or less internet savvy and inevitably going to get caught out by a mass of charges. For that reason only a 'how do I get the cheapest Ryanair flight thread' might give you experienced pros a chance to utilise your knowledge better. Remember that for some people even being charged for a drink is a major shift from how air travel used to be, never mind forced online check in, priority boarding, baggage charges etc.

For those who don't fly Ryanair or any airline often I can really appreciate how a £1 return flight can appear a 'con' when you end up paying £200 for it. However, Ryanair is not an airline in a traditional sense, instead see it as a big game, and you have to be cleverer than the other party to 'win' the £1 flight. See it like being a big version of Mornington Cresent. You never know when the rules will change, but it certainly won't be to your advantage! Ask for help as there is a way around everything.

If you're unhappy playing the 'game' then choose another airline, it might be better for your sanity.

As for me, well, I decided I quite like transparency, and I can't be bothered with Ryanair anymore. I've flown them loads in years past, but BA, bmi or easyjet get my business these days. I've paid £1 for return flights, but I know that the real cost of my flight is higher, so ultimately someone else is subsidising my flight. I'm not going to get an account or a pre-pay Electron card just so M O'L doesn't get one over me, and i'm going to reward airlines that have customer service instead, and sometimes I might want to check a bag in! My dear old mum, for whom I book monthly flights to Faro I have banned from using Ryanair as Easyjet are so much, well, simpler.

But that's my choice. And that's the thing with Ryanair, someone has an opinion, so whatever your views on Ryanair, and they are bound to be polarised, I respect and understand them as long as they are not rude, belittling or plain ignorant.

richardw

Moonchild wrote: »

I've paid £1 for return flights, but I know that the real cost of my flight is higher, so ultimately someone else is subsidising my flight.

So on BA, bmi and easyJet do you always pay the average fare then?

geoffrance

I had an E mail from Ryanair asking if I would be prepared to stand on short flights, is Mr. O' Leary winding us up or is he getting cheap advertising?

richardw

It started with a Chinese airline http://www.google.co.uk/search?client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-GB%3Aofficial&channel=s&hl=en&q=chinese%2Bstanding%2Bflight&meta=&btnG=Google+Search

Sanjay_2

Is it a rip off? Or are you just a muppet for paying what the savvy of us don't pay?

Moonchild

richardw wrote: »

So on BA, bmi and easyJet do you always pay the average fare then?

No, but I don't pay £1 return, and if using the above would pay the taxes and airport charges as an absolute minimum.

And I don't get stressed wondering if I need to be at the airport 7 hours in advance because they have only opened 11 check in desks for 253 flights (presuming I have a bag), or if I have missed the latest trick and have to pay a £87 charge because Ryanair have applied a 'no flying in blue jeans' charge.

richardw

You say you don't pay the average fare on BA, bmi and easyJet, so someone else is subsidising you or if pay above average you are subsidising others, a difficult one to perfect perhaps.