'Puerile' RyanAir slated by OFT

dmg24

richardw wrote: »

Please expand further, Aer Lingus are currently advertising £19.99 flights if you use an electron card, not free but still cheap and 'headline grabbing'.

That is the point, Aer Lingus do something (good or bad) and no one takes much notice - I have not seen any headlines with this offer? An equivalent action by Ryanair makes headline news.

Whether I agree with Ryanair's actions or not (and I do agree in most cases), inflationbusting makes a very good point. Ryanair thrive on stories like this, it will do them no harm at all - it reminded me to check if they had any cheapies available for Marrakech (nothing at the mo!).

As with everything Ryanair related, my usual opinion applies - if you are happy to fly with them, do so. If you wish to take your business elsewhere, do so. Happy days!

mystic_trev

nomoneytoday wrote: »

BA charge for credit cards too. Debit cards were free when we last used them.

The weird thing is, you can often book BA flights for the same price using Expedia. I've done this using my AMEX cashback card (no surcharge) and Quidco, so saving myself a few quid.

Backbiter

I've made this point before, but still....

RyanAir's credit card charges bear no relation to the true cost of the transaction.
RyanAir's airfares bear no relation to true the cost of the journey.

That's just the way they work and stay in business.

will-in-estoril

PolishBigSpender wrote: »

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.

The Supreme Court was the end of the line. I am not sure what other options you mean.

Losing a complex legal case in the highest court in the land after winning in the High Court and Court of Appeal does not mean that there was damage to the OFT's reputation. Are you suggesting that Martin et al, who nailed their colours firmly to the OFT's mast, have been damaged? Campaigners suffer many setbacks but do not give up.

You make RyanAir sound like some poor, unsuspecting victim, yet it is they who are not being honest in terms of their charges. The real victims are those who are taken in by RyanAir's lack of transparency. Not everyone is completely savvy and streetwise when it comes to RyanAir, which is why the OFT have intervened, in the same way as the ASA intervened and so many of us are appalled by the airline's continuing defiance.

This latest stunt should convince many of the true nature of this airline.

fifeken

Ryanair's response:

http://www.ryanair.com/en/news/ryanair-statement-on-oft-comments

inflationbusting

The OFT haven't intervened though, they've merely passed comment - and at that, a quip from it's boss published in a newspaper.
Let us say Sir Alex Ferguson says a referee is crap, this isn't the same as Manchester United saying a ref is crap, although it would not be too difficult to treat it as such.

Now, if Ryanair changed the free payment card tommorow and you didn't find this out until you booked, that would be dishonest. But they gave a fair amount of warning that this would be happening and there was an overlap period.

As for the other fees such as lost boarding passes, luggage, and so on, these are the same across all budget airlines although it happens to cost a bit more on Ryanair than the others.

The charges are disclosed upfront - it isn't dishonest. Unpalatable perhaps (especially if you have to use them), but don't confuse the two.

Also, people need to get out of the school of thought that price should reflect absolute costs - backbiter has it spot on. Price is a tool to help elicit certain customer behaviours. Take a parking ticket - there is a high cost to discourage parking in the first place, and a discount to ensure fast payment.

The same goes for Ryanair. Fees for a forgotten boarding pass (and airport check-in before it died) are high to discourage this in the first place. Their food is priced so that only the desperate buy it.

In getting ahead, you often have a choice: you can get smarter, or you can wait for the world to get dumber. Both produce the same result but it astounds me how many people want the latter.

old_motters

inflationbusting wrote: »

The OFT haven't intervened though, they've merely passed comment - and at that, a quip from it's boss published in a newspaper.
Let us say Sir Alex Ferguson says a referee is crap, this isn't the same as Manchester United saying a ref is crap, although it would not be too difficult to treat it as such.

Now, if Ryanair changed the free payment card tommorow and you didn't find this out until you booked, that would be dishonest. But they gave a fair amount of warning that this would be happening and there was an overlap period.

As for the other fees such as lost boarding passes, luggage, and so on, these are the same across all budget airlines although it happens to cost a bit more on Ryanair than the others.

The charges are disclosed upfront - it isn't dishonest. Unpalatable perhaps (especially if you have to use them), but don't confuse the two.

Also, people need to get out of the school of thought that price should reflect absolute costs - backbiter has it spot on. Price is a tool to help elicit certain customer behaviours. Take a parking ticket - there is a high cost to discourage parking in the first place, and a discount to ensure fast payment.

The same goes for Ryanair. Fees for a forgotten boarding pass (and airport check-in before it died) are high to discourage this in the first place. Their food is priced so that only the desperate buy it.

In getting ahead, you often have a choice: you can get smarter, or you can wait for the world to get dumber. Both produce the same result but it astounds me how many people want the latter.

I think you're absolutely right. You have to be on your toes and very cognisant that any error is going to cost you whether it's your error or theirs.

2010

The OFT is a toothless bulldog, and unless it was actually going to do something (i doubt if it could anyway),might as well have kept quiet.

The point about RA is that no matter what they keep adding on, at the end of the whole booking process,you KNOW the price.
If you don`t like it, you don`t buy it.
The trouble is you`re unlikely to find it cheaper anywhere else.

Vote with your feet and stop moaning about hidden charges and transparancy.
Look at the bottom line and if you don`t want to pay £10 for a flight, go elsewhere and pay £50.

whatmichaelsays

Don't hate the player, hate the game. The OFT have conceeded that Ryanair aren't doing anything wrong, so why not target the actual problem?

I'd love to work in the Ryanair PR department, what with Which?, the OFT and Daily Mail practically doing your job for you.

PolishBigSpender

will-in-estoril wrote: »

The Supreme Court was the end of the line. I am not sure what other options you mean.

Didn't MoneySavingExpert consult with a top QC, which gave the opinion that there was indeed other means of attack on bank charges? I didn't read it too closely, but the fight definitely wasn't up.

Are you suggesting that Martin et al, who nailed their colours firmly to the OFT's mast, have been damaged? Campaigners suffer many setbacks but do not give up.

Martin Lewis was indeed left looking rather foolish after the loss, but to his credit, he went out and paid for legal advice on the matter. The OFT was left looking weak and spineless after giving up when they didn't have to - there were other avenues available to them.

The real victims are those who are taken in by RyanAir's lack of transparency. Not everyone is completely savvy and streetwise when it comes to RyanAir, which is why the OFT have intervened, in the same way as the ASA intervened and so many of us are appalled by the airline's continuing defiance.

So, with BA - are you telling me that fuel surcharges are "transparent"? If Ryanair advertise a flight for 1 pound online, you can buy that flight for one pound. If that's not transparent, what is?

This latest stunt should convince many of the true nature of this airline.

The true nature being an airline which has returned to profitability when so many others are still loosing consideable amounts of cash?