Denied boarding, is it really my responsibility?

Bob_the_Saver

Bluemeanie wrote: »

I am flying from East Midlands on Tues 4th Sept. Flight is 8.10am. Was going to get there for 6am. Shall I get there earlier? It is with Thomson and we are going onto their Cruise ship.

I would, better safe than sorry, you might get delayed on the way.

Motorway closed due to crash
Road closed due to flooding
Breakdown/puncture on way
Security scare
'Delayed departure from home' due to dodgy curry night before
Taxi/transport does not arrive
etc etc etc and that's before you get to the airport.


Get to the airport, sit with drink and relax watching out for your flight.

Better 1 hour too early than 1 minute too late.

budgetflyer

HelenaHandcart wrote: »

If an airline advises you to be at the airport at least X hours before your flight departure time and you do arrive at the airport X hours before departure time then you should not miss your flight. If, having followed the airline advice, you do miss the flight simply because the required procedures take too long then it is the airline's fault for giving wrong advice. Many people do not fly on a regular basis and have no idea how long it takes to get through an airport; they rely on the airline or airport for this information so the advice needs to be correct. Of course, if you spend your time having coffee or shopping in the departure lounge then it's your own fault if you miss your flight.

Yes you are quite right. The Ryanair email clearly states the bag drop opens 2 hours prior to the flight. If getting through security is a problem then they (airline + airport) either need to open the bag drop earlier or speed up security.
With Ryanair, its all about following the rules. If you follow the rules then as Stoneman says, it is not the passengers fault.

from my recent booking

AIRPORT KIOSK AND BAG DROP DEADLINES:
All Airport Kiosks and Bag Drop desks open 2 hours prior to the scheduled flight departure time and close strictly 40 minutes prior to the scheduled flight departure time.

Ich_2

At the end of the day if you have missed the flight for whatever reason it is only you that is being inconvenienced and possibly have losing money.
Not the airline, not the airport. T&Cs will generally be against you so get there in plenty of time.
Treat the reccomended times given by vartious agencies as the bare minimum, not the maximum.
If we are flying in the morning we always aim to arrive in plenty of time to sit and have a breakfast after clearing security (with Loco airlines it saves buying on-board)

As for check-in and security delays watch carefully as often the delay is down to passengers getting it wrong rather than check-in or security staff.
I recall once at Gatwick a queue being delayed by a couple who were in the wrong terminal and had trouble understanding this (they were English) no matter how much the assistent explained (they had managed to pass and ignore numerous signs explaining it and not even read their confirmation!)(once had the same at security - wrong terminal so everyone is delayed while the pasenger is directed to where they should be)

What time the bag drop opens is immaterial, better to queue for an hour before it opens than an hour after it opens.

Also as others have said, there is always a huge amout of flights departing around 07:00 as that is when most airports open for departures, so there will be delays - you must take that into account. (put more staff on duty = increased costs = increased fares. Why should other folk pay for you not being able to get there early?)

budgetflyer

Ich wrote: »

Treat the reccomended times given by vartious agencies as the bare minimum, not the maximum.

Its clearly not the bare minimum if people arrive at that time and still miss their flight.

The airport + airline need to take responsibility if that is the advice they are giving out.

Not all passengers are experts so if "helping one lost/confused couple" is so disruptive to the flow of passengers through security, then something is seriously wrong with the management.

Ich_2

Argue semantics all you want as to who is at fault, but if you miss the flight you are the one who is stood there!
It is time folk took responsibility for their actions and put in contigiencies to cover problems. Not keep playing the blame game.

From the EMA website

Please check your ticket or travel itinerary, or contact your airline for advice on check in times. Generally, check in desks open 2-3 hours before the flight is due to depart. East Midlands Airport recommends arriving at the terminal at least 2 hours before departure, even if you are using online check in.

Not 2 hours, but at least 2 hours which implies something different

geoffky

I am one of those last minute people as i hate airports having spent half my life in the horrible places...getting to a airport before 2 hrs before the flight is like watching paint dry...

SaveTheEuro

Anyone planning to fly Ryanair from Stansted on a Saturday this August?

Remember the 700 people who never got on their planes in 2009. Let's hope the backlog has been cleared by now:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1203750/Hundreds-passengers--including-David-Dimbleby--miss-flight-Ryanair-opens-just-11-check-desks-255-flights.html

stoneman

Ich wrote: »

Argue semantics all you want as to who is at fault, but if you miss the flight you are the one who is stood there!
It is time folk took responsibility for their actions and put in contigiencies to cover problems. Not keep playing the blame game.

From the EMA website



Not 2 hours, but at least 2 hours which implies something different

No it doesn't , it is the RECOMENDED time to arrive, why would they imply something else when they could easily say it.

Bob_the_Saver

Seems to me that since we know there might be delays at busy times
(a bit like Tesco on a Friday night at the end of the month just before a bank holiday when they have a really good promotion on beer)
just arrive early and don't worry about it.

Bogof_Babe

If they only open the desk(s) two hours before flight departure, and there are more than two hours' worth of passengers to process, then inevitably some of them are not going to get through in time, even if everyone starts queueing six hours in advance. That's what doesn't seem to add up.