MSE News: Airlines axe debit card surcharges, but Easyjet & Ryanair won't follow suit 22 June 2012 at 12:52PM edited 30 November -1 at 1:00AM in Flights, Currency & Car Hire 69 replies 6.5K views

Former_MSE_Helen

"After Flybe and Thomson scrapped fees for paying on a bank card, the spotlight falls on Easyjet and Ryanair..."

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Airline duo axe debit card surcharges, but Easyjet & Ryanair won't follow suit

jpsartre

There are no debit card charges with easyJet any longer. The admin fee that replaced them is now charged upfront and is part of advertised prices.

richardw

Which easyJet ads are you referring to?
The one that says 2 people or 4 people travelling together?

jpsartre

I haven't come across the latter. On their UK webpage, the prices are based on two people traveling.

russetred

Not an airline but recently got charged £15.30 admin fee for using a visa debit card on Alpharooms website. That was the cheapest option unless you used their pre paid credit card. No mention of costs till you have booked and go to pay. The only saving grace was it was still the cheapest for our hotel even with the "admin fee"

SaveTheEuro

jpsartre wrote: »

There are no debit card charges with easyJet any longer. The admin fee that replaced them is now charged upfront and is part of advertised prices.

What "administration" requires a fee? How is it "upfront" when it is in addition to a price that is otherwise all inclusive, and how is it "part of advertised prices" as the price per person varies according to the number in the travelling party?

jpsartre

It is added upfront because it is included in the price you are shown when you search for a flight, as opposed to being added at a later step of the booking process (as was the case with the old debit card fees).

The advertised prices make it clear how many passengers the price is based on. As mentioned, it's 2 passengers on the UK page. Most other countries seems to have prices based on 1 person booking.

I don't understand your first question. Clearly any airline will have different administrative expenses which needs to be covered.

NFH

What will O'Leary do to circumvent Article 19 of Directive 2011/83/EU on Consumer Rights? The article states "Member States shall prohibit traders from charging consumers, in respect of the use of a given means of payment, fees that exceed the cost borne by the trader for the use of such means". Perhaps he will set up his own payment processing company which charges Ryanair an exhorbitant amount to process debit card payments, which he can then pass on to customers, given that Ryanair, not his payment processing company, will be the "trader". A similar practice was widespread by many large UK shops a few years ago, but as a VAT dodge.

johnginlondon

I'm sure I'm not the only one who avoids giving business to companies that display the kind of arrogant disdain Ryanair have for fair and transparent pricing.

Book concert tickets online and you get charged a spurious "admin fee" - Even paying for parking via a totally automated phone system carries a "convenience fee".

Time this practice was completely stamped out.

NFH

johnginlondon wrote: »

I'm sure I'm not the only one who avoids giving business to companies that display the kind of arrogant disdain Ryanair have for fair and transparent pricing.

I had a similar view to you, but I found myself flying with Ryanair this month because they were the only airline flying the route. Sometimes there is no choice but to fly with this despicable airline.

SaveTheEuro

jpsartre wrote: »

It is added upfront because it is included in the price you are shown when you search for a flight, as opposed to being added at a later step of the booking process (as was the case with the old debit card fees).

The advertised prices make it clear how many passengers the price is based on. As mentioned, it's 2 passengers on the UK page. Most other countries seems to have prices based on 1 person booking.

I don't understand your first question. Clearly any airline will have different administrative expenses which needs to be covered.

The admin fee is complete nonsense. Every other component cost of the business is included in the fare price; there is no pilot fee, fuel fee or aircraft maintenance fee. easyJet are putting two fingers up at the authorities as they clampdown on excessive debit card fees.