Ryanair cutting its check-in fees

SW17

EssexExile wrote: »

Can I ask a silly question - what is "check in" for? I always assumed it was to tell the airline you were at the airport & ready to fly, as opposed to someone who hasn't turned up so there's no point in looking or waiting for them. As you can now check in several days in advance what purpose does it serve?

Not a silly question. To some extent the answer is that it depends on the airline. It is partly to tell the airline you are ready to fly, but equally important (for the airline) is that it is/was the means by which they get paid for any bookings made via 3rd parties (TAs and other airlines mainly). That used to be the coupon on paper tickets, now it's done electronically via the check-in and gate process.

This really only applies to IATA carriers, the LCCs don't have to worry about such matters as they collect payment in different ways. They can use the check in process for what they want, and time it how they want, hence the much longer check-in windows they can use. They still do want to understand how many passengers are likely to turn up (even some LCCs overbook), and get an idea of baggage for aircraft weight / fuel planning etc. They also need to collect APIS data for many flights and the check-in process is convenient for this.

I'm sure there are some other reasons, but these are some things it is still used for.