Ryanair new seating trick

pmduk

It's probably to stop couples arguing about which of them was stupid enough to book a Ryanair flight!

Ganga

pmduk wrote: »

It's probably to stop couples arguing about which of them was stupid enough to book a Ryanair flight!

Plenty of people do! profits are up again.

MarkBargain

Nick_C wrote: »

I'd rather pay a higher price that gave me free seat selection. I wouldn't feel as if I was being ripped off then.

At least then your flight cost would be clear up front and you could compare prices to other airlines on a like-for-like basis.

Splitting up couples and families on flights unless they agree to pay extra charges is a nasty practice that the CAA should not allow.

Pollycat

MarkBargain wrote: »

Splitting up couples and families on flights unless they agree to pay extra charges is a nasty practice that the CAA should not allow.

It's only a 'nasty practice' if it bothers travellers.
It doesn't bother me & OH.

LABMAN

To think that Ryanair are not using seating reservation to increase revenue stream is naive in the extreme given their history.

MarkBargain

Pollycat wrote: »

It's only a 'nasty practice' if it bothers travellers.
It doesn't bother me & OH.

If you don't mind your OH being seated in the OH of the plane to you fair enough, but most couples want to sit together. It should be entirely normal for two people on the same booking to be seated together, as it is for every other airline operating out of the UK.

mattyprice4004

MarkBargain wrote: »

If you don't mind your OH being seated in the OH of the plane to you fair enough, but most couples want to sit together. It should be entirely normal for two people on the same booking to be seated together, as it is for every other airline operating out of the UK.

That's your opinion - and Ryanair know people will pay for it rather than sit apart.
If you don't like it, use another airline - but it's perfect fine for them to do so, and charge for the privilege if you want to sit together.

Personally, I'm happy to have a slightly cheaper flight and let the people who can't stand to be apart for 2 hours pick up the tab. :beer:

buglawton

Since the 'seat scam' change, I hate the booking process you have to go through to sit together. Especially on an iPad. If there were one simple box at the start that said 'sit all the people in the booking together if possible' for a clear upfront fee, that would have helped. As it is, Ryanair is now a 'call me last' option which tipped me towards Easyjet on my last trip.

docmatt

We once got a taxi from Birmingham to Manchester and it was £160

We got a Ryanair flight from Birmingham to Dublin and it was £69
I don’t care if they seat the wife on the wing and me in the cockpit. It’s less than an hours flight and it’s value for money.

takman

Nick_C wrote: »

If the airlines had a nominal charge for seat reservation that was proportionate to the cost of providing the service then I wouldn't have a problem. But the charge is disproportionate to the cost, making it a rip off.

But that's not how business works, most products and services are priced based on how much they are worth to people and not what they cost to produce/supply. Pricing services higher due to demand doesn't mean they are a rip off.

For example in Theaters you have to pay more to get seats that have a better view, is this also a "rip off" considering it doesn't cost them any more to provide those seats?
It often costs more to park in car parks closer to the airport than it does in car parks further away, is this also a "rip off" considering it doesn't cost the airport more to provide the spaces closer?

LABMAN wrote: »

To think that Ryanair are not using seating reservation to increase revenue stream is naive in the extreme given their history.

Exactly, considering they are a budget no frills airline then why is anyone surprised/offended that they would do this.

It makes business sense for them to determine which seats are the ones people are most likely to pay for based on previous data and then automatically allocate the ones least likely to be bought to people who don't pay.