Sitting together on Ryanair flight: special assistance

Thrugelmir

Agent_C said:

Thrugelmir said:

Agent_C said:

There were no such cheap seats on the flights we booked - it was £14 a seat going out and £13 each return, so would add £44 to the cost of the booking.

Is this the real nub of the issue ?  You aren't willing to pay the going rate for booking now. You don't actually require special assistance as such. 

No, it's more about feeling like I shouldn't have to pay extra for having a health condition. Anaphylaxis is really scary when it happens and it comes on really quickly. 

Ryanair don't operate a business model that accounts for peoples feelings. Be a nightmare to administer peoples desire to be seated in particular seats on a plane at no additional cost. Budget airlines arelow cost for a reason. 

Upsidedownandaround

Is this a medical condition that requires you to never be on your own or have a carer permanently with you?

If not then I can't see how you can justify them making an exception for you.

prowla

Their policy should be to place people together, but I guess since they twigged they could charge for it, they also decided the business model would be not to do so by default.

emmajones1976

Well yes, their business model is based on a theory that many people are not bothered and will take their chance, especially on a short haul European flight.

Either pay £40 with Ryanair with no seat assigned, or £80 for the exact same flight with BA with an assigned seat, and its a no brainer in the main.

Upsidedownandaround

prowla said:

Their policy should be to place people together, but I guess since they twigged they could charge for it, they also decided the business model would be not to do so by default.

It's not really surprising that their business model is to make money and Ryanair would be the first ones to say they don't care about any bad PR it generates.

soolin

Upsidedownandaround said:

Is this a medical condition that requires you to never be on your own or have a carer permanently with you?

If not then I can't see how you can justify them making an exception for you.

That’s a point, if the medical condition requires OP to never be left alone and they normally have a carer then there might be exceptions for a registered carer to be seated with them at no additional cost. If however they do not normally require constant attention from a carer then I fear the earlier comments stand. 

Agent_C

Chris_English said:

Agent_C said:

soolin said:

Agent_C said:

Thrugelmir said:

Agent_C said:

There were no such cheap seats on the flights we booked - it was £14 a seat going out and £13 each return, so would add £44 to the cost of the booking.

Is this the real nub of the issue ?  You aren't willing to pay the going rate for booking now. You don't actually require special assistance as such. 

No, it's more about feeling like I shouldn't have to pay extra for having a health condition. Anaphylaxis is really scary when it happens and it comes on really quickly. 

Why are you paying 'more' though? The seat cost is the same for you as it is for me, my OH is a nervous flyer and we choose to pay to sit together but we don't get our seats any cheaper than you do. What about older children, they pay if they need to sit with parents , again you are not paying more so you are not being discriminated against.

The discrimination would apply if you were expected to pay a supplement for your seats that no other person was expected to pay.

If I didn't have the medical condition, then we would take randomly allocated seats for which there would be no charge. 

Still not discrimination, you are still being treated like anyone else who wants or needs to sit together.

You aren't asking to be treated equally here, you are asking for special treatment, which Ryanair don't want to give you.

But they should if according to the civil aviation authority, if I'm a passenger with a disability I am legally entitled to support. They must provide help and assistance, which is free of charge, and helps ensure you have a less stressful journey.

Agent_C

Thrugelmir said:

Agent_C said:

Thrugelmir said:

Agent_C said:

There were no such cheap seats on the flights we booked - it was £14 a seat going out and £13 each return, so would add £44 to the cost of the booking.

Is this the real nub of the issue ?  You aren't willing to pay the going rate for booking now. You don't actually require special assistance as such. 

No, it's more about feeling like I shouldn't have to pay extra for having a health condition. Anaphylaxis is really scary when it happens and it comes on really quickly. 

Ryanair don't operate a business model that accounts for peoples feelings. Be a nightmare to administer peoples desire to be seated in particular seats on a plane at no additional cost. Budget airlines arelow cost for a reason. 

It's not about my feelings though is it? It's not that if I don't sit next to my partner I will feel sad, it's that I could get into medical difficulty and potentially die.

Agent_C

Upsidedownandaround said:

Is this a medical condition that requires you to never be on your own or have a carer permanently with you?

If not then I can't see how you can justify them making an exception for you.

It depends if I'm in a situation where I can control my exposure to potential allergens, for example at home. In a plane there is no way to remove myself from contact with something I'm allergic to so I would not be able to travel alone. I can't expect Ryanair to provide an allergy free flight so the best accommodation is for me to be able to take my medication in my hand luggage and for my partner to be sat next to me so he can monitor me and be there if needed. They can do that very simply by allocating seats together. 

Thrugelmir

Agent_C said:

Chris_English said:

Agent_C said:

soolin said:

Agent_C said:

Thrugelmir said:

Agent_C said:

There were no such cheap seats on the flights we booked - it was £14 a seat going out and £13 each return, so would add £44 to the cost of the booking.

Is this the real nub of the issue ?  You aren't willing to pay the going rate for booking now. You don't actually require special assistance as such. 

No, it's more about feeling like I shouldn't have to pay extra for having a health condition. Anaphylaxis is really scary when it happens and it comes on really quickly. 

Why are you paying 'more' though? The seat cost is the same for you as it is for me, my OH is a nervous flyer and we choose to pay to sit together but we don't get our seats any cheaper than you do. What about older children, they pay if they need to sit with parents , again you are not paying more so you are not being discriminated against.

The discrimination would apply if you were expected to pay a supplement for your seats that no other person was expected to pay.

If I didn't have the medical condition, then we would take randomly allocated seats for which there would be no charge. 

Still not discrimination, you are still being treated like anyone else who wants or needs to sit together.

You aren't asking to be treated equally here, you are asking for special treatment, which Ryanair don't want to give you.

But they should if according to the civil aviation authority, if I'm a passenger with a disability I am legally entitled to support. They must provide help and assistance, which is free of charge, and helps ensure you have a less stressful journey.

Help and assistance doesn't have to include cheap seats though. There will be limited special assistance seating on every flight. That should be left available for those who actually require it.