Airport fees!

jimi_man

CKhalvashi said:

prowla said:

I guess this thread can serve as a reminder to others to be vigilant and assume that they are out to trick you into paying extras, so you don't get caught out.

Nobody's really trying to trick anyone though.

It's clearly stated on the website in multiple places and there are, on some bookings at least, reminder e-mails being sent out.

jimi_man said:

Pollycat said:

zagfles said:

There's a load of judgemental claptrap in this thread. It's easy for us regular travellers to sneer at those not familiar with Ryanair's almost unique way of doing business which we'll all be aware of. Airport checkin is perfectly normal and the vast majority of airlines don't charge, and those that do the fees tend to be fairly nominal eg £10 or so.

Yeah yeah, should have read the T&Cs, here they are, we all read every word of them before booking a flight don't we https://www.ryanair.com/gb/en/useful-info/help-centre/terms-and-conditions

In your opinion...

Anyone who books a flight and 'assumes' anything about it is running a risk.

I can't remember the last time I checked in at the airport.
I have a reminder on my phone to do on-line check-in in 5 days time.
Nobody told me to do that.
I didn't assume anything.
I checked the website.

I'll do the same for my 2 later holidays.

You may call that being 'judgemental'.
I call it 'being prepared'.

Online checkin depends whereabouts in the world you go to. Some places don’t offer it. 

I tend to agree with zagfles. Airport checkin is very normal (the standard, in fact) and charging £55 for it is obscene. 

That's not really the case either. Ryanair works on the basis that the user of the service pays for the service, with the basic ticket price buying a randomly allocated seat on a specific service only.

Those using optional extras like airport check-in and not choosing to self-serve increases the costs for the airline. It's therefore only reasonable that those wishing to utilise these additional and non-essential services pay for them.

Ryanair offer a (reasonably good) app for boarding cards, in addition to web check-in where the boarding pass can be printed on paper. At least one of these options will be available to most, if not all passengers.

Well it is the case really. Airport checkin is the norm for most airlines, or at least offering it without a (hefty in Ryanair’s case) fee. Paying £55 to checkin at the airport is pretty rare in the airline industry and however you try and justify it, it is obscene. 

I accept the argument that they are trying to keep the costs down by getting the user to do as much as possible but to charge (a family of four say) £220, because someone forgot to do it, smacks of profiteering in the extreme. 

Pollycat

It seems Ryanair have little patience with travellers who make mistakes or assumptions:

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/ryanairs-hilarious-response-honeymooning-couple-29913743

"we sell seats, not windows"

and this one:
https://www.mirror.co.uk/travel/ryanair-hits-back-dry-response-29787794

Grant fumed: "I understand selling seats to people with a preference, however, why on earth when I check in a party of eight for random seats, you literally split everyone in the party up? Really frustrating."

The budget airline didn't hold back with their sarcastic response, firing back: "I chose random allocation and I'm angry that we were randomly allocated."

Perhaps I should apply for a job...
Or maybe I already have one...

BTW, the OP logged off 18 minutes after posting - and 3 minutes before the first response.

zagfles

Pollycat said:

It seems Ryanair have little patience with travellers who make mistakes or assumptions:

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/ryanairs-hilarious-response-honeymooning-couple-29913743

"we sell seats, not windows"

and this one:
https://www.mirror.co.uk/travel/ryanair-hits-back-dry-response-29787794

Grant fumed: "I understand selling seats to people with a preference, however, why on earth when I check in a party of eight for random seats, you literally split everyone in the party up? Really frustrating."

The budget airline didn't hold back with their sarcastic response, firing back: "I chose random allocation and I'm angry that we were randomly allocated."

Perhaps I should apply for a job...
Or maybe I already have one...

BTW, the OP logged off 18 minutes after posting - and 3 minutes before the first response.

Indeed, it's their unique style of PR. As discussed here over 10 years ago:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4160895/stupid-passengers-not-my-words/p1

Go for it, you'd fit right in

Pollycat

zagfles said:

Pollycat said:

Perhaps I should apply for a job...
Or maybe I already have one...

Go for it, you'd fit right in

I beat you to it. 
Some people are predictable. 

tightauldgit

jimi_man said:

CKhalvashi said:

prowla said:

I guess this thread can serve as a reminder to others to be vigilant and assume that they are out to trick you into paying extras, so you don't get caught out.

Nobody's really trying to trick anyone though.

It's clearly stated on the website in multiple places and there are, on some bookings at least, reminder e-mails being sent out.

jimi_man said:

Pollycat said:

zagfles said:

There's a load of judgemental claptrap in this thread. It's easy for us regular travellers to sneer at those not familiar with Ryanair's almost unique way of doing business which we'll all be aware of. Airport checkin is perfectly normal and the vast majority of airlines don't charge, and those that do the fees tend to be fairly nominal eg £10 or so.

Yeah yeah, should have read the T&Cs, here they are, we all read every word of them before booking a flight don't we https://www.ryanair.com/gb/en/useful-info/help-centre/terms-and-conditions

In your opinion...

Anyone who books a flight and 'assumes' anything about it is running a risk.

I can't remember the last time I checked in at the airport.
I have a reminder on my phone to do on-line check-in in 5 days time.
Nobody told me to do that.
I didn't assume anything.
I checked the website.

I'll do the same for my 2 later holidays.

You may call that being 'judgemental'.
I call it 'being prepared'.

Online checkin depends whereabouts in the world you go to. Some places don’t offer it. 

I tend to agree with zagfles. Airport checkin is very normal (the standard, in fact) and charging £55 for it is obscene. 

That's not really the case either. Ryanair works on the basis that the user of the service pays for the service, with the basic ticket price buying a randomly allocated seat on a specific service only.

Those using optional extras like airport check-in and not choosing to self-serve increases the costs for the airline. It's therefore only reasonable that those wishing to utilise these additional and non-essential services pay for them.

Ryanair offer a (reasonably good) app for boarding cards, in addition to web check-in where the boarding pass can be printed on paper. At least one of these options will be available to most, if not all passengers.

Well it is the case really. Airport checkin is the norm for most airlines, or at least offering it without a (hefty in Ryanair’s case) fee. Paying £55 to checkin at the airport is pretty rare in the airline industry and however you try and justify it, it is obscene. 

I accept the argument that they are trying to keep the costs down by getting the user to do as much as possible but to charge (a family of four say) £220, because someone forgot to do it, smacks of profiteering in the extreme. 

How much do you reckon it costs Ryanair to offer an in-airport check-in option and how many people do you reckon take advantage of it? I'd love to see the calculations on that profiteering. 

zagfles

tightauldgit said:

jimi_man said:

CKhalvashi said:

prowla said:

I guess this thread can serve as a reminder to others to be vigilant and assume that they are out to trick you into paying extras, so you don't get caught out.

Nobody's really trying to trick anyone though.

It's clearly stated on the website in multiple places and there are, on some bookings at least, reminder e-mails being sent out.

jimi_man said:

Pollycat said:

zagfles said:

There's a load of judgemental claptrap in this thread. It's easy for us regular travellers to sneer at those not familiar with Ryanair's almost unique way of doing business which we'll all be aware of. Airport checkin is perfectly normal and the vast majority of airlines don't charge, and those that do the fees tend to be fairly nominal eg £10 or so.

Yeah yeah, should have read the T&Cs, here they are, we all read every word of them before booking a flight don't we https://www.ryanair.com/gb/en/useful-info/help-centre/terms-and-conditions

In your opinion...

Anyone who books a flight and 'assumes' anything about it is running a risk.

I can't remember the last time I checked in at the airport.
I have a reminder on my phone to do on-line check-in in 5 days time.
Nobody told me to do that.
I didn't assume anything.
I checked the website.

I'll do the same for my 2 later holidays.

You may call that being 'judgemental'.
I call it 'being prepared'.

Online checkin depends whereabouts in the world you go to. Some places don’t offer it. 

I tend to agree with zagfles. Airport checkin is very normal (the standard, in fact) and charging £55 for it is obscene. 

That's not really the case either. Ryanair works on the basis that the user of the service pays for the service, with the basic ticket price buying a randomly allocated seat on a specific service only.

Those using optional extras like airport check-in and not choosing to self-serve increases the costs for the airline. It's therefore only reasonable that those wishing to utilise these additional and non-essential services pay for them.

Ryanair offer a (reasonably good) app for boarding cards, in addition to web check-in where the boarding pass can be printed on paper. At least one of these options will be available to most, if not all passengers.

Well it is the case really. Airport checkin is the norm for most airlines, or at least offering it without a (hefty in Ryanair’s case) fee. Paying £55 to checkin at the airport is pretty rare in the airline industry and however you try and justify it, it is obscene. 

I accept the argument that they are trying to keep the costs down by getting the user to do as much as possible but to charge (a family of four say) £220, because someone forgot to do it, smacks of profiteering in the extreme. 

How much do you reckon it costs Ryanair to offer an in-airport check-in option and how many people do you reckon take advantage of it? I'd love to see the calculations on that profiteering. 

Probably minimal, they have to have checkin/bag drop desk anyway for those who have checked luggage. Easyjet charge nothing, Wizz charge 13 EUR. Or they could simply allow online checkin up to checkin close time, instead of cutting it off at the point most people arrive at the airport.

It's like seat allocation. It costs them virtually nothing to let people choose a seat or to sit them together, but it's a revenue stream for them. But OTOH I've had loads of flights with them where they are clearly making a loss on the basic ticket price, probably most of the flights I've taken with them, probably average about £30 each way, best were we flew to Venice for £5 a couple of years ago and Dublin for 2p about 15 years ago.

Not really much different to banks offering switch incentives, high interest on regular savers, 0% interest on credit card balance transfers etc. If you understand how they work, you can take advantage of them, if you don't understand them it could cost you.

born_again

Brie said:

Do they charge if there's no wifi available and you can't use your phone to check in?  I'd hope not.  Though presumably if there's no wifi it's because there's no internet so even the airlines are going to struggle doing anything.  

Given it's a mobile phone app, then you still have a mobile signal to access content.

Not sure why people think if there is no WiFi, there is no internet. 

Airport may turn off WiFi access for various reasons. But they will still have internet connection.

WiFi is a means of connecting to a router, which then allows a internet connection.

CKhalvashi

tightauldgit said:

jimi_man said:

CKhalvashi said:

prowla said:

I guess this thread can serve as a reminder to others to be vigilant and assume that they are out to trick you into paying extras, so you don't get caught out.

Nobody's really trying to trick anyone though.

It's clearly stated on the website in multiple places and there are, on some bookings at least, reminder e-mails being sent out.

jimi_man said:

Pollycat said:

zagfles said:

There's a load of judgemental claptrap in this thread. It's easy for us regular travellers to sneer at those not familiar with Ryanair's almost unique way of doing business which we'll all be aware of. Airport checkin is perfectly normal and the vast majority of airlines don't charge, and those that do the fees tend to be fairly nominal eg £10 or so.

Yeah yeah, should have read the T&Cs, here they are, we all read every word of them before booking a flight don't we https://www.ryanair.com/gb/en/useful-info/help-centre/terms-and-conditions

In your opinion...

Anyone who books a flight and 'assumes' anything about it is running a risk.

I can't remember the last time I checked in at the airport.
I have a reminder on my phone to do on-line check-in in 5 days time.
Nobody told me to do that.
I didn't assume anything.
I checked the website.

I'll do the same for my 2 later holidays.

You may call that being 'judgemental'.
I call it 'being prepared'.

Online checkin depends whereabouts in the world you go to. Some places don’t offer it. 

I tend to agree with zagfles. Airport checkin is very normal (the standard, in fact) and charging £55 for it is obscene. 

That's not really the case either. Ryanair works on the basis that the user of the service pays for the service, with the basic ticket price buying a randomly allocated seat on a specific service only.

Those using optional extras like airport check-in and not choosing to self-serve increases the costs for the airline. It's therefore only reasonable that those wishing to utilise these additional and non-essential services pay for them.

Ryanair offer a (reasonably good) app for boarding cards, in addition to web check-in where the boarding pass can be printed on paper. At least one of these options will be available to most, if not all passengers.

Well it is the case really. Airport checkin is the norm for most airlines, or at least offering it without a (hefty in Ryanair’s case) fee. Paying £55 to checkin at the airport is pretty rare in the airline industry and however you try and justify it, it is obscene. 

I accept the argument that they are trying to keep the costs down by getting the user to do as much as possible but to charge (a family of four say) £220, because someone forgot to do it, smacks of profiteering in the extreme. 

How much do you reckon it costs Ryanair to offer an in-airport check-in option and how many people do you reckon take advantage of it? I'd love to see the calculations on that profiteering. 

Equally though, how much is the airline losing on the average ticket?

We're flying with another airline (OH's employer) on Monday on £9pp tickets (with no extras, we have enough at both ends). The operating cost of that sector is something in the region of £30/seat and don't forget the £13 APD (these are cheaper than crew fares so have been booked as public).

It's likely on that basis more cross-subsidisation rather than profiteering. I don't want to pay extra to fund airport check-in.

I've just made a call to someone working at an airport for a handling company to answer that for you. Check-in costs for them (working for a based airline) at that airport are around £110k per desk crewed from 4am to 10pm per year and around £65k for a half crewed desk. Costs at the other airport that company works at are slightly higher, but they represent a number of airlines at that particular operation and not just 2.

zagfles

born_again said:

Brie said:

Do they charge if there's no wifi available and you can't use your phone to check in?  I'd hope not.  Though presumably if there's no wifi it's because there's no internet so even the airlines are going to struggle doing anything.  

Given it's a mobile phone app, then you still have a mobile signal to access content.

Depends whether that "content" is cached. Some apps cache content (ie store it locally), obviously that's limited but would apply eg to boarding passes. I can read my emails and plan routes etc on flights as my email and maps app have cached content.

Although these days I've noticed some apps especially browsers are much worse at caching content (or allowing access to cached content) than they were 10+ years ago. In the "old days" most browsers had a "work offline" option where you could visit any website you'd visited in the recent past and view the cached page, they seem to have removed this useful function despite phones/tablets etc having massively more storage than they used to.

stewartwilliams

Quite a few people fail to check in online with Ryanair.

Sometimes it's issues they're having with the website, although 99% of the time, it's down to the user.
(A common thing is people getting right to the end of the process but not doing the final step)

Other times they've booked through a third party who either don't send them emails telling them to check in before some point, or they create a fake email address for them and nothing ever goes to them.  They then turn up at the airport expecting to check in.

I've worked on behalf of Ryanair and have checked in quite a few people in 10 secs or so on a phone when they've complained about trying all day or longer to do so.  
Sometimes they've ticked the return box and it's too early to check in, or they're just not computer literate.
A lot of the time though, they just haven't bothered to try (we can see their history and what they've done and when).

There are times when Ryanair are aware of third party bookings and will give free airport check in.
Other times, if you don't turn up early enough, a £55 charge.

Occasionally, a child has been booked as an adult, or there's an infant on the booking, which means check-in can't be done and bookings may be commented that check-in will be free (or it can be waived).

There are a couple of fare types where you get free airport check-in by default (+ various rebooking related scenarios)


At the end of the day, if you read the small print with Ryanair and follow the guidance, the majority doing so, there are no issues.
You can't assume that what Easyjet, Jet2 etc. do, what baggage allowances they have etc. are the same.

Ryanair sell a base fare and in most cases, everything is extra.  You pay for a random seat from A to B and nothing else unless you choose to.  They send loads of emails out trying to sell you everything, let you know when to check-in, delays etc. and it's up to the customer not to ignore these even though they look like spam.
Don't pay for a seat?  You get a random one that may or may not be anywhere near anyone else you're travelling with.  It fills the less desirable seats, and may encourage you to spend £4 or whatever to sit together in future.
Pay for a seat when you book and you can check-in up to 60 days out, and yet people still manage to not bother and stroll up to the desks 1h40 mins before their flight.


As for earlier posts about screenshots of boarding passes, seen plenty.
Some are blurry, at 45 degree angles, some pristine quality and so on.  They may or may not scan, but as long as you've downloaded and/or printed a boarding pass, it should be free to reprint it if required.  Else a £20 reprint charge.

Some people tend to screenshot the barcode and miss out vital bits such as the passenger name, or their mate did everything on their phone and sent a dodgy copy across.

Can't say I've seen PDFs.  Usually printouts, saved to their Apple wallet and/or on the app.
Few on an Apple watch as well.