Ryanair

plasticfrog

Hi, I've just joined and hope this is the right place to post this …

When downloading boarding passes prior to a flight, Ryanair asks customers to purchase seats to avoid random allocation (yet another additional cost on this so-called 'budget' airline). As I have a health problem and prefer to sit next to my husband on when travelling, I purchased the same two seats for both the outward and return flight noting that, for some unknown reason, the seats cost more on the return journey (these were not seats that were near an emergency exit or ones with extra legroom). All went to plan on the outward trip but when I checked the boarding passes before we were due to return, I discovered that we had been allocated seats in separate parts of the plane. As most seats had been taken, I paid an extra fee so that we could at least sit in the same part of the plane but not together. When I contacted Ryanair to request a refund for the seats I was told that the terms and conditions allowed for them to change the seats for ‘operational’ or ‘safety’ reasons. They refused to tell me why my seats were changed and closed the complaint when I tried to find out more information. So, I wonder who was sitting in the seats that I had paid for and had they also paid for them? How many times had other passengers paid for seats only to have them re-allocated and, possibly, paid for by other unsuspecting fellow passengers? It appears that Ryanair now has carte blanche to get customers to pay for something they have no intention of allowing them to receive – and also have the option to offer the same seats for sale numerous times. It appears that I have no redress but how can this be legal??

Isthisforreal99

Was it seats at the rear of the plane? Sometime they will change from a 35 row plane to a 33......and you can't sit in seats that don't exist any longer.

Aylesbury_Duck

I don't usually defend Ryanair, but I very much doubt this is some sort of coordinated effort to defraud customers. They are a budget airline as long as you're prepared to stick to the basic offer, accept the numerous restrictions that entails, and don't fall foul of rules or processes. If you want flexibility and choice with things like seat allocations, extra luggage and so on, you'll often find that other airlines are cheaper for the same route. And they'll actually fly to your destination, not somewhere that requires a 90 minute coach 'transfer' to get you there.

Woodstok2000

Your perspective is that you didnt get the service you paid fot, and should get a refund. Ryanair will say that you paid for a seat and you got a seat.

Ryanair are notorious for refusing refunds for almost everything - youll need a small claims court to decide in this case as they are very unlikely to chnage their position.

Even with a judgement against them they may not pay up - see the recent case with bailiffs boarding the plane in Austria.

Pollycat

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81935872#Comment_81935872

Or did the OP pay for 2 specific seats and didn't get those specific seats?

Not sure how short haul paying for seats works as we are happy to be allocated any seat for free.

Woodstok2000

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81936342#Comment_81936342

If the seats were special (e.g. extra legroom) I think that might be a worthwhile argument. As it is, the seats OP got were the same as the ones they paid for, except they weren't together. Given Ryanair specifically sells prebooked seats as a way to guarantee you sit with your friends/family then there would definitely seem to be a case to answer, but unless ryanair change their refund policy only the small claims court can ultimately decide.