just a warning-RYANAIR- if you have a child not infant you have to pay for buggy

thepinkladez_2

SomeBozo wrote: »

Hi thepinkladez

The security guidelines exist for everyone, regardless if you are first class BA customer or a flying on RyanAir. As a parent you need to ensure that your child complies with the security requirements, which involves taking off coats etc. If I was in the queue with you and saw you trying to prevent a security guard from checking a passenger (regardless of age!) I would not want you on my flight! You say the queues were long etc, its in everyones interest to comply!

If a seat together was so important for you, you need to book with a carrier that will let you book this.

No offence, but you can't pin all that on Ryanair.

I assume you had no problem with the cost of the flight?

Some Bozo

i completely understand what you are saying here. It wasnt really that i dont agree with the sercurity, sorry that it came across that way!(think i was peeved at that point!) more just the way they delt with my dd i had took off her coat etc but instead of asking me to take her cardi off they just grabbed her which frightened her, which of course made her cry and freak out, making situation 100 times worse! i just wished they had asked me to get her to take it off? this would have then been a straight forward check rather than a mini standoff by a 3 year old!i guess the sercurity staff just made a bad judgement!

i also realise that not everything was ryanirs fault and i have accepted that! i think it was like i said previously a number of factors!

yes it is my fault i didnt realise ryanair didnt automatically sit minors with adults i assumed (wrongly) that this was standard practice.

ynot2005

i would suggest you read a few postings i made long time ago about a bad trip with ryanair, but if you cant be bothered to understand or read theses posts then im sure thats out of the question

i make the point that when things go wrong with ryanair you are on your own, and they are less than perfect in countless posts

thats more facts for you poppyolivia, ignore them too

end of ...yes indeed

poppyolivia

ynot2005 wrote: »

i would suggest you read a few postings i made long time ago about a bad trip with ryanair, but if you cant be bothered to understand or read theses posts then im sure thats out of the question

i make the point that when things go wrong with ryanair you are on your own, and they are less than perfect in countless posts

thats more facts for you poppyolivia, ignore them too

end of ...yes indeed

You are having an arguement with yourself!:rotfl: Why would anyone want to read your previous posts is that not stalkerish?

and I quote : and they are less than perfect ... so why you being so mean to OP? She was only stating what happened to her. So its ok for you to have an opinion about Ryanair being less than perfect but no-one else is allowed?

I came on here to say to OP about the us being seated all apart and a few other things that happened which were the same or funny experiences and you seem to have taken offence at this, you are one tough cookie to work out but hey ho I'm sure I'll live!;)

And by the way cheap tickets or expensive tickets there should be no lack of customer care:rolleyes:

Anyway since I'm waffling on yet again I better go as my wee man is wanting me!:p

jyonda

Coming back to the original point for a moment. Ryanair T&C's state 1 buggy per child carried free as they are mobility equipment. We caught 4 Ryanair flights recently and only had an issue with this at.... Stansted.

Check in lady: You can't check that in, you need to pay for it.
Me: Excuse me but the TC's state they are free.
Check in lady: Don't tell me what they say, I've worked here 6 years.
Me: Well you should have read them by now then....

Total lack of customer focus, rude, arrogant AND wrong! After refusing to serve us she made a phone call and found out she was wrong, continued to check the buggy in FOR FREE and didn't bother apologising.

It didn't get any better at the gate.

My wife (to gate agent): You know it really would be easier if you let the people with young kids go directly after the Priority boarders.
GA: you should buy PB. These people have paid to board first.
My wife: I said AFTER, it's in everybodys interest... (walks off)
GA: (Calls after my wife down the gangway) Well it's a personal choice to have kids or not!
Me: And if no-one has kids who will buy your cheap flights? (She hadn't really thought her argument through as having kids is not really in the same vein as having a pet or a car. For society to function someone must be having kids. Even SHE was one a very very very long time ago).

To be fair our expectations had been raised by the Ryanair staff on our first flight (to Stansted) who let us board directly after the priority boarders without having to ask even. There was also a wonderful Ryanair Marketing exec sitting next to us who was really fantastic with our daughter. In future I will stump up the extra for priority boarding but I will only pay for one so that I can go ahead with all the hand luggage and grab the locker space and seats we need. On principal I shouldn't have to pay for one because there is a safety issue here and besides which it's a lot quicker and simpler if small kids are sat with their parents without be barged around and getting in the way. It's just common sense which has been overruled by aggressive pricing models and I cannot believe that ANYONE would in their right mind defend such blatant greed and shortsightedness on the part of the airlines who try to, lets call it what it is, BLACKMAIL families with young kids into paying for their childs safety. Ryanair aren't the only ones. We had similar issues on a long haul flight with First Choice. Nuts I tell you.

The other not entirely clear part of Ryanair charges is the Online check in is free but you HAVE to check the buggy in at the desk to get a tag so you can take it up to the plane. I played it safe and checked online for all the flights but you can bet if I hadn't it would have been ker-ching that'll be twenty quid please. Chancers, but at 1p and no taxes you can hardly blame them. The poor customer service though is inexcusable and I don't care what your business model looks like there's no need for rudeness!

Overall I'd fly with them again but make sure you READ, fully understand and PRINT the T&C's in case you have to waive them at some snotty, untrained Jobsworth. Honestly, I'm travelling with 2 small children, my day is difficult enough as it is. Please don't make it any harder!

Cue some horrible WUM who'll tell me how wrong I am not to be like him/her....

jamescredmond

poppyolivia wrote: »

You are having an arguement with yourself!:rotfl: Why would anyone want to read your previous posts is that not stalkerish?

and I quote : and they are less than perfect ... so why you being so mean to OP? She was only stating what happened to her. So its ok for you to have an opinion about Ryanair being less than perfect but no-one else is allowed?

I came on here to say to OP about the us being seated all apart and a few other things that happened which were the same or funny experiences and you seem to have taken offence at this, you are one tough cookie to work out but hey ho I'm sure I'll live!;)

And by the way cheap tickets or expensive tickets there should be no lack of customer care:rolleyes:

Anyway since I'm waffling on yet again I better go as my wee man is wanting me!:p

absolutely re your main points.

poor ol' ynot is a serial ryanair apologist.

contributes nothing to debate and some of his posts have been deleted.

sounds like a saddo lone traveller who gets all beat up over anyone who disagrees with him.

I posted here 2yrs ago about poor r/air cust. service and he jumped straight down my throat.

poor, poor ynot. he should've been banned ages ago.

ynot2005

---

SomeBozo

jyonda wrote: »

Coming back to the original point for a moment. Ryanair T&C's state 1 buggy per child carried free as they are mobility equipment. We caught 4 Ryanair flights recently and only had an issue with this at.... Stansted.

Check in lady: You can't check that in, you need to pay for it.
Me: Excuse me but the TC's state they are free.
Check in lady: Don't tell me what they say, I've worked here 6 years.
Me: Well you should have read them by now then....

Total lack of customer focus, rude, arrogant AND wrong! After refusing to serve us she made a phone call and found out she was wrong, continued to check the buggy in FOR FREE and didn't bother apologising.

It didn't get any better at the gate.

My wife (to gate agent): You know it really would be easier if you let the people with young kids go directly after the Priority boarders.
GA: you should buy PB. These people have paid to board first.
My wife: I said AFTER, it's in everybodys interest... (walks off)
GA: (Calls after my wife down the gangway) Well it's a personal choice to have kids or not!
Me: And if no-one has kids who will buy your cheap flights? (She hadn't really thought her argument through as having kids is not really in the same vein as having a pet or a car. For society to function someone must be having kids. Even SHE was one a very very very long time ago).

To be fair our expectations had been raised by the Ryanair staff on our first flight (to Stansted) who let us board directly after the priority boarders without having to ask even. There was also a wonderful Ryanair Marketing exec sitting next to us who was really fantastic with our daughter. In future I will stump up the extra for priority boarding but I will only pay for one so that I can go ahead with all the hand luggage and grab the locker space and seats we need. On principal I shouldn't have to pay for one because there is a safety issue here and besides which it's a lot quicker and simpler if small kids are sat with their parents without be barged around and getting in the way. It's just common sense which has been overruled by aggressive pricing models and I cannot believe that ANYONE would in their right mind defend such blatant greed and shortsightedness on the part of the airlines who try to, lets call it what it is, BLACKMAIL families with young kids into paying for their childs safety. Ryanair aren't the only ones. We had similar issues on a long haul flight with First Choice. Nuts I tell you.

The other not entirely clear part of Ryanair charges is the Online check in is free but you HAVE to check the buggy in at the desk to get a tag so you can take it up to the plane. I played it safe and checked online for all the flights but you can bet if I hadn't it would have been ker-ching that'll be twenty quid please. Chancers, but at 1p and no taxes you can hardly blame them. The poor customer service though is inexcusable and I don't care what your business model looks like there's no need for rudeness!

Overall I'd fly with them again but make sure you READ, fully understand and PRINT the T&C's in case you have to waive them at some snotty, untrained Jobsworth. Honestly, I'm travelling with 2 small children, my day is difficult enough as it is. Please don't make it any harder!

Cue some horrible WUM who'll tell me how wrong I am not to be like him/her....

I am really trying hard not to write a confrontational post in response to your post.

I work for a major airline, but the main point of my job is working abroad.

Check in lady: You can't check that in, you need to pay for it.
Me: Excuse me but the TC's state they are free.
Check in lady: Don't tell me what they say, I've worked here 6 years.
Me: Well you should have read them by now then....

No excuses for this. What you should have done was ask for a Check in superviser. 99% of the time, they will waive a baggage rule so as to not extend the queue.

My wife (to gate agent): You know it really would be easier if you let the people with young kids go directly after the Priority boarders.

You see you are wrong here. Its easier for YOU. Not the airline! Its much easier for the airline to have 2 loading proecedures. Let 1 lot go, and then let the other lot go. Having a middle tier makes their job harder, not easier.

They also want to protect their premuim "priority boarders" product. Theres no point in having it, if after they have gone, they let the families go and get the same deal as those paying, for free!

Take my point?

In future I will stump up the extra for priority boarding but I will only pay for one so that I can go ahead with all the hand luggage and grab the locker space and seats we need.

You won't be able to do that. Or at least you should not be able to do it. You will be able to pick your seat and luggage area only. If someone as direct as you comes on, and grabs what he thinks are empty seats, what happens then? Oh thats right, the airline will have to intervene.

and I cannot believe that ANYONE would in their right mind defend such blatant greed and shortsightedness on the part of the airlines who try to, lets call it what it is, BLACKMAIL families with young kids into paying for their childs safety.

Sorry this is rubbish. There is no safety implication of boarding with children.

YOU have children, YOU want to travel with children, YOU want to board before other people, then YOU should pay for it, or choose another airline that gives you what you want. There are airlines out there that will do this for you.

Now I don't mean to attack yonda, or defend RyanAir, but they fill a unique part of the airline market. There low basic fares allow people for the first time to travel cheaply. They have opened up the air market to families and people who could not afford to travel before.

Their fares are so cheap that they are dependant on you buying other products they offer, like priority boarding.

Its unfair to take advantage of their low fares, then complain about a inferior product compared to other airlines.

Bozo

melb

I agree to a large extent - we have been travelling abroad with our children since they were very small. We have restricted ourselves to flights of no more than 2 hours as it can be a pain flying with them. However, they are our responsibility - no one else's - and we must do all we can to make the flight bearable for ourselves and our kids and for other people. Therefore book priority boarding if it's available, it's not that expensive. Some families make such a fuss and act if they're the only ones that have kids - we had some barging in front of us in spain last week - breathless and sweaty - are you all right darling - yes, just about - because they had one small child between them. Just a load of fuss. our children are not allowed to kick the seat in front of them or shout for no reason. don't get me wrong they've cried when they were little and their ears hurt and they're not perfect by any means but they have to fit in with other people

deegee999

I wish all parents were like you melb, I've been on lots of flights especially ryanair (cos their cheap and we are tight), Ive seen everything from a woman traveling alone with 3 small perfectly behaved boys to a woman on a flight berating the cabin crew and every other passenger for talking because her child wanted to sleep. as has been said before if you don't like what they do fly with someone else.

jyonda

It IS in everybodys interests that children sit with their parents/guardian because they are the people who will a) keep the child amused b) make the child feel calm/ secure c) look after the child in an emergency. Hardly deserves pointing out but some people just don't get it apparently. Furthermore, it's quicker for EVERYONE if families juggling with toddlers and hand luggage aren't cluttering up the aisles when the 'normal' passengers are trying to barge their way down the plane. It may be simpler for the GATE to have only 2 tiers but that's not considering what happens on the plane.

It IS a safety hazard sitting a 3 year old alone and next to a stranger.Airlines would refuse a booking of a lone minor but would be happy to sit them away from a parent to protect their price model! Does that really make sense? Again, does this really need pointing out? The only place left to sit on one flight was at the back in seats clearly marked NOT for children but the cabin crew didn't mind.

And before anyone goes on about the 'poor old Ryanairs' right to squeeze every last penny out of passengers.
1. That should never come before safety.
2. They set the prices not the passengers - If they are too low, raise them. But that might ruin the almighty 'model'.
3. Each seat is sold at full adult price - No reduced child fares so letting kids on before others is not that much of a concession.
4. What if everyone bought priority boarding? Or half the plane even? There would be no value in it and no benefit to a parent needing to get their kids settled QUICKLY, which is in EVERYONES interests.

In response to being told I can't go ahead with hand luggage and claim seats. If I wouldn't be this direct I would not be looking after my familys interests and unfortunately it's because the situation demands it. It's not a choice.

You know, what people without little kids don't appreciate and/or forget is that the ordeal of the plane is just a snapshot in a day most likely filled with challenges great and small. The point of this is mostly to visit family and/or spend time together so in the end it's worth the difficulties but for goodness sakes don't make it harder by being:
1. Impatient
2. Intolerant
3. Judgemental
4. Unsympathetic

People not wanting kids to be treated differently are sad, miserable g*ts and if they don't have anything nice or helpful to say they should just keep it to themselves. In other cultures they actually value children and familys are respected for supplying society with the lifeblood IT NEEDS to regenerate. NOT made to feel like antisocial, inconvenient, lepers who through their own selfishness 'CHOSE' to have kids so must now suffer the consequences. No wonder people don't have kids anymore or wait a lot later. Personally I think NOT having kids as a lifestyle choice (not medical reasons) is purely selfish because you then are expecting others, eg the State (unless very wealthy) to care for you when you cannot do so for yourself. But that's just my view.