2456 Ryanair taking the mick?

Now that IS funny.
you a pleb? I don't think so..

M

Forgot to mention.. I have heard a rumour that Ryanair is for sale, don't know how true this is.. just someone Hubby knows mentioned it.......
Also I wonder if they are struggling as they still haven't taken delivery of all these new planes, perhaps the reason is they can't pay for them. The cynic in me thinks the new method of extracting more money from clients by this sneaky rule change is getting as much money in as they can quickly.
What would Pescara airport do without Ryanair ?

[quote=Iona]The check-in wifie.....[/quote]

Wifie? Steph, you're turning Scottish! You must be very happy! :D

Interesting news release on the Ryanair website!!!!!Just undies and a toothbrush then!!!!!;) :) :)

Blimey - you are right - it gets ever weirder - no news about whether this applies to people who have already booked but they appear to have put it back to 20k (hooray) and give a £2.50 discount if you have no luggage, but charge more if you don't book your bags in advance. Its a bit confusing ....No word about combining peoples allowances - I presume thats still not on.

RYANAIR TO REVOLUTIONISE EUROPEAN AIR TRAVEL

* FARES REDUCED BY 9% (£2.50 OR €3.50) FROM 16TH MARCH '06
* WEB CHECK-IN TO ELIMINATE CHECK-IN AND AIRPORT QUEUES
* LUGGAGE ALLOWANCES INCREASED FROM 25KGS TO 30KGS
* PASSENGERS ONLY PAY FOR THE BAGGAGE SERVICE THEY USE

Ryanair, Europe’s largest low fares airline today (Wednesday, 25 th January 2006) announced details of its next revolution in European low fare air travel. From the 16th March, Ryanair will introduce a number of key service improvements for all passengers including (1) all Ryanair’s fares will be reduced by 9% (£2.50 or €3.50), (2) all passengers travelling with hand luggage and in possession of an EU passport will be able to check-in on the web at [url]www.ryanair.com[/url] and by-pass all check-in and airport queues, (3) these passengers will also be given priority boarding which will also eliminate boarding gate queues as well, (4) for bookings after 16th March, Ryanair is increasing each passenger’s luggage allowance from the current 25kgs to 30kgs (comprising 10kgs carry-on and 20kgs checked-in luggage) which will substantially reduce excess baggage fees and finally (5) all passengers travelling with checked in luggage who book after 16th March will now pay a fee of £2.50 (€3.50) per bag, per flight if booked in advance on the website, or £5.00 (€7.00) per bag, per flight if presented unbooked at the airport.

As a result of these changes, those 25% of Ryanair’s passengers who presently travel with just hand luggage will avail of lower fares, will avoid the inconvenience of check-in or boarding gate queues and will no longer cross subsidise those passengers travelling with checked in luggage. A further 50% of Ryanair’s current traffic (who travel with just one checked in bag) will see no change in their cost of travel, as the £2.50 ticket price reduction will fund their £2.50 baggage fee if booked on the internet. These passengers will enjoy much shorter queues at check-in thanks to the large numbers of people who will now switch to web check-in, thereby reducing the airport check-in queues. Lastly those passengers who presently travel with more than one checked in bag will see the cost of their travel rise by the £2.50 (€3.50) per bag for their second and subsequent bags. These passengers will also enjoy shorter check-in queues, and will be encouraged to travel with less checked in luggage which would then make these changes cost neutral for them as well.

This 9% “across the board” reduction in Ryanair’s ticket prices from 16th March will make these changes revenue neutral for Ryanair. The airline estimates that the reduction in ticket revenues and excess baggage fees will cost Ryanair more than £100m per annum. These lower fares will stimulate further traffic growth and increase the current (50%) price differential between Ryanair’s prices and the average ticket prices of our higher fare competitors such as Easyjet. We expect as a result of these measures, and in particular the attraction of web check-in and priority boarding that more and more of Ryanair’s customers will be incentivised to travel with hand luggage only and take advantage of Ryanair’s industry leading 10kgs of carry-on luggage.

The upside for Ryanair in these initiatives will be the opportunity to significantly reduce airport and handling costs. We believe that between 40% to 50% of passengers will quickly switch to our new web check-in/priority boarding service. This will allow Ryanair to reduce the number of check-in desks, baggage hall and other handling facilities we rent at major airports. It will significantly reduce the number of check-in and baggage handling staff required to handle individual flights, although the airline expects few reductions in staffing numbers in these areas, as existing numbers will be required to handle our rapid growth. Ryanair believes that its airport and handling costs will be reduced by over 10%, which equate to a saving of some €30m. This saving would equate to 10% of Ryanair’s current year forecast after tax profits.

Announcing these changes in London, Michael O’Leary, Ryanair’s Chief Executive said:

“Many sceptics have doubted whether Ryanair could drive its fares even lower. Well today we prove the doubters wrong. From 16th March next, Ryanair will reduce its fares by almost 10% across the board. Ryanair will also become the first low fares airline in Europe to make web check-in available for all our customers and we believe that this service will prove enormously attractive to passengers who wish to avoid those frustrating queues at airport check-in, at security, and at the boarding gate as well.

“These changes will also be welcomed by the overwhelming majority of our remaining passengers who will still be checking in one bag, as these passengers will enjoy lower air fares, but also shorter and faster moving queues at airport check-in. We have no doubt that this pioneering development for checked in bags is the way forward, as it will encourage and incentivise more passengers on short-haul journeys to travel with hand luggage only. Ryanair’s higher carry-on limit of 10kgs, and our new increased checked in allowance of 20kgs will largely eliminate excess baggage charges.

“These changes will enable Ryanair to reduce our airport and handling costs across the network. We will require fewer and less expensive airport facilities such as airport check-in and baggage hall facilities. We will carry fewer bags making our aircraft lighter and improving our fuel consumption. Our existing check-in and baggage handling personnel will now be able to accommodate significantly greater traffic numbers as we aim to double the size of the airline over the coming five years.

“Ryanair started the low fares revolution in Europe back in 1990. We have continued to pioneer changes in both the cost and practice of air travel over the past 15 years. Today’s announcement takes this revolution one step further. With a 9% reduction in Europe’s lowest air fares and the first web check-in facility for low fare passengers, we believe that up to half of Ryanair’s passengers will now be encouraged to avoid airport queues. Short-haul travel in Europe will never have been cheaper or more convenient than Ryanair will make it this year”.

Geezzzz, We're going to have to hire an attorney to translate and read all the fine print so that we'll be able to get at the simple truth of the matter .....:confused:

Curiouser and Curiouser....

Best part of flying Ryanair is fighting with the stewardesses to hold onto backpacks and clothing if forced to sit in the last row on the plane (as has happened to me twice now). This last trip (from Rome to Stansted) there were three of us in the row and between us managed to hang onto all of our jackets and one backpack.

[QUOTE=Ryanair].....and take advantage of Ryanair’s industry leading 10kgs of carry-on luggage.[/QUOTE]

Is it industry leading?

Easyjet have no weight limit......

[QUOTE=Easyjet]There is no weight restriction, within reasonable limits - i.e. a passenger must be able to place the piece of luggage safely in the overhead storage bins without assistance.[/QUOTE]

Tee I have come to the conclusion that I will use them to think about if I need to get really cross for some reason. Like actresses think of their dog dying to cry...

Hmm - do I really need to get cross though? No. hmmmm

Sod it all, time for a wine.

M

will have to queue behind those with hand-luggage only ?

you have to take your hats off to Ryanair for those who can travel with just 10 kilos the pain of checking in will be a thing of the past...great

perhaps some enterprising soul will ask Ryanair if they can book cargo space on their planes and then offer a service to passengers whereby luggage is checked in at liverpool street station or airport carpark and then delivered to aircraft as air freight thus bypassing airport baggage handlers

[QUOTE=sdoj]perhaps some enterprising soul will ask Ryanair if they can book cargo space on their planes and then offer a service to passengers whereby luggage is checked in at liverpool street station or airport carpark and then delivered to aircraft as air freight thus bypassing airport baggage handlers[/QUOTE]

They'll be converting the hold and putting seats in, creating the first double-decker 737. :eek: :D

:confused: Although to my husbands complete surprise I have mastered the art of travelling light, a two week stay at one of our places requires using the full allowance unless I wantto spend the holidaywashingand ironing.No chance!
It seems wrong that a backpacker or business person using the service occasionally gets a better deal than folks like ourselves and our friends taking trips every 6 weeks or so.
I hope the system for children remains.Oh how many times I have been tempted to 'borrow 'one in the departure lounge!!!
Anyway best just wait and see how it goes. Wish easyjet would compete on the routes we use.

Thing about the fast check in via the website is this - other main carriers have offered telephone check-in and auto check in for some time now - BA, KLM and Aer Lingus all offer variations on this already, so how is this offer of Ryanair's any better?

[quote=Sano]Thing about the fast check in via the website is this - other main carriers have offered telephone check-in and auto check in for some time now - BA, KLM and Aer Lingus all offer variations on this already, so how is this offer of Ryanair's any better?[/quote]

For a business flight last week, I had to queue at the Aer Lingus automatic check in machine!

Anyway, assuming that most of the people here who use Ryanair to fly between UK and Italy are using the service to visit holiday homes... I have to ask... don't you leave clothing etc out there? Surely if you did that, you'd only need the bare essentials when travelling?

I think Ryanair are planning to completely do away with luggage check ins. Hand luggage only.

all very well justifying the baggage charge by reducing flight cost but are we going to get 9% off taxes etc?Otherwise with a £1 flight the cost won't change.

Ryanair do also allow 10Kg hand luggage [as long as its the right size] - so you do get an allowance of 25Kg overall.

I know people slag off Ryanair - I've done it plenty of times myself - but it is worth remembering that you get what you pay for - they are a business not a public service - and you have the choice of not using them if you if you don't like them.

I use BA for convenience when I want to pay for a better service [food/drink and a convenient airport [Malpensa], and use easyjet or Ryanair for cheap 'hop-overs' [Turin/Bergamo]. All I expect from them is a reasonable chance of getting where I want to go, and I accept that at the price I pay [Last trip £45 return] there may be problems that they don't deal with in the same way as BA [last trip £120+ return].

I boycott Ryanair anyway. Every other year I forget why I hate them so and book a flight - by the time I get back I swear off them for another year or two...

I wish I could boycott them, I wish I could fly direct to Ancona or Pescara with someone else. I'd happily pay more (though not more than the £245 they are currently charging for Sat flights in Aug for still the same shoddy service).
We usually bring one big bag between us weighing about 30k - if I hadn't noticed the small print we would have been in for a £82.50 excess on £40 flights.
It just seems sneaky to me to suddenly slip that clause in. They make it so cheap they have to try to steal it back off us somehow.
Give me a return flight for £100 with decent shareable luggage allowance and some protection if they decide not to fly that day and I'll be happy. I'm sure their management team have done the effective business sums of how to extract most revenue and fill the seats but it feels very cynical.
It'll be like weightwatchers in my kitchen checking all the bags are just right before we go - 'No, Mr suitcase - you're just going to have to slim down a bit more'
*sigh* Funny that they will only accept comments from customers by fax, I imagine working in their customer service division must rank as almost a Derek and Clive style 'worst job ever'...
I'll get off me high horse now..

M

I don't believe this, thank god I read these posts.
We are going over in Feb all 7 of us. I naturally wasn't going to take 7 bags of equal weight as well as the five kids. I thought two cases would do us all.
I am so p*****d off. :mad: How will we manage with all those bags the kids a pushchair in a bloody hire car. Thanks so much Ryanair. Next time it's Easyjet to Rome and a drive, sod the cost.
:mad:

Marinaw,
Many many thanks for the original post. Friends are flying out to Ancona today and I was able to warn them of the change in rules - usually, like most of us, they do not read the small print (been there, done that so think we know it) & travel with one case between them so it is invariably over the current 15kg limit. You have saved them some pennies, so on their behalf thank you! They even phoned R'air customer services to query the new rule, and were told one bag per person and definitely no sharing of allowance. When they said they only had one case (not true, but thought they would act dumb) they were told to buy another or pay excees baggage! In view of subsequent news and the whole system being changed it hardly seems worth this temporary change other than it being another R'air scam to get some extra pennies from the unsuspecting public, they have also increased the excess baggage fee by a £1 per kilo to £5.50! As many do not bother to read the small print they would be completely unaware of the new but temporary rules and have to cough up.

We will see how the new system works, does not sound particulaly revolutionary. I hope the children first rule continues to apply. The overhead lockers are usually jam packed so I would have thought there is little scope for even more passengers to travel with hand luggage only.

Regards
Anne2

[QUOTE=baggio] I naturally wasn't going to take 7 bags of equal weight as well as the five kids. I thought two cases would do us all.:mad:[/QUOTE]

How much luggage were you taking?

I assume the 2 bags wouldn't contain 105Kg of luggage [you'd never lift them] - so say they held 35Kg each [and that's some heavy bag], you'd need 4 bags plus one hand luggage to carry the equivalent on Ryanair now

2 adults can easily carry 2 bags each [less than the 35Kg big bag].

As the weight of luggage and volume is unchanged [apart from the cases themselves], get 4 'soft bags' for taking the luggage - they will fit easily in the car and pack well on luggage trolleys - and surely the older kids can help with the pushchair etc for the very short distances when you need to carry everything.

I assume the reason for the 15Kg limit is that it makes baggage handling easier [probably someone did a risk assessment] and gets more hand luggage into the overhead lockers [less for Ryanair to handle themselves]

Last month, 4 of us managed a week's skiing holiday easily using the 15Kg(hold)/10KG(hand) luggage allowances. [Obviously we hired the skis over there]

Hey no prob Anne. They did well to get through to Ryanairs customer services! I have no idea whether the flight I booked last month to fly at the end of March allows me to take 15k or 20k, will charge me money for a suitcase at high rates because it wasn't booked on line or will give me £2.50 off my flight!
Great innit.
But very interesting to see they are applying the new rules until March very strictly. Glad your friends were ok..

M

Alan says..

'I assume the reason for the 15Kg limit is that it makes baggage handling easier [probably someone did a risk assessment] and gets more hand luggage into the overhead lockers [less for Ryanair to handle themselves]'

I think its much more about taking extra money off you at check in - the new rule is buried deep within the booking confirmation. They will still happily take bags up to 32k - just charge you a packet for them. If someone does not read all the details (and how many people do apart from wary ex customers like me) they could easily come an expensive cropper. If everyone took the 10k hand luggage I doubt it would even fit in the overhead lockers. They may be cheap in low periods but they are very expensive at others and offer far less of a service than cheesyjet. Its ok on holiday but when you're going out to your own place I'm always trying to get extra kit over for the house, not just my bikini and a few shirts. I think I'll be doing the Rome trip with cheesy in future too. Wish they would fly to the east coast..
Oh if anyone is looking for flights to Pescara the early May flights have come down now - from £60 one way then went to £80 and now back to £40..
M

Hmmm a couple of years ago had to pay Ryanair Eur 49 (around £35 or so) for 7 kilos extra at Frankfurt Hahn! The check-in wifie was then eyeing my hand luggage suspiciously, making me weigh my photo & plastic bags (just under the limit!) ... but luckily overlooking my full handbag rucksack on my back.... :D

Just noticed that our Rome Ciampino flights from Prestwick on 13th Feb, costing us £78 altogether for 2 incl taxes, has now gone up to £250!!! Finally they realised it's over Valentine's day I guess... phew, lucky!!!

Steph

Alan says:

"2 adults can easily carry 2 bags each [less than the 35Kg big bag].

As the weight of luggage and volume is unchanged [apart from the cases themselves], get 4 'soft bags' for taking the luggage - they will fit easily in the car and pack well on luggage trolleys - and surely the older kids can help with the pushchair etc for the very short distances when you need to carry everything."

I wonder who will hold the toddlers hands or carry them if they fall asleep or get tired and stressed !!! and teddies. I think my older ones will run a mile. Perhaps we should hire a nanny, oh no then she would need luggage aswell!
I think the best solution is to wear all our clothes including pyjamas going out and peel off a layer each day :)

Marina

We normally only take one case with us round about 20kg, so obviously we will have to decant 5k into an empty case what a daft idea. Still could fill it up with goodies on our return.

Dave