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Ryanair's E40 boarding pass reprinting fee ruled illegal in Spain

Ryanair's E40 boarding pass reprinting fee ruled illegal in Spain

Old Jan 19, 2011, 5:10 pm
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Ryanair's E40 boarding pass reprinting fee ruled illegal in Spain

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/TRAVEL/0...ex.html?hpt=T2

Ryanair, the Irish airline famous for its low fares and an extensive menu of fees, is vowing to fight a court ruling that calls one of its extra charges "abusive."

A judge in Barcelona, Spain, ruled that the carrier's 40 euro (about $54) boarding card reissue fee is illegal. Passengers must pay it if they arrive for their flight without a pre-printed boarding pass.
And later on:

If the decision is not reversed, Ryanair vowed to get rid of the charge altogether, warning that passengers who arrived at the airport without their pre-printed boarding passes would simply not be able to go through security or board their plane.
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Old Jan 21, 2011, 7:16 pm
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Originally Posted by RichardInSF
I just dont understand why people continue to fly FR.
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Old Jan 21, 2011, 7:18 pm
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What a bunch of thieves.

They know that a lot of their clientele gets "completely pissed", as they call it, the night before heading back to the UK, and try to hose them for it.
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Old Jan 22, 2011, 1:19 pm
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The charge is another reason I will not use them the next time I wish to visit other destinations once in Europe.

I would have no way to print the boarding pass at some hotels as not all have business centers or an internet cafe nearby.
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Old Jan 22, 2011, 6:39 pm
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Slightly misleading title. Re-printing implies it was already printed by Ryanair then lost/damaged by the pax, in which case the fee would be fair. But in this case, FR is definitely out of line here.
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Old Jan 23, 2011, 6:52 pm
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40 Euros is an insane amount for a replacement BP, even for RyanAir (which is why they'll never get any of my money).
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Old Jan 24, 2011, 3:03 am
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Great ruling! EUR 40 for printing a boarding pass is a "crime"!
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Old Jan 24, 2011, 4:19 am
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Originally Posted by belfordrocks
Slightly misleading title. Re-printing implies it was already printed by Ryanair then lost/damaged by the pax, in which case the fee would be fair. But in this case, FR is definitely out of line here.
Is it? If you buy a print-your-own train ticket in the UK, if you don't print it or forget to bring it or damage it you have to buy a completely new ticket. Why should FR be any different?

Neil
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Old Jan 24, 2011, 4:35 am
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Because there is evidence of the purchase loaded into the system already.
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Old Jan 24, 2011, 4:55 am
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Originally Posted by MissRoseDarrensAngel
I would have no way to print the boarding pass at some hotels as not all have business centers or an internet cafe nearby.
You know you can "check in" to a Ryanair flight up to a month beforehand?

Basically this is them being hamstrung by the way traditional airlines have run things. Boarding passes are irrelevant to the way Ryanair works. Their tickets/boarding passes are like bus tickets. You buy one and then you use it to get on the plane. The whole "check in" thing is a holdover from a different business model.

All part of the European model of "innovation by permission".
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Old Jan 24, 2011, 4:57 am
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Originally Posted by zkzkz
You know you can "check in" to a Ryanair flight up to a month beforehand?
Isn't it 15 days - just long enough so that people on 2 week holidays can't produce the return boarding card before they leave home
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Old Jan 24, 2011, 5:09 am
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I don't get why everyone gets so angry with Ryanair. They never ever hide any of their fees and are very very clear during the booking process about what you must pay for, if you want it. They also make it very clear you must print and bring your own boarding pass before you hit pay. Then everyone questions why so many people fly with them - they must be doing something right being the 7th ranked airline in the world in terms of number of passengers flown at over 70 million passengers.

US airlines are hardly any better - "full service" airlines suddenly charging for things that used to be free like bags and food to make money yet when Ryanair tries to make money they are evil thieves.
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Old Jan 24, 2011, 5:15 am
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Originally Posted by alanR
Isn't it 15 days - just long enough so that people on 2 week holidays can't produce the return boarding card before they leave home
Correct, and you can't change a flight after you've "checked in". This always struck me as rather silly, because easyJet allow it far further in advance (at least a month - and I think the only reason they don't allow longer is to make sure people check to ensure times haven't changed) and allow you to change your flights regardless of whether you've printed it already or not. I wonder, though, if this is perhaps because FR don't like paying to use airport systems, so verification of boarding passes is just "on sight", so one can't be cancelled?

The thing I've always wondered about boarding passes is why airlines don't dispense with them. If, as is the case for Ryanair, the only valid form of ID is a passport, surely you could just scan a machine readable passport at the gate?

Neil
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Old Jan 24, 2011, 5:52 am
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The EU rules are quite clear. It must be clear prior to booking a flight how much it will cost. Adding EUR 40 for printing a boarding pass is insane and a violation of these rules.

FR was quite often now in court about these (and other) rules and they always lost. When do they learn? Never.

The alternative FR pointed out or removing any check-in machines won't help either, because the record of booking in the booking machine of FR is prove enough for a flight. In theory, you could just go to the airport without any ticket, show your passport for ID and FR has to issue the ticket and boarding pass - without any extra handling, printing, ... fee.

I don't fly them - even for free. There are so many hidden and illegal fees involved that you never know how much you will pay in the end.

BTW: I don't have the reference, but FR stated one day that the EU law for customer rights do not apply to them, because it is obvious that for that little money charged FR will not have the ability to pay their customers a hotel night for canceled flights.
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Old Jan 24, 2011, 7:17 am
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Originally Posted by Scrooge McDuck
The EU rules are quite clear. It must be clear prior to booking a flight how much it will cost. Adding EUR 40 for printing a boarding pass is insane and a violation of these rules.
I was under the impression that when booking a flight sites must advertise the price that the flight can be purchased for including all taxes/fees. So, FR is allowed to advertise a 7 flight because that's all somebody who wants to travel on the flight needs to pay. Of course, there are extra fees if you anything but the base service (hold luggage, printed boarding pass, paying by anything but an obscure payment card) but you can (and I do) travel without paying these.

While some of FR's fees may have been ruled 'abusive', I don't think they're in violation of any EU rules/laws with regard to how pricing is listed on their website.
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