alanR

€3 or £2 per person per flight

http://www.ryanair.com/site/EN/news....=gen-en-240807

But online checkin will be free

Wonder if they'll charge more if you don't prebook airport checkin?

rally

will they charge for using the toilet on the plane ?

Rally

alanR

Yup, extra if you need paper - but if you don't pre-book you'll pay double and have to pay at the airport

RustyC

They'll go too far with these charges, methinks. I know someone who booked Ryanair and was kicking himself for doing so after seeing the unbundled charges he was snared by.

Aviatrix

Probably - if they current system is anything to go by.

Under the current system you pay extra for online check-in. If you've checked in online, but for whatever reason are unable to produce an Internet boarding pass at the airport, then you pay extra for checking in at the airport (they call it a "boarding pass reissue fee"). So - I am sure there will probably be an extra charge if you check in at the airport without having prebooked your place in the queue.

Flying Ryanair is just so much hassle... I feel better for having given it up!

Cofyknsult

Now that the service in the front cabin of traditional airlines (i.e. non "low cost") is far worse than service in coach 5 years ago (sometimes no food on flights up to 4 hours in the US), I have long suggested that one way to differentiate between cabins would be to to install pay toilets in the back and maybe to provide C and F class pax with 2-ply toilet paper. It might also be a good idea to make it compulsory to check babies and children under 6 as luggage, for a fee of course, thus providing a "quiet zone" unless cellphones become permitted in the same move. The airlines' liability in case of a lost or misdirected baby might eventually have to be raised under the pressure of consumer groups, which may be why airlines have been reluctant to initiate the move.

farci

How long before Ryanair's rivals copy them? If you don't think so - just look at checked baggage charges...

lexande

I don't see what's objectionable about this, really. I'm happy to have charges unbundled so I can pay for what I use and not for anything else. Ryanair makes all its charges clear before you pay for the ticket, so you can still compare with other airlines for total cost, and Ryanair still turns out cheaper a lot of the time.

Previously Ryanair charged to check in online and not for checking in at the airport, which meant long queues and was nonsensical as the check-in agent costs Ryanair more. I am glad they've now done the sensible thing, switching them around so that online check-in is free and agent check-in is charged, since this will enable me to avoid the queues without paying extra.

RustyC

Just because it's unbundled doesn't mean it's being charged at cost-plus or that there's a real reason to have a charge anyway. For example, one of the things that most irritates passengers of some LCCs is an uncivilized "open seating." But how much more would it cost in this day and age, with everything computerized anyway, to assign seats on the day of the flight (or at online check-in?) Very little, I think, to make the conversion, and zero per increment. Yet some LCCs, like Air Asia, ignore the complaints so they can sell "express boarding" as an extra add-on. They created a problem so they could get extra revenue to selectively "solve" it. Maybe people will post videos on YouTube about the queues and shame them to change.

As for the transparency of the charges, it's not so transparent that it'll change results on comparative fare searches, and there's the rub. As long as you have to comb the tariff and tack on the extras mentally before you can do a true apples-to-apples comparison, they'll have partially succeeded in reintroducing asymmetry to the process. RyanAir just seems to be taking it farther than most because even a fairly typical traveler will trip a number of the fees.

lexande

By charging fees to rushed or unwary passengers with heavy bags and without much experience, Ryanair is able to provide cheaper fares for me (and many other budget travellers). The total cost of flying Ryanair for me is often significantly lower than any other airline. A little extra "combing the tariff" is well worth it for the savings.

alanR

Under EU law airlines have to show the true cost of the flight - ie including taxes & charges but excluding anything that can be optional

In the case of Ryanair however you are guaranteed to pay more than this even if (under the new rules) you have hand luggage only & do online checkin as even the cheapest method of paying for the ticket incurs a charge PER PASSENGER PER FLIGHT

If you have checked luggage & use a CC then the LEAST extra you can pay is £9 per passenger per flight (£5 luggage, £2 checkin, £2 CC fee) more than the quoted price

Aviatrix

No matter what payment method you use there is always a surcharge (unless things have changed recently) - a small surcharge for paying by debit card/bank transfer, a larger one for paying by credit card.

How can they possibly NOT include those charges in the basic price?

lexande

Somewhat bizarrely, if you pay by Visa Electron card there is no card fee. That said, I agree that the per-flight card fees are pretty questionable, and hope the EU makes them do something about that.

bankops

Unless they have changed their rules recently on this too, a Non-EU citizen cannot check in online! I had them refuse me boarding because as a US citizen I had used the internet check-in. Took me out of the boarding line and told me my ticket was forfeit. Last time I ever tried or will try to fly them anyway. Not worth it.

Aviatrix

From what I remember online check-in is also not available to passengers travelling with small children, and - more importantly - to disabled passengers who require assistance. The new fee could well get them into trouble under disability rules unless disabled passengers are exempt.