Ancillary revenues grew 8% to €346.3m, or 20% of the airline's total revenues !!
Why? New charge fee allowance

Passengers are now forced to register online for £5 (£10 for a return, £40 if you forget). Also, as a change in Ryanair’s commercial policy, the company has increased the fees it charges to check in bags and sporting equipment by 50%. The airline also increased bag check-in to £15 from £10 when ticket is booked in advance online and to £30 from £20 if you pay at the airport. However, the airline is also changing its baggage policy to allow passengers to take a second bag weighing up to 15kg on payment of an additional fee. The second bag will be charged £35 if booked on the internet and £70 at the airport. Currently, the airline allows passengers to take up to three bags with a combined weight of 15kg with the second and third bags charges at £20 each way.

That explains so much. When Wizzair made their €5 cash grab to bring their baggage allowance from 15kg to 20kg (which it was at before this extra charge), I thought they were on to something that FR hadn't seen yet. I guess they've instead just skipped that cash grab and declared the allowance in 15kg increments.

Looking forward to pay-per-kg rates, even if I'll hopefully never experience them again.

Air Asia charges in 5kg increments from 15kg up to 30kg. It should be noted that the fee for 15kg on a domestic oneway flight in Thailand is 100THB or ~$3, 30kg 650 THB or ~$20

Oh, dear. This is wrong (assuming the OP is referring to the online check-in fee). As has already been mentioned many times - why, I have even posted the info more than once - the majority (>50%) of FR passengers do not pay these fees. The other charges you mention are optional, i.e. not paid by passengers not using the service.

Just to reinforce the point for the slow, passengers on promotional fares do not pay for OLCI, and more than 50% of FR passengers travel on promotional fares.

Roger,

You'll know from my previous posts that I'm with you on this one (an amazing amount of nonsense is written about Ryanair, don't you think?) but I don't believe anyone should have to pay to check in as checking in is unavoidable.

This fee cannot be defended, even if most don't actually pay it.

Oh, I do agree with you!

I hold no brief for Ryanair, but when there are ignorant posts bleating about the (non-existent) injustice and where fewer than half FR passengers pay for OLCI, I do feel a correction is required.

And in any case, it's the total price to be paid which is important. Passengers see this before they book and pay. When legacy carriers as well as the LCCs are charging for baggage, credit card use, seat selection/early boarding, catering etc, it really is important to check and compare the totals. I do this every time. As ever, YMMV.

BTW, I see today's FR promotional price is from £2.99 including OLCI, hand baggage and payment by Visa Electron on flights on 56 routes from STN alone to 28.2.10. (Baggage and other payment methods extra.) As I only book 1p or £1 all-in flights with FR, £2.99 is hugely expensive for me and I have other plans anyway. I defy any of the unbelievers to produce all in fares of £2.99 to so many destinations with alternative carriers.

I agree. Such fares do not exist even for airline staff.

You raise what must be a problem for Ryanair. When one gets used to ridiculously low fares, even £50, say, for a return trip from the UK - still a real bargain - begins to look expensive.

Yes, the half-yearly figures show FR's average fare was down 17% to €39 though profits were up 80%. http://www.ryanair.com/site/EN/news....=fin-en-021109

I'm assuming that taxes and perhaps airport fees are not included in the average fare, but it's reasonable to assume that the bulk of FR's earnings come from catering charges and commission on car hire and hotel bookings and the like. Scratchcard anyone?