I flew ryainair once and will never again - not because of poor customer/internet service like you received but because they didn't seem to presurize their cabins properly and for days after I and my companion were popping our ears. Never again to save 50$

Ultimately it's Patti's decision how far she is going to take this... but I think we should support and encourage her. If she wins this fight it'll stop Ryanair from doing the same to others - and those "others" could be any one of us (or almost any of us - I know some people here won't fly Ryanair on principle!)

I'm from the states and know that you don't fly Ryanair.. you just don't

I am from the school that this might just be one of those to put some basic effort into your fight and then let it go.. this one is not one of those fights you want to pick

as the old saying goes, choose your battles, this is not one that I would choose.

The previously posted tinyurl is still working for me now. If that doesn't work, though, try this:
http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&q=...birth%22&meta=

Yes, leave that aside. It is irrelevant, and bringing it up repeatedly will only serve to confuse. The matter is very simple:

* You and Ryanair had a contract to transport you
* You presented yourself at the ticket counter in compliance with Ryanair's conditions of carriage and written list of acceptable documentation
* Ryanair unreasonably denied you boarding because of your documentation
* This caused you quantifiable financial costs

Leave out the emotional anguish, stuff about you being disabled, etc, etc. It only complicates a simple matter.

I completely disagree with Macspreader's attitude. First, while Ryanair likes to use their 1p + "tax" (some of the "tax," of course, is not a tax at all and goes directly to Ryanair) tickets for marketing purpose and as an excuse for abominable service, I know from personal experience that their tickets can be much more expensive than that if they think the market will bear it. Sometimes even more than legacy carriers.

Someone needs to fight Ryanair's shenanigans.

Yeah, no points or miles!

I wouldn't be 100% sure that the original poster's disability is irrelevant. Ryanair has been suspected of fabricating reasons not to let people on board, based on stories I have read. Ryanair has already indicated some hostility to the disabled. Is it so incredible that Ryanair might manufacture an ID issue for a disabled person when it would not do the same for an able-bodied person? Still, it's probably not possible to prove that, so best to stick to the known facts.

I wouldn't put it past them, but I still think it is best to stick to the known facts which are pretty damning for Ryanair already.

Easyjet is a picnic compared to Ryanair. The horror stories from them are legendary. Avoid at all costs. Even a penny plus tax.

The tinyurl is definitely dead - I suspect it's just cached on your machine.

However, I did get to the URL using the other link, and it would appear that this is a link off the Catalan (!) version of the Ryanair web site which I presume they must have forgotten to update when they changed their rules. The link that comes off the UK version of the web site makes no mention of having to have been born in the EU/EEA, and when you book from the UK then it's obviously the UK version that counts.

I think I now have a fairly good idea what may have happened, and I suspect it may have been incompetence rather than malice... my guess is that Ryanair DID have this restriction once upon a time, that they (quietly) abolished it when it was pointed out to them that it was illegal (you just cannot discriminate against British citizens based on their place of birth), and that they forgot to tell their staff at STN that they had abolished it.

If things are as I suspect then Patti might even stand a chance of getting her money back without having to fight for it... (or am I being too optimistic?)

I think this post is the most realistic.

I expect the same service and comfort from Ryanair as I would from expect from Stagecoach or National Express. And in this expectation I've never been disappointed. In fact, Ryanair on the whole have been very good to me, and I've flown with them a lot.

I've had my own AWFUL experience when trying to get a bus one evening from Cartagena to Murcia in Spain. I was on my own (a female) and very young. The guy at the counter kept insisting that there was no bus to Murcia even though I'd researched the timetable. Nothing doing, I was out on the streets, no access to funds, condemned to stay out all night... anything could have happened, I felt very unsafe. A taxi driver saw my distress and assured me that the bus to Madrid certainly stopped at Murcia. I went back, there was a different guy at the desk and he sold me the ticket I needed. The previous guy was at the bus inspecting tickets as people got on. "So? No tickets to Murcia, huh?" His incompetence didn't even prick his concience, and yet no-one has ever put me in greater danger than this guy did.

Did I stop using coaches after this experience? Of course not!!!

I fully believe that it was sheer incompetence that created this problem for you Pattimyself. If you contact Ryanair and can put forward all the facts, I don't doubt that you will find them to be sympathetic. They may even arrange some kind of reparations.

At the very least, you will be pointing out a problem with communications that could help to prevent them treating someone else in the same way.

Best of luck!

Although I didn't personally suffer, I've seen terrible service from National Express to some passengers both times I took it, far worse than what I've personally seen from Ryanair, which was neutral. But expecting Ryanair to be sympathetic is quite unlikely, I fear. I've yet to hear of a single instance where that was the case. However, I did read on the Yahoo group at one point that some small-claims suits have been settled successfully.

The TinyUrl link is working fine for me, despite the fact I am using a different machine and network than I did yesterday, so it's not cached. It's quite possible the Ryanair STN staff was not updated as to this likely change in drivers' license. It's certainly been my experience at a couple airports that EasyJet staff are not properly updated on the latest procedures. Given this sort of discrimination on the basis of birthplace is illegal, does the UK have a tribunal where claims of discrimination can be brought?

I would very much doubt that to be the case. There could have been a fault on the aircraft, but then they use brand-new 737s these days and so far as I know maintain them perfectly well (think of how catastrophic a major incident could be to a low-cost operation with tight margins).

I'd disagree, you do if you know what you're letting yourself in for (remember to read the T&Cs etc) and you get a very cheap flight. You're only on it for an hour in most cases so the quality of the ride isn't all that important. Just make sure you have insurance in the event of a cancellation stranding you.

Don't assume you're getting full service, but then for 25 quid return including taxes (which is what my trip to Hamburg cost two weekends ago) what, to be fair, do you expect? (I wouldn't pay them several hundred quid for a short-notice flight - that's what the full service airlines are for).

Neil

Hamburg??? Ryanair doesn't fly to Hamburg. Ryanair flies to the city of L�beck. Calling it Hamburg is not just like saying STN is a London airport when it's miles away, it's like flying to Liverpool and calling it Manchester or like flying to Glasgow and calling it Edinburgh. (Sorry. Pet hate. I was born in L�beck).

As for paying �25 - that's only if you book at the right time. I've paid up to �200 for a Ryanair flight (I had no alternative that day). And you get the same poor service regardless of whether you pay �20 or �200.

And as for "you're only on it for an hour..." - a lot can go wrong in an hour! I once needed medical assistance on a Ryanair flight and the cabin crew were hopeless. And if there was a real emergency I would not trust their cabin crew to cope - in many cases they don't even share a language with their passengers; I've been on flights where none of the cabin crew knew any English beyond the basics that are required to sell cups of coffee, and where the safety announcements were completely unintelligible (I note that safety announcements are now pre-recorded...)

I am very reluctant to fly Ryanair these days, and am no longer booking my elderly mother on Ryanair flights. I just don't trust them to take care of her.