Beware of Ryanair
January 24th, 2008
Let me start by declaring that I fly with Ryanair - on a regular basis. If you live in Ireland they are difficult to avoid. Living on a small island, if you want to get anywhere in a hurry you have to fly. Ryanair are the biggest carrier into Ireland, thus I end up on Ryanair many times per year. Like most passengers I have mixed feelings about them. They did transform air travel and tourism to Ireland. However, it’s like to old adage “be careful what you wish for - you just might get it”. Surely someone can deliver a low cost flight with a smile.
Yesterday
Ryanair continued their love/hate relationship with consumers. It’s a classic “bait and switch” strategy. On their front page they are running a buy one flight, get one flight free offer. It’s a great offer and to be honest, it helps a number of the business units here in myguideTravel. People who have cheap access are more likely to travel to one of our destinations such as Ireland.
What is not on their front page, is the fact that your free flight may now cost you up to €18 - if you show up with a piece of luggage. You can save on this by
- Prebooking your luggage - then your cost falls to €13
- Prebooking your luggage and checking in online - then your cost falls to €9
- Fly without luggage and check in online- then your second flight is truly free
The news was widely reported in the Irish newspapers today. Let me know what you think of Ryanair, do you love them or hate them?
Entry Filed under: Travel
1 Comment Add your own
1. Sean Kelly | January 29th, 2008 at 11:41 pm
Ryanair have made air travel a lot more accessible for a large number of people over the past two decades, especially by flying from/to regional airports in smaller cities and towns in Ireland and the UK as well as Continental Europe. Traditionally these areas would have had a hard time getting air service from “legacy” airlines in the past.
The downside to Ryanair is the airline’s overzealous (some would say vindictive) adherence to strict policies and an essential lack of customer service. The airline’s penchant for adding numerous “optional” charges that are anything but optional in reality is a bone of contention for many people. The best example of this is the credit card processing fee that Ryanair charge per person for making a booking with them. Never mind the fact that this charge is calculated irrespective of the actual processing cost Ryanair incurs, they do not accept any other form of payment for advance bookings!
Whatever one’s opinion on Ryanair, the old adage rings true “caveat emptor”. Buyer beware!
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