Ryanair to charge £10 – to print your own boarding pass
Budget airline Ryanair has announced it will charge customers £10 – for printing their own boarding passes.
Bristol International Airport's second largest carrier is also doubling baggage charges from £5 to £10 per piece of luggage for each flight from next week.
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Ryanair to charge £10 – to print your own boarding pass
The extra charges comes as the Dublin-based company moves to abolish check-in desks in favour of online ticketing.
The carrier currently flies to 30 different destinations from Lulsgate – 10 fewer than rival Easyjet – but will raise the number to 33 by the summer.
It is renowned for advertising low fares – with some flights even listed as being free – but also for its add-on charges to customers.
From next Thursday anyone booking a seat online will be required to print their own tickets using their own computer and pay a £5 check-in charge for doing so – making a £10 surcharge for a return flight.
A barcode is then produced after checking in online and is verified by Ryanair when passengers arrive at the airport for their flight.
Any customer who forgets to bring their ticket with them will have to fork out for a £40 'boarding card re-issue fee' on arrival at their designated airport.
The new fee policy replaces Ryanair's previous practice of offering free online ticketing and charging £10 for anyone who opted for face-to-face check-in.
Ryanair says the only exceptions will be on tickets offered at fee-included prices of £5 or less.
The airline has also announced it will no longer accept bookings for unaccompanied passengers under the age of 16 years from today.
All new bookings will require passengers – including infants and domestic flight passengers – to hold a valid passport or valid national identity card.
Ryanair spokesman Stephen McNamara said the airline hoped to shut down all of its traditional check-in desks at 146 airports by October 1 – but quicker if possible.
However, the firm will keep staffing desks to collect people's checked-in bags – as well as payments from passengers arriving without their printed-out tickets.
He said the new system will lower the airline's costs and allow it to drop prices by next winter.
Restrictions on Ryanair's on-line ticketing system mean that customers booking more than 15 days before their flight, or within four hours of one, will be unable to print out tickets immediately. People booking in advance – common since Ryanair's cheapest deals often are offered months ahead – will have to revisit the website nearer the time of their trip.
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by anon, bristol
Tuesday, May 19 2009, 3:01PM
“Lyn - these fees have only just been brought into place this year so it shouldnt affect u, it depends how you booked in december?! did u chose to check in at the airport or online? it might be worth looking into this, either by checking ur booking through ryanairs website or by ringing them (although are hard to get hold of) - hope this helps in some way?
i agree with the last comment that if u follow their terms and condtitions you can get a cheap flight! make sure read them and dont tick the box until u have! its important to see how u stand - ticking that box u are agreeing into a 'contract' for ur flight! so be careful!”
by anon, bristol
Thursday, May 14 2009, 8:29PM
“I work at bristol airport and see first hand how cheap carriers treat their customers. easyjet and ryanair are very strict on only one piece of hand luggage `per person and the amount of people who have been denied boarding by both airlines because their bag is to big is no joke. I have flown with Ryanair several times but play them at their own game. I wait until prices are low with no taxes then book using on line check in and hand luggage only this way i am paying the advertised price.”
by Mike, Bristol
Thursday, May 14 2009, 7:17PM
“Much as I prefer Easyjet over Ryanair. Unfortunately Easyjet does not fly direct from Bristol to Dublin.”
by Jon, Bradley Stoke
Thursday, May 14 2009, 6:03PM
“I fly quite often, and use many airlines, but I absolutely refuse to use Ryanair because while they can be cheap, at the back of my mind I know that they're always looking for new ways to take more of my money away.
Easyjet might also have a budget feel about them, but at least they're usually cheap AND cheerful!”
by Bert, Bristol
Thursday, May 14 2009, 5:41PM
“I just dont understand Ryanair's psychology. I recently bought a return trip to Bratislava in August and it cost £85. If I saw that price upfront I would have been very happy however it was originally £2.99 but then as I went through the booking process, taxes were added, then a bag had to be paid for, as did check-in costs and finally £5 each way to pay by card (like there is any option!). I felt very annoyed after all that however I would have been quite happy to pay £85 if that was the original price! The only effect that this is having is making EasyJet look good. No-one thinks these extra services are free so i dont understand why Ryanair arent upfront with all their little extras. I am sure EasyJet include them in their price and I feel much happier booking a flight with them as you know what you are paying whilst searching for a flight.”
by Jon, Montreal, QC
Thursday, May 14 2009, 5:35PM
“Ruth, if you have been driving to Dublin for 20 years, perhaps you are lost.
I would certainly say that it would be a more efficient use of your time if you flew.”
by Mike, Bristol
Thursday, May 14 2009, 2:47PM
“@Ruth.. I go to Dublin twice a year to see friends, and even with the additional £10 for a boarding card. The 30 minute Ryanair flight is still the most cost effective and easiest way for me to get to Dublin.
I don't consider driving and ferry to be a viable option for my use. I'd have to rent a car, drive it all the way to Fishguard, pay for the ferry crossing. taking all day, plus whatever petrol or diesel the car would use.
I would never consider going to a London airport to be an easy or cost effective option either.”
by Lyn, Bristol
Thursday, May 14 2009, 1:28PM
“I will be taking my last ever flight with Ryanair in June of this year, and i feel totally ripped off.
I bought my ticket in December and i now have to pay to check in online.
I'm voting with my feet and will use my car and the ferry for my visits to family in future until Ryanair are ousted and Aer Lingus start a service from Bristol.”
by Tim, Bristol
Thursday, May 14 2009, 12:10PM
“Substitute First Bus for Ryanair and this is the same story - they have us over a barrel to travel on specific routes from Bristol and use their financial muscle to prevent competition on the fringes of legality. For example: cutting fares on routes or threatening to withdraw routes from the airport. They have already been condemned several times by the Advertising Standards Authority for their habit of quoting a fare, then adding several times the cost through additional costs. Simple solution - do not fly with them. By the way, their tickets abroad cost a lot less than what we pay here!!”
by Ruth, Bristol
Thursday, May 14 2009, 11:35AM
“Mike, yes we do have a choice, and I'm choosing to drive and sail to Ireland where possible, and I know I'm not alone.
I've been flying to Dublin for over 20 years and Ryanairs prices nowadays are comparable to prices we paid about 17-20 years ago, they are no longer cheap!
Thanks Mendipman for the info, I can only hope that we get some competition for the route, but by then Michael O'Leary will probably have been successful in bullying his way into buying Aer Lingus and will own the airline by then anyway!”