Ryanair - shooting themselves in the foot?

[RogerS]

No..I'm not referring to the suggestion in the press that they charge £1 to use the toilet. Can't actually see that happening. Air sickness. Rushing to the loo. Don't think I'd be in a position to fumble for a £1 coin. Oops....all over the floor.

No, I'm referring to their plan to only allow online booking. But they only allow one type of photoID (even for internal UK travel) - a passport. Photo driving licences are not acceptable according to their website. So no passport - no travel.

Good one, Ryanair...not that I've (a) ever travelled with them (b) have any intention of travelling with them as I loathe them with an intensity usually reserved for bankers.

 

[John. B]

Charging you on any card, including debit cards, accept by 'Electron card'
Makes you wonder whether he has shares in 'Electron', hmmmmm
As for the toilet rubbish, wouldn't work!
On aircraft there is always a queue. So the person coming out would hold the door open for the next person.
To avoid that would require another member of staff, Woah! can't have that. It would cost more.
I agree with your last line sentiments completely.
I wonder if his day job is running a pawnshop

John. B

 

[RogerM]

Can't see them selling many overpriced drinks if you have to pay through the nose "on the way out" as well as "on the way in"! And would they really deny access to a toilet for someone whose bladder was about to explode if they didn't have a £1 coin. That stuff is corrosive you know - ever seen the rust at the base of a lamp post?

This sums it up better than I ever could!

 

[woodbloke]

That stuff is corrosive you know

...as is that filthy Coke and Pepsi stuff. Ever wondered why you can't buy it on an aircraft? (I stand to be corrected here but I think I'm right)...if you spill it and it starts to seep down into the dural airframe 8-[, not good - Rob

 

[devonwoody]

oddly enough you can use pepsi or coke as a flux when soldering 8)

 

[BMac]

...it's also very good for cleaning brass inserts before glueing them into pen blanks.

 

[CHJ]

Can't see the online booking making many friends either, so you book in before you leave home for a 50-70+ mile drive to the airport assuming you have internet access, expect to here many more calls for "Joe Bloggs" - "last call" etc.

We have already had problems on several occasions when we have bought tickets on-line on " standard" airlines such as Lufthansa when distant airport electronic machines (computers) had no way to verify booking ref. no's etc. from an e-mail and required a human sanction boarding clearance.

 

[newt]

Did you know that the NHS used to give Coke to folk with stomach problems. I know this is true as my next door neighbour was given some when he was in hospital

 

[BMac]

When my children were small and ever became sick their doctor recommended flat Coke (with the sugar) because it contained all the trace elements required to sustain their little systems, and it worked. How do you get flat Coke quickly? Easy, put some in a glass and add a little water, Hey Presto, childrens' pick-me-up. If child refuses flat Coke they really are sick, get back to the doctor!

 

[rileytoolworks]

When my wife was pregnant, she was in hospital for 6 weeks before our son was born (due to complications). The doctors told her to drink lots of coke. Can't remember why though...

 

[Grinding One]

When it first came out it had traces of cocaine in it hence it was called coke.I do not think it is the case now but if you take two aspirin and a coke,some people get a cheap buzz from it...it will also take rust off of metal bits...as far as helping a sick person well it does have a tablespoon full of sugar per 12 oz. can.

 

[SketchUp Guru]

"Tom Logan, a frequent flyer from London, said: "I'm really looking forward to loading up on curry and Guinness and then going off like a muck spreader the next time I fly to Bratislava.""

:lol: :lol:

 

[Woodmagnet]

"Tom Logan, a frequent flyer from London, said: "I'm really looking forward to loading up on curry and Guinness and then going off like a muck spreader the next time I fly to Bratislava.""

:lol: :lol:

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[Jonzjob]

Us and most of our English friends use Ryanair, because they fly into Carcassonne very regularly. I have never had any trouble with them, but I don't know how online booking will work. You can book in up to 14 days before the flight. So for most people they will be able to book in both ways before they leave home. They have to have access to a computer otherwise you can't book flights anyway.

My daughter, son-in-law and grandson flew over and their return fair was £80 for the 3 of them. Scotish friends going to Scotland £38 each return. They also have a good reputation for being on time, far better than the other so called low cost airlines. Ryanair does what it says on the packet, it gets you from A to B quickly and cheaply. If you want to eat on board then you can take your own food, but they do balk at a jar of rillette that I took for a friend in the U.K. They let me take it in the end though...

You can vote with your feet I suppose, but have yer wallet open further!

 

[lurker]

Good one, Ryanair...not that I've (a) ever travelled with them (b) have any intention of travelling with them as I loathe them with an intensity usually reserved for bankers.

Roger, Why get yourself so worked up about a commodity provider you never use?

I for my sins spend much time flying around UK & europe

Not had a bad experience with Ryanair yet, nor easyjet.

True, the advertised fare bears little relationship with the bottom line but they are still lots cheaper than alternatives.
I book on line & take a hit using my credit card for the "insurance"
I don't have hold baggage
I don't need check in
I always carry my passport (airport security are always funny with anything else anyway)
I would not eat the filth on planes & can adequately manage a few hours without stuffing my face.

With justification I hate BA, their people are a load of superannuated cretins. Most of the "hostesses" look & act like those bags selling perfume in department stores.
All airline food is horrible and a waste of loading weight.
I don't drink alcohol on flights & don't see why I should subsidise the greedy buggers who go mad because its "free".
Nor should I subsidise people who have to have a baggage limit when I manage with a carry on.

Besides which, the toilet charge is obviously a publicity stunt :lol:

 

[Jonzjob]

To be fair Lurker, not everyone can get by with only hand baggage. My daughter now has 2 young boys and that would not be an option for them comming over here for 10 daze! My last trip was with hand baggage only and it was a lot easier and quicker, but as I said, not always possible. If, when you get to the bottom line, you don't lke the final price then you have the perfect right to just drop it and pay more somewhere else? On my last trip I took a 1/2 sized baggette filled with all sorts of goodies and munched it on the way because I knew that I wouldn't have time to get anything before I had to travel on to Yorkshire. Easy really and on the way back I had a really good lunch at Witherspoons in the secure section at Stansted washed down with a couple of pints of Abbot. Sorted!

If, as it seems, it is a publicity stunt then it has certainly worked. People on here who are never likely to use the service are talking about it. The same on other forums.

 

[Noel]

You do realise what the next Ryanair onboard charge will be?

"In the event of an emergency please insert a pound coin into the slot above your head and an oxygen mask will be released".......

I imagine life jackets, whistles and torches will be extra.......

 

[Jenx]

Half the time, their 'website' is down anyway, and unuseable !

I have the misfortune to have to use easyjet from time to time ... why cant they allocate seats ?? !! what a fiasco boarding is... every other budget ariline manages to allocate seats !

Its a big sky-bus, with all the refinements of a standard road-based bus... as long as you just want 'functional', then it'll just about do.
Ryanair is the same... awful, but cheap.

Fine enough for Domestic stuff.. I wouldn't want to go any more than about an hour in the air with them though...

and for me.. doing Aberdeen / London regularly... BMI is only about £30 dearer, goes to Heathrow, which is preferrable as I've to go to Uxbridge mostly... and there's no 'stampede' to get on it.. much more civilised.

The 'cheapies', you get what you pay for, and perhaps more to the point.. get what you "let them away with delivering, and what you've come to expect from them".
There are many good alternatives that are only fractionally more expensive, and provide a much better leel of comfort and service...
BMI / BMIBaby / Flybe etc etc.

Vote with the feet and the wallet, and send 'Michael & Stelios' a clear definitive message, 'shape up - or ship out' :wink:

 

[TrimTheKing]

When it first came out it had traces of cocaine in it hence it was called coke.

Apparently that's an urban myth which Coca Cola have refuted, but who knows....

Mark

 

[lurker]

Jenx

Lovely poster, am running off a few copies :lol: :lol: