Ryanair really farcical - this time I mean it - I was wrong about the other times
Anyone familiar with Ryanair knows they are infamous for their "extra" charges and alternative revenue streams - as far as I can tell they are the most budget of any budget airline anywhere on the planet. But, their argument goes, this is all in aid of keeping their air fares low low low.
Generally I don't have a problem with them. What they do makes sense: they want to operate as cost-effectively as possible & there are lots of things in the modern aviation industry that are unnecessary, time-consuming and $$$. Ryanair would rather you took carry-on only: makes sense - checked in luggage necessitates a whole raft of expensive equipment and procedures and slows down plane turnaround time. Ryanair would rather you checked in online: makes sense, saves the need for check-in desks, staff, printers...
But with Ryanair it's a very slippery slope, no a greasy slope. Last week they had the idea (actually really) to charge people for using the toilets - and then to fine them if they soiled the plane. No firm plans have been made and I strongly suspect it's just a shock tactic to make their real plans seem more reasonable, but still!
Also, they're planning to abolish check-in desks entirely and to have web check-in only. Seems okay so far. If you have to check-in in person, they'll charge you €20 - okay so that penalising the elderly and others without access to computers, but so be it (if you're elderly I really hope you have the option of not flying Ryanair).
Then today I read this article. To summarise, Ryanair now plan to charge you €5 to check-in online, by which I mean, they plan to charge you for logging into their website, completing the check-in process yourself and printing out your own boarding slip. In their defense a spokesperson said:
Oh ho ho. I love this. This is great. Imagine it for any other business in any other industry anywhere: so that'll be €3.50 for your latte plus a 50c fee for you to add your sugar and stir it yourself, sure that "condiment area" didn't build itself you know ... so that's €50 for your gas and €2 for filling the car up yourself, sure these petrol pump gadgets with the hoses and such like don't grow on trees! Farcical, absurd, ridiculous.
And yes I'll still fly them because they are still the cheapest. And I guess that's the problem.
Generally I don't have a problem with them. What they do makes sense: they want to operate as cost-effectively as possible & there are lots of things in the modern aviation industry that are unnecessary, time-consuming and $$$. Ryanair would rather you took carry-on only: makes sense - checked in luggage necessitates a whole raft of expensive equipment and procedures and slows down plane turnaround time. Ryanair would rather you checked in online: makes sense, saves the need for check-in desks, staff, printers...
But with Ryanair it's a very slippery slope, no a greasy slope. Last week they had the idea (actually really) to charge people for using the toilets - and then to fine them if they soiled the plane. No firm plans have been made and I strongly suspect it's just a shock tactic to make their real plans seem more reasonable, but still!
Also, they're planning to abolish check-in desks entirely and to have web check-in only. Seems okay so far. If you have to check-in in person, they'll charge you €20 - okay so that penalising the elderly and others without access to computers, but so be it (if you're elderly I really hope you have the option of not flying Ryanair).
Then today I read this article. To summarise, Ryanair now plan to charge you €5 to check-in online, by which I mean, they plan to charge you for logging into their website, completing the check-in process yourself and printing out your own boarding slip. In their defense a spokesperson said:
"We are providing them with the facility to check in online. Websites don't
build themselves you know."
Oh ho ho. I love this. This is great. Imagine it for any other business in any other industry anywhere: so that'll be €3.50 for your latte plus a 50c fee for you to add your sugar and stir it yourself, sure that "condiment area" didn't build itself you know ... so that's €50 for your gas and €2 for filling the car up yourself, sure these petrol pump gadgets with the hoses and such like don't grow on trees! Farcical, absurd, ridiculous.
And yes I'll still fly them because they are still the cheapest. And I guess that's the problem.
Labels: david, Travelling
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