Ryanair or Ryan nightmare.

[Miro]

I see your point
There's still no question in my mind though that the error was Ryanair's, not the idiot passengers' or the airport's, and it still worries me that someone can board a flight they're not meant to be on. If there is any possibility of getting to the boarding gates via the arrivals hall (I'm not sure about that either), then a terrorist could very easily slip on to a plane by mugging a passenger for their boarding pass (if it's not checked against the passport at the gate). But yes, I do see the point that it would be a terrorist with severely diminished brain function who got that far and then went to the wrong gate. But as I said, when people travel....

[Flexo]

Flexo, I thought your "Ryanair sheeple" referred to Ryanair staff, I realise now you were referring to the passengers, but to be fair, it's not just Ryanair passengers - the vast majority of people when they travel become idiots with seriously diminished brain function, which makes it all the more important for the airport and airlines to check everyone's details carefully & take security seriously.

The problem with Ryanair fans is that they somehow think they benefit from defending Ryanair even in absurd situations when Ryanair is obiously at fault (like claiming "safety belts in airplanes have never saved anybody, we can easily remove them without risking the safety of the passengers"). Really, what is it that the fans think they are gaining? You save 10 euro on the trip by starving yourself for 6 hours or more and not checking in any luggage. Well, hooray. I lost 2000 EUR on Ryanair last time I used them because they denied me boarding while both my bank cards had been taken from me. When they screw you over it really hurts, I don't care if I can save 10 euro on a flight if they treat me like *beep*.

If I ever buy a rifle, a printout of that ugly Ryanair CEO will be one of the first things I use for target practice.

[Miro]

Clearly you've had a bad experience, although you completely lost me there. I'm certainly no "fan", especially since they started allowing people to take more than one piece of luggage on board, which is an indefensible "absurd situation" IMHO, but they do have their uses. I'm flying tomorrow, returning Wednesday and have one very small day pack, so why would I want to check any luggage in? I won't starve - I can easily go 6 hours without food, but I don't need to: I'll have some fruit to munch on as usual, which is infinitely healthier and tastier than any of the overpriced garbage they serve up to their fan sheeple. But the bit I really can't work out is how Ryanair lost you 2 grand because your bank cards had been taken from you.

[ajtg1952]

I wondered that as well. Sounds a bit dramatic! For me personally, I wouldn't fly with anyone else.
A friend of mine was flying with British Airways, Malaga to Gatwick. They managed to to board 4 Aer Lingus pax flying to Dublin. Mistakes happen, not good I agree, but a bit of distraction at the gate. It is self loading cargo, after all!

[ashtondav]

. I lost 2000 EUR on Ryanair last time I used them because they denied me boarding while both my bank cards had been taken from me. When they screw you over it really hurts.

Don't understand that, but any airline screws you over if you don't abide by its T&C.

At least Ryanair doesn't overbook it's flights and bump passengers, like EZY, BA and the rest.

But to get back to this thread can someone explain how you can get from the arrivals hall to an airside departure gate. I can't figure it.

[Wicksey]

Short haul BA flights are due to have less legroom than Ryanair and do not offer free food.

I cannot complain about Ryanair from my experiences with them. I use Vueling a fair bit and cannot tell any difference between them and Ryanair. I do not starve as I've never bought airline food and prefer to take my own sarnies. As I'm only paying 30€ each each way to the UK later this year, (plus 6€ for a chosen seat), I am quite satisfied with that for the service I usually receive.

I find the extra small bag useful as it means I can carry on my handbag with all my 'stuff' in (and a gal needs her handbag and stuff ) as well as the correct sized carry-on hand luggage. It's up to the airline to police the 2nd bag rule if it's being abused. Easyjet say no 2nd bag unless it's one from Duty Free then anything goes, it seems. I object to that more to be told to squish my handbag (and sarnies!) into my case then everyone struggles on board with huge bags of goods from the shops (as happened to me in Gatwick where it's like a shopping mall, there's so many shops).

I'm also not sure how you'd get airside from arrivals without passing through security. I would be more worried about the staff airside like cleaners etc that seem to get the jobs without much in the way of security checks. Journalists in the past have managed to get airside jobs and have exposed the lack of security.

[Flexo]

But the bit I really can't work out is how Ryanair lost you 2 grand because your bank cards had been taken from you.

The ticket with all extras cost me close to 350 EUR, which they considered forfit as I didn't got on the airplane (!), next flight from Paris available with another airline was five days later which meant 5 extra nights in Paris (including one homeless on a bench outside Pere Laichaise), including living expenses, the airline ticket with one extra stop and lost income.

I don't remember if Ryanair eventually after more than a year gave me the ticket refund when a lawyer with some legal muscles gave them a threatening letter, but I remember they told me to shove it when I stated I had the legal right to refund in accordance to EU regulations. They told me they had the right to screw me on my pre-paid ticket and to disobey EU regulations because they were an Irish company or something like that (total BS).

If this happens to anyone of you: remember you always have the right to compensation if they deny you boarding REGARDLESS THE REASON THEY DENY YOU BOARDING. Ryanair has systematically avoided this by ordering their staff to deny compensation in direct violation to EU law.

[Miro]

Still none the wiser. Makes no sense to me.

[gerryh]

Hi Miro
Glad you couldn't follow Flexo's explanation, I thought it was just me being dense.
Still don't know who or why someone took his bank cards from him or why he was denied boarding.

Cheers
Gerry

[firsttango]

Glad I'm not alone in not being able to make any sense of this

[costakid]

. I lost 2000 EUR on Ryanair last time I used them because they denied me boarding while both my bank cards had been taken from me. When they screw you over it really hurts.

Don't understand that, but any airline screws you over if you don't abide by its T&C.

At least Ryanair doesn't overbook it's flights and bump passengers, like EZY, BA and the rest.

But to get back to this thread can someone explain how you can get from the arrivals hall to an airside departure gate. I can't figure it.

You can’t.

[Flexo]

I was denied boarding because I couldn't pay the extra 10 euro they wanted for 3kg extra luggage. Instead of letting me pay with my domestic card after landing I was greeted with a confiscated ticket and a generous offer of paying a reduced fee for a flight the day after. Like "how will you pay for the flight, sir"?

Which I kindly replied "I couldn't pay 10 euro for the luggage and now you want me to pay for a new ticket AND luggage which I had paid 200 euro extra for even though I explicitly told you both my cards had been taken from me?"

[Paulinmalaga]

€10 for 3kg.....good deal as their actual fee's are €10 Per Kilo

[wollie]

Can you say which flight number this was?
I was talking to a Ryanair person at weekend, they basically said this cannot happen so i would like to be able to pass on the info...

[Pamela1]

Phew! this thread is certainly confusing! Flexo when you say your cards had been taken from you i'm assuming they had been stolen from you? You said because your ticket was confiscated you were in Paris for 5 extra nights and one of those nights was spent on a bench, so where did you stay for the other four of those nights and how did you manage living expenses and a new airline ticket without your cards? Seems alot of money, 200 euros for luggage, you must have had the kitchen sink in your bags.

[Flexo]

Like I stated, I had paid 200-250 for my extra luggage and I didn't have a scale on me so I missed out on 3 kg which they wanted 10 eur extra for, I had like 7 EUR in my wallet. Instead of letting me pay 7 EUR and paying the last 3 when we landed they were being jerks.

They had two options essentially:

A. Let this returning customer who has paid 350 for the ticket plus luggage board and pay the reminding 3 EUR after landing and we risk losing 3 EUR.

B.
1. Refuse this returning customer boarding
2. Pay the customer the compulsory compensation as regulated by EU law (which any person with at an IQ of at least three digits understand will be higher than 3 EUR).
3. Risk losing the customer.

These are the two normal options that any normal person would consider (MIGHT lose 3 eur vs WILL lose MORE) and it wouldn't be difficult for even a person with an IQ of two digits to figure out which of them which to go with.

But no. How would Satan do?

I know, let's add:

C, the Adolph Hitler option:

1. Deny the customer boarding
2. Confiscate ticket
3. Refuse the compensation in direct violation by law (because why would you fly with Ryanair if you can afford go to court with it, amirite or amirite?)
4. Gamble that the customer is so f--king stupid that he will return and pay us more money in the future.

Guess which option Adolph Hitler Airlines went with.

[Flexo]

Phew! this thread is certainly confusing! Flexo when you say your cards had been taken from you i'm assuming they had been stolen from you? You said because your ticket was confiscated you were in Paris for 5 extra nights and one of those nights was spent on a bench, so where did you stay for the other four of those nights and how did you manage living expenses and a new airline ticket without your cards? Seems alot of money, 200 euros for luggage, you must have had the kitchen sink in your bags.

I had lived in France for half a year so yeah I had more than the usual Ryanair customer. I don't remember why I chose Ryanair to fly with but I guess it had to do with the stress I was under. I had my parents send me a new card and plane tickets with a real airline, from a real airport.

The first thing I saw when I got into Charles de Gaulle was a poster that said "Have you been denied boarding? Then you have the right to compensation by law. The airline is required by law to inform you about that". Which is really amusing because when I was at Ryanair I tried to get to talk to an airline representative and they just shrugged me off.

[costakid]

Can you say which flight number this was?
I was talking to a Ryanair person at weekend, they basically said this cannot happen so i would like to be able to pass on the info...

If thats for me it was: FR2157 AGP to BHX 16.50 on 27/4/17.

It can and it did. I was there to witness it in all its glory.

[wollie]

I don't doubt you for a minute, i am just passing on what were kindof defensive comments from him.
He thinks O'Leary God.
Thinking of, do you know the difference between God and Bono? God doesn't think he is bono...

[ashtondav]

I think I might have got rid of 3kg of stuff if I was in such a dire situation. Probably the cheaper option as well.