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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Or are RyanAir?

30 replies

Inniu · 16/02/2019 10:45

We booked flights last year for today with RyanAir. 2 adults, 3 teens and 1 child. We booked 6 seats, paid extra to get us all family plus, paid extra for assigned seats at the front and extra for 2 more checked bags.

At the time I read that Family Plus included 2 checked bags, priority for everyone and 2 cabin bags for everyone. I checked because I know RyanAir have changed things with cabin bags.

Checked in last night and the boarding passes said family plus, non priority, one small cabin bag.

RyanAir live chat were closed and not open again until after our early flight this morning.

We tried to repack our 6 cabin bags into checked luggage late last night but couldn’t do it. We don’t have big enough suit cases. We were very stressed wondering if we would be allowed to take the cabin bags on at all.

Went to the airport and were told that even though the website says Family Plus included priority boarding and 2 cabin bags each this only means that you can buy theses products at a reduced rate after you pay for family plus and we need to purchase priority boarding separately.

As this was now closed for this flight they would as a concession all us bring the cabin bags on but we have to pay more for the way home.

Have now landed at destination and have contacted Ryan Air love chat who have said we need to book priority but it is sold out so we will have to pay to check our cabin bags going home.

I can see nowhere on their website where it states that family plus only included priority in some cases and you have to pay even more on top of the family plus cost to get it.
What exactly did we get for buying family plus?

OP posts:
badlydrawnperson · 16/02/2019 11:08

Ryanair are BU - BUT they are really really well known for it.

When I use them it's under sufferance if they are the only choice for the route and I expect them to be utter shite.

Bluntness100 · 16/02/2019 11:16

Agree sort of, I just looked at their website and it does state it includes priority and two cabin bags for all of the family, which I read to mean two cabin bags between all of you. But it does say priority.

Obviously I can't see the terms and conditions you agree to on booking and if it's clearer there, but thr website is misleading.

CassandraCross · 16/02/2019 11:20

I've just looked at their website and it states Family Plus includes:

2 x 20kg hold luggage
Priority & 2 cabin bags
Free seats for children

Admittedly that is only the offer page but it clearly states What is included in Family Plus and lists those items - so where are they getting that it doesn't include those items? Nowhere on that page does it say subject to... Is there some small print somewhere? If there is, they should be able to direct you to that and it should be clear at the time of booking. If they are not upholding what the page clearly states then surely they are guilty of false advertising at the very least?

They are an absolute nightmare to argue with though and it may well be that you have to do so formally after you return.

EggysMom · 16/02/2019 11:21

I don't even need to read the OP. In any question of "AIBU or are RyanAir" the answer is always going to be RyanAir.

Why anybody flies with them, is a mystery.

SukisKettle · 16/02/2019 11:28

We're flying with them tomorrow and when I've looked on the itinerary on the app, it states that priority boarding is included. We have bought Family Plus too. We fly with Ryanair a few times each year (although I agree that they are bloody awful) and Family Plus has always included Priority Boarding, I'm sure. It also states that 2 cabin bags are included. I think they make stuff up as they go along.

TruffleShuffles · 16/02/2019 11:37

I wonder if this is a mistake? I’ve never known Ryanair in my many times of flying with them allow someone on a plane with something they should have paid additional before. The fact they just allowed you to take on the bags when they are saying you should have paid extra for them suggests to me they know that your boarding pass was wrong as normally they will squeeze every last bit of money they can out of you and have no issue with holding up a queue to make people pay to put bags in the hold when it’s oversized or they haven’t paid for priority.

bigbluebus · 16/02/2019 11:38

Why anybody flies with them, is a mystery.
We have flown with them many times because they fly to destinations that we want to go to, from our regional airports. ANd they are cheap - as long as you are prepared to travel without add ons - which as 2 adults we can do!

VenusOfWillendorf · 16/02/2019 12:14

YANBU. From the T&C on the website - www.ryanair.com/gb/en/useful-info/help-centre/terms-and-conditions/termsandconditionsar_368204930

Passengers with Priority & 2 Cabin Bags (including a Flexi, Flexi Plus or Family Plus ticket), may carry on board the small and a large piece of Cabin Baggage, weighing up to 10kg with maximum dimensions of 55cm x 40cm x 20cm, unless operational reasons require us to place the large cabin bag in the hold.

I don't think that is ambiguous. What they are telling you is wrong, assuming all of you have family plus on your tickets.

Original poster
Inniu · 16/02/2019 12:37

They are not engaging with the fact we have already paid for priority, telling us it is booked out and saying we must check bags on the way back.

I will just go through their complaints procedures

OP posts:
CassandraCross · 16/02/2019 13:29

Point them to the T&C's Venus has linked, if they still won't budge make a formal complaint when you return and take it further if you have to, I think the CAA might be worth contacting.

Original poster
Inniu · 21/02/2019 14:48

This is still ongoing as we are trying to resolve it before our return flight.
We filed a complaint and were asked for a general more information even though we had sent screen shots of everything. We sent it all again and there is now no reply.

Customer Service say priority and 2 cabin bags are limited to 80 people per flight and if you book your family plus after 80 priority tickets have been sold they don’t include priority and 2 cabin bags. You still pay for it you just don’t get it. They told us we should go through official processes to get compensation when we get home and then hung up.

I think we are banging our heads on a brick wall.

OP posts:
safariboot · 21/02/2019 14:50

YABU expecting Ryanair to not be dickheads about stuff like this. They're infamous for it.

SileneOliveira · 21/02/2019 14:51

I hate RyanAir. They treat their customers like shit.

Easyjet are my favourite budget airline. They're not trying to rip you off at every turn and their staff are pleasant.

AryaStarkWolf · 21/02/2019 14:57

I have flights booked with family plus for July and I just checked my Itinerary and it says we have priority boarding, 2 checked bags and 2 cabin bags each?

AryaStarkWolf · 21/02/2019 14:58

Easyjet are my favourite budget airline. They're not trying to rip you off at every turn and their staff are pleasant.

Unfortunately you don't get as much choice flying out of Ireland and it's unavoidable sometimes to use the fuckers

AryaStarkWolf · 21/02/2019 14:59

Customer Service say priority and 2 cabin bags are limited to 80 people per flight and if you book your family plus after 80 priority tickets have been sold they don’t include priority and 2 cabin bags. You still pay for it you just don’t get it.

So how do you know if you're one of the 80 or not? You have me panicking now

Original poster
Inniu · 21/02/2019 15:16

@AryaStarkWolf

You should be fine. Out itinerary only said Family Plus, not priority with 2 cabin bags. Not being a regular RyanAir family plus travelled this didn’t ring any alarm bells with me as I assumed family plus meant what it says on the website and in their t&c

OP posts:
cauliflowersqueeze · 21/02/2019 15:18

I don't even need to read the OP. In any question of "AIBU or are RyanAir" the answer is always going to be RyanAir.

This is exactly what I was going to say.

cordeliavorkosigan · 21/02/2019 15:20

Try twitter? Link to this thread or get someone to link if you don’t want your name connected to your mn.

AryaStarkWolf · 21/02/2019 15:21

You should be fine. Out itinerary only said Family Plus, not priority with 2 cabin bags. Not being a regular RyanAir family plus travelled this didn’t ring any alarm bells with me as I assumed family plus meant what it says on the website and in their t&c

It's my first time using family Plus aswell, I do try to use aerlingus whenever I can tbh. Ryanair are bastards. Hopefully we're alright then. I hope you get sorted, that's really bad form of them but not at all surprising

brassbrass · 21/02/2019 15:24

I don't even need to read the OP. In any question of "AIBU or are RyanAir" the answer is always going to be RyanAir.

Me too! The only way to win is with your wallet and not use the fuckers. I haven't flown with them for years. I hope they go bust.

AryaStarkWolf · 21/02/2019 15:27

Me too! The only way to win is with your wallet and not use the fuckers. I haven't flown with them for years. I hope they go bust.

Again though, if you live in Ireland sometimes you either have to use them or you don't get to go where you want to go

thecatsthecats · 21/02/2019 16:21

What exactly is the point of being one of 80 priority passengers? You pay just as much to be at the back of the queue as the front... And a lot more than the first person in the other queue.

(Misses point of thread...)

Original poster
Inniu · 21/02/2019 16:25

The point of priority is getting to bring on your cabin bag and small bag rather than just a small bag.

If anyone would like to tweet a link to this I would be delighted. I don’t really use twitter

OP posts:
papercoversrock · 22/02/2019 20:51

If Ryanair weren't being unreasonable, would they even be Ryanair?
Discuss.

It's true that there is a cap on the number of priority customers. However...

a) If you booked last year, surely you were early enough that the cap wouldn't have been reached yet. And more importantly

b) If you bought FamilyPlus, you are absolutely entitled to priority boarding with 2 flight bags as part of the FamilyPlus package.
If they'd already reached their quota and didn't have priority tickets to sell, they shouldn't have sold you the FamilyPlus package, as it is quite clearly a priority boarding package.

I had to really search around to find anything about the cap, but I found this on the Ryanair website.
corporate.ryanair.com/news/new-bag-policy-from-november-will-cut-check-bag-fees-reduce-boarding-delays/
Question 13 says the limit is 95, so presumably that's now gone down to 80 on the quiet?

FYI - I came back last Fri from a holiday, flying Ryanair both outbound and inbound. We bought FamilyPlus tickets a few weeks before flying. The priority boarding and cabin bag allowance were automatically included in the price and noted on our boarding passes - there was no need to pay extra or even click anything to say "Yes, please."
Not rubbing it in btw, just letting you know - that's what should have happened with your tickets, and if they tell you you have to do anything or pay anything extra to get priority boarding they must be having you on, because we didn't have to do anything like that. You can try it yourself by making a booking on their website and bailing out on the payment page. Once you click on "FamilyPlus" you get priority boarding automatically without any further charges or tickboxes.

Did you get a confirmation email from them? We got an email straight after we booked, which gave our flight information and confirmed our cabin bag and checked luggage allowances. Then we got repeated emails reminding us about our cabin bag entitlement. So it might be worth checking your inbox, and your junk mail too.

Sidenote: Let's appreciate for a moment Frequently Asked Question #18: "Is this another sneaky/hidden Ryanair charge?" Published on Ryanair's own website without a hint of irony!