to have rage towards people who say "just doing my job"

[Ceci03]

so.. this is a Ryanair tale lol

Was flying last night and queing up to board as you (they - I usually sit down til the last minute...!!) and there was a young girl, College age I'd say, and the airline steward (she wasn't Ryanair - she belonged to the airport) asked her to put the backpack in the basket/frame thing as if it doesn't fit you should have booked your bag in and paid 25 euro. So the girl was trying to get it to fit but there were some things in the front pocket that were stopping it. She was in tears, and on her own. I was just beside her and I said to her that I had room in my bag if she wanted to put some stuff in - I had a half-empty bag. So she emptied some things, a lot of make up lol, and I went through, but the backpack wouldn't slide down - it did almost fit, but she couldn't get it to actually slide in, she could only get it in if she put it in from the bottom., ie without passing it through the basket thingy. I was kinda hovering waiting for her, but this stewardess kept on and on saying she had to either leave the bag, or pay 25 euro, or not fly. Then she (steward) said she could empty her stuff into a plastic bag, and leave the bag pack. So the girl ran over to a shop and got a plastic bag, emptied the backpack and stuffed it all into the plastic bag. The plastic bag was bulging and was bigger than the backpack now!! It was getting very heated, so I stepped back in and said 'look you're letting her take the plastic bag on without paying, but it doesn't fit into the frame/basket thing, it's too big - could you not let her go just this once with a warning'. They got very aggressive to me then, and one man - seemed like a baggage handler, he had that kind of uniform - and he hadn't been there all along he'd only just showed up - he started saying were we travelling together, etc etc, and said I needed to get on board or the plane would go without me. Basically very intimidating. So I reluctantly made my way to the plane - with this girl's stuff in my bag!!!!! In the end she got on - she said she had paid the money in the end. She was so shaken and upset - said she has flown loads of times with that bag and no problem. I just thought the steward was way OTT. She actually 'caught' 5 or more people. And she didn't hve a Ryanair uniform. She seemed to be enjoying it way too much. Of course some people were just chancers - with little suitcases on wheels - definitely not allowed . Anyway, that's my rant!!!!

When I was 19 & flying on my own for the first time, a little old lady asked me to carry her bag onto the plane for her. I politely declined and offered to ask staff to help her out. She was quite put out. Even as a young, inexperienced flyer I knew it was a wildly bad idea.

I hate seeing anyone struggle but on this occasion YABVU. The maximum hand luggage allowance is already quite a lot. Overhead bins on cheaper flights struggle to take the maximum hand luggage allowance for all of the passengers seated below. I often take just a soft backpack which can be squashed between other peoples bags but there is always an argument with passangers trying to fit several hard cases on wheels or tightly packed backpacks in the same overhead bin. A bag that has been packed incorrectly will bulk out in the wrong places which is probably why it didn’t fit in basket.

I would never have taken someone else’s stuff for them, even if it was just clothes.

I worked in retail and I would use this line for obnoxious arseholes.

Its a bit like a teenager saying, I can't do that because mum or dad say no rather than saying they are uncomfortable.

Not exactly the same as I could bend the rules, I don't think airport staff can

If someone is adult enough to be flying on their own, they're adult enough to understand that the rules apply to them just the same as to everyone else.

They're not guidelines, open to interpretation, they're the rules that the airline apply to all their passengers. If you don't like the airline's rules, choose an alternative airline, or an alternative method of transport.

People complain constantly about this stuff but they still want cheap fares. Or in other words they want the rules to apply to everyone else, to keep the fares low, but not to them.

I hate rules for the sake of it

And the overhead bins magically expand and the fuel is magically cheap and the margins are magically huge.

Nope. That doesn't happen. I cannot stand people who 'travel light' by not checking bags while carrying more than their allowance as hand luggage. It's not big or clever. If you want masses of stuff, check your bags.

Business class is the key here. None of this bollocks happens.... haven't flow with the scum in years.

Have a look in the mirror; the scum was there all along.

If someone is adult enough to be flying on their own, they're adult enough to understand that the rules apply to them just the same as to everyone else

Imagine the chaos if everyone decided to take a bigger bag than the allowance?

Ryanair's rules about the small bag and limited number of wheelie cases were introduced because too many people taking too much luggage into the cabin, which there simply isn't room for so you have planes that can't take off, until it's all sorted.

Jesus Christ! I'm a very nervous flyer and knowing there are people out there willing to merrily take strangers' stuff on board a plane without a thought or care for the possible safety implications doesn't exactly feel me with unbridled confidence.

Oh, bollocks. The rules were introduced for one reason and one reason alone, to make more money. It’s a business, so fair enough, but please don’t make out that Ryan Air are doing this for any other reason than to make money. They’d charge you for the air you breathe, if they could figure out how.

You HAVE to expect this with Ryanair. That's the deal I'm afraid. Expect brutal enforcement of the rules and avoid disappointment.

I hate rules for the sake of it - I see them as guidelines, slightly moveable on either side - I see the 'spirit' of the law rather than the 'letter' of the law

This has lifted my morning! 😂

I’m sure you do, Montesquieu. It’s not for you to decide, though, is it?

please don’t make out that Ryan Air are doing this for any other reason than to make money. They’d charge you for the air you breathe, if they could figure out how.

Oh of course. But they’re a business. If you don’t want to be involved in their capitalist activities go to Skegness.

YABU - many people, especially in customer-facing roles, don't have the luxury of being able to bend the rules - they need to keep their jobs, and don't want to be put on disciplinaries. The most they can usually do is pass feedback up the chain that a particular regulation seems unfair or harsh. It's awful for them when people get arsey because they have no power to change things.

Why should the bend the rules for this girl and not the people with "little suitcases on wheels"
Because she's young? Because she's crying? Because you said so?
Rules are rules and if you dont follow them then you have to pay the money. When they bend the rules for one person, they open themselves up to even more abuse from customers for whom they don't bend the rules.

OP, you absolutely WERE NOT being lovely.

You decided to make the actions of one snivelly girl who decided to pack too much make up and clothes even more of a problem to the staff.

Even if you were polite about it, you made a difficult job harder for them. And they didn't have the option of breaking down in tears for sympathy about it.

Why do you think their job security is less important than that girl's wish to take lots of make up and clothes onto a plane?

(I absolutely hate it when people do 'lovely' things, entirely forgetting that there is a human on the other end of their decision too, but one who apparently doesn't count.)

She was in tears, and on her own. I was just beside her and I said to her that I had room in my bag if she wanted to put some stuff in - I had a half-empty bag. So she emptied some things, a lot of make up lol

Gosh OP this time this was innocent but you could have been an unsuspecting drug mule or worse. Never take other people's things on to a plane, could have been chemicals or explosives.

The crying girl on her own is going to get sympathy for a reason. It could be a set up.

There's a reason why some people are "jobsworths" other passengers security and safety!

Sounds like a great way for an individual to get someone to carry something dangerous onto a plane on their behalf. A bag that doesn't fit, get sympathy from another passenger, hand them a few things to take on the plane, and then never actually board it yourself.

Of course with hindsight you know that's not what this girl was doing, but you were very naive to risk it.

The spirit of the law with Ryan Air is that there are cheap flights for people who follow the rules and have a very basic flight service. You want anything above basic, you pay extra.

How can you not understand that IS the spirit of Ryan Air? They are very explicit about it!

was just a bunch of clothes and I was only carrying it a few steps and she said she had used that backpack many times before on Ryanair. all her clothes was on the ground. ah I just felt sorry for her.

You said in your first post it was mainly make up

Just accept you are wrong and move on

YABU. You were naive and very foolish indeed.

This didn't happen. There is no way in this day and age that ground crew would allow this. If it did, it was only in OP’s head while queueing as being a cracking idea for a thread.

On another note - back to reality - if backpacks or bags don't quite fit in the frame at security, turn them upside down and generally they'll fit then.

YWBVU. And foolish.

YAVU

Ryanair are perfectly clear about their baggage restrictions. Pay up, or don’t take it.