Ryan Air - What the hell??

[FlioFlopsAndIceCream]

Just checked in for our flights on Monday and Ryan Air have allocated 3 seats next to each (me, and 2 DCs), then husband has to pay extra for his seat (apparantly this is a thing now, that one parent in every family has to pay for a seat(??wtf?) - except there aren't any seats near the rest of us???

What is this Ryan Air??? Surely you can seat families together?

A complete joke. I'm fuming.... we've been looking forward to this trip for ages.

Ryan Air - thanks a million for getting our holiday off to a shit start

(I can almost let them off making DH pay, but surely they can at least allocate families to sit together??? CRAZY times)

(Sorry, I know we r lucky to be going on holiday! first world problem.)

I’m disabled and need to sit in specific seats. I have to pay extra to book a seat that meets my needs.

That seems unfair.

" I just think it's mean!"

it's business. They aren't doing you a favour!!

'Its a money making exercise' er yes, that's exactly what it is. It's business. Why would they give seats together for free, when people are willing (albeit reluctantly) to pay? Op I hope you realize you won't be getting a free in flight meal or drink.

I think lots of airlines are moving to this. I flew BA in April and we had to pay to sit together! This wasn't info given to us at time of booking so we were a bit annoyed but paid all the same. With Ryan air you expect it, I hadn't with BA!

“People should stand up and challenge these things.”

By doing what? All that will happen is that they raise the price a bit for everyone, rather than leaving it cheap for those who don’t mind sitting apart from someone for a 2 hour flight and extracting the difference from people for whom sitting together has monetary value.

They have a pricing model that enables people to choose. But the profit margins overall are slight so the uplift will come somehow.

I recently flew with Easyjet, didn't pay extra for allocated seats, checked in early and we all sat together. As it was an hour's flight I thought I might risk it.

I think lots of airlines are moving to this

Exactly, if you haven't paid a lot for a flight you might expect that they will charge for extras (though personally I think it's all bullshit thought up by bean counters in the last few years, people are far too accepting and I will only pay for the bare minimum) but with "proper" airlines, the price is already a bit higher and I will tolerate this crap even less.

PoolBlack 😂
I really want OP to come back and tell us more about rows of 4 seats on Ryanair...

It's Ryanair. Unless you have been living under a rock you know the deal. YABU and pretty stupid tbh to be "fuming".

The "deal" is different every year. They are constantly moving the goal posts. I only fly Ryanair as a last resort, if there is literally no-one else. They are only interested in making money and don't care about the customer experience or their staff.

I don’t think people appreciate how the EU single market for aviation has made flights so cheap - it enabled low cost operators like Ryanair and EasyJet to open up and drive down flight prices

ContinuityError Totally agree.

They are only interested in making money and don't care about the customer experience or their staff

Errmmm they're a business, of course they want to make money! They operate on very tight margins and any day any one of these cheap airlines could cease flying. Just google airlines who have gone bust, the list is endless. And be thankful they operate to provide people out there with cheap flights, if that's what's wanted. If people are concerned about their 'experience' or the way the staff are treated, pay more on a different airline.

I used to fly Ryanair in the 90s & early noughties when I could get return flights for £40. That some route costs at least £180 now so it's always cheaper or the same price for me to go a different airport & use BA or Easyjet plus I don't need to schlep to Stanstead. I've used Flybe, Jet2 & TAP in the past as the prices were similar to Ryanair.

The worst thing about Ryanair is that they have managed to convince some passengers that they should be grateful for the rubbish service they receive.

There is a difference between a business making profit and a business making money on the back of fear, it’s greed

I’ve never used Ryan air

What is there to fear flying on Ryanair (apart from the plane going down?)

There is an option. Pay for your seats. Or don't. There is nothing to be scared of.

It is not greed. It's a business plan. If Ryanair goes back to allocated seating, flights will cost more. End of. They have chosen to give the customer a choice. Pay or don't pay. And if they now sit one parent with the kids, I just do not understand what the problem is.

The worst thing about Ryanair is that they have managed to convince some passengers that they should be grateful for the rubbish service they receive.

Exactly, and they used to be a lot better as you say, and they often aren't very cheap these days, especially in school holidays.

There is also a difference between running a business purely to make maximum profit and one which does well financially but also tries to provide a good service to customers. Ryanair haven't been trying for a number of years now, in fact it often feels like they are actively trying to piss people off. They are struggling and they will go under. I wouldn't risk booking a flight with them in 2020.

I also don't understand what people's problem with Ryanair is. The service doesn't seem significantly different to Jet2, Flybe, Easyjet etc and they are often much cheaper (at least £50 per return flight even when higher luggage charges are taken into account).

They've never lost my luggage, unlike KLM, they've never overbooked me and not allowed me to board (KLM again, although to be fair, they did put me on the direct BA flight that was leaving a little later, so I actually got to my destination earlier than planned) and they've never delayed or cancelled one of my flights, unlike Aer Lingus and Jet2.

What they have done is flown me to the Canaries for less than the cost of getting a bus to the next town, once taxes are taken into account. And I don't see anything wrong with being grateful for that.

I'm currently looking at going to Spain in early October. From my local airport, including luggage, they're about 60% of the cost of BA, and it's a direct flight instead of indirect with BA, which adds hours to the journey and would necessitate an overnight stay at Heathrow on the way back.

Well one downside for me is I'm in SW London so I have to factor in the cost & time of getting to Stansted as opposed to Gatwick. I often find their flight times not great eg I prefer to arrive in the morning not early evening. They don't tend to fly into main airports, Easyjet are generally better at this so you have the factor in the expense & time to get to destination from there. They have one of the smallest hand luggage allowances so often I need to pay for hold. If I factor in all of the above they aren't significantly cheaper for me to go through the torture. Also can't stand the fact there is no pocket on the back of seats. Plus O'Leary seems to treat his passengers with contempt & apparently the staff not much better.

I'm pretty sure if they abolished seats & people had to stand & you had to wee/pooh into a bag (your own bag otherwise you have to pay £30 for it) people would still fly with them to save £20 or so. Each to their own.

business making money on the back of fear
This is making it sound like they threaten a crash unless you pay extra🙄

ANY travel can get super expensive in peak times. For flights it's holidays. I fly outside of main holidays, though few times I went during autumn school break and never paid more than £60 for return. And that's with suitcase. Usually I get flights under £30. Various places in Europe.

This is kind of like moaning about service and prices in local maccies. You want cheeseburger under 2 quid, you don't get same service like in a restaurant where it costs a tenner. Simple as that. Fancy bit more than a cheeseburger? Get yourself fries and drink for extra money. But don't moan that you have to pay for it unlike people who just want a freaking cheap cheeseburger and nothing more. Simple.

Plus O'Leary seems to treat his passengers with contempt

Tbf to him. As someone who worked in customer facing roles I get him😂

Yes, can you imagine dealing with dozens of people every day who are complaining because they didn't read all the instructions clearly set out on your website, or all the emails that you sent them between booking and flying?

But the seat thing is simply a form of blackmail. There is no reason not to seat people together at least until seating is too full for it to be logically possible. They lose nothing by filling it in groups. It costs them nothing. But they charge us. It feels sour and spiteful. We will make you less comfortable unless you pay

I totally agree with you, however remember when people insisted on a window seat or an isle seat, extra legroom or whatever and caused chaos? Then there was the overbearing passengers who refused to move because they wanted to sit in X formation in a group??

Those are the people you should blame for the extra charges.

Ryanair haven't been trying for a number of years now, in fact it often feels like they are actively trying to piss people off

Well, it is Michael O'Leary at the helm so only to be expected, he is ummm abrasive to say the least. Here are some of his corkers, they will either make you seethe with rage, or laugh.
skift.com/2012/09/05/ryanair-boss-michael-oleary-gives-best-quotes-in-the-industry/

IAmALazyArse you have summed it up beautifully with your MaccyD's analogy.

Maybe you are right and it is a perfectly fair way to make money.

But perhaps flying is like chicken - yes, you can produce lots and lots of it incredibly cheaply by cutting corners and losing ethics but that’s not always for the greater good.

I really want OP to come back and tell us more about rows of 4 seats on Ryanair...

I think it's unlikely. There are too many incorrect details that point towards this being more of a rant about Ryanair than an actual situation.

they will either make you seethe with rage, or laugh.

Well. I just had my morning belly exercise😂 He is not wrong on many customer points😂

@Roussette thanks. People usually understand food so... Making it simple.