Ryanair wtaf???

[MangosteenSoda]

I’ve never traveled with Ryanair before so had only heard of their awfulness.

Trying to book a flight for my disabled dc (not a mobility disability) and myself and the system will only let me select certain seats for the disabled passenger.

It’s giving me an option of two seats to choose from on the whole plane which isn’t very full at all. Moreover, neither seat has an available seat next to it, so it’s effectively trying to get me to book seats several rows apart (at the closest) for me and a non verbal tween.

Just wtaf?

You book it as an assisted traveller. I’ve got a relative who uses it frequently and has no issues. Lots of info on their website

If you need assistance don’t bother booking seats.

they’ll only make you move anyway and you’ll get charged for the privilege.

once you get to the airport and go to assistance/do the bag drop with assistance booked they’ll put you where they are happy for you to go anyway.

I can’t really risk not booking the seats in case there are not two seats together on the day of travel.

I wanted to book seats near the front because my dc finds it difficult to wait for a long time once landed, but it will only let disabled people sit in the cheapest seats (as free for special assistance I suppose).

The fact that it’s only offering seats with none available next to them is madness of a whole other order.

Ive booked our first flight with Ryanair this year. They've already cancelled both flights, changed two new flights times twice and then we've had to cancel and rebook from a different airport so we can get to the destination on time.
So I've booked the disabled seats 3 times! On two I had a choice of about 6 seats all with 1 next to it for assisted traveller. The last flight I booked it was the only available seat but had a an assisted traveller seat next to it. There was no cost to booking these
I noticed they were all at the back of the plane (assuming to do with ambulift position).
Could you use their chat function see if they can book you the seats. Also if its not for mobility reasons they may be able to over ride their system and book in a different place so you have two seats together (jet2 have done this for me before).

Are you trying to book a disabled seat? If it’s not a mobility issue is it possible to just book 2 regular seats?

It’s not a given that they will exit from the front.

what Sort of assistance does he need? I use a wheelchair and they usually put assistance passengers at the back as that is where the ambi lift comes in.

in addition when you are getting on you will either be first or last depending on the ambilift.

If your son doesn't have a physical disability then do you need to book a disabled seat? You can definitely book seats together on any Ryanair flight if booking in advance.

I’m also confused why you need to book a disabled seat if he doesn’t have a mobility issue. If it’s just that you need to sit together then surely just book two seats together?

Sounds to me as though your dc may need assistance through the airport and up to the gate, if he/she can climb the steps. Is that the case? If so as pp have said, you can book non disabled/assistance seats together as ordinary (non assistance) passengers.

But maybe I have presumed more than I should have here!

If your dc is physically disabled just book standard seats of choice, you can book airport assistance separately if you need it but if not a physical disability you may not need it.

Oh but remember with some airlines they disembark from the rear or potentially both. Airports have different arrangements for planes not using air bridges

Yeah and the problem is you never know which it will be. It might even be that they usually always use an airbridge for that flight but it gets delayed (or another flight does and so doesn't vacate the gate for your flight to arrive) so they use a bus instead. Maybe go for the middle ;)

Ryan Air are cheap because they are very basic. You’ll have to book a better option if you want something more streamlined.

He’s autistic, mostly non verbal and not good at queuing. I usually just select assisted travel when booking because some airports require this to be on the booking to go through the assistance lanes.

I’ve never booked with Ryanair before so have never come across this issue with only certain seats being available for disabled travellers. They ask which disability when booking from a drop down menu and if wheelchair assistance is needed (no). So the seats that are being offered are not being offered because they are assuming a mobility disability.

I suppose the way around it is to not declare the disability and hope the sunflower lanyard sees us through. But that’s not very disability inclusive. Never had this issue on other llcs and fly a few times a year. Annoyingly, Ryanair has the only direct flight to the airport I want to go to.

I definitely wouldn't just hope, surely it's possible to contact Ryanair to ask for assistance in booking the correct seats and making sure they're aware of your son's needs.

I was 200 in a queue to get connected to a human being after the chatbot couldn’t solve the problem.

I’ll have to try again when I don’t have dc with me as I can’t spend that much time tied down while trying to keep up with him.

We book our seats as normal then call the special assistance line and add on our needs. Show up to the booth on the day and get assistance.

We use assistance but only as far as the gate. You can approach gate agent and ask to board first because of the queuing issue with your dc. They will prioritise you, but the thing is, because Ryanair stands generally don't have airbridges, you could be allowed through the gate first, but you could be queuing a long time on the steps waiting to cross the apron. Ask me how I know this!

So we board last and book seats up front together, not special seats, just pick the ones we want usually second or third row, not in an emergency exit obv. My DH has two replacement knees, and can't stand for too long but is otherwise reasonably mobile. However he finds the walk from security to the gate in most airports like a marathon these days, hence the assistance.

Ryanair deliberately make everything as shit as possible since their only differentiator is cost. The shitness doesn't stop with the booking, everything about the experience, flight, etc will be shit. I think they work a bit like the army, they try and break you before you get on the plane with the lack of information, the magic changing bag measurer, and the bus ride to what seems like a neighbouring airport.

OP, Ryanair website states - If you have booked one of the below types of assistance, we will allocate you a suitable seat on-board, free of charge, along with one travel companion.

Perhaps if you’ve selected two passengers with one of the seats for assistance, the system automatically holds the adjacent seat to the assistance seat for you ?

If you do decide to book without assistance, Ryanair use the back doors for boarding and disembarking, so you can be out of the seats at the back just as quickly as the front.

Yeah, I know what they say but in practice they are only letting me select one of two seats for the disabled passenger and neither of those seats has an available seat next to it for me to select for myself.

Essentially, they (their booking system) know 2 things about the disabled passenger: cognitive disability and age (under 12). And the booking system only offers those 2 options on a flight that is largely empty.

These are the options

Have travelled with Ryanair several times in the last year, would reiterate that they use back and front exits with steps, never airbridge.

Priority boarders just have to queue for longer out on the tarmac in the wind and rain. Unless steps are impossible book any two seats together near front or back and board as late as you can to avoid standing about.

We've been standing out in a queue before the plane's even arrived with Ryanair. Oh the glamour of air travel. No more flying for us for a good while now.

I went with Ryanair to lanzarote in January. Somewhat to my surprise they were on an airbridge for the return flight.

i agree they are normally busses and waiting on the concrete, i usually skip that via ambi lift.

op, not sure I have any advice. Ryanair’s business model is built on queueing and paying for priority boarding only gets you to a different queue (and actually the only time I did pay for it they told me I couldn’t use it anyway as due to the needs of another assistance passenger we all had to get on last).

If you have booked one of the below types of assistance, we will allocate you a suitable seat on-board, free of charge, along with one travel companion

If it says this on their website, I would read that as you don't need to book a seat, they will allocate it for you? It doesn't say that you can pick your seats, only that they will allocate it. Or perhaps I'm mis-understanding, I've not had to book for assistance on Ryanair before, only for standard tickets, where seats are allocated when you check in online 24 hours before the flight. I flew Ryanair yesterday, I did notice that even when they have allocated a seat, it does say on the boarding pass that you may be asked to move by staff - the allocated seat is not guaranteed.

Presumably if you want to pick exactly where you want to sit, you need to pay for this option. Otherwise, if you are allocated seats apart, then speak to an agent at the airport or gate as soon as you get there.

I know Easyjet do things a bit differently, but my sister and I often travelled with my disabled mum, and we were always allocated seats together - which I know Easyjet usually do, but they were always towards to front of the aircraft (row 8 was the furthest back we ever were), with other disabled/low mobility people around us. We never had to pick our seats in advance, just make the booking, and tick the 'requires assistance' option.