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?

Because "... Ryanair has the only direct flight to the airport I want to go to."?

Might the greyed out seats all be booked up already?

It appears to me that the greyed-out seats have already been booked by other passengers? I don’t understand what you expect Ryanair to do. Just book the nearest available seats to the front, before they also get booked. Maybe call Ryanair to explain the problem, and see if they can offer any better solution - such as helping you to the front ahead of other passengers when you have landed.

Well, I guess so. But then why offer those two seats as the only options for a cognitively disabled child when loads of other seats are available on the plane?

I think, what I would expect Ryanair to do is the same as other airlines: let me choose the seats we want to sit in.

I have never been restricted to only selecting certain seats before after requesting assistance for my child’s intellectual disability. I request assistance on the booking to have access to assistance lanes (as some airports require this and check). Ryanair ask the nature of the disability earlier in the booking process so it has nothing to do with them having certain seats for mobility disabilities.

There are loads of available seats on that flight, but if you declare the disability they only allow you to choose certain seats which appear to be random as well as being impossible for us to use as he can’t sit alone.

The chat generally moves quite quickly, even when you start in spot 200 and I’ve always found the chat staff very helpful when I’ve had to speak to them.

Don’t do it OP. Honestly, I’m as tough as they come and proper hard and I don’t do RA. The only good thing I can say is that they make Easy Jet seem like business class!

Arrgh. I’ve already booked the accommodation and it was really hard to find something that suited so am loathe to cancel.

I’ve bitten the bullet and booked taking on advice from this thread about the best way to go about it.

I’m never going with them again though! So Brindisi, Carcassonne and a few other hit list destinations are now off my list as only RA flies there from my home airport.

To add insult to injury, once I put the booking through without special assistance being checked, I could see that seat 31C is indeed available to buy, just not when it might be free according to disability legislation.

Massive fuckers.

A family member uses Ryanair regularly and uses special assistance. They are fantastic. She is always treated with courtesy and respect by ground and cabin staff. On the occasions she has contacted special assistance via the website the staff have been efficient and helpful.
I love Ryanair. Yes its frustrating sometimes with delays or cancellations but you cannot expect 5 star service when you are paying peanuts.
Pre Ryanair people were paying a fortune for air travel. The airline has enabled so many more to travel regularly and avail of reasonably priced flights.

There was a virtually blind passenger travelling alone last time I flew Ryanair. The staff were falling over themselves trying to offer him assistance but it was him who was insisting he didn't need it.

You can pick any two blue seats. You don't need a seat for a wheelchair user.

I couldn’t pick any two blue seats. I could only pick one of the ones labelled for a disabled passenger for the passenger who was listed as needing assistance.

1. this was useless as a cognitively disabled child could not sit alone
2. Ryanair use the wheelchair symbol to show which seats assistance passengers are allowed to choose from - it has nothing to do with needing a wheelchair seat. Their own booking process had already checked that we did not need a wheelchair.

I am physically disabled. I fly a fair bit. Ryanair are no better and no worse in terms of assistance at the airport.

i don’t bother with their seat selection at all I just let their system do it’s thing and then get their agents to fix it at the airport.

to be honest many airlines give me a different seat than the one of the booking once I actually rock up at the airport - this is not a Ryanair only issue.

i often fly on my own but also have flown with my kids (now young adults but have flown with them as teens).

the airline have always fixed the seats at the airport - usually they are aware by that point whether it will be front loading or back loading and they put all the disabled passengers together at the front or at the back.

op, I realise that you are booking for someone without mobility difficulties but in my experience any assistance request of any kind gets you the disabled passenger tag.

Firstly, I’m glad you have been well taken care of by the airlines you have travelled on and that you don’t feel like you have been precluded from travel.

I think that my big frustration is that the system , at least in this instance, is totally stacked against travelers with my dc’s disability.

I can’t go to the airport, have long conversations with people to explain what the problem is and then sit around waiting for/hoping for them to fix it. I need to go, check in, walk around the terminal ad infinitum with dc, making sure he doesn’t (try to) get on a different plane in his enthusiasm for getting on a plane.

I just want to be able to book tickets without hassles or hurdles, and have his disability recognised and catered for accordingly. We actually don’t need that much assistance outside of the quieter lanes and a bit of flexibility around boarding depending on whether he’s desperate to board or ok to get on later.

The fact that I checked the assistance box during booking meant that the seats I could select for him were totally untenable (and probably against RA’s own policies for a cognitively impaired person travelling unaccompanied). In fact, selecting assistance during booking made the whole thing ridiculous and, if this was our first time travelling with a disabled dc, I might just give up and never do it again (which I suspect is what RA would prefer).

A child under 12 can't sit alone on a Ryanair flight anyway regardless of disability.

OP. Is the only reason you need assistance so you can access the assistance lane so you don’t have to queue? I can’t think what other assistance you would need for a child with autism if he has no mobility issues.

It seems to me you need to:

a) sit together
b) not have to queue

And that’s it.

In which case, just book two seats together and board at the last minute.

I don’t understand why you think your son has more right to not queue than say, a woman on her own with two children under 3, who could be equally disruptive.

Those were the two seats offered despite him being registered as being under 12. I think once you check the assistance box it just defaults to massively shitting on you.

This is you. Not them. You’re trying to select the seats that need the lift….you don’t need it ffs

They’re not “massively shitting on you” 🤣 fucks sake, just don’t take up a seat meant for those with a physical disability and you’ll be fine. Some people really do themselves no favours

Yeah, you’re right.. that’s what we need. But as I have mentioned numerous times in this thread, some airports only let you use the assistance lanes when you have declared that you need assistance and it’s registered in the booking.

When you check the box for assistance in the RA booking, it massively restricts which seats you can access to the point that it’s not tenable to book them (in this case). I have not experienced it with other airlines.

Maybe the difficulties we face when travelling are the same as a single parent travelling with young children, maybe not 🤷🏻‍♀️ Sometimes we can access quiet rooms, sensory rooms in airports which can be helpful. My point is rather that RA are making it difficult for people with disabilities to fly and book tickets, which is what has happened to us today.

What assistance do you require on the flight?

I’m not. If you register as assistance… any assistance, and their booking process confirms the nature of the disability, you are allocated a choice of seats to choose from on the plane marked with the wheelchair logo.

This has nothing to do with trying to book mobility disabled seats. It has everything to do with RA allocating certain seats for anyone who declares any disability even if they are not suitable (even according to their own policies).

On the actual flight? None, bar a bit of understanding.

In the airport, using assistance lanes and a bit of flexibility around boarding.

As I have reiterated on this thread, some airports require you to have assistance registered on the boarding pass to access that support. UK airports usually just go with the sunflower lanyard but others need to see the booking. We are going to an airport I haven’t been to before so I don’t know and I would have rather had assistance registered.

Which airport are you flying to? Not sure if Ryanair will offer any flexibility around boarding. Usually the turnaround time is very short so not many options available. Being allowed first through might just mean waiting in a designated area.

My point is that you don’t really need assistance.

You need to try to get on and off the flight without your child having a meltdown. That’s not the same thing. Many parents, autism or not, are in the same position.

I don’t understand why you think you need the assistance lane.

It feels like this is actually less about RA and more about you seeking some recognition of your child’s difficulties.

As a parent of an autistic child I do get that - life is shit sometimes. But it doesn’t owe you anything in return for your child having autism. Does it suck to have a child who can’t manage lots of stuff? Yes.
Could you be making things harder for yourself by having this chip on your shoulder? Also yes.