To hate RyanAir with a vengeance

[Gangle]

Tried to fly with RyanAir from Stansted to Grenoble today with 10 month old DS for a few days skiing. Complete mission negotiating luggage, pushchair and a baby whose into everything but as DH was meeting us at Grenoble airport I thought I would cope. Got to the airport and checked it at a new check-in machine (the only option available). Entered my reference number and the machine printed tickets in my married name whilst my passport is in my maiden name. I noticed this (DH had made the booking and obviously forgotten to remember to book in my maiden name) but assumed it was ok otherwise the machine would not allow me to check-in. Anyway, went to bag drop a few minutes later where they noticed the discrepancy and told me to go to ticket sales and pay £145 for a name change. I tried arguing against this for a minute and offered other ID to show I was the same person but they refused - only a marriage certificate would do and I didn't have it with me. So, off I go to Ticket Sales, baby and luggage in tow, queue for about 10 minutes then finally get to talk to someone re the name change, which I was pretty peeved about as I don't see how this change justifies a whopping charge of £145, more than the flight itself. Spoke to the rudest, stupidiest woman I've ever met (would have got more sense talking to a brick wall) who told me there was no other way and I had to pay and then spent ages trying to change the name. I checked the time (9.45, flight was at 10.10. tight but I assumed ok as I was checked in and there was no queue through departures) and she looked up and said, oh, you've missed the flight as you're not checked in. I said, I am checked in; she replied, I unchecked you to change your booking and now check in is closed and so there is nothing we can do. Then she added, we've charged you the admin fee though. So, they wanted me to pay an extortionate admin fee for a change of name (though same person) regardless of the fact that they had made me miss the check in for this flight by kindly "un-checking me". Being extremely sleep deprived and fraught, I got angry then burst into tears, and the DS. No other flights from Stansted to Grenoble today and we were only gpoing until Saturday so not really worth going tomorrow. Beyond furious. I will NEVER fly this horrible crappy airline again.

[ShauntheSheep]

Ryanair are the pits and not even that cheap once you add in all the taxes charges admin costs etc plus the cost of getting to the airports which are always in teh middle f nowhere.

Persuaded my mum and dad to fly into Heathrow with a reasonably civilised airline (BMI) last tiem they came over and they realised they were saving money and having a decent journey even tho it seems to cost more to begin with.

[mayorquimby]

jesus, i love ryan air with a passion and am their biggest defender/supporter and came in here ready to extole their virtues.
and right up until the issue of "unchecking you in" was prepared to take the attitude of "well it was your husbands mistake"
but trying to charge you for a flight that they are making you miss by unchecking you in is unforgivable. hope you didn't accept the charges and if you did then fight to get them back.

[Almeida]

Awful airline. Once had to wait in a small very crowded waiting area for the plane to arrive. No seats or anything. They called for people to go to the boarding area but the plane hadn't arrived. Just terrible & then it was free for all not families first.

[Mummyfor3]

I fly with Ryanair all the time.

Yes, they are crap on customer service but that is why you get to fly for next to nothing.

Their website states quite clearly that passanger names need to be EXACTLY as on their IDs - my passport name and name I use on a daily basis no not match either: I have made similar mistake myself in the past with same result - so very sorry for your rubbish experience. If you can face the struggle you can contact Ryanair headoffice, details on website, and ask for your money back. After a lot of toing and froing and got half of what I paid reimbursed.

Look in their FAQ, I am sure there is a question about extra assisstance ie travelling with children or needing other help and they actually state something like: we are a no frills airline and if you need extra help we are maybe not for you .

Like I said, I use them several times a year in spite of all that and used to travel with 2 toddlers on my own - now have 3 DS so not allowed to travel without another adult...

[Sunshinesmith]

the owner is a bloody tosser... had too many incidents with them- now i refuse point blank to fly with them... bunch of crooks!

If i was you I would take it further to get the money of your filght back.

[mayorquimby]

"the owner is a bloody tosser"

i think he's a legend. it's hilarious how much an airline can split opinions. good on you for not flying with them any more if you don't like their service.what i can't understand is people who know exactly what they're all about, have flown with them before,continue to fly with them yet still complain.

[Merrylegs]

But mummytothree, the point is they're not that cheap. It would cost me £1600 total to fly my family of 5 to the US this easter with Virgin. I have just priced a flight to Europe this summer with Ryanair and once you add on bags/ check-in/credit card charge for EACH ticket, it is £1000.

Ryanair seem to be working on the assumption that you are a single person who has paid a penny for a flight and you should expect nothing from them. But that simply isn't the case and they should empower their staff to be able to make sensible decisions.

[Salleroo]

Just make sure you check the cost of the call before you do call them. At one stage (going back a couple of years) it was a pound a minute!!!! More money making...

[Wizzska]

OP - I had the namechange thing 3 times, DH books flights and seems to have amnesia. Have now changed my passport now to both married and maiden name. Ryanair told me it cost £75 to change the name, but each time they went all cooey over my DS and let me off.

[Mummyfor3]

Merrylegs, admittedly, I pick and choose my flights as I am usually flexible with dates. Other than that, you have a very big point.

But, as mayorquimby said, you do not like it (prices or service) do not fly with them.

[mm22bys]

They have no incentive to change things at all - unfortunately they are one of the most profitable airlines in the world so obviously enough people are happy with them not to vote with their foot, forcing Ryanair to change...

I don't like them and I don't fly them. Problem solved!

[mm22bys]

or maybe they'll even use their two feet

[mayorquimby]

"the point is they're not that cheap. It would cost me £1600 total to fly my family of 5 to the US this easter with Virgin. I have just priced a flight to Europe this summer with Ryanair and once you add on bags/ check-in/credit card charge for EACH ticket, it is £1000."

and this is why they are suitable for a certain type of traveller and not all. because if you were going on your own,didn't need to check in bags,didn't need to sit with specific people as you may well do with children then you don't pay for any of those things.but when you do need to you pay more for these services than with other airlines becuase a)on other airlines the cost is averaged out amongst the plane so wether you use them or not you are still charged for them, but with ryanair the cost of the service is paid exclusively by those who use it
and B)to incentivise against people using these services so ryanair need less physical staff at the airport and thus reducing their over-heads.
now obviously someone like me who uses ryanair when flying somewhere with friends or by myself and who hasn't checked a bag on an airline for about 4 years and doesn't care who he sits beside this is brilliant as i don't want to pay for services i'm not using. but to someone who needs 4 bags checked in and to be certain of sitting beside their kids it is a nightmare.so for those sort of trips i may well use another airline as it could quite feasibly work out cheaper.

[bran]

Actually, mm22bys, I'm not sure that Ryanair will continue to be as profitable as it has been. There are signs that it has overstretched itself with the number of routes and it's attempts to take over other airlines. I'm not saying that it's going to the wall, but I also don't think that they are quite as profitable and financially secure as they make out. Who knows, they might even go under (after the founder has creamed off a load of cash obviously).

[warthog]

I think that is absolutely disgusting.

YANBU

[Redfox]

Hello I dont like them but am using them to fly to spain next month.
However I booked the tickets for me & DP and I accidently added a extra letter on the end of first name. (The letter that begins with my last name)
So my booked name is not the same name on my passport!
Now do I leave it and hope its not picked up?
We are going on the self check in. Or will I have to pay ££££ to amend it

[Homebird8]

Anyone mentioned Watchdog yet? I know they have an interest in Ryanair re their so-called Free Flights ad.

[Cies]

Redfox - get it sorted NOW! They will pick it up, and you don't want to get a repeat performance of the OP's situation.

[Buda]

bran - that is the best news I have heard for a long time! Thank you!

I hate Ryanair. I don't fly them unless I have absolutely no alternative.

I am waiting for Michael O'Leary to start charging people for using the loos on his planes and for the air that they breathe.

[mumof2222222222222222boys]

My aunt managed to get a refund of ?128 recently after her flight was cancelled. I don't know the details, but still think it is a holy miracle.

We frequently fly from London to the French Alps (DH has gone to Grenoble with dreaded Ryan Air), but to be honest it is not that cheap. We always check Ryanair, Easyjet and BA to a selection of airports. BA has on occasion come out cheapest, particularly as we now have to get 4 tickets and can't manage with hand luggage. Next time we're going with Easyjet which won hands down.

OP - really sorry to hear your story. Fight for the return of the additional charge. Get ad hoc legal advice, and if necessary go to small claims court.

[Frasersmum123]

Gosh, what horrid treatment!

I have flown RyanAir a couple of times and I have never had a problem (unlike with Thomson ), neither with Easyjet, but I have probably been very lucky as I dont fly very often.

[bran]

Buda - I'm not speaking with any authority about Ryanair, I don't know much about either aerospace or the business sector. It's just my impression that they may get into trouble, especially if proper airlines continue to drop prices to encourage people to keep flying.

[Buda]

bran - I can but hope!

[bran]

Actually, I'm not so sure I want them to go out of business. Obviously I hate them and would rather drink my own piss than fly with them, but I think they do force the real airlines to be a bit more competative in their pricing. I don't want to go back to the bad old days when it cost a fortune to fly between Dublin and London because there wasn't much competition.

[bran]

Perhaps just a severe drop in profits would do the trick to make Ryanair a bit more humble and (unlikely) even grateful when people fly with them and not an alternative airline. I'm not sure whether O'Leary has controlling stock, but if he were voted off the board it would make my heart sing. They must be hurting a bit with the abandoned bid to buy Eir Lingus, a lot of those shares were bought at quite an inflated price and now the share price has dropped considerably.