Ryanair - avoid possible overcharging

[roy4eyes]

Returning from Bristol last night we checked in our case only to be told it was 16.8 kilos and we could pay £20 or remove some items.
I took out 2 sweaters, replaced the case and it came to 13.3 kilos - heavy sweaters thought I !! - so replaced the sweaters on top of the case when it came to 14.8 kilos !!
"Oh dear" said the embarrassed check-in lady - "take it off and replace it". I did this 3 times and it varied between 14.5 and 15.3 kilos. "Oh dear" again said the lady "It has been temperamental today - off you go".

The moral of my story is that, if you ever get caught for overweight charges, request a recheck on another set of scales.
Regularly checked they do not appear to be

[joeysoap]

easy enough to weight bags before leaving home, it's when there's no scales available that causes the headache. I have found that there is a scale by the back wall in faro you can check weight ( but by then it probably too late ) we have one of those little battery operated scales where you attach the bag to a hook and just hold it in the air for a few seconds and it reads the weight. so far its been accurate to within .2kg when comparing weights on a 'proper' scale.

[cereza]

I flew back to Gatwick on Monarch last Friday and the flight was delayed due to the length of time being taken by the check in procedures - it turned out that lots of people were having to pay for extra weight even though they were adamant that they had no more than on the outward journey when they were under weight! I know 1 or 2 might try it on but this was a lot and I noticed that at the desk I used the weight was not on show. It looked like a good little earner for Monarch
It was a full flight and I took advantage of a BOGOF offer on the extra leg room seats - I don't know how long they have the offer for but it's worth a look

[SAM SPARKLE]

My mole at Ryanair has told me that they are going to start offering passengers the chance to book a seat(s), several rows will be allocated for this purpose and they will test it out on a few selected routes first to gain public reaction, there will of course, be a charge for this facility.

[sunman]

I just booked flights for some friends on Ripoff air, when I went to pay they relieved me of an extra £24, £12 each way for 'administration charges',

[Bristle Si]

I just booked flights for some friends on Ripoff air, when I went to pay they relieved me of an extra £24, £12 each way for 'administration charges',

I've lost track of the number of threads and same posters on this forum whinging about Ryanair - why do you use them if you don't like them?

[sunman]

I just booked flights for some friends on Ripoff air, when I went to pay they relieved me of an extra £24, £12 each way for 'administration charges',

I've lost track of the number of threads and same posters on this forum whinging about Ryanair - why do you use them if you don't like them?

since you ask, i'll tell you

I think Ryanair is a horrible airline & I don't fly with them if I can possibly avoid it

in this case I was buying tickets for friends whose travel arrangements are constricted making Ryanair the only practical option in this case

my moan here is that you get right to the end of the flight selection and purchasing process before you find out that extra charges of £24 are being added to the cost just for the privelege of paying, there are no alternatives. In the US this week all airlines are being made to be up front about all these hidden/ extra charges before you get going, something I'd like the EU to follow

[joeysoap]

everyone on planet earth knows that ryanair (+others) charge for boarding pass, bags, priority boarding and the cc charge. very hard to avoid the boarding pass charge, but all the other charges can be avoided. don't check in a bag, don't book priority and get a prepaid mastercard. I prefer to fly aer lingus but also fly ryanair when it suits. they do what it says on the tin, so can't stand all this knocking them by people who actually use them and then cry how much they hate them. if they introduced seat allocation and depending on the charge involved I for one would consider it. I never use priority boarding as you still have to queue and I have seen them release both queues at the same time, and in some airports (faro until last year, ciampiano is another)you just get on the bus first.

[Polli62]

Sam Sparkle re ryanair being able to prebook seats, at the moment its only from Dublin to London Gatwick & Malaga Flights, maybe they will introduce it on other flights within the future.
http://travel.aol.co.uk/2011/04/20/ryan ... ach-way%2F

[roy4eyes]

I have no complaints about Ryanair and in fact agree in general with the principle of only paying for what you want.
Both they and EasyJet operate modern,clean planes offering (particularly since Ryanair based aircraft at Faro) extremely punctual flights and in fact, based on our recent flight from Gatwick, put BA to shame in respect of seat comfort, cleanlines, modern equipment and punctuality.
I believe it is the handling company who are responsible for the accuracy of the scales and I have written to the Bristol Airport Director about our problem - I was suggesting a course of action for other people who feel aggrieved at (possibly!!) being charged for overweight baggage - it could have been any airline.

[maccasa]

If you want cheap - Ryanair! Look out for the "no taxes" flts. Last week I booked for 3rd May Birmingham - Faro - No taxes, No check-in fee 17.99 (+ £6 visa charge)

Also - I cant believe they still do this! - book your visit as 2 flights - they charge the same "amount" for the return Faro- uk flt BUT in EURO.

Check it out - for a "return" flt if its £29.99 for the Faro-uk leg, change to a one way only and book a separate flt from Faro-uk and its €29.99 so you save the £-€ exchange rate (~13%). If its a family ticket this can be very significant!

[joeysoap]

thats a good tip for uk flights (doesn't apply to dublin). another tip is if you are intent on using the priority boarding - seperate the flights and that way only 1 of you has to pay priority boarding. sit on a centre seat and nobody will come near you until the aircraft is nearly full, by then your family should be on board.

[sam]

Just returned on Ryanair - no buses at Faro airport, either way - had to walk, and go up & down stairs. Ok on arrival and if you are fairly fit & healthy, but on departure had to walk some distance and then queue outside before being allowed on the plane. Luckily it had stopped raining at that time, but still had to walk through a large deep puddle. It was the same in February. Don't know if no buses is now airport decision, or Ryanair being mean and not paying for them. Only saw one bus in circulation and that was empty.

[joeysoap]

easyjet use the air bridges. aer lingus use the bus transfer (personally dont like it) ry appear to use where the air bridges are but dont use them either because they won't pay for them or because it delays boarding/disembarking.