Ryan Air Reservation Process

I made Ryanair reservations online through their website before my trip to Spain last May. I flew Ryanair from London Stansted to Santander, Spain. As I recall, it asked for a passport number but didn't specifiy an EU passport. If you book through the site, be sure to read the screens carefully and uncheck any boxes that you don't wish to have checked (such as travel insurance). If you plan to check a bag indicate that online -- the fee is less than waiting till you get to the airport.

Update: I just looked at the Ryanair site and I didn't see any place that it asks for passport number at all during the booking process (at least as far as I went through it, since I didn't actually want to purchase a ticket). Do be very careful with the screens, though. It will choose travel insurance for you, and if you are checking a bag, it will choose priority boarding unless you unchoose it. And I don't know if they charge for customer service inquiries, but it wouldn't surprise me since they charge for everything else. That said, if you can live with their rules, you can't beat their prices most of the time.

It asks for an E-U passport if you accept "Internet check-in." If you select "Airport Check-in" then the request for the E-U passport doesn't appear....but you'll have to pay a two-pound charge. Perhaps non E-U residents aren't eligible for internet check-in

You're right, Norm, non-EU passengers have to check in at the airport. I don't think there was a charge for that last May, but I know there is now.

Christine, as the others have indicated, you don't require an E.U. Passport to book RyanAir flights. I booked a flight from Bristol to Dublin a few months ago on the net, with no problems.

However, a few points to add. As mentioned, travellers pay extra for having checked luggage. In addition, be sure to PACK LIGHT as RyanAir is ruthless with excess baggage charges! If they find your bag is over weight, one has to stand in another queue to pay the charges and then return to the original queue at check-in. It's a bit of a cumbersome and annoying process! BTW, I got nicked with an overweight charge, even though my Pack was only slightly over the limit - there's no leeway!

Good luck and happy travels!

Thank you all! We're rookies planning our first trip so it's all "greek" so far. I guess an "oops" will be a learning opportunity, not fatal!

Merry Christmas!