Ryanair going to all digital bording passes Nov 12

80% are already doing it because its convenient. Me too tge last few years anf I am slow with this sort of thing. But I find it hard to believe there won't be a Plan B for dead or lost phones. So certainly there will be. You bought the ticket, its hard to imagine they can refuse you service if you lost your cell phone in London. If you travel with a companion, make sure the App is on both phones and on that old wifi only phone you carry for emergency situations.

You should make sure to check in online before arriving at the airport. Then, if your phone fails, you can get a free boarding pass. If you haven't checked in online, and the phone fails, you are likely to face a £50 fee to check in and get a boarding pass.

That's the kind of thing I mentioned in a different thread yesterday or the day before. RyanAir loves fee-generating gotchas like that. Not all budget airlines are alike in every respect.

"You bought the ticket, its hard to imagine they can refuse you service if you lost your cell phone in London."

Not for me. They (Delta, others?) can deny you service if you don't remember to bring the credit card you bought the ticket with. Why? Because they said so.

I'd make a bet for Ads being on the app within a year but defining an ad (or up-sell or...) would be a problem.

Doesn't matter, I won't be installing their app on my phone. So it looks like I'll never have to worry about it.

Give it a few months to play out. These things as often as not turn into non-issues.

Ryanair, Europe’s No.1 airline

That's what their own propaganda dares to say.
Ryanair Group is the largest airline group in Europe and consists of 5 airlines.

• Ryanair DAC (Ireland)
• Buzz (Poland)
• Lauda (Austria)
• Malta Air (Malta)
• Ryanair UK (UK)

But Europe's No 1 airline is the Europe's Leading Airline rewarded by World Travel Awards, Lufthansa. This was the second consecutive year the German airline won this top honor, which also awarded it for the best economy class in Europe.
https://www.worldtravelawards.com/award-europes-leading-airline-2025

Define No1.

Ryanair is Europe’s largest airline by passengers with double that of the 2nd place airline.

They go from and they go to the right places at the right cost and with adequate comfort and ease.

Define no 1 ?

You're right. Ryanair deserves no 1 place for the airline with the worst review score
https://www.trustpilot.com/review/www.ryanair.com

I'm not here to defend Ryan, they get the job done fine. I am certain there are "nicer" airlines, but KLM isnt one of them as that group gave KLM the same score; so Ryan is in good company. Amazingly they only gave Turkish Air a tiny bit better. Hard to find a better airline than Turkish.

Skytrax penalized Ryan for the poor inflight entertainment LOL, as if there were any. But these are 1 and 2 hour flights so its no loss. Bring a book on your $20 flight. But the Skytrak customer survey did put Ryan on par with Delta and ahead of United and American.

Yes, I conceed that the $7.000 first class seat on Emirates is 7.000 times more comfortable than anything Ryan sells for $42,50.

Ryanair is Europe’s largest airline by passengers with double that of the 2nd place airline.

Berlin public transport BVG had transported over 1 billion people in 2024. Of course wrong comparison.

The traffic performance of a mean of transport or a carrier is always measured by number of passengers or weight of goods AND the transported distance.

Therefore in my opinion the number of transported passengers is less relevant than the available seat kilometers (ASK). How to compare capacities of a city hopper / vacation charter operator and a global airline?

ASK Ryanair: 247,552 mn
ASK Lufthansa: 326,176 mn

Both numbers from annual reports.

Btw.: both companies operate different businesses. Lufthansa operates line flights, Ryanair is just charter business. Also acknowledged that it is a large business and that they make some people happy.

I remember 15-20 years ago first using a QR code on my Blackberry to check-in to a Lufthansa flight at a gate of Frankfurt airport, likely A14 to A22.

Btw.: both companies operate different businesses. Lufthansa operates line flights, Ryanair is just charter business

That is an odd statement. Ryanair are a line flights business. They may or may not do charter business (if they do it's a tiny part of their turnover), primarily an A to B scheduled flights business.

A lot of charter businesses look for regular passengers like a line business e. g. also Condor;, but are not registered like this, so they have more freedom to move flights spontaneously without consequences.

Ryanair is just charter business.

huh?

could it be a lost in translation issue?

Ryanair is a scheduled airline much as DB is a scheduled railway system.

According to Wikipedia (so it must be right ;-) ) in 2016, became the world's largest airline by scheduled international passengers.

Serves 228 airports in 37 countries by scheduled flights.

I don't see that as a charter airline.

I wonder what does charter mean in German?

there is a tiny airline in Alaska called Ryan Air which is unrelated in any way, mostly cargo and some passenger. Not the one we are talking about.

This transition, already adopted by nearly 80% of Ryanair’s 207M+ annual passengers, will deliver a faster, smarter, and greener travel experience. It will also give passengers easier access to a range of innovative in-app features, including:

So they told 20% of their customers ( 41 million) 'we don't want you'?

Hmmm

I think it’s good to repeat that, as long as you’ve checked in online, you can still get a boarding pass printed free of charge at the airport.
So those that don’t have a smartphone or whose smartphone broke down or is lost can still fly with Ryanair.
All explained on the website https://www.ryanair.com/gb/en/lp/explore/digital-boarding-pass

"What happens if I don’t check-in online before arriving at the
airport? You will be required to pay the airport check-in fee."

If I weren't already boycotting RyanAir, I'd start boycotting these nickel-and-diming-any-excuse-to-charge-me-more guys.

As it is, I am now boycotting them twice as hard and with more velocity!!

Happy travels.

Ryanair compete on price and price alone. They can make their customers jump through any hoops they like. People will continue to travel with them because they’re cheap.

Remember these are short flights around Europe that people take frequently to visit friends and family as well as for holidays. Travellers from the US on expensive transatlantic vacations are not their primary market.

"Ryanair's CEO Michael O'Leary had previously considered charging passengers to use the toilet"

Well, the public reacted poorly to that idea so it was flushed into the toilet of history!

There are limits! If I remember correctly, the French Revolution really got its legs after the king started charging the peasants for boarding passes so, yeah, RyanAir better think these things through, that's all I've got to say!

Happy travels.

Helen, I get it. But, I didn't see any hoops. I can deal with on line check-in, been doing it for how many years? Wait, the big boys will require this in a few years.

Second, "cheap" is a term of the wealthy and entitled. Po folk like me use the term affordable which means "makes it possible".

Rick said he believed every flight should only have one class, well Ryan is Rick's dream come true; Socialist Air. Doesn't matter how freeking rich you are or to what degree you exploited the masses, if you want to fly Budapest to Podgorica or Zadar, you are sitting next to me.

Celebrate the working man's airline.

"We think passengers who forget to print their boarding passes should pay €60 for being so stupid."

Michael O'Leary, CEO of RyanAir

Cost of printing a receipt or ticket? Maybe a penny. Mark-up? A gazillion percent. A true man of the people!? Monopoly price gouging on extras! What's next? Charging for heat? Oxygen?

I think I'm gonna become French and move to France so my boycott of RyanAir can be triple effective! Down with the oligarchs! Now did anybody see where I left my beer? It was around here somewhere...

Happy travels!

"If any passenger arrives at airport but hasn’t checked-in online (having ignored these reminders), they will still be required to pay the airport check-in fee. " (https://www.ryanair.com/gb/en/lp/explore/digital-boarding-pass). Totally unnecessary. Condescension never works.
My husband and I bought our tickets in August before Ryan Air's new policy. Fortunately, we have the Plus option, so that we will be given a free boarding pass. We both attempted to get the Ryan Air app on our phones, today--it's not working.

I suspect that most of the RS folks are using airline apps and using digital boarding passes. Maybe like me they have a printed backup copy and a copy in google or apple wallet as well; but they went digital. I guess the backup copy day is gone, but I never once used them anyway. So why the outrage? Very strange. But last year Ryanair had over 200 million passengers, so this means 200 million pieces of paper not in trash heaps and a corresponding number of trees saved. Very nice.

There is a difference in philosophy here. Some see it as having to pay for everything, others see it as not having to pay for what they don’t need and don’t want.

I'm not outraged by the move to digital. I'm outraged by the grotesquely over-the-top charge assessed if someone ends up at the airport without having checked in. It's easy to find online reviews detailing other RyanAir practices that go beyond what other airlines do. Yes, there are documented negative experiences on just about all airlines, but RyanAir seems to be on a different level.

Exactly right Acraven! Spot on!

Happy travels!

Yeah, im just not sharing the outrage.
I'm not a Ryanair customer and don't expect to be. I've only ever checked in through airline apps and used mobile boarding passes. It's not hard.

I'm not even outraged by Ryanair's fee for printing the boarding pass. Again it's not hard.

Time and time again the buying public by their actions show that their priorities are all based on price. That they'll jump through hoops to chase coupons and discounts. Ryan has responded by reducing their costs to the point that they cut customer service to the bare bones and beyond and customers keep returning.

I'm outraged by the grotesquely over-the-top charge assessed

I think generally people were outraged by Ryanair's over the top charges twenty years or so ago. If you fly Ryanair, you need to make sure they're not going to get you for anything to ensure your flight stays uber cheap. Regular users have sussed this quite some time ago. The unwary may still be caught out.

I'm learning French right now in preparation for my move to France so I can quadruple boycott RyanAir!

How does one say long live the revolution in French anyway?

Happy travels!

Edit, addendum, per google: "Yes, some airline apps can track you, and there are concerns about how they use permissions to access sensitive data, which could be considered spying. Ryanair's app has been found to request permissions for data like phone state, microphone, and storage, some of which may not be clearly disclosed in its app store description. While the apps are intended to serve functions like booking and check-in, the extensive permissions they request, and how they use the data collected, are a source of concern for privacy experts. "

How does one say long live the revolution in French anyway?

My dad was always proud that his birthday fell on Bastille Day

It might not be twenty years that Ryanair have been ploughing this furrow with the surcharges for one thing and another. It has been a while though. It's just an annoyance that they can make some money from, as well as paring customer service down to the bone to save costs. I'd be interested to know how much of their turnover is fees and how much is actual flights. I would guess that the fees side is a not insignificant percentage.

I guess I need to get caught up on reality. I didn't realize Ryan was charging for a lot of stuff that other airlines didn't charge for. Airlines like United and Lufthansa for instance. Let's make a list!!!

1. Boarding pass if you dont checking on line while waiting in line to check your bag.
   
2. ????

Naah. Considering charging people for the bathroom is enough for me. Wonder why he decided "no". Just too far too soon?

If Winston Churchill were to comment on Ryanair, he might use a
phrase like: "Never has so much money been spent on so little comfort,
but the people still fly." He might also say something about the
"stiff upper lip" and endurance required, or critique the "total and
unmitigated defeat" of the cabin experience, though he would concede
that it offered a means to "never surrender" to being grounded.

--Google's take on what would Churchill say.

I'm learning about these french verbs-- very vexing indeed! No matter! I shall master them yet!

Happy travels

I didn't realize Ryan was charging for a lot of stuff that other airlines didn't charge for. Airlines like United and Lufthansa for instance. Let's make a list!!!

I'm not a frequent enough flyer to make an airline-by-airline list as a comparison, but I know I'm not really surprised that Ryanair are forcing people on to the app, at peril of a cost to print their boarding pass. It's in keeping with their business model. I would say that their modus operandi is a lot more aggressive than any of the more mainstream airlines, in so far as what they do to keep the sticker price low. Do these other airlines make checking baggage such a high percentage of the total cost in a surcharge like Ryanair do? I'm not up on what is the norm at this bargain basement level of flying, but I wouldn't fly with a checked bag with them unless I really had to.

Is your point that they're the same as everyone else? I don't think they are.

Well said Nick!

The key to their success is marketing-- designed to offend. Bad publicity, good publicity, matters not. Offend, delight-- who cares!

Ryanair offends with 'crass' Churchill ad
-- that was 20 years ago!

Their gimmicks are hidden fees and to be offensive.

Maybe I should learn Spanish too so I can quintuply boycott them!

Unfailingly polite? Never! They are the anti-rick steves-- except I am guessing Rick has no problem using them. Hoisted by my own example. Oh never mind!

Happy travels

I'm not up on what is the norm at this bargain basement level of flying, but I wouldn't fly with a checked bag with them unless I really had to.

Very funny. I don't know how it is elsewhere, but in Belgium, the only 'free luggage' to take with you is a 40 x 30 x 20 cm (inches 15 ³/₄ x 11 ¹³/₁₆ x 7 ⁷/₈) bag that must fit under the seat in front of you.
I really don't like the smell on these flights.

Is your point that they're the same as everyone else? I don't think
they are.

No. I really dont know but the statement was made that they charge for all sorts of things that the others dont charge for. I was curious if it was true or just more internet kool-aid.

I was curious if it was true or just more internet kool-aid.

I wouldn't know. It depends on your sources on the internet and how you approach them as to whether what one might read is "kool-aid". You need to get working on that list you started further up the thread. That would be a useful resource for the forum.

Good points Gerry!

"Extra fees make up approximately 35.7% of Ryanair's total revenue, according to a recent study"

and RyanAir has a mile long list of extras buried deep in their website. (https://www.ryanair.com/gb/en/useful-info/help-centre/fees)

What I like about the discount airline in the US named Southwest is they are standup guys! Their business model is service, price and decency-- unlike some airlines which will-not-be-named that are being sextuply boycotted by some students of the French language.

Happy travels

As I have posted several times, I believe RyanAir still requires holders of some passports (including US) to visit a separate counter to show said passport. As far as I know, that is not the procedure on other airlines. You must do this before security; it's not an extra security check near the gate, which I know is sometimes encountered. That extra RyanAir counter is, according to reports I've seen on the internet, often rather hidden. People have missed their flights due to needing to find that counter. The cost of that gotcha is either 100 euros or GBPs (if you are no more than 1 hour late) or the walk-up price for a ticket.

Folks who think RyanAir is just like EasyJet, Wizz, etc., should do as I have done: Google "RyanAir reviews" and see what turns up.

Here's the full list of RyanAir fees: https://www.ryanair.com/gb/en/useful-info/help-centre/fees

The worst thing about Ryanair, and the reason I try to avoid them, is that they really offer zero customer service when something goes wrong. I’ve had a friend dumped at night at a random airport before, other friends stuck for 12+ hours at Malaga with 2 preschoolers when there was some kind of flight meltdown and there’s no one there to help. You’re really left to sort it out on your own.

acraven, you are correct, I havent read the reviews. But I have flown on them a half dozen times. But no incidents requiring customer service so I cant comment on that. All the flights were Schengen so that probably why no extra passport check on my flights. I got from A to B in relative comfort considering what it cost. I had no problem with the booking site and I paid what it cost with no strange no one else charges for this extras.

I'm not even defending them here, for me this is about a larger issue, not Ryan.

Something I don't understand here. "App". For whatever reasons (and that includes the inability to comfortably work on miniature screens and keyboards) I don't use "apps". I use the airlines' websites on my desktop (or iPad while traveling). Is Ryanair saying one cannot check in on their website, where a boarding pass can be downloaded, and then download this and store it same mobile device?

To answer the question above, as long as you check-in online, even if you don't have the app, you can still get a free boarding pass at the airport.

I've flown RyanAir dozens of times, and they are absolutely fine. You just need to be a little careful with the fees. And, as stated above, be prepared that if something goes wrong their customer service won't be great. The trade-off is you can travel for very low cost. My preference for low-cost carrier, however, is always easyJet.

On a slightly separate note- I see some people here referring to this airline as "Ryan." This is not a common way to refer to this airline (at least in the UK/Ireland). Not really a big deal, it just sounds awkward to me whenever I read it, like referring to Lufthansa as "Luft."

Veuillez m'excuser si j'ai mentionné Ryanair par erreur en l'appelant simplement « Ryan ». J'aurais dû dire « Ryanair, la compagnie aérienne que je boycotte ! ». Toutes mes excuses !

Bon voyage !

surely we can't have a thread with some folks - by no means all - grumpy about RyanAir without invoking the Fascinating Aida treatment of the airline

https://youtu.be/RjkkumvTZ-U?si=374GKRpnlx6ZJwG1

Nigel,

Good point! In the spirit of detente, I am no longer going to learn French, move to France and boycott RyanAir octuply! My apologies! I am glad many (many many many) enjoy their low prices if one can avoid the extra fees.

Seriously, I avoid them but obviously they are quite successful!

Happy travels and bon voyage!

Nigel, I don't think that's the video you intended to link to. Perhaps this is the one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVASZ2lCY5Y.

In fairness, it could apply to additional budget airlines, not just RyanAir. But it's hilarious.

Cat VH, that would be me. I am so bad typing on my cell i try and keep things short.

Where have Fascinating Aida been all my life? That was freakin' awesome!

Thanks acraven for the link for "Cheap flights", hilarious. And to Nigel for the initial thought.

A discussion like this needs:

"There is hardly anything in the world that cannot be made a little worse and sold a little cheaper, and those who consider price alone are that man's lawful prey."

Often attributed to John Ruskin*.

(* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_law_of_business_balance )

You just need to be a little careful with the fees.

And

enjoy their low prices if one can avoid the extra fees.

Be aware, be knowledgeable, but why avoid?

I recently did a journey by train, 15 hours over 2 days from Prague to Berlin to Köln stopping for the night in Brussels in first class. Then the next day Brussels to London. That was with two "carry-on" sized bags and a personal bag. The two tickets totalled $210, plus a night in Brussels.

If I'd flown Prague to London on British Airways business class which would include checking my two bags and paying for seat selection the cost would have been $207

If it were Ryanair Prague to London the base fare would be $29. After all the fees for 2 checked bags and seat selection with the maximum legroom that ticket would be $102.

It wasn't a matter of price for me, I stayed with my personal rule of only trains and ferries in Europe. But even with all their extra fees I can understand the attractiveness of RyanAir. Get to your destination cheaper and have an extra night there.

Vap, good point!

British Airways business class and RyanAir coach are indistinguishable. It's like what I tell my wife when we go out to dinner. McDonalds Big Mac value meal has every bit as many calories as that Michelin star restaurant she's always bugging me about-- and it is a lot cheaper! Quicker too!

I'm back to learning French!

Bon Voyage!

P.S. RobertH-- Great thread!

Ryanair is not just doing this arbitrarily. They probably saw that the majority of their passengers are already using digital boarding passes.

I have never flown Ryanair and have no plans to do so. Too many hoops to jump through. But that doesn't mean I have anything against their business model. If you can do without a lot of extras, their flights are cheap.

As an example, I knew a young lady from Romania working in a UK hotel. She told me she needed some dental work done. It was cheaper for her to fly Ryanair to Romania--she could keep to Ryanair's luggage policy and didn't mind a middle seat--see the dentist, visit her family and return for less than the dental work would have cost in the UK.

A hotel housekeeper I knew, also from Romania, was working in the UK while her husband was working in Denmark. Thank's to Ryanair, they could afford to visit each other on their days off.

Ryanair is allowing a lot of people who might not have been able to travel to do so. If their policies are not for you, then fly with someone else. But I hate to say it, many airlines are dropping customer service. I'm flying BA next week on an intra-European flight. I'm using miles and the difference between economy and business class were very few miles. So I thought, why not. It's on an Embraer 190 with 2 x 2 seating. On most BC flights on this type of plane, the seat next to you is empty. Not British Airways. They sell every seat and charge you for the privilege of picking that seat prior to check in.

I'm using up my BA miles and will be canceling my BA credit card next week. While their inflight service is okay, their ground team and especially their IT work is shoddy. Does their app ever work?

Nobody from Eastern Europe ever uses a a UK dentist. Way too expensive. Most of them even go home to get their highlights done. My colleague at work is flying to Warsaw to see a trusted hairdresser this weekend. And of course if you want to see a doctor it’s far easier in Slovakia or Poland than in this country.

The power of “I read it on the internet, so it is true” is hard to beat. When you add to that a great comedy sketch; does the truth even matter?

“There is hardly anything in the world that cannot be made a little worse and sold a little cheaper, and those who consider price alone are that man's lawful prey.” Meaning that if you can’t afford to do it at my economic level, you are less of a person? But the truth is that Customer service is apparently far from good, but Ryanair’s on-time record (71.59) is worse than Lufthansa (75.62) but better than Swiss (70.30), Air France (69.88) and KLM (67.03).

“But even with all their extra fees …” and “enjoy their low prices if one can avoid the extra fees…” and “You just need to be a little careful with the fees.” The extra fees only exist in comedy sketches and in often repeated but never verified internet posts made by people who have apparently never booked a ticket. When you go to Google Flights and a Ryanair flight cost appears for a route, the price will be the full price for the lowest fare category, just like for all other airlines. When you go to the Ryanair to book a flight the first price that appears are the full prices for each of the three categories of fares. What you get in each category is fully detailed. There are no hidden fees, no additional costs. A few more clicks and you will find that you are paying the same as the originally quoted price.

“RyanAir loves fee-generating gotchas …” Referring to having to pay for a boarding pass online. Well depending on which story you read, that gotcha only applies to 10% to 20% of their customers as all the rest are already checking-in on line. If you accept that it is a gotcha, and gotchas being plural, what are the other ones that are different than any other airline? Like every other airline as you go through the booking process you will be offered optional upgrades (express lines, better seats, additional luggage, rental cars, etc.) is that a gotcha?

“Too many hoops to jump through ,,,” maybe 1 more hoop than Delta if you aren’t flying Schengen to Schengen and if you can’t make the app verify your passport. But to be honest I have only found two references for this. One is our forum, the other one post on TA.

This is what I love about this forum! You learn so many cross-cultural things! I never would have imagined that Ryanair’s business model was dependent on the cost of British dentistry and the willingness of Romanian immigrants to endure the pure torture of flying Ryanair in order to have lower cost dental procedures.

According to the Potsdam Institute of Airline Rating and Internet Forum Accuracy, several posters on this forum are classified as Level 5 (the highest) – e.g., Nigel, acraven, Frank II among others. What they said is highly reliable.

As a lowly Level I (with only one other level one poster on this thread), I could only dream of achieving such an august posting reliability score and I should really be chastened from saying more! Nonetheless, I will point out the Institute rated RyanAir as only slightly less enjoyable than going to the dentist. They are the experts so I suppose that makes this official!

Happy travels and bon voyage!

Interesting that people who have never flown with Ryanair seem to have some very strong opinions about them. If Ryanair is not for you, fine. But I do think it’s a bit odd to condemn an airline you’ve got no personal experience with.

The only way to book tickets for Ryanair flights is online. So someone who has managed to book a fight with Ryanair does have access to internet and should therefore also be able to check in online. Online check in starts as early as 60 days in advance for those who paid the clearly stated and not hidden fee to select a seat. For those who don’t want to pay extra to select a seat in advance, online check in opens 24 hours in advance. If you’ve checked in online, but you don’t have a smartphone or if your smartphone runs out of battery on your way to the airport, you can go to the counter to have your boarding pass printed for free.

I have flown with Ryanair and while there certainly are things that I don’t like about them, one thing I do like is that you only pay for what you actually use. Don’t want a meal on your 1.5 hour flight? You don’t have to pay for it. Don’t need to check in a bag? You don’t have to pay for it.
It’s a myth to think that things like check in luggage, meals, drinks etc are offered to you for free by other airlines. The costs for these services are included in the fare you pay, whether you use these services or not. With Ryanair you don’t have to pay for things you don’t need.

Thank you Dutch_traveler for the reality check.

I have to wonder if the same people that create fear about Ryanair are the same people who create fear on Facebook sites such as Le Frenchies, or flaunt rules and ask which airlines are most lax with carryon rules, or boldly claim it's OK to ignore local law about International Driver's Permits or carrying mandatory ID? Rules are for everyone but themselves and they like to play the victim if caught.

I've never flown Ryanair and if I based my decision only on what I'd read (without research) I'd never fly Ryanair or visit Paris. I was a little nervous about budget airlines based on what I'd read, but then I used EasyJet last year and came away impressed. The fare rules were clearly laid out. A few minutes ago I went on Ryanair's website for the first time and looked at a return flight from Amsterdam to Malaga. Full price with checked bag and reserved seat in May is €284, same flight that includes all of the above on KLM is €864.

My contribution is that I have flown Ryanair more times than I can recall, not dozens of times, but over a dozen. My experience? Never suffered a "gotcha", never paid an extra fee, maybe once had a slight delay of 10 or 15 minutes. If there were hoops to jump through, I must have missed them.

It is easy, since I have a bag, I pay to check it. If my wife and I want to sit together, we pay for reserved seats. Need to have a digital boarding pass? Not a problem, I don't carry a printer on trips, and "e-cafes" are a thing of the past, so yeah, it is on my phone, like most train tickets and other stuff these days. Guess what? so is my Delta boarding pass.

The end result?, even with all the extras, the total cost is still much less than other options.

"Meaning that if you can’t afford to do it at my economic level, you are less of a person?"

No Mr. E., as that expression said, "...those who consider price alone".

And every time this comes up you default to "Meaning that if you can’t afford to do it...". As the parody link from acraven to "Cheap Flights", they were being "frugal" and then got taken advantage of.

And if David's ~ 1/3 of their "Revenue comes from fees" is not just a internet they seem to rely on the same mechanism(s).

That's what bothers me from what I hear of Ryanair. The deliberate deception crap that relies on people being lazy or ignorant. Or otherwise, a lot of what passes for business nowadays.

“ That's what bothers me from what I hear of Ryanair. The deliberate deception crap that relies on people being lazy or ignorant.”

Have you flown with them? Or even looked at their website? They are very upfront and clear about what’s included in the fare and for what you need to pay extra. To accuse them of deliberate deception is very unfair imho.

Dutch_Traveler and others,

You make solid points! Hear! Hear! Tip of the hat! I can't argue with much of what you say.

But the argument structure of "have you tried them? If you haven't then you lack standing" is a logical fallacy-- like military intelligence or Swiss cheese. Or is that an oxymoron? I dunno.

I haven't walked on hot coals but I am still pretty sure I wouldn't like it! (also a logical fallacy-- argument by analogy. Dang it!)

Happy travels.

P.S. I pretty sure there should be rule that folks like me should only be able to post two or three times on given thread -recall I'm just a level 1

Low cost carriers like RyanAir operate by "unbundling" the fare. This means that rather than pay one price that includes everything, you pay separately for luggage, seat selection, food, etc. If cost is your biggest concern, you can choose not to purchase any extras. Yes they to try to upsell you on things like insurance or car rental when you buy the ticket, but you can very easily select "no" when offered. Since none of their flights are much longer than three hours, most of the people flying don't mind the lack of free food or entertainment and are often travelling for just a short trip so don't need a lot of luggage. That is why this model works. The great thing is that if you don't like this model, you don't have to fly them!

Frankly a lot of legacy carriers are now doing unbundling but not reducing costs accordingly.

"... if you don't like this model, you don't have to fly them!"

As Mr. E keeps saying, "need" drives a lot of this. Both real and imagined.

it has been going for 48 hours and they are still flying (in this awful weather) and the world hasn't ended.

But the argument structure of "have tried them? If you haven't then you lack standing"

Also, remember, everything you read on the internet is kool-aid. You're too dumb to work out what is and isn't true for yourself. You need some random on the internet to set you straight.

Just in case anyone thinks I haven't flown Ryanair, since that seems to be a thing, I first flew with them when they rescued Prestwick (Glasgow) from its mothballed state as a passenger airport in the late 90's going to to Stansted (London), Charleroi (Brussels), and Girona (Barcelona). I haven't been on one of their flights since lockdown. If you count going and coming back, I've probably been on their aircraft thirty times. I did business with them for years as part of my job in advertising. They were always trying to get one over on me and my colleagues. I still think they're a bunch of chancers. Would that stop me booking a flight with them tomorrow? No.

Kool-Aid doesn't exist as a brand over here btw. I've never drunk Kool-Aid of any flavour. Aside from the Jim Jones reference, Tom Wolfe's The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test is probably up there as one of the most influential books I've ever read however. It blew my mind when I was a teenager.

RobertH, Well, need is a lot. But convenience too. I believe they and the other discount airlines have connected several locations in a way only they can, by pricing for the local economies. Where some years ago a large segment of Europeans were limited in where they could go, now a minimum wage Hungarian family can climb on a 24 euro flight to the Black Sea Coast of Bulgaria, get a 30 euro a night family room in a beach hotel and have the holiday that just a few years ago would have been impossible. It’s made Europe smaller and more convenient for the locals. Yes, medical care and visiting relatives are included. So, where the airlines are screwing up, call them on it. Customer service would be one thing. But no one is being helped by fostering internet half-truths and myths.

Even if you are looking for inexpensive flights, you don't "need" to fly RyanAir- you have other options like easyJet and Wizz. They all do unbundling but some provide better customer experience.

Gerry, you are reminding me that many years ago I flew from Prestwick to Beauvais (Paris). I was living in Edinburgh at the time and looking for the least expensive way to get to Paris. I remember thinking that in the time I spent getting to and from both airports it might have been faster to go by land!

"But no one is being helped by fostering internet half-truths and myths. "

Uh, no. I believe there are many out there, both individuals and groups, where they see it as their best interest to do so. For different reasons. Thus my suspicion of ~ 1/3 of their revenue coming from this. Hard to say how much of that is deliberate.

Sorting that out where the internet makes mass communication/persuasion cheap is one of the hardest tasks of this age.

Gerry, you are reminding me that many years ago I flew from Prestwick to Beauvais (Paris).

Prestwick was a good airport for me. It was super cheap compared to Glasgow to park a car. I have a memory of blasting across the old Eaglesham Moor road in a Saab turbo to catch a flight. I could do it in about 25 or 30 minutes from Hamilton. It's a good train service out from Glasgow Central too, and the station is right by the terminal. Not so handy from Edinburgh. It was Ryanair who put their routes there and invested quite a bit in infrastructure to get the airport back up to speed if I remember correctly. Prestwick was only handling freight for years before Ryanair. I went to a rave there, over 30 years ago now for sure. That was quite a spectacle (from what I remember, kinda "blurry"). I'll link to a short clip from the BBC with a fellow Lanarkshire chap talking about it.

Streetrave at Prestwick Airport (BBC, 0m 55s) - https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p07bj5zd

edited to add: Prestwick was the only place Elvis ever set foot in the UK, on a stopover on March 3rd 1960.

I just did a mock booking on the website and while they are upfront with charges you will pay, they do not make it easy to find the upcharges you may incur such as needing to print your boarding pass at the airport or how much of an extra charge if your bag is too big or heavy...you have to search for that. Plus, in tiny lettering at the bottom it states that Ryanair may charge credit card fees, but the actual cost of that doesn't come up until you're at the 'pay' page. Perhaps not intentionally deceptive, but intentionally vague.

in tiny lettering at the bottom it states that Ryanair may charge credit card fees, but the actual cost of that doesn't come up until you're at the 'pay' page.

Interesting. That sounds illegal under UK and EU law. You must get served the special Canuck price :) Chancers!

Allan, I did a mock booking too. The final price was the exact price that first showed up on GoogleFlights. I didnt get the warning about a credit card price and I took it all the way to click to pay. Maybe Canadian law requires or allows or ??? Don know. You might check and see if you get the same warning with another airline before we assume its only a Ryanair thing.

I did get this warning when I turned down the offer for additional luggage, its sort of the opposite of a gotcha:

If you bring a second bag or if your bag is too big to fit under the
seat, you will be charged a fee of up to €75 or local currency
equivalent at the boarding gate.

And I did get this warning which I had to acknowledge by checking a box before they would let me pay, again pretty much the opposite of a gotcha:

Ryanair's General Terms and Conditions of Carriage, including the
EU261 claims procedure, Website Terms and Privacy Statement. Free
online check-in is available on the Ryanair website or App up to 2
hours before the scheduled departure of the flight. If I don't
check-in online, I will have to pay €55, or the equivalent amount in
local currency (excluding flights departing from Spain, where it is
€30, and from Austria, where it is €40). I understand that paper
boarding passes will no longer be available after 12 November 2025,
and I agree to access my digital boarding pass through the Ryanair app
on my mobile device.

The fact that I was buying a Basic Fare ticket and what it did and did not come with was repeated a few times during the process. This served two goals, first to try and upsell and second to be certain that the customer knew what they were and were not getting. Pretty well done actually.

Absolutely no additional hoops to jump through that I have not encountered with Lufthansa except an additional confirmation that you know what you are buying and you kow the rules of what you are buying. Kind of my point since the start of the thread.

Like a few others, I like that I dont have to buy what I dont want. In the Spring when it warms up a bit, I can fill and underseat bag with a few things and head to the coast for two nights.

I checked a Basic Ticket to which I added a reserved seat and a full size carryone and it came out to within a dollar of the cost of the next fare up, but the next fare up also included priority boarding (which I doubt has much real value). So its a wash. Thats fair.

"...but intentionally vague."

Yes. Taking advantage of people not pursuing it further until at the Gate, "surprise!". Taking advantage of people too lazy to "read all the terms" or ignorant that they need to do so. A lot of people are pretty trusting.

Maybe not. Hanlon's razor after all.

It just seems like it's easy not to have people surprised so much, so it seems "in their best interest" for it to keep happening.

Mr. E, was that the website or the app?

Regardless of whether you book on the website or via the app, the warnings as quoted by Mr E are shown to you. In fact the first thing you see when you go to their website is the warning about the new boarding pass policy. Also the bag policy is right there on the homepage. Nothing is hidden or intentionally vague, it’s all there in full view. It’s hardly Ryanair’s fault if people don’t bother to read these things before they make a booking.

I'm glad to hear the warnings are in both places.

Robert, website and the App. The App and the Website were equally smooth and about half as complicated as a few European rail websites that I have used.

Zero, none, hidden charges or up-charges or hoops to jump through. Nothing more surprising than Lufthansa or United (the ones I've used recently).

Honestly, in comparison to the norms among online airline ticket sales and booking procedures I really can't find a single anomaly in the Ryanair process. Might even be better than average because of the extent they go through to inform you of what you are and are not buying. I wonder how the other airline sites and tge train ticket sites would hold up to this much scrutiny.

I know a student of philosophy that recently had a peer reviewed paper published. The topic was about how repeating the same untruth enough makes it so true in the minds of people that even when presented with the facts that disprove it people continue to believe the falsehood. Its a very real phenomenon so I suspect there will be many that will continue the myth.

As for the original topic I think its a non issue. I'm not the sharpest tack in the box and even i remember to check in before I go to the airport. I think this whole thing is to cut staffing at the autport, or maybe to free the staffing for other activities. If they make 55 euro from one passenger per flight on average I will be surprised.

One of the "worst" things about Ryanair is they often use secondary airports. But, honestly that can be a blessing. Years ago I did quite a few of what were then £1 flights with them from the UK to Ireland. And honestly it was enormous fun using the secondary airports in the UK (such as Prestwick, for Glasgow- a very easy place to get to, and cheaper than the airport bus from GLA).
At Oslo they use Torp. It may be a long way from Oslo (but still has excellent public transport), but it is very useful for those going to the south coast of Norway or the Telemark area- I don't object at all, although many do.
I was looking last night about this credit card added fees question. A few weeks ago I was looking incredibly hard for a flight (or the sleeper train from Paris) to Barcelona to pick up a repositioning cruise to NYC (I should have been on the ship now). Long story short I couldn't find an afternoon flight from any Scottish or north of England airport (morning one's were no use). I kicked myself very hard last night when I found that Ryanair fly to Reus and Girona, with afternoon UK flights. I don't know why those didn't appear at the time. Price was not an issue- I would have paid whatever the price was.
Both airports are undeniably a long way from Barcelona but to me Barcelona was just an embarkation port. I could have very happily overnighted in Tarragona or Reus, then a train to Barcelona next day.
And I was just an hour or two short of time to make the sleeper train option work.

Robert, I find many anomalies in RyanAir extra fees pricing— starting with the one that began the thread. Nobody else is doing that!!! Denial is not a river in Africa they say! Also forcing their unnecessary tracking app with all of tracking and targeting, well, not good. You can find many sources discussing their insidious app on Reddit and news reports.

I can see why folks who are learning French are boycotting them! It’s only common sense! Going digital? My eye! A QR code is a QR code whether it is printed at home or in a pdf in my apple wallet or in their spyware tracking RyanAir app!!!

If you want to take a look at a decent discounter, examine southwest. Contrast that with Ryanair. WOW! Sacrebleu! It’s Good vs Evil! That’s what they are saying at the Potsdam Institute of Airline Rating and Forum Quality Comment Ranking! (Alas the institute is still giving me exceptionally low marks!? I wonder why?)

Robert, thank you again for bringing everyone’s attention to EvilCorps’s new business practices!

Now I know many love EvilCorp’s prices and they are comfortable with their ageism and tracking app and the insults their CEO says and they say others companies do it too. Well, the best consumer is an educated consumer who holds the EvilDoers feet’s to the proverbial fire!

They can be better and we can help them be better by telling them no!

Let’s all sing:

We Shall Overcome, we shall overcome
We shall overcome someday.
Oh, deep in my heart, I do believe,
We shall overcome someday.
We are not afraid, we are not afraid,

[
Nobody is singing along.] You guys need me to print out the words? I can even put the words in a tracking App? No?

Happy travels!

P.S, Ah, this forum is fun and informative! Seriously, I can see why some folks love RyanAir. I don’t. To each their own!

I've read this entire thread and have no clue what persistent "untruths" are being referred to. If it's the business about what part of RyanAir's revenues come from sources other than basic airfares, that information can be found in the easily-accessed annual report. The report for the year ending on March 31, 2025, is here: https://investor.ryanair.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Ryanair-2025-Annual-Report.pdf.

Refer to page 4 for the financial summary, which shows 33.8% of total revenues came from ancillary sources, and page 313 for a bit of clarification on the meaning of "ancillary revenues", as follows:

"Ancillary revenues comprise revenues from non-flight scheduled operations, in-flight sales and internet-related
services. Non-flight scheduled revenue arises from the sale of priority boarding, allocated seats, car hire, travel
insurance, airport transfers, room reservations and other sources, including excess baggage charges and other fees, all directly attributable to the low-fares business. "

There is additional information at the top of page 280, which indicates most of RyanAir's ancillary revenues come from the sort of fees we've been discussing in this thread rather than from car rentals and hotel bookings:

"Ancillary revenues relate to activities connected with the flight service, including priority boarding, allocated seating and in-flight sales of merchandise. These services are recognized when the performance obligations have been satisfied which, as the majority of the ancillary services are related to passenger flight travel, is at the point in time when the flight service is provided."

To be clear: I have no problem with the portion of RyanAir's revenue coming from ancillary revenues. Nearly all airlines charge at least some of those fees to some passengers. RyanAir's ratio of ancillary to total revenues is high partially because its basic airfare are (often) quite low.

“I find many anomalies in RyanAir extra fees pricing— starting with the one that began the thread.” Starting and Ending with the one that started the thread does not make “many”.

So, since the other claims don’t seem to be holding up, now it’s that they are making too much money selling stuff? Really? This really is playing out the way that philosophy paper said it would. We have criminal cause everyone knows he is; we just need to determine why he’s a criminal. In the words of Andrey Vyshinsky; “show me the man and I will show you the crime.”

You probably didn’t even recognize the inaccuracy and bias in the statement, “There is additional information at the top of page 280, which indicates most of RyanAir's ancillary revenues come from the sort of fees we've been discussing in this thread rather than from car rentals and hotel bookings” because the report does not say that the majority came from “FEES” it said the majority came from selling additional “SERVICES” and in a service industry, “services” are the product being sold while fees are a surcharge on services an products.

Could the percentage of revenue from the sales of ancillary services and products appear higher because of the al la carte business model that allows customers to only purchase what they value, and as you point out the lower ticket price to begin with? I am in no position to pass judgment without a much larger understanding.

In all fairness, it doesn’t matter that they make money selling products related to their industry. All that matters is that whatever products they are selling are sold fairly and above board. Despite the accusations to the contrary, after walking through a few scenarios on the web and the app; there is nothing deceptive going on in the ticket sales department … actually to the contrary, it’s a very well-informed process.

I agree with acraven! A level 5 poster!

Yes this new fee is objectionable. A pattern with Ryanair! They keep "innovating" new ways to jam you! Not a fan. Not a fan one bit.

Ah, the secret to free market capitalism is transparency, an informed and educated consumer! I am proud to be on the side of decency rather than deception and tracking apps!

Now, did anybody find my beer or not? Or did I drink it again? Or did Ryanair? I wonder....

Happy travels!

edited:

I suggest folks google regarding RyanAir's app-- even though google itself is notorious about tracking.

The ai's answer along with the many links discussing the App are disconcerting. The whole movement of businesses suggesting (or in RyanAir's case making it inconvenient to say the least) you install tracking apps is not something I like. I personally avoid it whenever possible and also avoid businesses who make tracking and selling my data part of their business model. I am glad the Rick Steves forum respects privacy.

[Google's ai answer deleted. ]

Happy travels

Yes, the ÖBB app does track you, especially if you use features like the SimplyGo! service which uses GPS to track your journey to automatically calculate the correct fare. If you don't use location-based services, the app still collects some data for user experience and analytics.
What the app tracks and why
Location data: The SimplyGo! service uses GPS to track your travel between locations within Austria to determine the fare. You must have location services enabled for this to work, and deactivating them will result in no tracking and a potential fine if you can't present a valid ticket during an inspection.
User habits: The app learns and adapts to your habits to simplify its use and provide you with more relevant information.
Analytics: The app uses analytics cookies to collect information on how the app is used to improve its appeal, content, and functionality, though this is done with your consent.
Usage data: The app stores data about your journey, such as real-time timetable information and platform details.
How to limit tracking
Do not use SimplyGo!: If you don't want to be tracked, do not activate the SimplyGo! service.
Disable location services: You can turn off location services for the app in your phone's settings, but you will not be able to use location-based services like SimplyGo!.
Use the SCOTTY web service: The ÖBB web service is available anonymously without registration and does not save your contact or location data.

I asked google: "why do people react negatively to ryanair"

edit: I have removed the reply. Google ai is one of many sources to various issues with RyanAir beyond their new objectionable policy of pushing you to install their tracking app as well as charging you extra in many cases if you fail to follow their new rules.

Happy travels!

P.S. They have good qualities too! But they may have stolen my beer and that's gets my goat!

Nick, you are so right!

Here I am laughing and smiling and definitely milking this topic way too far and I've cheated! Using AI and accusing them of stealing my beer when I know full well I drank it.

So, here we go: RyanAir, my apologies. You didn't drink my beer and I shouldn't have used AI. My bad!

I will remove my posts after a few hours -- I'm still chuckling over them. But one really ought not laugh at one's own jokes. Edit: I have removed the google ai answers above. I dislike meta, google, delta apps and other tracking apps. That's me!

Happy travels!

Nick. When I logged into the App it asked how much I wanted share. I dont like it either, but its a problem beyond Ryanair. I never thought I woukd be defending Ryanair, not my favorite but an appreciated resource. My first flight with them 20 years ago had a schedule change. The change? Departed a different city 50 miles away. LOL. But easy to defend from the arguments here.

Mr. E, please take a look at this page from RyanAir's own website: https://www.ryanair.com/gb/en/useful-info/help-centre/fees

As you can see, this is (or purports to be) a list of what I will now call "additional charges" a customer might pay. Is that acceptable wording? You're being mighty picky about terminology in order to avoid addressing content, it seems to me. You will note that the title of the page is "Fees" in large type, then below that "Table - Optional Fees".

I am surprised that anybody is trusting AI for those questions because since there is no intelligence in LLM the statements are too often meaningless or simply wrong. It is still a stupid search engine which learned to copy and paste by ignoring intellectual property.

Acraven, at times we disagree but always with good intent. I would say that Rick's list lacks context or is dated, I dont know which. I do know if I go to Google flights and Google flights says from A to B on Ryanair is $60, that when I check the same flight on the Ryanair app or website the same flight will be $60 (unless Google has old data), and after I pay there will be a $60 charge on my credit card. Now that $60 may include all sorts of company and government fees and charges, but Ryanair only markets the total price, like every other airline. There is nothing hidden or additional in Ryanair marketing. If there were, i woud be on your side.

But yes, Google flights for Ryanair, like for every airline shows the lowest fare class rate.

And a substantial amount of that list that Rick calls fees is a list every airline charges for services. Nothing special about Ryanair charging for golfclubs. Every aitrline does. Ryanair according to rick charges $40 to $45, Lufthansa according to AI charges $50.

As for fees vs service, be honest "fees" has a negative connotation when compared to the cost of a product. Its important for context. Early boarding isn't a fee, its a service/product.

Some people take their golf rather seriously!

Some/many/most of their extra fees are now "market". They've innovated their way to extra charging with strict enforcement and they do it with glee! Some call it unbundling. Some think they are greedy and unfair.

Who am I to judge? Well, I am a million mile flyer and I find there is indeed a difference between discount airlines! Why not judge? Others can disagree. Indeed RyanAir seems to have some raving fans on this thread! But the level 5ers here all seem to agree that RyanAir has some issues and that Potsdam institute is certified and everything.

Also, RyanAir really shouldn't be stealing my beer!

Happy travels.

David, between your dripping-with-sarcasm responses and Fascinating Aida - Cheap Flights video, I don't think I've been so entertained in a long time. Thank you.

All that matters is that its now 10 and 0.

ALL airlines ask you to check in through their app ahead of time.
Apparently they are the only airline (so far) to use money to
accomplish that. (Unless Wizz Air also does in places other than
Tirana.) These are called budget airlines for a reason.

TexasTravelMom, no, Wizzair charges you 40euro to checkin at the airport. But again, when was the last time that anyone on this forum checked in for their flight at the airport 90 minutes before the plane left? Sometimes a business makes money by charging for services, sometimes a company makes money by reducing overhead and I think this is an overhead reduction policy.

I think it’s time for Nigel to help us all out again with a link to a hilarious youtube!

Bon Voyage! (Look at me, my French is nigh perfect now!)

https://youtu.be/-DRYzViuQt4?si=DVvJ8p2V4XpXNvig