Ryan Air is an Irish discount airline that has generated tremendous amounts of news since its inception. There was a row last year about arbitrarily canceling tickets bought on Third Party sites. Recently, the flamboyant (and often considered annoying) CEO went public with a comment that RyanAir will charge an extra fee for anything they think they can charge for - and boy did they!
Now they are in the news again because less than 1/3rd of registered patrons to their website taking a survey voted 'overwhelmingly' to charge a 'fat tax' on overweight passengers. (Since when is 30% for and 70% against considered overwhelming?) I decided to see what complaints have been registered against RyanAir and while I realize ALL airlines generate hundreds if not thousands of complaints, the nature of RyanAirs complaints brings to mind bait and switch.
Now to be sure, they are far cheaper than the European legacy carriers. People reported a 30 euro cost versus a legacy airlines charge of 300 euros is just one example. But here's the rub, they charge for just about anything common to mankind. Pay with a debit card? 20 Euros. More than one bag? Extra charge. Excess WEIGHT on baggage? up to 280 euros. Want to check in manually? 20 euros. Take a purse onboard? That's considered a bag too: extra charge. Priority borading? Extra charge. One reviewer noted they paid for a beverage with a 20 euro note and NEVER got 10 of their change back 'because the staff "didn't have (and couldn't find) a tenner". So they KEPT the money! A reviewer summed it up this way: "So our 'cheap flight' that cost a reasonable amount to book ended up costing probably more than other airlines who don't fleece you at every turn." You can see this website here and read about many more complaints too.
In addition, complaints have been heard because of the incessant in flight advertising. An article from About.com noted this: "Flying Ryanair can be like watching a home-shopping channel late at night. You’ll be offered all sorts of things at "great prices", including lottery tickets and calendars featuring scantily dressed flight attendants. Depending on your mood and outlook on life this can be amusing or annoying." Even landing in the city you bought a ticket to is dicey - to go to Hanburg, you actually fly into Lubeck! All legal the article noted. Problem is, if you were connecting in Hamburg, landing miles away is not likely to allow you to make your connection.
The article also noted that the CEO has been compared to Simon Cowell - the man you love to hate. No wonder he was able to say what he said about charging for anything and everything - he's outspoken and his airline is somewhat outrageous. In the end, buyer beware seems to truly apply to RyanAir!
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