Rayanair to cancel bookings

[Mildred]

Heads up....Ryanair plans to cancel all 3rd party bookings.

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1043003/Ryanair-cancel-thousands-illegal-bookings-price-comparison-websites.html

[rubrrick]

Nice catch!!

 

Ryanair...........is the most successful airline in Europe.........as much as Southwest is the most successful her in the U.S.

 

Mr. O'Leary is a very competent operator............and as most know.....when you try to book Southwest here........you can only do it on their website.

 

Ryanair...........is only trying to duplicate what works here........at least that is what I believe......after following the two airlines as to operations in the past few years.

 

No one is losing out............just have to book with Ryanair..........just like we have to book with Southwest.........to get the best deal!!

 

Rick

[peteukmcr]

Out of interest, do you have to pay additional charges for the following with Southwest?

 

Paying for your booking by credit card

Using the check in desks at the airport

1st bag

'priority boarding' (no seat assignments with Ryanair)

 

The above can add around $76 as a minimum on top of your airfare with Ryanair.

 

If you check in a 2nd bag it'll be an extra $60 as long as you don't go over the 33lbs baggage limit then it's an extra $10 a pound more.

 

Just wondering.

 

Saint Michael O'Leary (as he portrays himself in the in-flight magazine!) is a shrewd operator but Ryanair's customer service is appalling. They think nothing of withdrawing flights from their schedules and cancelling passengers bookings and providing no alternative. Does that happen with Southwest?

[101Jus]

Ryanair care for noone but themselves and I, for one, will never fly with them again. We last flew with them just after they had taken over Buzz which had a 20kg baggage allowance. Ryanair failed to inform the Buzz passengers (we had booked with Buzz) that the allowance had reduced to 15kg. Well you can imagine the chaos at check-in as pretty much the whole plane were forced to pay for extra luggage. I thought at one point there was going to be a mutiny as verbal threats were issued. We were charged an extra 90 Euros each way but we couldn't pay this at the check-in desk but had to go to a separate desk where we queued for 2.5 hours. We then had to run to the gate to get on the aircraft which ended up leaving 3.5 hours late. What a joke this airline is!

[RoyalCruiser2007]

This is a VERY good business tactic on behalf of Ryanair.

 

What's the only way to stop companies like these screen scrapers from doing illegal business? Mess up their entire business operation and get people to stop trusting them!

 

If I visit an big well known electronics retailer and buy a television from a random person in the parking lot who claims he bought the television from that store, is the store then required to take responsibility (warranty, exchange, etc..) for what that individual sold me? Nope!

 

The key here: When possible, buy from the source!!! Avoid the 3rd party.

[madforcruising]

Nice catch!!

 

Ryanair...........is the most successful airline in Europe.........as much as Southwest is the most successful her in the U.S.

 

Mr. O'Leary is a very competent operator............and as most know.....when you try to book Southwest here........you can only do it on their website.

 

Ryanair...........is only trying to duplicate what works here........at least that is what I believe......after following the two airlines as to operations in the past few years.

 

No one is losing out............just have to book with Ryanair..........just like we have to book with Southwest.........to get the best deal!!

 

Rick

 

 

I don´t know anything about Southwest and how they run their business, but I hope for them to not be anything like Ryanair. I don´t deny that Ryanair is succesfull but consumer organisations over here keep warning about them and for good reasons.

 

Ryanair keeps screwing their passengers and most often an initially good looking price turns out to be much more expensive on the bottom line.

 

It has been proofed in many TV-reports over here and actually I´ve done the math myself for quite a number of trips and never made it on Ryanair because of the inflated price.

They have sent two reporters i.e. from their home via Frankfurt to a meeting point in the City of London. One with Lufthansa and one with Ryanair, both booked online direct with the airline. While the initial cost of the ticket was much cheaper with Ryanair the total cost of the trip was about triple the cost than the Lufthansa flight.

 

The problem starts already with false advertising of airports they fly from, so if you read Frankfurt, that´s not Frankfurt/Main international airport, but actually it´s a small regional airport in Hahn well over 100 kilometers away.

Same if you book Dusseldorf with them and have to get to Regional airport of Weeze - almost 100 kilometers apart. Hamburg is actually the airport of Lübeck and so on. Many of these regional airports can´t even be reached by public transportation.

 

Then they price you a ticket price od maybe 1 Euro but start to add taxes, fees, more fees and additional fees to it. Then they add on insurance fees that you have to fight for to get it removed if not wished, luggage fees, credit card fees, fees for reserving seats, feets for luggage, increased luggage fees if you didn´t specify you are taking luggage when booking............

 

I agree that they are succesful, but the reason is not that you get the best deal from them. The reason is that people get blinded by a very low ticket price and don´t do the math of the overall cost.

 

 

I still keep looking at them out of curiousity and never have they ben able to match price so far.

[rubrrick]

Out of interest, do you have to pay additional charges for the following with Southwest?

 

Paying for your booking by credit card

Using the check in desks at the airport

1st bag

'priority boarding' (no seat assignments with Ryanair)

 

The above can add around $76 as a minimum on top of your airfare with Ryanair.

 

If you check in a 2nd bag it'll be an extra $60 as long as you don't go over the 33lbs baggage limit then it's an extra $10 a pound more.

 

Just wondering.

 

Saint Michael O'Leary (as he portrays himself in the in-flight magazine!) is a shrewd operator but Ryanair's customer service is appalling. They think nothing of withdrawing flights from their schedules and cancelling passengers bookings and providing no alternative. Does that happen with Southwest?

 

 

We are lucky that Southwest does not charge for some of the things that you have mentioned, like a credit card fee. They do, however, charge for "priority boarding". They too, have no seat assignments. And, I think that the first bag is still free.........unlike most of the other airlines here which are now charging a fee for the first bag.

 

The last regional airline that I flew in the UK was Easy Jet, and on our flight from Edinburgh to Standsted, the plane was just over half full, from looking at the passengers milling around, and when we got to the front of the que........the flight had been cancelled, and had to wait another 5 hours for the next flight.

 

The round trip price was great.............the service both ways.......well, it's another cattle car........like Ryanair!

 

Rick

[Mydnite]

I can understand the reasons behind the decision, but it should be implemented for new tickets only. Many people have booked tickets with them, and Ryanair already have the money! now they want to cancel them. Sounds like they simply want to resell the seats.

 

Ryanair started out following a model similar to Soutwest, but it has gone off of it now, it has a very aggressive and profiteering policy, I understand a company is in business to make a profit, but the ethics of Ryanair, are, imho, getting rather questionable.

[TEXASMUNK]

Amazingly well run airline. With superb customer service....and profitable.

 

No seat assignments, you must book with them, not through any of the comptuer reservation systems, but it has not hurt or slowed their growth.

[Sue L]

We are lucky that Southwest does not charge for some of the things that you have mentioned, like a credit card fee. They do, however, charge for "priority boarding". They too, have no seat assignments. And, I think that the first bag is still free.........unlike most of the other airlines here which are now charging a fee for the first bag.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rick

 

I think you might have your airlines mixed up, Spirit charges for seat assignments but Southwest does NOT. They have no baggage fees or anything for first OR second bags. While they don't have seat assignments they do now have a better system when you check in 24 hours before then they used to as now you get both a letter and a number. When boarding now they call A 1 through 10 for example instead of standing in the lettered chutes.

[G'ma]

Amazingly well run airline. With superb customer service....and profitable.

 

No seat assignments, you must book with them, not through any of the comptuer reservation systems, but it has not hurt or slowed their growth.

 

I agree totally. They also have the best fares, best customer service and is the only airline in the U.S. making a profit. They are also mostly ontime with their efficient turn-around.

 

Wherever Southwest has a presence, the competing carriers are forced to keep their prices competitive which is a good thing.

 

I fly them all the time from Philly to Florida for my cruises and have never been disappointed.. And, with today's spiralling costs, Southwest has maintained good pricing, free baggage and a decent weight limit.

 

I applaud them for maintaining control over their product including inventory control. They can be booked online but ONLY on their website.

[Guest scfjjb]

I think you might have your airlines mixed up, Spirit charges for seat assignments but Southwest does NOT. They have no baggage fees or anything for first OR second bags. While they don't have seat assignments they do now have a better system when you check in 24 hours before then they used to as now you get both a letter and a number. When boarding now they call A 1 through 10 for example instead of standing in the lettered chutes.

 

Southwest does have a "business class" arrangement now. But it is for frequent fliers (not a charge I believe). They are reserved a certain number of the "A" boarding passes without having to get on-line to reserve the spot.

[rubrrick]

I think you might have your airlines mixed up, Spirit charges for seat assignments but Southwest does NOT. They have no baggage fees or anything for first OR second bags. While they don't have seat assignments they do now have a better system when you check in 24 hours before then they used to as now you get both a letter and a number. When boarding now they call A 1 through 10 for example instead of standing in the lettered chutes.

 

 

Sue.........I believe that Southwest now has.......for a small additional charge.......a business class ticket. It does not reserve a seat, but allows you to get into the A group with a priority number.

 

You are also correct........the sooner you check in at the 24 hour mark before the flight........the lower your boarding number is.

 

Rick

[Sue L]

Sue.........I believe that Southwest now has.......for a small additional charge.......a business class ticket. It does not reserve a seat, but allows you to get into the A group with a priority number.

 

You are also correct........the sooner you check in at the 24 hour mark before the flight........the lower your boarding number is.

 

Rick

 

The "business" fares are usually 50-100$ plus more than the regular fares but you are buying a class difference rather then purchasing a seat assignment like you have to on Spirit. If you don't buy one ahead of time you have to take what is left at boarding.

 

On Southwest's website this is the business select info

 

Boarding Priority

Purchasing this fare will enable you to board the plane in the first portion of the "A" boarding group.

 

 

So you are just getting boarding priority. Check in as close to the 24 hour mark and you get the same priority for free.

[TEXASMUNK]

in the coming months.

 

Southwest had a department dedicated to "fuel futures" they are finishing all of those contracts this year. Thus their ability to remain profitable....smart!

 

As oil prices continue downward, it will be interesting to see how they manage fares, etc. They may go up, but no where near their competitors.

 

Another major advantage Southwest has is its fleet commonality. They use only versions of the 737. They may change, but just imagine the cost savings in parts, training, etc.

[rubrrick]

in the coming months.

 

 

Another major advantage Southwest has is its fleet commonality. They use only versions of the 737. They may change, but just imagine the cost savings in parts, training, etc.

 

 

Which is exactly why Ryanair followed the Southwest model. They, too, also only use versions of the 737.

 

Others are using a mix of Boeing and Airbus.......meaning that they have to keep twice the spares..........a major expense for any airline.

 

Sue...........I believe that you and I are saying exactly the same thing regarding boarding status on Southwest.

 

Rick