I doubt Ryanair would notice a clash of dates on API but the police ought to. But if there was a no show on one flight they'd stop worrying, booking a variety of cheap flights to cover various options is a common trick of business travellers. They'd only get excited if you actually turned up for both!!

I agree their charges are scandalous but I'm a bit confused by your calculation.

I can see the £25 each way amendment charge =£50
I'll add £5 each way payment handling for credit card =£10

then it says "In addition, to these flight change fees, any price difference between the original fare paid and the lowest total price available at the time of the flight change is charged."

are you saying their system is claiming the lowest outward fare is £49.99 when you try to change but only £29.99 if you book it fresh? If so there's a word for that sort of thing but I'm not allowed to use it here!!

If you just cancel the first booking you are entitled to the taxes back but they charge an admin fee of £20 (person not flight) and refer to Government taxes, so whether they will refund airport service charge part of the orignal fee remains to be seen.

Next year try easyjet Glasgow-Milan and get the train down to Rimini!!

steve8482 wrote:

I agree their charges are scandalous but I'm a bit confused by your calculation.

I can see the £25 each way amendment charge =£50
I'll add £5 each way payment handling for credit card =£10

are you saying their system is claiming the lowest outward fare is £49.99 when you try to change but only £29.99 if you book it fresh? If so there's a word for that sort of thing but I'm not allowed to use it here!!

If you just cancel the first booking you are entitled to the taxes back but they charge an admin fee of £20 (person not flight) and refer to Government taxes, so whether they will refund airport service charge part of the orignal fee remains to be seen.

Next year try easyjet Glasgow-Milan and get the train down to Rimini!!

It justs seems a complete rip of, not going to phone them, but have found some email address, and have emailed them all, for explanation, which I dont think I will get anything back

While typing this had one reply, " I currently out of the office until the 4th January and have no access to email", so some maybe hope

As for the fare, here is a break down, and hope this explains, add change flight fee £50, admin cost £10, online check-in £12, so one expensive flight for me, with no refund even if I change flights, might just fly with original flight

New booking: Regular fare, Out bound £22.99; Return £22.99
Change of booking: Regular fare, Out bound £49.99; Return £34.99
Price Difference: Out bound £27.99; Return £12.99

as for flight now looking at other flights like BA gatwick-bologna, if I am going to have to pay out £113 to rynair might aswell book with BA, and give them the moiney

Somewhat off topic but I notice API being mentioned in the last couple of posts. I have only had to provide API when I flew to the USA a couple of years ago. Is it required when flying within Europe from the UK.

Judith

Hi Judith ... yes, API is a requirement of many countries now. More info in this topic:
http://www.holidaytruths.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=98469

David

Thanks David,
Maybe it's because I live in a Schengen country that it's not required, having said that I haven't flown to Spain since 2008 so maybe it will have changed next time I go.

Judith, I've had to provide API when flying from Karlsruhe-Baden with Ryanair ... albeit for a flight to London Stansted .. on many occasions.

Alsa
After posting my question I read the Easyjet site and it said that an API had to be provided for flights to and from the UK for European destinations, except Germany. I have flown 3 times in the last three months to the UK, twice with Easyjet to Gatwick and once with Lufthansa to Heathrow and haven't had to provide the info once. Lufthansa may have my details on file as I am a frequent flyer but only last week I flew with Easyjet.
Ryanair are of course a law unto themselves.

Happy New Year by the way.

Judith

I think API was ruled out by the German government when everywhere else was joining the bandwagen. Government departments keeping detailed records on peoples movement was still (rightly) a sore point in Germany as you'll understand - and it was election year there! Several airlines do collect it for every country even when not required because it's easier for them to do it rather than to invest a little bit extra in intelligent software like easyjet did. The big exception from Germany was flights to the USA because they refuse to consider the social and historic issues of Germany (or any other country) and would have banned direct flights.

Joe

I think I've spotted a devious play on words in their terms. Look at the middle of the rule, it says "difference between the original fare paid and the lowest total price available" . So from the original booking they take the basic fare (not the tax) and from the new booking they take the total price (with the tax). Presumably you are expected to claim the original tax back but they don't make that clear and presumably they will still apply the tax refund admin charge.

Thanks Steve.

steve8482 wrote:

Joe

I think I've spotted a devious play on words in their terms. Look at the middle of the rule, it says "difference between the original fare paid and the lowest total price available" . So from the original booking they take the basic fare (not the tax) and from the new booking they take the total price (with the tax). Presumably you are expected to claim the original tax back but they don't make that clear and presumably they will still apply the tax refund admin charge.

High Steve

I'v double checked everything, so basicly yes the regular fare is higher, and they have charged taxes here, and online check-in fee, admin fee, before I make payment every charge is detailed

The email I have sent, I have asked them, for an explanation of there fees, why there is such a difference in prices, I have even pointed out what I think I should be paying

Pointless in me claiming back the taxes, but looking through other forums, I have found you can take ryanair to court in dublin for 15 euros, and the good thing about this, I dont need to turn up, and it looks like they have lost a few cases and have had to pay out, pay back the taxes

In the forum came across some nasty stories, including about the boarding card, and passenger being told, "sorry that boarding card dosent work", "you will now have to buy a new one for £40". They refuse to enter the numbers insisting you have to buy a boarding card, so I am surprise they get away with so much

If you buy duty free, you seemingly get charged £28.50 as it is excess baggage

if you buy anything at the airport shops and carry it seperately as well as your existing single hand baggage they will charge, if you can get the shopping inside the bag you're OK - and if you didn't have a bag to start with there shouldn't be a problem with ONE airport shop carrier bag. The excess charge may be a bit steep but the principle behind that particular rule isn't unreasonable.

Correction to what I suggested before for next year, the easyjet Scottish flight goes from Edinburgh not Glasgow - but the train ride from Milan airport to Rimini just got much easier as they've opened a missing link in the track outside Milan.

Like it or not, Joeseptuk, all these things are set out in their T&Cs - they get away with it because people keep booking with them and keep ticking the box to say that they've read the T&Cs and accept. If people voted with their feet and stopped using Ryanair then O'Leary would soon start to change things but the majority of Ryanair customers who abide by the rules and just want a basic flight at the lowest possible cost will still keep booking with them because the prices are kept so low by all these rules.

SM

Ryanair to appeal over boarding card charge

Ryanair is to appeal against a Spanish court's ruling last week that its €40 charge for reissuing boarding cards was unlawful.

The airline says it will appeal based on the fact that passengers agree to check in online and print off their own boarding cards when booking. It also says that it has no obligation to give them replacement boarding cards should they forget to print theirs off.

The carrier says that if the appeal is not upheld, it will not allow passengers who arrive at the airport without a boarding card to fly.

Last week judge Barbara Maria Cordoba Ardao ruled in a Barcelona court that Ryanair's charge was abusive because it was the duty of airlines to issue boarding passes.

The case arose after a passenger took Ryanair to court over the charge.

But a statement from Ryanair today said: "Ryanair's low fare, low cost services appeal to millions of passengers because they are simple, efficient and agreed by each passenger at the time of booking.

"Without these procedures, Ryanair would have to re-employ numerous handling agents at all airports to issue manual boarding cards for passengers who simply "forgot" to bring their pre-printed boarding passes or who failed to comply with their original agreement to check-in online.

"We believe that the Barcelona commercial court number one has no basis, as a matter of contract law, for its ruling last week, that there is any obligation upon Ryanair to reissue boarding passes to intending passengers who have failed to comply with their agreement to arrive at the airport with a pre-printed boarding card, except on payment of the specified reissue fee.

"Ryanair cannot understand how the Barcelona Commercial Court can reinterpret a contractual agreement freely entered into between 73m passengers and Ryanair, after the event.

"We are confident that this ruling will be overturned on appeal, and in the meantime the boarding card reissue fee will continue to be applied at all Ryanair airports for this tiny number of passengers who do not comply with their agreement to arrive at the airport with their online boarding card."

With permission from Travelmole

If the case was correctly reported and translated (either could go wrong) then a ruling that it was the duty of airlines to issue boarding passes would surely still apply to the new idea of not letting people who turn up without one fly. We'll see how that goes! I wonder if the judge was quoting Spanish law or one of the international conventions on air travel.

And if Ryanair can't understand how a court can alter a contract after it's agreed to they'd better study UK law, because the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contract Regulations allows our courts to do it as well! If the Spanish judge turned up something in an international convention someone might have a go in a UK court as well.

Hmm. Have concerns for people who genuinely believe they have a boarding pass and get to security to find it's not working after the Ryanair statement.

Hi we are flying with the above to Costa Brava, and have booked 15kg hold luggage, are we able to take a handbag for documents money etc, as with the 10kg cabin luggage everything must go in the case including money documents etc.
Can't find any info about it on their website.

Cheers in advance.

Yes you can take one piece of cabin luggage per person. Either a handbag or a cabin sized bag. If the handbag will fit inside the cabin bag then you can take both.

Just to make it crystal .... one bag total hand baggage. No extra handbags, duty-free bags, sandwich and drink paper bags etc!

Personally I take a large nylon style bag like the 'bag for life' at the supermarket, put my handbag, book, duty-free bottle and sandwich in it ...

.... as of yet there are no restrictions on wearing coats with a lot of big pockets!