Ryanair - charging for check-in luggage

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biggerry

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According to the RTE web-site, (http://www.rte.ie/business/2006/0125/ryanair.html) from March 16, Ryanair are now going to charge €3.50 per bag if pre-booked in advance on the web site. It'll cost €7 if it's not pre-booked.

I booked a weekend away to Rome yesterday (travelling on April 21) and I didn't have the option of pre-booking my baggage. Am I going to be charged €7 per bag even though I booked the flight before they announced this?
 
O.K., I just checked the Ryanair web site ([broken link removed]) and it's clearer i.e. "(5) all passengers travelling with checked in luggage who book after 16th March will now pay a fee of £2.50 (€3.50) per bag, per flight if booked in advance on the website, or £5.00 (€7.00) per bag, per flight if presented unbooked at the airport."
 
I'd love to know how "all passangers will be able to ... by-pass all check-in and airport queues".

Will they have a new terminal by March?
 
Last Saturday I accompanied a person to Ciampino Airport (Rome) travelling to Dublin. On checking in the baggage was 2kg overweight so the check-in receptionist directed us to go to the Ryan Air desk pay for the exess bagage (Euro16) and then return to her to get the boarding pass.
It seemed simple until we got to the Ryan Air desk and found seventeen people ahead of us and only one person working there. It seemed to be taking her at least five minutes per operation.
To top it somebody tried to jump the queue right in front of me and when I objected replied that they had been in the queue before and had just gone away for a few minutes and were now back.
After about twenty minutes in the queue I informed the check-in receptionist of the situation (leaving the person who was travelling in the queue).
I returned to the queue and about five minutes later a man struggled to make an announcement in English. I asked him what he meant in Italian and he said to go to the Information Desk because there was no queue there.
I went (very quickly) there and together with other people asked the receptionist confirmation that she could accept the money, but she ignored us until we got very very angry.
Eventually the matter was resolved in time - and yet we were at the airport nearly two hours before departure.
My advice to you is pre-book on the web if you can - it can be nerve wrecking at Ciampino.
 
I can't see how you can by-pass airport security queues with this. Apart from that, it sounds like a good idea, as it will the reduce the amount of time you spend in the airport.
 
You only bypass the check-in queue. You print out your boarding pass at home before you get to the airport. You do not have any luggage to check-in so when you get tothe airport you just go straight to the security queue.

This facility has been available with many airlines for the past 2+ years
 
Ryanair certainly seems to be re-focussing their market niche towards the unaccompanied, baggage-light business traveller.

I use them a fair bit, wearing both that cap and my harrassed father-of-five. It's great news for those in the former category, and bad news for the latter.

Ooh, ooh... — as I type, a Ryanair spokesperson has just come on the [broken link removed]... :)
 
If I'm not mistaken Micko said something like 50% of RA passengers dont check in luggage. If they can get that up to 80% it will save €30 mn - not bad eh!

Roy
 
soy said:
You only bypass the check-in queue. You print out your boarding pass at home before you get to the airport. You do not have any luggage to check-in so when you get tothe airport you just go straight to the security queue.
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Except that the Ryanair press release specifically refers to avoiding annoying security queues as a result of this change. I was fairly sure you'd still have to queue for security -- but perhaps they mean that, as it's only one queue, we won't find it annoying!

This facility has been available with many airlines for the past 2+ years
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Yes -- I've used it with BA and it works well. Far more sensible than putting FastPass kiosks in a limited number of airports (AerLingus!).
 
That is mixed news for me. I never check in luggage on Ryanair but I'm sure my handluggage is usually excessive in dimension & weight so I bet they will crack down on this. If you bypass checkin and go through to departures with unsuitable hand luggage when will they spot this and make up pay - I bet it will be more than €7 too.

Also if you are only bringing handluggage are they still not obliged to ask if you packed it yourself and about any dangerous objects?
 
they have upped the hand luggage to 10kg. which is pretty hefty for hand luggage. Cu will have no problem, Mrs Cu on the other hand will probably insist Cu has to have hand luggage from now on! dont know the dimensions for this new hand luggage allowance though. At Belfast easy jet have a kind of 'dumpy' at the check in desk. if it holds your bag - no need to check it.
 
I booked tickets to Lithuania with Ryanair last night (Wednesday, 15th March). At no point in the process did I get an opportunity to pay for baggage (under their new baggage charging scheme)

A fellow traveller, travelling on the same flight (in August), booked her tickets this morning (Thursday, 16th March) and was invited to pay for baggage during the booking process (which she did).

Now, Ryanair being Ryanair I don't trust them not to charge me for my baggage despite Biggerry's quote re bookings made on or after 16th March (which would explain why I didn't have a facility to pay for baggage while my fellow traveller, booking today, did) and my booking confirmation (printed out) details all the old baggage conditions (including the old, lower baggage weight restrictions)

Of course there's no way to contact Ryanair except through a premium rate number to confirm whether or not baggage charges will apply. And if they do with I have to pay €7 per bag at the airport or call their premium line to pay the €3.50 (and possibly another credit card handling fee)? Or will Ryanair honour the conditions on my booking confirmation? I'd be interested to hear of people's experiences with this new baggage charge, especially those who have booked before 16.3.06 and are travelling after 16.3.06.

(BTW, so much for the following (from Ryanair.com):
"As a result of these changes, the 25% of Ryanair's passengers who presently travel with just hand luggage will avail of lower fares, will avoid the inconvenience of check-in or boarding gate queues and will no longer cross subsidise those passengers travelling with checked in luggage." ... my fellow traveller was charged the same fare I was plus the baggage charge.)
 
coolaboola said:
... my fellow traveller was charged the same fare I was plus the baggage charge.)
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airline ticket prices are generally based on price bands. Ryanair's avg seat price is about 40eur, that does not mean that everyone on the plane pays 40eur for their ticket. As the plane fills up the price of a seat will become more expensive. Presumably you (or someone shortly after you) were one of the last passengers to avail of the lower price
 
I booked a weekend away to Rome yesterday (travelling on April 21) and I didn't have the option of pre-booking my baggage. Am I going to be charged €7 per bag even though I booked the flight before they announced this?[/quote]

This is the main issue here - there is a notice on the Orio del Serio (milan) airport.. saying that they & most Italian airports will not enforce this new check in system. So Ryanair in the interim will be making a lot of money out of people with check-in luggage who are flying to Italy.
 
I am going to ask a purely selfish question, I have a 1 year old, and regularly travel to and from the UK visiting family, with the priority boarding for non-luggage holding passengers, will there still be priority first of all for those travelling with children.
I know it probably annoys all of you travelling without children that we get priority, but I have done the trip a few times without Mr JAM and believe you me - its a life saver not having to worry about standing in line etc..
Next time you are travelling and you see a woman struggling with a 1 year old who wants to go in completely the opposite direection - it could be me!
 
Off to the Baltics this weekend travelling with Ryanair, lets hope they land in the correct airport

Only bringing hand luggage so no baggage charge there me hopes

However with the low cost of alcohol etc I will be getting some over there and pressies in the airport so would this carrier bag count as another one or should I just bring over a bigger bag ?
 
I booked a flight for the family to Reus,Spain a couple of months ago,will I now have to pay for check-in baggage?
 
However with the low cost of alcohol etc I will be getting some over there and pressies in the airport so would this carrier bag count as another one or should I just bring over a bigger bag ?
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Well they cant check weight after check-in so if you buy before takeoff this is not an issue. I have always found that Dublin is generally the most strictest regarding these things as they're usually contracted out to source when outside here or Stanstead.
 
coolaboola said:
I'd be interested to hear of people's experiences with this new baggage charge, especially those who have booked before 16.3.06 and are travelling after 16.3.06.
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I booked pre 16/3 & travelled only last month - I wasn't charged anything.. which is excellent by Ryanair standards! However, I think this new charge is ridiculous - it's just encouraging people to bring huge amounts of hand luggage on to the flight.... it's bad enough having to run for your seats, but to run to get over head luggage space now too ????!!!
 
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