Ryanair Online vs Kiosk Check-in costs

I'm wondering whether anyone has any advice on how I should go about getting around the current what I see as discriminatory charges for Ryanair for online vs. kiosk check-in process

I am a non EU passport holder living in Ireland for many years so although I am willing and able to use Ryanair online check-in, this facility seems only open to EU passport holders. Therefore I am forced to have to use the check-in at the airport option and pay the subsequent charges per flight.

Is there a particular regulator I can contact to try and get some action? I am extremely reluctant to contact Ryanair for obvious reasons.

According to this article you can get a refund, however it appears you cant check-in online still so you still have the hassle.

Where a passenger is unable to avail of Online Check-in by reason only of not being the holder of either a valid passport or a National Identity Card, issued by the government of an EU/EEA country, any Airport Check-In fee paid will be refunded upon application.
I called RyanAir to clarify where one should apply to for refunds. That address would be:
Ryanair Refunds Dept
Ryanair Head Office
Dublin Airport
Co Dublin, IRELAND
You can also fax refund requests to Ireland +353 1 812 2130
You must include the following: Confirmation Number (e.g. ABC123), Full Flight Details - date/routes, Passenger Names
They will reply to the email address associated with your original itinerary. Refunds are made directly to the card used for booking.

Click to expand...

Thanks for that, much appreciated.

It does however raise an even more interesting question.
My husband is Irish so if we have bought a ticket together, we still cant check-in together. i.e. due to my inability to check-in
so therefore we usually end up both paying.

I don't suppose they would refund both of our charges? Or will I also be forced to start booking my own individual ticket so that my husband can check-in online?

I might send off one of my confirmations and see how far I get

cant see why Ry cant be more upfront with their checkin baggage charges either. its now €9 per bag. fair enough. but its also €4 to queue up. which you MUST do if you have a bag. so effectively the bag charge is €13. So why don't they just say/do that and drop the charge for the pleasure of queuing up?

Hey SLS. I found your question thanks to elcato's link to my site.

If you read the rest of my post, I write that it's possible to book online check-in, then check in at the airport. This keeps RyanAir from collecting your money (which doesn't really belong to them) and then you from going through the process to reclaim it. I have done this on 6 flights with two different non-EU passports and had no issues. As long as you are traveling with only hand luggage, you shouldn't have a problem checking in at the desk without having to pay. The secret to avoiding any trouble is NOT TO CHECK IN ONLINE AT ALL.

A close reading of the RyanAir rules suggests that they might not refund your husband's airport check-in fee because he is an EU passport holder (and only non-EU passport holders and the blind can have their money refunded). Booking separate tickets would naturally solve these concerns as well.

Hope this helps.

P.S. It would be great, if you do send off a refund request, to report back over at Less Than a Shoestring too and let us know what happened!

Thanks, I did read the rest of your response, personally as a frequent traveller the prospect of having an argument with a Ryanair employee everytime I turn up to Dublin airport is not really that appealing and Id rather not have to do it.

I check-in online using most other airlines that I fly with and personally have found it to be the most stress free way to travel

I am however grateful for the tip and will post my experience in the thread suggested after I submit my request for refunds.

Surely it should be possible to complete online checkin for your return flight if it is more than two days after the outbound flight.Does anyone know why the two day restriction applies?
Not everybody carries a printer or has access to one abroad!

For those who were interested in how I got on with contacting Ryanair

I wrote them a letter quoting 3 different flights for which I was applying for refunds.

I received an email from them last week quoting one of the numbers
and received the following correspondence

"Following your recent refund request for booking confirmation number XXXXX.
We confirm that your refund request has been processed to the form of payment used to pay for your booking. Your issuing bank will then take 5-7 working days to process this refund amount back to your account.
The amount refunded to your credit/debit card is EUR6.00"

All good, however I received another email this morning quoting the second quoted number

"Following your recent correspondence to us regarding booking confirmation number XXXXX2.
In line with all major airlines, Ryanair requires passengers to present photographic identification, in order to verify the identity of each person travelling for security reasons.
As per our Terms and Conditions of Travel, which are agreed to at the time of ticket purchase, the only acceptable forms of photo identification when travelling on Ryanair flights are:
A valid passport (with applicable Visa if required)
A valid Government issued National Identity Card issued by a European Economic Area (EEA) country. Only the following countries from the EEA issue National Identity Cards which are acceptable for carriage: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Italy, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden (for travel within the Schengen area only) and Switzerland. National Identity Cards issued by the Government of Gibraltar.
A valid driving licence with photo is ONLY acceptable photo ID for travel on domestic flights within the UK and domestic flights within the Republic of Ireland. (Not valid for web/online check-in)
A valid Italian issued driving licence with photo is only acceptable photo ID for travel on domestic flights within Italy ONLY (Not valid for web/online check-in)
For British and Irish citizens only, who are travelling on flights to/from the United Kingdom to/from the Republic of Ireland, a valid driving licence with photo is acceptable photo ID (Not valid for web/online check-in)
Residence cards, family books or military id cards ARE NOT accepted as photo id for travel on Ryanair.
Passengers who do not present one of the accepted forms of photo identification at check-in will unfortunately not be accepted for travel. These strict procedures are maintained as they are our best means of ensuring that highest levels of passenger security.
We do regret any inconvenience caused by this matter and hope that this will not deter you from flying with us again."

Niavely I thought I would try replying to the email to indicate they sent me the wrong standard letter but in classic style, the Email bounced back straight away.

I wonder what kind of response I will get to the third. Just to let you all know it seems in my experience to be a bit hit and miss but Ill contact them again and hopefully eventually Ill get to the bottom of it!