Ryanair has been infamous for charging two elderly people £110 to print boarding passes at the airport. While I sympathize, I also feel that the airlines have done nothing wrong.
Ryanair charges exorbitant fees for printing boarding passes
On Friday 11 August 2023, Peter Jaffe, 80, and Ruth Jaffe, 79, were due to fly from London Stansted (STN) to Bergerac (EGC) on Ryanair. Ryanair is of course known for its low base fares and high fees on almost everything. This includes airport check-in fees.
The couple tried to check in online but found the whole experience “very confusing”. They thought they had checked in correctly, but they mistakenly checked in for the return flight instead of the outbound flight. Unlike other airlines around the world, Ryanair allows him to check-in more than 24 hours in advance.
Anyway, they realized their costly mistake when they arrived at London Stansted Airport. As a result, they had to pay Ryanair’s airport check-in fee, which was £55 per person, Carrier’s tariff. The couple’s daughter shared her frustration with the situation on Twitter (oh, does she really need to be called “X”?). The post went viral and she has been viewed over 13 million times by the time this article was published.
The couple was even more annoyed that they were asked to pay extra to sit together. They didn’t pay so we ended up sitting separately.
I totally understand your frustration, but…
I can understand how frustrated you and your daughter were with this situation. Despite being less tech savvy, the couple did their best to check in online, only to arrive at the airport and pay an exorbitant fee for the privilege of printing two copies of the paper he did. I realized that I had to pay for minute.
While the disappointment is understandable, I really don’t think Ryanair did anything wrong here. Of course, people like to waste money on ultra-low-cost airlines, but they will quickly book again when fares are the cheapest.
The important thing to understand about ultra-low-cost airlines is that they often derive most of their revenue from non-airline sales. Believe it or not, the £10 base fare you pay for a Ryanair flight doesn’t really cover the cost of operating the flight. Airplanes are more expensive to operate than buses! Rather, airlines make much of their revenue from fees.
Therefore, just as the base fare of an airline ticket does not reflect the cost of providing transportation, the price often does not reflect the cost of providing a particular service. This is why ultra-low-cost airlines often use punitive fare structures.
Ryanair’s policy is clearly published regarding both no boarding pass fees and shared seat selection fees.
Apparently, the couple’s daughter at least has a decent knowledge of technology, as she’s written about what happened on social media. If you have aging parents and you know they are traveling, it would be wise to help them with the check-in process in the future and make sure they understand the policies etc. . I know this is my job. Because, sure, a lot overlaps for less tech-savvy people today.
Conclusion
The elderly couple were charged £110 when checking into Ryanair at the airport because they did not print their boarding passes at home due to confusion. It’s easy to see how difficult it is for a non-tech savvy person to travel on an airline with such a policy.
At the same time, Ryanair’s rules are also clearly published. Presumably they booked their tickets online and agreed to Ryanair’s policy. So Ryanair is expensive, but that’s also why the base fare is so cheap.
This means that if you are surrounded by people who are not very tech-savvy and are traveling on ultra-low-cost airlines that pay exorbitant prices, you should probably prepare for your trip to avoid this situation. It’s a good reminder that you need to help out.
What are your thoughts on this situation with Ryanair? Did the airline do something wrong?