Hi everybody
I've just returned from a two week holiday and wanted to share with this forum my disgust at the treatment I received from Ryanair. It seems that all they want to do is increase the amount of money they take from passengers at all costs.
Well this is the last time they will take any money from me - I'd rather walk in future!!
We booked to fly from Liverpool to Limoges and were quite prepared to pay for excess baggage as we knew that we would be over the allowed checked baggage allowance of 15kg per person. The girl at check in did everything in her power to convince us to move stuff into our hand luggage, but we didn't want to be unpacking cases at the check in queue so resisted, and just asked for the bill for excess baggage.
We paid the excees charge of £30 (2kgs at £15 per kilo - compared to £7.50 per kilo this time last year!!). At no time during check in was our hand luggage weighed or measured for size (I knew we were close to the limit but within the guidelines).
Having paid our excess we thought that our problems were over. How wrong we were!
When we got to the boarding gate we were met with an army of Ryanair staff ensuring that every passenger had only one piece of hand luggage and that it would fit into the size cage without any force or downward pressure. I had bought some duty free alcohol and was asked to put this in my hand luggage. When I did, it wouldn't fit into the cage and I was told I would have to check the bag into the hold and pay an additional £30.
I politely pointed out that I was an insulin dependent diabetic and that my hand luggage contained insulin and other medication to cover a 15 day trip, and if the insulin was put into the hold it would freeze and become useless. The options I was given were:-
1. Take the duty free back and get a refund (and lose my place in the boarding queue)
2. Go to duty free and buy another bag for my insulin etc which I could then take on board and pay an additional £30 for the checked in bag.
My patience was starting to wane and I pointed out that the bag would fit easily into the overhead lockers, it had been used numerous times before on Ryanair flights, and it was standard international size for a piece of hand baggage. Ryanair's response? "sorry but that isn't Ryanair standard size".
I then resorted to "I need insulin, if it goes in the hold it will freeze, without insulin I could die, is Ryanair comfortable with that?" Ryanair's response? "sorry sir but that's not my problem".
Fortunately a generous woman who had already been collared for an extra £30 charge to check in her bag offered to take some of my stuff in her hold bag so that my cabin bag then fit into the cage and could go on board. Ryanair weren't happy (they had lost £30) and even suggested that by putting my possessions into her bag that I was guilty of tampering with another passengers luggage. Prats!!
The outcome:-
1. We arrived in Limoges extremely stressed
2. I will never fly with Ryanair again
3. I will encourage as many people as possible not to fly with them, especially if they are diabetic, because Ryanair don't care as long as they turn your pockets inside out.
I would have complained directly to Ryanair but they have no mechanism for doing so (and probably wouldn't care if I did complain).
Rant over!!
Stewart
I've just returned from a two week holiday and wanted to share with this forum my disgust at the treatment I received from Ryanair. It seems that all they want to do is increase the amount of money they take from passengers at all costs.
Well this is the last time they will take any money from me - I'd rather walk in future!!
We booked to fly from Liverpool to Limoges and were quite prepared to pay for excess baggage as we knew that we would be over the allowed checked baggage allowance of 15kg per person. The girl at check in did everything in her power to convince us to move stuff into our hand luggage, but we didn't want to be unpacking cases at the check in queue so resisted, and just asked for the bill for excess baggage.
We paid the excees charge of £30 (2kgs at £15 per kilo - compared to £7.50 per kilo this time last year!!). At no time during check in was our hand luggage weighed or measured for size (I knew we were close to the limit but within the guidelines).
Having paid our excess we thought that our problems were over. How wrong we were!
When we got to the boarding gate we were met with an army of Ryanair staff ensuring that every passenger had only one piece of hand luggage and that it would fit into the size cage without any force or downward pressure. I had bought some duty free alcohol and was asked to put this in my hand luggage. When I did, it wouldn't fit into the cage and I was told I would have to check the bag into the hold and pay an additional £30.
I politely pointed out that I was an insulin dependent diabetic and that my hand luggage contained insulin and other medication to cover a 15 day trip, and if the insulin was put into the hold it would freeze and become useless. The options I was given were:-
1. Take the duty free back and get a refund (and lose my place in the boarding queue)
2. Go to duty free and buy another bag for my insulin etc which I could then take on board and pay an additional £30 for the checked in bag.
My patience was starting to wane and I pointed out that the bag would fit easily into the overhead lockers, it had been used numerous times before on Ryanair flights, and it was standard international size for a piece of hand baggage. Ryanair's response? "sorry but that isn't Ryanair standard size".
I then resorted to "I need insulin, if it goes in the hold it will freeze, without insulin I could die, is Ryanair comfortable with that?" Ryanair's response? "sorry sir but that's not my problem".
Fortunately a generous woman who had already been collared for an extra £30 charge to check in her bag offered to take some of my stuff in her hold bag so that my cabin bag then fit into the cage and could go on board. Ryanair weren't happy (they had lost £30) and even suggested that by putting my possessions into her bag that I was guilty of tampering with another passengers luggage. Prats!!
The outcome:-
1. We arrived in Limoges extremely stressed
2. I will never fly with Ryanair again
3. I will encourage as many people as possible not to fly with them, especially if they are diabetic, because Ryanair don't care as long as they turn your pockets inside out.
I would have complained directly to Ryanair but they have no mechanism for doing so (and probably wouldn't care if I did complain).
Rant over!!
Stewart
