May 1, 2008
Are you ready for this? A British airline is imposing a fee for using a check-in counter rather than a computer
In its relentless drive to find additional sources of income without raising ticket prices, Ryanair (www.ryanair.com) has now imposed a penalty for checking in at the airport. Instead of walking to the check-in counter and using the time of a live employee, you are supposed to check in over the internet before leaving home. Otherwise, you incur an extra charge of several British pounds.
But how can you check a piece of luggage onto the flight without approaching a live person at the check-in counter? Ah, there's the rub. The only people able to avoid the check-in penalty are those who do not plan to check luggage onto the flight.
If you do plan to check luggage (and there's a Ryanair charge even for a single suitcase), you will automatically also incur the added check-in penalty. The British have apparently accepted this predicament.
So who is it that's able to fly on Ryanair without incurring hefty, duplicate fees? It's people who check in for the flight over the internet, and then board the flight with carry-on luggage (under 22 pounds) only. A business traveler flying back and forth to a destination in one day, and carrying only a briefcase, flies cheap. A backpacker with his gear in a knapsack slung over the shoulder, flies cheap. The person able to embark on a lengthy vacation with only a piece of hand luggage weighing less than 22 pounds and capable of going in the overhead rack, flies cheap.
And I wouldn't take bets against the same rules being adopted by our hungrier airlines in the United States.
There's some opposition to the new Ryanair rules, but it mainly takes the form of humor. One person, in a British website, has suggested that there be a fee for the rental of seat belts, or of life preservers found under the seat. Another has advised locking the toilet doors and affixing a slot for coins to open the door.
But serious advice is also available. For several trips now, I've limited myself to a tiny, roll-aboard, carry-on suitcase in which I'm barely able to fit a single change of clothing and a few toiletries -- and I've survived, survived well, and am anxious to continue that policy of ultra-light-packing in the future.
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But how can you check a piece of luggage onto the flight without approaching a live person at the check-in counter? Ah, there's the rub. The only people able to avoid the check-in penalty are those who do not plan to check luggage onto the flight.
If you do plan to check luggage (and there's a Ryanair charge even for a single suitcase), you will automatically also incur the added check-in penalty. The British have apparently accepted this predicament.
So who is it that's able to fly on Ryanair without incurring hefty, duplicate fees? It's people who check in for the flight over the internet, and then board the flight with carry-on luggage (under 22 pounds) only. A business traveler flying back and forth to a destination in one day, and carrying only a briefcase, flies cheap. A backpacker with his gear in a knapsack slung over the shoulder, flies cheap. The person able to embark on a lengthy vacation with only a piece of hand luggage weighing less than 22 pounds and capable of going in the overhead rack, flies cheap.
And I wouldn't take bets against the same rules being adopted by our hungrier airlines in the United States.
There's some opposition to the new Ryanair rules, but it mainly takes the form of humor. One person, in a British website, has suggested that there be a fee for the rental of seat belts, or of life preservers found under the seat. Another has advised locking the toilet doors and affixing a slot for coins to open the door.
But serious advice is also available. For several trips now, I've limited myself to a tiny, roll-aboard, carry-on suitcase in which I'm barely able to fit a single change of clothing and a few toiletries -- and I've survived, survived well, and am anxious to continue that policy of ultra-light-packing in the future.
Write and read comments about this post.
Labels: airlines, fees, packing
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