6 ms·
This website doesn't even touch on the worst dark patterns. Ryanair will e-mail you and complain that you booked using a travel agent (like trip.com). Well yes,
by bux93 2y ago
This website doesn't even touch on the worst dark patterns.
Ryanair will e-mail you and complain that you booked using a travel agent (like trip.com). Well yes, Ryanair itself put their flights on Amadeus! If you only want people to book directly using your site, then make a business decision to lose the outside business and don't complain to your customer like a toddler.
They then charge you to use an app to scan your ID, some ridiculously low amount like 60 cents. The transactions costs and the software maintenance on this integration must dwarf the actual revenue generated. But you need to do this for reasons, one of which apparently is that not doing it will add an even higher fee. This is nickel and diming by instinct rather than out of any rational thinking.
One side effect of all of these tacked-on fees and dark patterns is that the supposed perks lose any meaning. Everyone ends up paying for 'speedy boarding', so that the 'speedy boarding' actually takes longer than the people who board last. And even the 'speedy boarding' passengers won't be able to fit their bags on board.
I actively avoid (and told my SO to never book) Ryanair. None of the other low cost airlines are this bad. Literally Easyjet are easier to deal with. Easyjet also have dark patterns (literally, always look for the grey text..) but they don't go out of their way to make you suffer.
Also, how degrading is it for flight attendents to have to go around selling scratch cards? I'm sure Ryanair would have them go around selling fentanyl if it were up to corporate.
- adalacelove 2y agoBoarding planes is the proof of our failure as a species. Something so easy made so complicated.
- switch007 2y agoIt's highly studied and highly optimised Any appearance of complication just means the airline cares more about revenue So, we're back to the age old debate and wonders of greed and capitalism
- attendant3446 2y agoExactly, it's all about revenue. Not only for the airlines, but also for the airports. It's intentionally inconvenient so they can make a lot more money.
- arethuza 2y ago"Everyone ends up paying for 'speedy boarding'" That has never happened on any Ryanair flight I've been on.
- fhd2 2y agoI never understood why you'd want to be on the plane early. I don't really find it more comfortable on the plane than at the gate, and it's not like you're gonna take off faster than the last people to board. Almost feels like a trap to get people who don't fly often to pay a little more.
- cj 2y agoOverhead space. Not being forced to check a bag at the gate.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- venfen 2y agoBecause some companies sell more than places in the plane and there are places that same sit is given to more than one person and there are situations when last on the line can not get on the place since all places are occupied. It happened for friends of us.
- fhd2 2y agoUh, that's scary! I had this happen on one flight, they asked someone to take the next flight for some kind of bonus and someone volunteered. Pretty insane that this can happen in the first place, but I guess with something like Ryanair I can see how people might want to play it safe then!
- jadyoyster 2y agoI don't think Ryanair does this.
- robk 2y agoYet I can't ever think of a Ryanair flight I've seen go out with a single spare seat. There are plenty enough people who don't mind abuse of the save a few cents. Good luck to them. Keeps them off my flights.
- BartjeD 2y agoI think that for the average person, not represented on this website, it's actually very important to save money, and just suffer the cheapest option available.
- oarsinsync 2y agoI've taken maybe 16 ryanair flights this year (it's the only airline that does the city combination I want), and more than half of those flights have gone mostly empty. Those flights were also the cheapest. The ones that went full were the most expensive. So feel free to add my anecdote to yours, and derive nothing statistically significant besides that I fly a route that is only intermittently popular. ..I'm also flexible on dates so I deliberately book cheaper days, which may make for self selection in this way.
- foldor 2y ago16 flights this year already? I guess it really is dirt cheap to fly around Europe. For me, flying in Canada is expensive, and such an ordeal that it isn't something I could see myself doing that often.
- oarsinsync 2y agoThe cheap trips clock in around 60 euros return. The expensive ones have clocked in around 100 euros return. Honestly, parking at the airport is more expensive than the cost of the flights most of the time.
- Ekaros 2y ago40-100 euros return for not that short trips. That is only slightly more than 160km train rides here...
- dzhiurgis 2y agoAnnoying way I've caught myself between Ryanair and agent. I didn't want to book layover flights myself (painful using Ryanair website) so I've used one of the agent sites. If you wanna do online checking you need to login using email and not PNR+last_name like most sites. Of course agent used their email and flight was early enough that agent wasn't reachable by phone when my flight commenced. I had to pay 6x20 euro fee at airport for printing a boarding pass, which is a dark pattern by itself.
- 76SlashDolphin 2y agoThe thing is you can't do proper layovers with budget airlines. Those third-party sites that try to make it happen are incredibly dodgy and if something goes wrong they have no legal obligation to offer proper rebooking since they are not required (and usually don't) have any sort of partnership with any of the airlines. If I wanted to make a connection with a budget airline I would always allocate at least one night at the intermediary stop since you need to leave the duty-free area anyways, just in case something goes wrong. It's just not worth the risk.
- dzhiurgis 2y agoIt depends. If your total trip cost is €150 vs €400 - it is worth it. But if your next leg is €1000 then it’s tricky, but sometimes it’s the only option you have.
- GJim 2y ago> 'speedy boarding' More like speedy boarding (i.e. first to board) the bus that takes all passengers from the terminal to the aircraft!
- lewispollard 2y agoAt least the airports I frequently fly from, that's rare - you're walking from the gate down a bunch of stairs and then across the tarmac directly to the door.
- thesimon 2y ago> Well yes, Ryanair itself put their flights on Amadeus Pretty sure 99% of OTAs don't book Ryanair flights through Amadeus, but through screen scraping.
- gruez 2y agoWhy?
- bdjsiqoocwk 2y ago> I'm sure Ryanair would have them go around selling fentanyl if it were up to corporate. Ryanair boss said that he'd buy all the 737 MAX he could get because for the right price people are still gonna fly. So yes, I'm sure they would sell fentanyl if they thought they could get away with it.
- ramenbytes 2y agoDoor plugs are an up-charge.
- Ekaros 2y agoI think they have such dense configurations that they have actual doors. So no worries there...
- throwaway7ahgb 2y ago>>They then charge you to use an app to scan your ID, some ridiculously low amount like 60 cents. They are probably not doing the IDV themselves, they are using a another service that charges per ID. Now, it maybe ridiculous that they are passing the cost through, but it's actually interesting that it is a option that people can choose or not. If they didn't do this, they would just increase the costs by 60c for everyone.
- sbarre 2y ago> they would just increase the costs by 60c for everyone. Which would be a better customer experience for everyone in the end and probably save time and money for Ryanair.
- attendant3446 2y agoThey email you even if you book on their official website. And it happens all the time, every single booking I made last year. Their support says there's nothing they can do about it, you just have to keep verifying your identity.
- sva_ 2y ago> They then charge you to use an app to scan your ID, some ridiculously low amount like 60 cents. Where is this? I never had to scan an ID, just enter my details.
- CaptainZapp 2y ago> They then charge you to use an app to scan your ID, some ridiculously low amount like 60 cents Huh? never had to scan my ID upon booking a flight. On rare occasions I had to submit my passport details. Usually for flights to the UK. Within Schengen, I don't even have to show my ID to get into the transit area or to board the flight. I never booked Ryan Air and I don't think I ever will. The whole experience sounds just too frustrating.
- Ygor 2y agoFunny story on this hidden paid verification Ryanair does. This is the thing: https://www.ryanair.com/gb/en/lp/explore/verification-hub https://www.ryanair.com/gb/en/lp/explore/verification-hub Basically, you have to download a random third party app and provide some very sensitive data, including filming yourself. I was once caught by this, even though I actually used Ryanair's site directly. My assumption is that it was due to a Cloudflare/VPN IP, so I might have looked like a bot. I was pissed, more due to random third party app, vs 50 cents charge, so I decided to bluff and ping their support and start complaining. I asked them to tell me exactly what caused my purchase to be tagged with this. I demanded I have the right to that data, and quoted things like GDPR and other consumer protection laws (e.g. hidden fees protections). After several layers of random agents sending me around, I got forwarded to some managers and folks with non-support titles (based on LinkedIn), as I kept pushing to get logs and details. I wanted all data associated with this request, and all third parties that got access to my purchase details, quoting the part of ToS where I allowed for this... Eventually, they admitted it's a vendor, they don't have details, and use a third party for detection. They said they have a whitelist and added my email to that whitelist so I never get miss-tagged as a bot. I caved/sold out and didn't push further. I am still pretty annoyed that we are OK with companies doing this. (I understand I'm part of the problem as I ended up flying and only adding a bit of support load to their queue in the end)...
- stogot 2y agoSo you only need to do this if you book third party right? If you book direct do you need to do this?
- Ygor 2y agoIn theory yes, only if you book via third party. But, my example shows there is some automated system that can even tag you for this if you use Ryanair to book directly. E.g. VPNs.
- shever73 2y agoAnd Ryanair’s “Priority” boarding service just means you get the privilege of standing around on the tarmac in the rain and cold for longer than non-Priority customers. Other added Priority perks include being stared at disinterestedly from inside the warm, dry aircraft by the cabin crew, and being allowed to bring a bag that every other airline allows you to bring for free.
- dabeeeenster 2y agoI can never understand why people pay for Priority boarding! Would you rather stand on a runway/in a gangway tunnel/sit in a plane seat as opposed to sitting in an airport waiting lounge? It absolutely blows my mind. Most people with priority boarding also queue, standing, at the desk the moment they get to the boarding gate. WHY?! You have a seat already?!
- kranke155 2y agoPriority gives you 1 small bag and 1 cabin bag. I pay just so I can take a cabin bag.
- dabeeeenster 2y agoBut do you try your hardest to be first onto the plane?!
- kranke155 2y agoSometimes, if only because recently, Ryanair has "overbooked" for their actual cabin bag capacity, forcing you to place your bag below deck if you're one of the last ones. I find the whole thing despicable, but the behavior is rational (according to the rules Ryanair set up, at least).
- addandsubtract 2y agoFun fact: if you book priority, but then only take a backpack on the plane, they won't let you put it in the overhead compartment.
- xenocratus 2y ago> None of the other low cost airlines are this bad. Have you heard of WizzAir? They're the only airline that have a flight landing close to my parent's city, so I have to fly with them to avoid an extra car ride that's as long as the flight. They have this thing where, if they detect you searching for flights repeatedly from the same account / device, they impose an "administrative fee" for each passanger, for each flight, because presumably you're a robot. There is no way to get rid of said fee, unless you call them (for £1.5 per minute or so), and even that might take ages. And this isn't like £0.5, it's £8 per person, per flight. I can only hope they go bankrupt and someone else takes that flight slot.
- lippihom 2y agoI actually appreciate Ryanair for being transparently money grabbing because you consistently know what you're getting every time. They're very reliable and you can mentally budget in what you'll have to deal with. Airlines like Lufthansa, United, etc for me are much worse.
- JohnBooty 2y agoI love that it's so unreliably trustworthy that it winds up being, in a way, trustworthy.
- lippihom 2y agoAlso Ryanair is the only thing keeping all the nationally subsidized airlines even somewhat honest when it comes to pricing. If they didn't exist, flying would be significantly more expensive. Glad they're here.
- fennecbutt 2y agoActually I'm pretty sure that's lack of tax on jet fuel and all the ridiculous taxpayer funded subsidies that airlines get that keeps prices low. Its crazy that in the UK the train is like £100 but a flight can be had for £20. Utterly corrupt. Bonkers.
- pif 2y ago> If they didn't exist, flying would be significantly more expensive. Surely, flying was significantly more comfortable before Ryanair!
- NoboruWataya 2y agoI wouldn't know, I could never afford it!
- Tepix 2y agoIs that like saying the Nazis are preferable over the Soviets because they are more consistently evil? Fwiw, i disagree 100%.