23 ms·

Reminder to passengers ahead of move to 100% digital boarding passes

163 points by teekert 1y ago

ivanjermakov 1y ago
I'm not installing airline app. So electronic tickets (email PDFs) won't work either?
- lsxr 1y ago
  Agreed here. I'll check in online, but I'll only install their app as a last resort. I'm hopeful that boarding passes are still sent as PDF. Then again, I rarely fly Ryanair anyway.
  - shrx 1y ago
    "passengers will no longer be able to download and print a physical paper boarding pass" Doesn't look like it will be possible. That's a deal breaker for me, I don't need another app spying on me on my phone.
  - Freak_NL 1y ago
    The announcement says no downloads and required use of their app, but the dedicated help page says otherwise: https://www.ryanair.com/gb/en/lp/explore/digital-boarding-pass https://www.ryanair.com/gb/en/lp/explore/digital-boarding-pa...
- jonplackett 1y ago
  Sorry if this is a dumb question, but why are you specifically adverse to installing airline’s apps?
  - everdrive 1y ago
    I'm averse to installing any apps. I don't want to use a smartphone, and I don't want companies or governments to mandate their usage. As a consumer you have no real way of knowing which apps are tracking you and selling your data and which are not. Every app is suspect, even if some are legitimately clean. Every single company that says "just use the app" is another roll of the dice: will they get breached and reveal my data? Are they tracking me and selling to advertisers / insurance companies / police? Consumers really have no way of knowing for sure.
  - ranger_danger 1y ago
    It's an unnecessary invasion of privacy for one, and not everyone has or wants a smartphone or to install third party apps, or carry it with them onto the plane. It could also be dead, broken or otherwise incompatible, or the passenger may have a disability or religious reason that prevents them from using it.
  - ryandrake 1y ago
    In addition to the great reasons others posted, I'll point out another one: Most airline apps won't even install or run on my device anymore. So, even if I wanted to use the airline's app (I don't), their developers have chosen to not support my device, and therefore I cannot even install or run it. If a company is going to make something a requirement like this, they need to also invest in the effort to support everyone's device, and not block people with old, icky phones.
  - Zambyte 1y ago
    I don't carry a smartphone.
  - subscribed 1y ago
    Excessive surveillance. Selling my location, list of the installed apps, cookies, whatever they can extract. That's for starters. But most importantly why the hell should I be forced to use phone app if having a printed pass was good enough? I need to reverse your surprising question into: should I be expected to install, update, maintain and use apps of ALL the service providers I use? Separate app for train provider A, another for train provider B, another for bus provider C. No paper tickets. An app to purchase groceries, another app to pay for the parking, another app to buy a coffee, another app to buy a newspaper in the kiosk. And app to check in the hotel, an app to order food in the restaurant, an app to call the tax return website (not the phone, an app). Can you see now how absurd is to normalise it?
    - zzo38computer 1y ago
      In addition to that (which is already bad), you will need a compatible smart phone (I do not have and do not intend to have; other people mentioned the same thing), and if you do have then it might use more battery power and more disk space, and sometimes the battery power will run out (or it can fail due to many other reasons), so it is even worse than what you mention.
  - greenchair 1y ago
    Think about the future ramifications if more companies were to implement this invasive garbage. Do you want to have to install mcdonalds app to order their food? Great clips app to get a hair cut?
embedding-shape 1y ago
And more importantly from https://apps.apple.com/us/app/ryanair/id504270602 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/ryanair/id504270602 which people now are required to download and install: > Data Linked to You - Location, Contact Info, Identifiers, Usage Data, Other Data
- ezfe 1y ago
  Any app that you log into "links" anything in your profile to your phone, so of course it links this information. I'm all for calling out bad privacy practice, like when a Weather app says it links your contact info. But an airline app inherently does this. Did you know that Ryanair knows your name when you fly! They even know what city you're flying from.
  - subscribed 1y ago
    They didn't necessarily have to know my main email address though! Or a list of the installed apps.
    - ezfe 1y ago
      Installing as an app doesn’t share your main email address and they can only identify apps from a fixed list, so it’s not really useful to do that.
      - subscribed 1y ago
        Oh sorry, missed that one. > your main email address Right, it doesn't get my main email at the moment, true, turns out an app needs `android.permission.GET_ACCOUNTS` to do that. I do, however, expect them to do that later -- looking at their declared permissions, it's hard to assume a good will: - `BLUETOOTH_SCAN`, `ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION`, `ACCESS_ADSERVICES_AD_ID` -- all together. Yes, I see they use `android.ext.adservices` `READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE`? `WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE`? What for? Do they even offer saving a PDF into a Downloads folder? I think they can do it without asking for the separate permission. > and they can only identify apps from a fixed list While it's true they would require `QUERY_ALL_PACKAGES` to openly get a _complete_ list, see this: https://www.medianama.com/2025/04/223-android-apps-data-breach-google-policy-bypassing/ https://www.medianama.com/2025/04/223-android-apps-data-brea... And then check their admitted privacy practices/policy from their Google Play listing (com.ryanair.cheapflights) Notice, the first section is `DATA SHARED`, not just collected. It's shared with the undisclosed third parties (we know from the privacy policy[1], though, that at the very least it includes all the social networks >> App Activity: installed apps >> Purposes: Analytics, Personalisation >> Also: Email address, financial information, physical address, user payment info, phone info. `DATA COLLECTED`: >> Photos, User ids (plural, it's not just email used to login), Installed apps once again, Files and docs (?!) Generally; I have a very little trust for a vendor that is known for the deceptive practices and which lies from the outset about the reasons to force all passengers into using their app. If they lie in such a fundamental question, it should be assumed they're using deceptions and trickery. Like with disgraced Meta caught red-handed on deception and trickery: https://arstechnica.com/security/2025/06/meta-and-yandex-are-de-anonymizing-android-users-web-browsing-identifiers/ https://arstechnica.com/security/2025/06/meta-and-yandex-are... [1] https://www.ryanair.com/ie/en/lp/privacy-policy https://www.ryanair.com/ie/en/lp/privacy-policy
physicsguy 1y ago
The whole point of Ryanair has always been low cost flights by shoving passengers in and stick to the rules to make everything faster and having less staff. People want the £30 flight but don't want to stick to the conditions, ultimately. But that is the trade off you make.
meindnoch 1y ago
"Ryanair, Europe’s No.1 airline, today (Thurs, 6 Nov) reminded passengers that from Wed (12 Nov) it will move to 100% digital boarding passes. This means that from Wed (12 Nov) passengers will no longer be able to download and print a physical paper boarding pass but will instead need to use the digital boarding pass generated in their “myRyanair” app during check-in to board their Ryanair flight." Why does it matter whether the boarding pass barcode is scanned from a printed paper vs a phone screen?
- saubeidl 1y ago
  Their app lets them exfiltrate data on you and use it for advertising/sell it to ad networks.
  - reliablereason 1y ago
    they say it is it's cause its greener but they could have used a website.
    - saubeidl 1y ago
      A pdf on your phone would've done that as well, but that's what they're explicitly banning with this move.
  - deleted 1y ago
    [deleted]
  - netsharc 1y ago
    Didn't Uber get caught tracking their users (I want to say victims but there are actual victims of Uber sexual harassment/assault) even though they didn't have the app open? Tracking where your passengers go on vacation would be useful data for them. Sheesh you could even track flights: "User was online at London Heathrow until 11:45, and was then offline, and came back online again in Madrid at 14:30, the corresponding flight at those times was EasyJet 78".
- jackhalford 1y ago
ndr 1y ago
Why force the app though? And is it true it won't allow screenshotting?
- subscribed 1y ago
  Selling customer data for a premium, obviously.
chris_va 1y ago
Out of curiosity, what happens when someone does not own a smartphone (or the battery is dead)? They just can't fly? And, if their server flaky, does that mean all boarding will stop? If the agents can check people in manually, it seems like the small fraction of people using a paper boarding pass can't be adding much extra cost. If they are saving cost by removing that flow, presumably they are giving up redundancy. Given the quality of airline software, I predict they will see a mass outage within a year.
- swiftcoder 1y ago
  Keep in mind that Ryanair already charges €50 to print you a replacement boarding pass at the counter if you can't make the app work...
  - dinkblam 1y ago
    but you can print for free before heading to the airport
    - philipwhiuk 1y ago
      Not now.
    - lxgr 1y ago
      If you own a printer. I've once been in that situation with Ryanair: I booked through some reseller, not knowing that they'd make all bookings using some omnibus Ryanair account they would not share the password for (so mobile app use was out), and only emailed me the boarding pass PDF. But I didn't have a printer... The airport business center did have one, with a moderate 50 cent per page fee – except if that page contains a boarding pass, in which case it was 8 Euro.
      - GTP 1y ago
        Interesting price discrimination here.
      - 1y ago
aquir 1y ago
Can I download the app, add the boarding pass to Apple Wallet and remove/disable the app? Or just take a screenshot of the boarding pass and then uninstall it?
- PaulRobinson 1y ago
  Likely dynamic generated QR codes. These are becoming more and more common place.
- subscribed 1y ago
  Come on, it's not meant to be user-friendly, anyone who buys that deserves to buy a bridge.
- bad_username 1y ago
  I suspect that when you install the app, it will require all the juicy permissions like contacts, and hoover up lots of data before you even begin to use it. So the damage will have been done, even though you uninstall it soon.
- extraduder_ire 1y ago
  Last I checked (2022), it has wallet support and didn't prevent you from taking screenshots.
reconnecting 1y ago
Traveling seems to be essential, but having the App Store, iPhone, or Android definitely are not. What happens if your phone is stolen, broken, discharged? Finally, I fly several times a month with different companies, does that mean I should have a circus of apps on my phone? I hope someone will regulate this matter.
- nashashmi 1y ago
  Typically other companies have used emails and websites to download passes. Maybe the same can happen here.
  - reconnecting 1y ago
    It's clearly explained in Ryanair's press release that this is not the case and the application is mandatory.
- philipwhiuk 1y ago
  > What happens if your phone is stolen, broken, discharged? Pay Ryanair 50 bucks for a printed boarding pass at the counter.
  - reconnecting 1y ago
    Thanks, but I'm fine with printing my own boarding pass at home for free. From my perspective, even a paid toilet (1) would be a better offering than this. 1. https://abcnews.go.com/Travel/Green/paying-pee-airlines-critics-call-ryanairs-fee-inhumane/story?id=10355139 https://abcnews.go.com/Travel/Green/paying-pee-airlines-crit...
- ryandrake 1y ago
  More broadly, we need regulation where companies cannot make "ownership of the newest smartphone" a requirement to do business with them. I'm lucky to be in the USA where we still haven't smartphone-ized everything yet, but every year I see it creeping in. Every year, a new bank requires a smartphone to create a passkey or whatever. Every year, a restaurant I like moves over to QR code menus. Every year, a doctor decides to move over to smartphone-based payments only. And of course, all of the crappy app developers insist that 1. I use a very recent phone and 2. I run the latest OS, or I'm shut out. I have no problem with enabling smartphone-based payments and passes for people who like them, but companies should not be allowed to block out (or charge extra to) others who prefer not to tether themselves to a phone.
phyzome 1y ago
Wow, to hell with that. I'm not installing an airline app, even if I had a smartphone.
deleted 1y ago
[deleted]
swiftcoder 1y ago
Huh. I feel like one of Ryanair's major profit centres in the past has been that €50 fee they charge to print your boarding pass at the counter when the app doesn't work...
- philipwhiuk 1y ago
  Sure. You'll no longer be able to print a boarding pass but they will.
everdrive 1y ago
A grim view of things to come. More companies will do this, and eventually your defacto tracking device (ie, your smart phone) will become your government-mandated tracking device. I'd like to stop traveling by air altogether. Sadly, I need to travel for work this December.
- Aurornis 1y ago
  Boarding an airplane, which requires that someone check your ID, is one of the most reliable tracking indicators available to show that a person was in a specific place at a specific time. Nabbing people at airports is a common strategy for this reason. Putting the boarding pass on a phone doesn’t make it easier for the government to know that you’re flying.
  - everdrive 1y ago
    I just mean in general. If airplane companies normalize using an app then other companies may as well. Do you need a smartphone to pump gas? Or to use government services? How about to buy groceries? That sort of slippery slope is what I would be afraid of.
    - matwood 1y ago
      > If airplane companies normalize using an app then other companies may as well. I fly a lot and can't remember the last time I had a paper boarding pass. When I board the vast majority of people also use their phones, so normalization has already happened with air travel.
  - rurp 1y ago
    You think this mandated budget airline app is only going to track a gate check-in and nothing else? My guess is that it will collect an absurd amount of extra data and waste endless amounts of time with up-sells and other dark patterns.
- IlikeKitties 1y ago
  If you live in the EU, the euID app that's coming in the next few years will use the google play integrity API. It's all but inevitable.
thomond 1y ago
I'm a bit shocked the EU allowed them away with this.
- colinbartlett 1y ago
  How can this possibly be legal? If it truly is, the EU needs to get on it immediately.
- IlikeKitties 1y ago
  Than you haven't been watching the EU enough. They are currently working on MULTIPLE different omnibus laws that will make owning an Google or Apple Approved Phone, running Google or Apple Approved Firmware and using the Google or Apple App store de-facto mandatory for living in the EU. You vill download ze app and you vill accept the TOS. *Downvote me all you want here's the proof:* https://github.com/eu-digital-identity-wallet/av-doc-technical-specification/issues/18 https://github.com/eu-digital-identity-wallet/av-doc-technic...
  - teekert 1y ago
    What you are presenting is all opt-in.
    - mrbadguy 1y ago
      For now
    - zajio1am 1y ago
      Governments would mandate age requirements for many websites and these websites would be forced to check EU digital identity wallet.
    - hexbin010 1y ago
      It always begins that way to squash criticism.
- teekert 1y ago
  I'm convinced they won't, they are just slow to react.
zb3 1y ago
Requiring a particular app for something that could be achieved by scanning a code (displayed on a screen) is bullshit. And let me guess - then they'll use Play Integrity API so that you cannot fly if you're not using Google certified device with preinstalled privileged spyware (or lease an Apple device you don't own)?
thomascountz 1y ago
Phone's dead/dropped under a bus tire/stolen at security/got bit-flipped by a cosmic ray, now what? Nearly 80% of 207M passengers already adopted it means 41M passengers have not. I apologize in advance for being overly dramatic. I just flew with a digital boarding pass and my phone nearly died while waiting at the outlet-less gate. I'm sure I could have gotten assistance, but it was stressful.
- rixed 1y ago
  Empty battery is not unlikely in airports that make it extra-hard to recharge a phone (Looking at you, BER). Long ago it was possible to unplug a vending machine as a last resort, but these days all electrical sockets are concealed, as a measure to prevent overnight stays in airports I believe.
- jenadine 1y ago
  If you lose your phone or if it's out of battery, you'll get a free boarding pass at the airport as long as you checked in online before getting to the airport. If you didn't check in before, you'll have to pay a 50€ fee. (Same as before) Source: https://www.ryanair.com/gb/en/lp/explore/digital-boarding-pass https://www.ryanair.com/gb/en/lp/explore/digital-boarding-pa...
tmilard 1y ago
Let's be honnest : more and more service will move to "only Smarphone" way. For economic reason (less process so less expences). So what.
codegeek 1y ago
I think requiring app is an overreach. I hate installing apps. If you want to save money and not do paper, I would just do this: - Provide a discount/credit for using electronic digital boarding pass (PDF file, no apps). If someone is not able to use the PDF etc (either their own printout or on their phone) and require a paper pass at the airport for any reason, their discount/credit goes away. Simple.
globular-toast 1y ago
> faster Scanning a QR code from a screen is faster than from a piece of paper? How does that work? > smarter A smart person would carry both a digital and paper copy of their travel documents. > greener Ah, yes, all it takes to make flying "green" is eliminating a single sheet of A4 paper per passenger.
- rixed 1y ago
  > Ah, yes, all it takes to make flying "green" is eliminating a single sheet of A4 paper per passenger. That's 80% filled with ads...
johnjames87 1y ago
Remember: you can always pick a different airline.
- teekert 1y ago
  Yes, but also, collectively, democratically, via are laws, we can set where a race to the bottom ends.
- subscribed 1y ago
  No, I can't. They're the only airline serving the city I have to visit a few times a year. Next two airports are 250 and 350 km away. Not really feasible.
- hexbin010 1y ago
  Until all other short-haul airlines copy them They already copied many, many other aspects of the low-cost business model, so I'm sure this will follow
  - johnjames87 1y ago
    > Until all other short-haul airlines copy them Like it or not, we live in a market economy with market competition. There are new airlines every year. In 2022 there was a net increase of 13 airlines in europe alone. If people want paper boarding passes, some competitor will give it to them. Always been like that in market economies, and socialists will keep fearmongering about "what one company does" like its the end of the world.
    - deleted 1y ago
      [deleted]
colinbartlett 1y ago
Will the app requirement be disclosed at purchase everywhere? IE: If I am buying on a third-party online travel agent, will the checkout process state that in order to board the flight at the cost quoted, that I will need to have a smartphone with the app installed?
- Freak_NL 1y ago
  There does not appear to be an app requirement after all. You are required to check-in online before heading to the airport though. See: https://www.ryanair.com/gb/en/lp/explore/digital-boarding-pass https://www.ryanair.com/gb/en/lp/explore/digital-boarding-pa...
OptionOfT 1y ago
But why? What is wrong with PDFs? Either printed or digitally? Want to make it a little bit more fancy? Apple Wallet and Google Wallet both support a more fancy setup. Technologically speaking banning the other things is only driven by hoping that people will forget something and they can charge extra. What's next? They 'accidentally' kill the app during boarding. And they can up charge you.
- IlikeKitties 1y ago
  A printed PDF doesn't sell your data for profit. An App does.
  - 9cb14c1ec0 1y ago
    ^ This, and nothing else. There is a dark, evil underbelly to the data broker ecosystem that is largely powered by random apps people install on their phones.
rixed 1y ago
Ryanair basically invented most of the dark patterns that are now prevalent in all travel websites. Back then, the experience was so awful that it was comical (and even inspired a song[0]). Therefore I'm not surprised that they are the first to mandate you install their app on your phone. All other companies that have dreamed of this will be quick to follow suit. Notice the euphemism of calling this "going digital". Everybody is already digital, using a pdf reader on their phone at the terminal, despite some companies discouraging this practice. That's not digital enough, is it? [0]: https://youtu.be/Id-zzOGnN6A?t=102 https://youtu.be/Id-zzOGnN6A?t=102
Freak_NL 1y ago
This announcement is a load of bull. See this page about the new system: https://www.ryanair.com/gb/en/lp/explore/digital-boarding-pass https://www.ryanair.com/gb/en/lp/explore/digital-boarding-pa... > But what if, and what if, and what if? > If you have already checked-in online and your smartphone or tablet dies / is lost, you will receive a free of charge boarding pass at the airport. > If passengers don’t have a smartphone or tablet, as long as they have already checked-in online before arriving at the airport, they will receive a free of charge boarding pass at the airport.
- lxgr 1y ago
  Wow, this might just be an improvement on the status quo (app optional, but high boarding pass printing fee if it's not used). I don't think this policy will hold up in the face of Ryanair ticket resellers though, since it seems to be pretty clearly designed to make their life harder once again, but free replacement printing would offer them a way out.
- jimbokun 1y ago
  It's hilarious how many HN commenters claimed these things weren't true without bothering to check.
- jakub_g 1y ago
  > "If X or Y or Z... you will receive a free of charge boarding pass at the airport" After queueing for 1.5h in a single queue for the entire flight, served by one service crew person.
  - hexbin010 1y ago
    And some Swissair agent denying knowledge about this new policy
blululu 1y ago
Ironic that RyanAir’s press release website has a print button as if anyone prints websites. There are a lot of advantages to paper and printers. As a general policy policy point I don’t love this direction. But also it’s RyanAir. This is by far the smallest customer rights violation that they have and will continue to commit. And at this point everyone should know that a 25 quid flight from Manchester to Madrid on RyanAir has a catch. Just be glad your luggage wasn’t jettisoned over the channel to save weight.
bluebarbet 1y ago
A "boarding pass" was always a redundant document anyway. As are "tickets" whenever ID is required for the service in question. The ID has a number on it, in the system that's the ticket. In police states like China, tickets are a thing of the past. That flying - an entirely unsustainable mode of transport - is now widely viewed as a commoditized consumer good is already a form of ethical collapse IMO. Now this. We need regulation. But for that, people need choose it, to vote for it.
dev_hugepages 1y ago
God fucking damn it send me a PDF with a QR code like a reasonable human being
Animats 1y ago
Can you display the boarding pass in a web browser? Allowing a RyanAir app on your phone seems high-risk.
qazxcvbnmlp 1y ago
so many opportunities for shenanigans! 'watch this ad before we give you your boarding pass' 'no boarding pass for you until your group is called' 'ah ha! you have an iPhone 17 pro max instead of a $BUDGET_ANDROID, cool your seat fees will be 20% higher' 'oh you got your boarding pass on this device, but need it on a different device now? cool lets do a device transfer fee'
- rwmj 1y ago
  Ryanair are probably reading this thread looking for ideas.
HiPhish 1y ago
> but will instead need to use the digital boarding pass generated in their “myRyanair” app during check-in to board their Ryanair flight. And of course it's only possible using a specific proprietary app. You'd think a penny-pinching company would want to use open standard to save money instead of develop a custom app, right? I'm 100% sure this is done intentionally to scoop up as much personal data from their customers.
- nutjob2 1y ago
  Its so they can collect a fee of 50 euros or pounds off you when your phone battery is flat or the app otherwise doesn't work.
  - hleszek 1y ago
    It is said on their website that if you lose your phone or it dies, you can get a free boarding pass at the airport. Source: https://www.ryanair.com/gb/en/lp/explore/digital-boarding-pass https://www.ryanair.com/gb/en/lp/explore/digital-boarding-pa...
    - ranger_danger 1y ago
      This should be at the top of this thread... it practically makes the whole thing a nothingburger.
      - Dylan16807 1y ago
        It moves the app one notch back from mandatory, but that's still enough to be a real problem. That method is going to have very low capacity and if you lie about your phone being dead or elsewhere that might screw you over.
        ranger_danger 1y ago
        > if you lie about your phone being dead or elsewhere that might screw you over. I would bet money this will never happen, but ok.
xn 1y ago
The airline that inspired at least one passenger to write a song about them: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1SKldiiWm4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1SKldiiWm4
_trampeltier 1y ago
Reminder, soon you need just a strong jammer to stop the world.
fmkamchatka 1y ago
> Will deliver a greener experience LMAO. When you get people on a flight your unprinted paper is meaningless.
jojomodding 1y ago
Even before this, I already had all my > Travel Documents: accessible in one convenient place. in my hand, with it requiring exactly 0 clicks to present the piece of paper to the barcode scanner.
kcartlidge 1y ago
I like how their number one benefit is Order to Seat. In one fell swoop it shows that: * Their priority is revenue above all else (fair enough; honest too) * They are either deceptive or stupid Re the deception/stupidity - if everyone is moving to using the same app, how does everyone "get served first" as per their bullet point?
cromulent 1y ago
Last time I flew Ryanair in July, I presented my phone to the agent to check my boarding pass. She took my phone to scan it. I turned my head to talk to my companion. When I looked back, the agent was in my settings, quietly enabling all the permissions for the app (which I had deliberately disabled). When I (shocked) told her off, she rolled her eyes and said I would need to change them anyway to scan the bag tags. The cheek.
- imp0cat 1y ago
  Seriously, just pin the app to the screen before handing your phone to anyone. https://www.samsung.com/sg/support/mobile-devices/pin-an-app-to-your-phone-screen-so-that-it-cant-be-closed/ https://www.samsung.com/sg/support/mobile-devices/pin-an-app...
  - cromulent 1y ago
    Yep. I naively thought that no-one representing a company would ever do such a thing.
  - jakub_g 1y ago
    TIL about App Pinning! It's also available in Android on Pixels.
silisili 1y ago
I have no idea about Europeans, but as an American who's flown a lot recently, the push to smartphone based tickets has been a nightmare. Not because of the tickets, but people aren't seemingly smart or considerate enough to use them correctly. Paper tickets were so fast. Fold, press, beep, done. App based tickets? Constant announcements (I'm talking 10 or more during boarding) to turn your brightness up. Despite that, I saw 1 - 25ish percent of people had dark screens, so the attendant had to take the phone, up the brightness, scan it, then hand it back. 2 - A number of screen with cracks or something (didn't get a good look) that required moving the QR code around to get it to scan. 3 - An alarming number of people who didn't bother to even unlock their phone, who then proceed to fumble with thumbing or face scanning, close whatever they were doing, then go into the app and find their ticket. I'd say the boarding process took at minimum two to three times as long as they did with purely paper tickets.
- Arch-TK 1y ago
  Temporarily controlling screen brightness is something that, at least on android, the app can do itself... The cracked screen thing - funny. I wonder how long these twats will hold out. I hope by the next time I fly Ryanair, someone has figured out how to emulate the look of the app and extract the relevant data so I don't have to run their garbage malware on my phone in order to have the pleasure to fly a "cheap" airline which bills you for everything after using every dark pattern imaginable when you purchase their tickets.
- jerlam 1y ago
  While annoying, the boarding pass scanning process usually isn't the bottleneck. After I scanned my boarding pass, I then waited in line in the jet bridge, because people in the plane were busy putting their luggage in the overhead compartments, searching for their seats, moving to let people sit in the window seats, and other assorted activities.
- bradlys 1y ago
  The paper scanning is hardly the limitation with onboarding. I feel like you never fly because if you did, you’d know the biggest limitation in boarding speed is the inefficient method they use to board people… not the scanning part. If everyone scans efficiently (something you see often at places like SFO), you just are waiting on the jet bridge… It only takes one person who needs to take off their coat before they sit down or has trouble putting their oversized carry on in storage, etc. to completely shutdown onboarding.
john01dav 1y ago
I wonder how these gate agents will react if I show their app throwing a hissy fit and refusing to work when it is blocked from any data mining. No permissions, no google play services, no safetynet, maybe no network. It is non cooperation with their bs, but it looks like a technical issue. And, if it can work without such things, then I hate it much less.
- galaxy_gas 1y ago
  When you do this they charge you the human assist fee and boarding pass fee or you don't board.
  - john01dav 1y ago
    I'd probably pay the fee, take my flight, then charge it back with a reason like "Fee for not using app, app did not work. Fee advertised as optional was not, in fact, optional for me". Completely true statement.
    - criddell 1y ago
      You would win but then Ryanair would ban you from flying with them in the future.
      - john01dav 1y ago
        I don't know about Ryanair, but I've had to reverse credit card transactions due to scams a few times and I've never been banned from other businesses.
        criddell 1y ago
        Ryanair has a history of banning people who dispute charges.
- neximo64 1y ago
  Probably thats the goal, so there is a way to charge a fee. Do you not know Ryanair
gkoz 1y ago
> What happens if I lose my smartphone or tablet? > If you have already checked-in online and your smartphone or tablet is lost, you will receive a free of charge boarding pass at the airport. Seems pretty clear what we need to do to stop this nonsense.
- jen20 1y ago
  Given that Ryanair used to charge to print a boarding pass at the airport, it seems pretty likely their response will just be to do so again. This is a company which literally hates its customers.
Simon_ORourke 1y ago
I'm 100% certain the douche who runs Ryanair is extremely concerned about paper waste.
TheOtherHobbes 1y ago
The last time I flew Ryanair their printed boarding pass didn't work in security. Not even when I went back and got them to print it at the desk. I did eventually get their app to download it, and it was fine in that. So. There's that.
rkagerer 1y ago
Was hoping you could opt out by moving to Morroco, where local regulations bar digital boarding passes. But Ryanair still makes you get digital ones there, and have you redeem it for a physical one at the airport.
jl6 1y ago
Ryanair is best thought of, not as an airline, but as a kind of carnival game that delivers a small monetary prize if you win, and a nasty electric shock if you do it wrong. By playing Ryanair, you have the opportunity to acquire a slightly cheaper flight, and if you can keep a steady hand and navigate the arbitrary rules (each a cunning trap), you can indeed save some money. Good luck.
ninalanyon 1y ago
So i can't fly with Ryanair unless I have smartphone.
ibejoeb 1y ago
Note: You can print a boarding card at the kiosk or agent desk.
fortran77 1y ago
My 92 year old mother will never be able to fly RyanAir. She is unable to use a cell phone.
bfkwlfkjf 1y ago
Reminder what kind of company ryanair is. At one point some 15 (?) years ago ryanair used to charge you 60 euros if you showed up at the boarding gate having only the boarding pass on your phone instead of printed on a piece of paper. There was absolutely no reason for this (their reader reads as well from phone as from paper) other than betting that some fraction of the people would forget to print their boarding pass in paper. And they were right, I saw it in front of me many times and one time almost happened to me. If memory serves me I believe that at the time this was regulated out by the EU.
- hdgvhicv 1y ago
  20 years ago Ryanair included free baggage - they started charging in 2006.
  - bfkwlfkjf 1y ago
    Ok but what you're describing is the classic "be cheaper than competition, gain market share, then raise prices" and is basically how business works. Almost every company does this if they are run well enough to manage to pull it off. Setting up rules to trick customers to make mistakes and then demand 60 euros for printing a sheet of paper is morally dishonest and I would say most don't do this.
- bfkwlfkjf 1y ago
  Here's another one. I read some headline years ago that the ryanair boss was happy to order as many 737 MAX as he could, despite the planes reputation for problems, because if you make the flights cheap enough, people will still fly on it. I have no doubt he's right, but says something about him and the company.
  - extraduder_ire 1y ago
    They have a history of buying a lot of planes whenever there's a chance to get them cheaper. Typically, they sell planes for more than they cost to buy new. For the 737 max at least, they built a simulator training facility in Dublin so they could train their pilots faster for when the max returned to flight. I wouldn't take anything their CEO says at face value though. He's often saying provocative things just to get news coverage (cheaper and more effective than traditional advertising), and admits to that himself.
eqvinox 1y ago
I specifically don't use smartphone boarding passes when travelling (on full service airlines, mostly LH group), just so they get the statistic of me using paper. (The barcode has an 'issue type' field, it's a single character and generally the only difference between digital QR and paper PDF417 contents.) (I collect paper boarding passes and want them to stay ;)
nunclieh 1y ago
People who don't have a smartphone can ask Ryanair at the airport to print the boarding pass for free provided they did the online check-in. I don't understand the reasoning here: how is this different than before? Why isn't this more costly for Ryanair?
lunias 1y ago
Reminder to airlines ahead of move to more BS for your customers: You provide one of the most enshittified experiences ever conceived. I have been, and will continue avoiding flying at all costs until the customer is considered again.
rurban 1y ago
This requires free USB loading stations at their gates. Do they provide these? I don't think so
wicharek 1y ago
Lots of negativity in the comments. I however see no issue. I have been using digital boarding passes forever and have no idea why would I want a paper one ever.

163 points by teekert 1y ago

ivanjermakov 1y ago

I'm not installing airline app. So electronic tickets (email PDFs) won't work either?

lsxr 1y ago
Agreed here. I'll check in online, but I'll only install their app as a last resort. I'm hopeful that boarding passes are still sent as PDF. Then again, I rarely fly Ryanair anyway.
- shrx 1y ago
  "passengers will no longer be able to download and print a physical paper boarding pass" Doesn't look like it will be possible. That's a deal breaker for me, I don't need another app spying on me on my phone.
- Freak_NL 1y ago
  The announcement says no downloads and required use of their app, but the dedicated help page says otherwise: https://www.ryanair.com/gb/en/lp/explore/digital-boarding-pass https://www.ryanair.com/gb/en/lp/explore/digital-boarding-pa...
jonplackett 1y ago
Sorry if this is a dumb question, but why are you specifically adverse to installing airline’s apps?
- everdrive 1y ago
  I'm averse to installing any apps. I don't want to use a smartphone, and I don't want companies or governments to mandate their usage. As a consumer you have no real way of knowing which apps are tracking you and selling your data and which are not. Every app is suspect, even if some are legitimately clean. Every single company that says "just use the app" is another roll of the dice: will they get breached and reveal my data? Are they tracking me and selling to advertisers / insurance companies / police? Consumers really have no way of knowing for sure.
- ranger_danger 1y ago
  It's an unnecessary invasion of privacy for one, and not everyone has or wants a smartphone or to install third party apps, or carry it with them onto the plane. It could also be dead, broken or otherwise incompatible, or the passenger may have a disability or religious reason that prevents them from using it.
- ryandrake 1y ago
  In addition to the great reasons others posted, I'll point out another one: Most airline apps won't even install or run on my device anymore. So, even if I wanted to use the airline's app (I don't), their developers have chosen to not support my device, and therefore I cannot even install or run it. If a company is going to make something a requirement like this, they need to also invest in the effort to support everyone's device, and not block people with old, icky phones.
- Zambyte 1y ago
  I don't carry a smartphone.
- subscribed 1y ago
  Excessive surveillance. Selling my location, list of the installed apps, cookies, whatever they can extract. That's for starters. But most importantly why the hell should I be forced to use phone app if having a printed pass was good enough? I need to reverse your surprising question into: should I be expected to install, update, maintain and use apps of ALL the service providers I use? Separate app for train provider A, another for train provider B, another for bus provider C. No paper tickets. An app to purchase groceries, another app to pay for the parking, another app to buy a coffee, another app to buy a newspaper in the kiosk. And app to check in the hotel, an app to order food in the restaurant, an app to call the tax return website (not the phone, an app). Can you see now how absurd is to normalise it?
  - zzo38computer 1y ago
    In addition to that (which is already bad), you will need a compatible smart phone (I do not have and do not intend to have; other people mentioned the same thing), and if you do have then it might use more battery power and more disk space, and sometimes the battery power will run out (or it can fail due to many other reasons), so it is even worse than what you mention.
- greenchair 1y ago
  Think about the future ramifications if more companies were to implement this invasive garbage. Do you want to have to install mcdonalds app to order their food? Great clips app to get a hair cut?

embedding-shape 1y ago

And more importantly from https://apps.apple.com/us/app/ryanair/id504270602 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/ryanair/id504270602 which people now are required to download and install: > Data Linked to You - Location, Contact Info, Identifiers, Usage Data, Other Data

ezfe 1y ago
Any app that you log into "links" anything in your profile to your phone, so of course it links this information. I'm all for calling out bad privacy practice, like when a Weather app says it links your contact info. But an airline app inherently does this. Did you know that Ryanair knows your name when you fly! They even know what city you're flying from.
- subscribed 1y ago
  They didn't necessarily have to know my main email address though! Or a list of the installed apps.
  - ezfe 1y ago
    Installing as an app doesn’t share your main email address and they can only identify apps from a fixed list, so it’s not really useful to do that.
    - subscribed 1y ago
      Oh sorry, missed that one. > your main email address Right, it doesn't get my main email at the moment, true, turns out an app needs `android.permission.GET_ACCOUNTS` to do that. I do, however, expect them to do that later -- looking at their declared permissions, it's hard to assume a good will: - `BLUETOOTH_SCAN`, `ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION`, `ACCESS_ADSERVICES_AD_ID` -- all together. Yes, I see they use `android.ext.adservices` `READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE`? `WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE`? What for? Do they even offer saving a PDF into a Downloads folder? I think they can do it without asking for the separate permission. > and they can only identify apps from a fixed list While it's true they would require `QUERY_ALL_PACKAGES` to openly get a _complete_ list, see this: https://www.medianama.com/2025/04/223-android-apps-data-breach-google-policy-bypassing/ https://www.medianama.com/2025/04/223-android-apps-data-brea... And then check their admitted privacy practices/policy from their Google Play listing (com.ryanair.cheapflights) Notice, the first section is `DATA SHARED`, not just collected. It's shared with the undisclosed third parties (we know from the privacy policy[1], though, that at the very least it includes all the social networks >> App Activity: installed apps >> Purposes: Analytics, Personalisation >> Also: Email address, financial information, physical address, user payment info, phone info. `DATA COLLECTED`: >> Photos, User ids (plural, it's not just email used to login), Installed apps once again, Files and docs (?!) Generally; I have a very little trust for a vendor that is known for the deceptive practices and which lies from the outset about the reasons to force all passengers into using their app. If they lie in such a fundamental question, it should be assumed they're using deceptions and trickery. Like with disgraced Meta caught red-handed on deception and trickery: https://arstechnica.com/security/2025/06/meta-and-yandex-are-de-anonymizing-android-users-web-browsing-identifiers/ https://arstechnica.com/security/2025/06/meta-and-yandex-are... [1] https://www.ryanair.com/ie/en/lp/privacy-policy https://www.ryanair.com/ie/en/lp/privacy-policy

physicsguy 1y ago

The whole point of Ryanair has always been low cost flights by shoving passengers in and stick to the rules to make everything faster and having less staff. People want the £30 flight but don't want to stick to the conditions, ultimately. But that is the trade off you make.

meindnoch 1y ago

"Ryanair, Europe’s No.1 airline, today (Thurs, 6 Nov) reminded passengers that from Wed (12 Nov) it will move to 100% digital boarding passes. This means that from Wed (12 Nov) passengers will no longer be able to download and print a physical paper boarding pass but will instead need to use the digital boarding pass generated in their “myRyanair” app during check-in to board their Ryanair flight." Why does it matter whether the boarding pass barcode is scanned from a printed paper vs a phone screen?

saubeidl 1y ago
Their app lets them exfiltrate data on you and use it for advertising/sell it to ad networks.
- reliablereason 1y ago
  they say it is it's cause its greener but they could have used a website.
  - saubeidl 1y ago
    A pdf on your phone would've done that as well, but that's what they're explicitly banning with this move.
- deleted 1y ago
  [deleted]
- netsharc 1y ago
  Didn't Uber get caught tracking their users (I want to say victims but there are actual victims of Uber sexual harassment/assault) even though they didn't have the app open? Tracking where your passengers go on vacation would be useful data for them. Sheesh you could even track flights: "User was online at London Heathrow until 11:45, and was then offline, and came back online again in Madrid at 14:30, the corresponding flight at those times was EasyJet 78".
jackhalford 1y ago

ndr 1y ago

Why force the app though? And is it true it won't allow screenshotting?

subscribed 1y ago
Selling customer data for a premium, obviously.

chris_va 1y ago

Out of curiosity, what happens when someone does not own a smartphone (or the battery is dead)? They just can't fly? And, if their server flaky, does that mean all boarding will stop? If the agents can check people in manually, it seems like the small fraction of people using a paper boarding pass can't be adding much extra cost. If they are saving cost by removing that flow, presumably they are giving up redundancy. Given the quality of airline software, I predict they will see a mass outage within a year.

swiftcoder 1y ago
Keep in mind that Ryanair already charges €50 to print you a replacement boarding pass at the counter if you can't make the app work...
- dinkblam 1y ago
  but you can print for free before heading to the airport
  - philipwhiuk 1y ago
    Not now.
  - lxgr 1y ago
    If you own a printer. I've once been in that situation with Ryanair: I booked through some reseller, not knowing that they'd make all bookings using some omnibus Ryanair account they would not share the password for (so mobile app use was out), and only emailed me the boarding pass PDF. But I didn't have a printer... The airport business center did have one, with a moderate 50 cent per page fee – except if that page contains a boarding pass, in which case it was 8 Euro.
    - GTP 1y ago
      Interesting price discrimination here.
    - 1y ago

aquir 1y ago

Can I download the app, add the boarding pass to Apple Wallet and remove/disable the app? Or just take a screenshot of the boarding pass and then uninstall it?

PaulRobinson 1y ago
Likely dynamic generated QR codes. These are becoming more and more common place.
subscribed 1y ago
Come on, it's not meant to be user-friendly, anyone who buys that deserves to buy a bridge.
bad_username 1y ago
I suspect that when you install the app, it will require all the juicy permissions like contacts, and hoover up lots of data before you even begin to use it. So the damage will have been done, even though you uninstall it soon.
extraduder_ire 1y ago
Last I checked (2022), it has wallet support and didn't prevent you from taking screenshots.

reconnecting 1y ago

Traveling seems to be essential, but having the App Store, iPhone, or Android definitely are not. What happens if your phone is stolen, broken, discharged? Finally, I fly several times a month with different companies, does that mean I should have a circus of apps on my phone? I hope someone will regulate this matter.

nashashmi 1y ago
Typically other companies have used emails and websites to download passes. Maybe the same can happen here.
- reconnecting 1y ago
  It's clearly explained in Ryanair's press release that this is not the case and the application is mandatory.
philipwhiuk 1y ago
> What happens if your phone is stolen, broken, discharged? Pay Ryanair 50 bucks for a printed boarding pass at the counter.
- reconnecting 1y ago
  Thanks, but I'm fine with printing my own boarding pass at home for free. From my perspective, even a paid toilet (1) would be a better offering than this. 1. https://abcnews.go.com/Travel/Green/paying-pee-airlines-critics-call-ryanairs-fee-inhumane/story?id=10355139 https://abcnews.go.com/Travel/Green/paying-pee-airlines-crit...
ryandrake 1y ago
More broadly, we need regulation where companies cannot make "ownership of the newest smartphone" a requirement to do business with them. I'm lucky to be in the USA where we still haven't smartphone-ized everything yet, but every year I see it creeping in. Every year, a new bank requires a smartphone to create a passkey or whatever. Every year, a restaurant I like moves over to QR code menus. Every year, a doctor decides to move over to smartphone-based payments only. And of course, all of the crappy app developers insist that 1. I use a very recent phone and 2. I run the latest OS, or I'm shut out. I have no problem with enabling smartphone-based payments and passes for people who like them, but companies should not be allowed to block out (or charge extra to) others who prefer not to tether themselves to a phone.

phyzome 1y ago

Wow, to hell with that. I'm not installing an airline app, even if I had a smartphone.

deleted 1y ago

[deleted]

swiftcoder 1y ago

Huh. I feel like one of Ryanair's major profit centres in the past has been that €50 fee they charge to print your boarding pass at the counter when the app doesn't work...

philipwhiuk 1y ago
Sure. You'll no longer be able to print a boarding pass but they will.

everdrive 1y ago

A grim view of things to come. More companies will do this, and eventually your defacto tracking device (ie, your smart phone) will become your government-mandated tracking device. I'd like to stop traveling by air altogether. Sadly, I need to travel for work this December.

Aurornis 1y ago
Boarding an airplane, which requires that someone check your ID, is one of the most reliable tracking indicators available to show that a person was in a specific place at a specific time. Nabbing people at airports is a common strategy for this reason. Putting the boarding pass on a phone doesn’t make it easier for the government to know that you’re flying.
- everdrive 1y ago
  I just mean in general. If airplane companies normalize using an app then other companies may as well. Do you need a smartphone to pump gas? Or to use government services? How about to buy groceries? That sort of slippery slope is what I would be afraid of.
  - matwood 1y ago
    > If airplane companies normalize using an app then other companies may as well. I fly a lot and can't remember the last time I had a paper boarding pass. When I board the vast majority of people also use their phones, so normalization has already happened with air travel.
- rurp 1y ago
  You think this mandated budget airline app is only going to track a gate check-in and nothing else? My guess is that it will collect an absurd amount of extra data and waste endless amounts of time with up-sells and other dark patterns.
IlikeKitties 1y ago
If you live in the EU, the euID app that's coming in the next few years will use the google play integrity API. It's all but inevitable.

thomond 1y ago

I'm a bit shocked the EU allowed them away with this.

colinbartlett 1y ago
How can this possibly be legal? If it truly is, the EU needs to get on it immediately.
IlikeKitties 1y ago
Than you haven't been watching the EU enough. They are currently working on MULTIPLE different omnibus laws that will make owning an Google or Apple Approved Phone, running Google or Apple Approved Firmware and using the Google or Apple App store de-facto mandatory for living in the EU. You vill download ze app and you vill accept the TOS. *Downvote me all you want here's the proof:* https://github.com/eu-digital-identity-wallet/av-doc-technical-specification/issues/18 https://github.com/eu-digital-identity-wallet/av-doc-technic...
- teekert 1y ago
  What you are presenting is all opt-in.
  - mrbadguy 1y ago
    For now
  - zajio1am 1y ago
    Governments would mandate age requirements for many websites and these websites would be forced to check EU digital identity wallet.
  - hexbin010 1y ago
    It always begins that way to squash criticism.
teekert 1y ago
I'm convinced they won't, they are just slow to react.

zb3 1y ago

Requiring a particular app for something that could be achieved by scanning a code (displayed on a screen) is bullshit. And let me guess - then they'll use Play Integrity API so that you cannot fly if you're not using Google certified device with preinstalled privileged spyware (or lease an Apple device you don't own)?

thomascountz 1y ago

Phone's dead/dropped under a bus tire/stolen at security/got bit-flipped by a cosmic ray, now what? Nearly 80% of 207M passengers already adopted it means 41M passengers have not. I apologize in advance for being overly dramatic. I just flew with a digital boarding pass and my phone nearly died while waiting at the outlet-less gate. I'm sure I could have gotten assistance, but it was stressful.

rixed 1y ago
Empty battery is not unlikely in airports that make it extra-hard to recharge a phone (Looking at you, BER). Long ago it was possible to unplug a vending machine as a last resort, but these days all electrical sockets are concealed, as a measure to prevent overnight stays in airports I believe.
jenadine 1y ago
If you lose your phone or if it's out of battery, you'll get a free boarding pass at the airport as long as you checked in online before getting to the airport. If you didn't check in before, you'll have to pay a 50€ fee. (Same as before) Source: https://www.ryanair.com/gb/en/lp/explore/digital-boarding-pass https://www.ryanair.com/gb/en/lp/explore/digital-boarding-pa...

tmilard 1y ago

Let's be honnest : more and more service will move to "only Smarphone" way. For economic reason (less process so less expences). So what.

codegeek 1y ago

I think requiring app is an overreach. I hate installing apps. If you want to save money and not do paper, I would just do this: - Provide a discount/credit for using electronic digital boarding pass (PDF file, no apps). If someone is not able to use the PDF etc (either their own printout or on their phone) and require a paper pass at the airport for any reason, their discount/credit goes away. Simple.

globular-toast 1y ago

> faster Scanning a QR code from a screen is faster than from a piece of paper? How does that work? > smarter A smart person would carry both a digital and paper copy of their travel documents. > greener Ah, yes, all it takes to make flying "green" is eliminating a single sheet of A4 paper per passenger.

rixed 1y ago
> Ah, yes, all it takes to make flying "green" is eliminating a single sheet of A4 paper per passenger. That's 80% filled with ads...

johnjames87 1y ago

Remember: you can always pick a different airline.

teekert 1y ago
Yes, but also, collectively, democratically, via are laws, we can set where a race to the bottom ends.
subscribed 1y ago
No, I can't. They're the only airline serving the city I have to visit a few times a year. Next two airports are 250 and 350 km away. Not really feasible.
hexbin010 1y ago
Until all other short-haul airlines copy them They already copied many, many other aspects of the low-cost business model, so I'm sure this will follow
- johnjames87 1y ago
  > Until all other short-haul airlines copy them Like it or not, we live in a market economy with market competition. There are new airlines every year. In 2022 there was a net increase of 13 airlines in europe alone. If people want paper boarding passes, some competitor will give it to them. Always been like that in market economies, and socialists will keep fearmongering about "what one company does" like its the end of the world.
  - deleted 1y ago
    [deleted]

colinbartlett 1y ago

Will the app requirement be disclosed at purchase everywhere? IE: If I am buying on a third-party online travel agent, will the checkout process state that in order to board the flight at the cost quoted, that I will need to have a smartphone with the app installed?

Freak_NL 1y ago
There does not appear to be an app requirement after all. You are required to check-in online before heading to the airport though. See: https://www.ryanair.com/gb/en/lp/explore/digital-boarding-pass https://www.ryanair.com/gb/en/lp/explore/digital-boarding-pa...

OptionOfT 1y ago

But why? What is wrong with PDFs? Either printed or digitally? Want to make it a little bit more fancy? Apple Wallet and Google Wallet both support a more fancy setup. Technologically speaking banning the other things is only driven by hoping that people will forget something and they can charge extra. What's next? They 'accidentally' kill the app during boarding. And they can up charge you.

IlikeKitties 1y ago
A printed PDF doesn't sell your data for profit. An App does.
- 9cb14c1ec0 1y ago
  ^ This, and nothing else. There is a dark, evil underbelly to the data broker ecosystem that is largely powered by random apps people install on their phones.

rixed 1y ago

Ryanair basically invented most of the dark patterns that are now prevalent in all travel websites. Back then, the experience was so awful that it was comical (and even inspired a song[0]). Therefore I'm not surprised that they are the first to mandate you install their app on your phone. All other companies that have dreamed of this will be quick to follow suit. Notice the euphemism of calling this "going digital". Everybody is already digital, using a pdf reader on their phone at the terminal, despite some companies discouraging this practice. That's not digital enough, is it? [0]: https://youtu.be/Id-zzOGnN6A?t=102 https://youtu.be/Id-zzOGnN6A?t=102

Freak_NL 1y ago

This announcement is a load of bull. See this page about the new system: https://www.ryanair.com/gb/en/lp/explore/digital-boarding-pass https://www.ryanair.com/gb/en/lp/explore/digital-boarding-pa... > But what if, and what if, and what if? > If you have already checked-in online and your smartphone or tablet dies / is lost, you will receive a free of charge boarding pass at the airport. > If passengers don’t have a smartphone or tablet, as long as they have already checked-in online before arriving at the airport, they will receive a free of charge boarding pass at the airport.

lxgr 1y ago
Wow, this might just be an improvement on the status quo (app optional, but high boarding pass printing fee if it's not used). I don't think this policy will hold up in the face of Ryanair ticket resellers though, since it seems to be pretty clearly designed to make their life harder once again, but free replacement printing would offer them a way out.
jimbokun 1y ago
It's hilarious how many HN commenters claimed these things weren't true without bothering to check.
jakub_g 1y ago
> "If X or Y or Z... you will receive a free of charge boarding pass at the airport" After queueing for 1.5h in a single queue for the entire flight, served by one service crew person.
- hexbin010 1y ago
  And some Swissair agent denying knowledge about this new policy

blululu 1y ago

Ironic that RyanAir’s press release website has a print button as if anyone prints websites. There are a lot of advantages to paper and printers. As a general policy policy point I don’t love this direction. But also it’s RyanAir. This is by far the smallest customer rights violation that they have and will continue to commit. And at this point everyone should know that a 25 quid flight from Manchester to Madrid on RyanAir has a catch. Just be glad your luggage wasn’t jettisoned over the channel to save weight.

bluebarbet 1y ago

A "boarding pass" was always a redundant document anyway. As are "tickets" whenever ID is required for the service in question. The ID has a number on it, in the system that's the ticket. In police states like China, tickets are a thing of the past. That flying - an entirely unsustainable mode of transport - is now widely viewed as a commoditized consumer good is already a form of ethical collapse IMO. Now this. We need regulation. But for that, people need choose it, to vote for it.

dev_hugepages 1y ago

God fucking damn it send me a PDF with a QR code like a reasonable human being

Animats 1y ago

Can you display the boarding pass in a web browser? Allowing a RyanAir app on your phone seems high-risk.

qazxcvbnmlp 1y ago

so many opportunities for shenanigans! 'watch this ad before we give you your boarding pass' 'no boarding pass for you until your group is called' 'ah ha! you have an iPhone 17 pro max instead of a $BUDGET_ANDROID, cool your seat fees will be 20% higher' 'oh you got your boarding pass on this device, but need it on a different device now? cool lets do a device transfer fee'

rwmj 1y ago
Ryanair are probably reading this thread looking for ideas.

HiPhish 1y ago

> but will instead need to use the digital boarding pass generated in their “myRyanair” app during check-in to board their Ryanair flight. And of course it's only possible using a specific proprietary app. You'd think a penny-pinching company would want to use open standard to save money instead of develop a custom app, right? I'm 100% sure this is done intentionally to scoop up as much personal data from their customers.

nutjob2 1y ago
Its so they can collect a fee of 50 euros or pounds off you when your phone battery is flat or the app otherwise doesn't work.
- hleszek 1y ago
  It is said on their website that if you lose your phone or it dies, you can get a free boarding pass at the airport. Source: https://www.ryanair.com/gb/en/lp/explore/digital-boarding-pass https://www.ryanair.com/gb/en/lp/explore/digital-boarding-pa...
  - ranger_danger 1y ago
    This should be at the top of this thread... it practically makes the whole thing a nothingburger.
    - Dylan16807 1y ago
      It moves the app one notch back from mandatory, but that's still enough to be a real problem. That method is going to have very low capacity and if you lie about your phone being dead or elsewhere that might screw you over.
      - ranger_danger 1y ago
        > if you lie about your phone being dead or elsewhere that might screw you over. I would bet money this will never happen, but ok.

xn 1y ago

The airline that inspired at least one passenger to write a song about them: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1SKldiiWm4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1SKldiiWm4

_trampeltier 1y ago

Reminder, soon you need just a strong jammer to stop the world.

fmkamchatka 1y ago

> Will deliver a greener experience LMAO. When you get people on a flight your unprinted paper is meaningless.

jojomodding 1y ago

Even before this, I already had all my > Travel Documents: accessible in one convenient place. in my hand, with it requiring exactly 0 clicks to present the piece of paper to the barcode scanner.

kcartlidge 1y ago

I like how their number one benefit is Order to Seat. In one fell swoop it shows that: * Their priority is revenue above all else (fair enough; honest too) * They are either deceptive or stupid Re the deception/stupidity - if everyone is moving to using the same app, how does everyone "get served first" as per their bullet point?

cromulent 1y ago

Last time I flew Ryanair in July, I presented my phone to the agent to check my boarding pass. She took my phone to scan it. I turned my head to talk to my companion. When I looked back, the agent was in my settings, quietly enabling all the permissions for the app (which I had deliberately disabled). When I (shocked) told her off, she rolled her eyes and said I would need to change them anyway to scan the bag tags. The cheek.

imp0cat 1y ago
Seriously, just pin the app to the screen before handing your phone to anyone. https://www.samsung.com/sg/support/mobile-devices/pin-an-app-to-your-phone-screen-so-that-it-cant-be-closed/ https://www.samsung.com/sg/support/mobile-devices/pin-an-app...
- cromulent 1y ago
  Yep. I naively thought that no-one representing a company would ever do such a thing.
- jakub_g 1y ago
  TIL about App Pinning! It's also available in Android on Pixels.

silisili 1y ago

I have no idea about Europeans, but as an American who's flown a lot recently, the push to smartphone based tickets has been a nightmare. Not because of the tickets, but people aren't seemingly smart or considerate enough to use them correctly. Paper tickets were so fast. Fold, press, beep, done. App based tickets? Constant announcements (I'm talking 10 or more during boarding) to turn your brightness up. Despite that, I saw 1 - 25ish percent of people had dark screens, so the attendant had to take the phone, up the brightness, scan it, then hand it back. 2 - A number of screen with cracks or something (didn't get a good look) that required moving the QR code around to get it to scan. 3 - An alarming number of people who didn't bother to even unlock their phone, who then proceed to fumble with thumbing or face scanning, close whatever they were doing, then go into the app and find their ticket. I'd say the boarding process took at minimum two to three times as long as they did with purely paper tickets.

Arch-TK 1y ago
Temporarily controlling screen brightness is something that, at least on android, the app can do itself... The cracked screen thing - funny. I wonder how long these twats will hold out. I hope by the next time I fly Ryanair, someone has figured out how to emulate the look of the app and extract the relevant data so I don't have to run their garbage malware on my phone in order to have the pleasure to fly a "cheap" airline which bills you for everything after using every dark pattern imaginable when you purchase their tickets.
jerlam 1y ago
While annoying, the boarding pass scanning process usually isn't the bottleneck. After I scanned my boarding pass, I then waited in line in the jet bridge, because people in the plane were busy putting their luggage in the overhead compartments, searching for their seats, moving to let people sit in the window seats, and other assorted activities.
bradlys 1y ago
The paper scanning is hardly the limitation with onboarding. I feel like you never fly because if you did, you’d know the biggest limitation in boarding speed is the inefficient method they use to board people… not the scanning part. If everyone scans efficiently (something you see often at places like SFO), you just are waiting on the jet bridge… It only takes one person who needs to take off their coat before they sit down or has trouble putting their oversized carry on in storage, etc. to completely shutdown onboarding.

john01dav 1y ago

I wonder how these gate agents will react if I show their app throwing a hissy fit and refusing to work when it is blocked from any data mining. No permissions, no google play services, no safetynet, maybe no network. It is non cooperation with their bs, but it looks like a technical issue. And, if it can work without such things, then I hate it much less.

galaxy_gas 1y ago
When you do this they charge you the human assist fee and boarding pass fee or you don't board.
- john01dav 1y ago
  I'd probably pay the fee, take my flight, then charge it back with a reason like "Fee for not using app, app did not work. Fee advertised as optional was not, in fact, optional for me". Completely true statement.
  - criddell 1y ago
    You would win but then Ryanair would ban you from flying with them in the future.
    - john01dav 1y ago
      I don't know about Ryanair, but I've had to reverse credit card transactions due to scams a few times and I've never been banned from other businesses.
      - criddell 1y ago
        Ryanair has a history of banning people who dispute charges.
neximo64 1y ago
Probably thats the goal, so there is a way to charge a fee. Do you not know Ryanair

gkoz 1y ago

> What happens if I lose my smartphone or tablet? > If you have already checked-in online and your smartphone or tablet is lost, you will receive a free of charge boarding pass at the airport. Seems pretty clear what we need to do to stop this nonsense.

jen20 1y ago
Given that Ryanair used to charge to print a boarding pass at the airport, it seems pretty likely their response will just be to do so again. This is a company which literally hates its customers.

Simon_ORourke 1y ago

I'm 100% certain the douche who runs Ryanair is extremely concerned about paper waste.

TheOtherHobbes 1y ago

The last time I flew Ryanair their printed boarding pass didn't work in security. Not even when I went back and got them to print it at the desk. I did eventually get their app to download it, and it was fine in that. So. There's that.

rkagerer 1y ago

Was hoping you could opt out by moving to Morroco, where local regulations bar digital boarding passes. But Ryanair still makes you get digital ones there, and have you redeem it for a physical one at the airport.

jl6 1y ago

Ryanair is best thought of, not as an airline, but as a kind of carnival game that delivers a small monetary prize if you win, and a nasty electric shock if you do it wrong. By playing Ryanair, you have the opportunity to acquire a slightly cheaper flight, and if you can keep a steady hand and navigate the arbitrary rules (each a cunning trap), you can indeed save some money. Good luck.

ninalanyon 1y ago

So i can't fly with Ryanair unless I have smartphone.

ibejoeb 1y ago

Note: You can print a boarding card at the kiosk or agent desk.

fortran77 1y ago

My 92 year old mother will never be able to fly RyanAir. She is unable to use a cell phone.

bfkwlfkjf 1y ago

Reminder what kind of company ryanair is. At one point some 15 (?) years ago ryanair used to charge you 60 euros if you showed up at the boarding gate having only the boarding pass on your phone instead of printed on a piece of paper. There was absolutely no reason for this (their reader reads as well from phone as from paper) other than betting that some fraction of the people would forget to print their boarding pass in paper. And they were right, I saw it in front of me many times and one time almost happened to me. If memory serves me I believe that at the time this was regulated out by the EU.

hdgvhicv 1y ago
20 years ago Ryanair included free baggage - they started charging in 2006.
- bfkwlfkjf 1y ago
  Ok but what you're describing is the classic "be cheaper than competition, gain market share, then raise prices" and is basically how business works. Almost every company does this if they are run well enough to manage to pull it off. Setting up rules to trick customers to make mistakes and then demand 60 euros for printing a sheet of paper is morally dishonest and I would say most don't do this.
bfkwlfkjf 1y ago
Here's another one. I read some headline years ago that the ryanair boss was happy to order as many 737 MAX as he could, despite the planes reputation for problems, because if you make the flights cheap enough, people will still fly on it. I have no doubt he's right, but says something about him and the company.
- extraduder_ire 1y ago
  They have a history of buying a lot of planes whenever there's a chance to get them cheaper. Typically, they sell planes for more than they cost to buy new. For the 737 max at least, they built a simulator training facility in Dublin so they could train their pilots faster for when the max returned to flight. I wouldn't take anything their CEO says at face value though. He's often saying provocative things just to get news coverage (cheaper and more effective than traditional advertising), and admits to that himself.

eqvinox 1y ago

I specifically don't use smartphone boarding passes when travelling (on full service airlines, mostly LH group), just so they get the statistic of me using paper. (The barcode has an 'issue type' field, it's a single character and generally the only difference between digital QR and paper PDF417 contents.) (I collect paper boarding passes and want them to stay ;)

nunclieh 1y ago

People who don't have a smartphone can ask Ryanair at the airport to print the boarding pass for free provided they did the online check-in. I don't understand the reasoning here: how is this different than before? Why isn't this more costly for Ryanair?

lunias 1y ago

Reminder to airlines ahead of move to more BS for your customers: You provide one of the most enshittified experiences ever conceived. I have been, and will continue avoiding flying at all costs until the customer is considered again.

rurban 1y ago

This requires free USB loading stations at their gates. Do they provide these? I don't think so

wicharek 1y ago

Lots of negativity in the comments. I however see no issue. I have been using digital boarding passes forever and have no idea why would I want a paper one ever.