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Ryanair to abolish check-in desks



 
 
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  #11  
Old February 22nd, 2009, 10:00 AM posted to rec.travel.europe,uk.railway,uk.politics.misc
Neil Williams[_2_]
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Posts: 131
Default Ryanair to abolish check-in desks

On Sat, 21 Feb 2009 13:17:32 -0800 (PST), Lord Truscott of
Brownenvelope wrote:

Ryanair has confirmed it plans to close all of its airport check-in
desks by the end of the year in a bid to reduce the cost of its
flights.


This probably will reduce costs a fair bit as they currently handle
check-ins manually using a bit of paper and a pen (to avoid having to
pay to use the airport computer systems), so it's quite
labour-intensive.

And I don't think I have a problem with something that allows you to
skip pointless and tedious queues at an airport. I always check in
online anyway when the option is available. Hopefully FR will go for
the easyJet style option of allowing it *way* in advance.

Neil

--
Neil Williams
Put my first name before the at to reply.
  #12  
Old February 22nd, 2009, 10:01 AM posted to rec.travel.europe,uk.railway,uk.politics.misc
Neil Williams[_2_]
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Posts: 131
Default Ryanair to abolish check-in desks

On Sat, 21 Feb 2009 15:47:42 -0800 (PST), The Real Doctor
wrote:

Am I right in thinking that the online check in restriction is on
traveling with infants - ie less than two years old, sharing a seat?


Not sure, but if that is the case the obvious solution[1] would be a
change in policy to a situation where all passengers require a
paid-for seat, no concessions.

[1] In usual Ryanair style, you don't have to *like* it...

Neil

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Neil Williams
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  #13  
Old February 22nd, 2009, 10:04 AM posted to rec.travel.europe,uk.railway,uk.politics.misc
Neil Williams[_2_]
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Posts: 131
Default Ryanair to abolish check-in desks

On Sat, 21 Feb 2009 21:56:42 +0000, Roland Perry
wrote:

That's a somewhat different agenda, and could be assisted by allowing a
much more generous carry-on allowance.


The issue with this, apart from that it's the Government and BAA that
restrict it by size and to 2 items (all airports now?), is that there
won't be room for it all. Didn't Ryanair announce recently that even
your shopping has to fit in the "one bag" in order to try to reduce
this issue?

That said, they could perhaps consider fitting larger luggage areas to
the passenger cabin, though this would reduce seats, and unlike XC
(say) they can't exactly take a standing load.

Neil

--
Neil Williams
Put my first name before the at to reply.
  #14  
Old February 22nd, 2009, 10:08 AM posted to rec.travel.europe,uk.railway,uk.politics.misc
Neil Williams[_2_]
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Posts: 131
Default Ryanair to abolish check-in desks

On Sun, 22 Feb 2009 00:51:10 +0000, Joe wrote:

Is the purpose of checking in to actually check that you are present
though?


I think so. I have been told on more than one occasion by a member of
KLM staff that my policy of always checking in online even if it seems
a bit of a waste of effort when you've got a checked bag was a
sensible idea, as those who check in online on KLM almost never get
bumped.

How will this work with things like double booking which some
airlines seem to do?


Ryanair and easyJet don't generally overbook except for when there are
serious operational issues, and even then I believe it tends to be the
person who was booked on last who gets bumped if there turns out not
to be space for them (so more like a standby than a true overbooking).

While it might up profits slightly if they did, they don't really need
to, as unlike on a traditional airline someone can't change their mind
on whether to fly or not and get a refund at the last minute. So the
seat is usually paid for whether someone is sitting in it or not, and
given Ryanair's "sod off" policy when it comes to problems, I think
too much chance of being turned away on the day would destroy any
credibility they had left.

Neil

--
Neil Williams
Put my first name before the at to reply.
  #15  
Old February 22nd, 2009, 10:14 AM posted to rec.travel.europe,uk.railway,uk.politics.misc,alt.travel.uk.air
Roland Perry[_1_]
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Posts: 510
Default Ryanair to abolish check-in desks

In message , at 09:01:31 on Sun,
22 Feb 2009, Neil Williams remarked:
Am I right in thinking that the online check in restriction is on
traveling with infants - ie less than two years old, sharing a seat?


Not sure, but if that is the case the obvious solution[1] would be a
change in policy to a situation where all passengers require a
paid-for seat, no concessions.


Having an infant in tow is one of the reasons for currently needing to
check in. I can't see why a large party doesn't split its booking into
"people with infants" and "people without" if they wish to avoid the
queue. The Ryanair website claims that check-in fees are refunded if
you've been "forced" into checking in with an infant (but only for the
person *with* the infant - clearly a hint to split the booking as
above).

I expect most people travelling with infants have "too much" baggage
(I've seen people with up to *six* bags trying to pretend they only have
one) and the requirement to check in is to sort that out as early as
possible, rather than at the gate.
--
Roland Perry
  #16  
Old February 22nd, 2009, 10:19 AM posted to rec.travel.europe,uk.railway,uk.politics.misc,alt.travel.uk.air
Roland Perry[_1_]
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Posts: 510
Default Ryanair to abolish check-in desks

In message , at 09:08:06 on Sun,
22 Feb 2009, Neil Williams remarked:
On Sun, 22 Feb 2009 00:51:10 +0000, Joe wrote:

Is the purpose of checking in to actually check that you are present
though?


I think so. I have been told on more than one occasion by a member of
KLM staff that my policy of always checking in online even if it seems
a bit of a waste of effort when you've got a checked bag was a
sensible idea, as those who check in online on KLM almost never get
bumped.


But that's a "full service" [tm] airline which does overbook. Ryanair
isn't (either of those).

How will this work with things like double booking which some
airlines seem to do?


unlike on a traditional airline someone can't change their mind
on whether to fly or not and get a refund at the last minute.


Is a good reason why the "full service" airlines will double-book,
because there is a non-trivial expectation that many of the passengers
won't turn up, some may even have multiple [refundable] tickets for
different times of day.

The "full service" airline may also give free upgrades to selected
passengers into Business and even First, to free up more seats in the
back of the plane - rather than flying with empty seats up front and
economy passengers refused travel. Some will try to sell the upgrades
(using a mixture of points and money) at the gate, before doing free
upgrades.

--
Roland Perry
  #17  
Old February 22nd, 2009, 10:23 AM posted to rec.travel.europe,uk.railway,uk.politics.misc
Mel Rowing
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Posts: 38
Default Ryanair to abolish check-in desks

On Feb 21, 10:13*pm, "tim....." wrote:
"disgoftunwells" wrote in message


Will they change their policy of not allowing on-line check-in for the
entire group if travelling with a toddler in the party. Or will it be
more efficient to insist that toddlers are checked in with the rest of
the hold baggage?


I wonder what they will do after they get a few fines for allowing people
with Non EU passports to travel to a country that they don't have a visa
for!


Passport control is nothing to do with airlines.

They check your passport at the boarding gate anyway to ensure that
you are the person named on the boarding pass. If upon reaching your
destination you are refused entry then they are obliged to carry you
back. That is of course, provided you still have the documentation to
how who carried you in the first place and do not claim asylum.

I think I have had my last flight with Ryanair. It's no longer the
deal it used to be. My latest jaunt was by Swiss International from
London City. I can recommend London City over the others for a start.
My flight took me straight into a main airport and not one 100 miles
away.We thus saved on transport costs at the other end, We had an
allocated seat and refreshments were served en route. It cost us just
over £30 extra.

  #18  
Old February 22nd, 2009, 10:28 AM posted to rec.travel.europe,uk.railway,uk.politics.misc,alt.travel.uk.air
Roland Perry[_1_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 510
Default Ryanair to abolish check-in desks

In message , at 09:00:04 on Sun,
22 Feb 2009, Neil Williams remarked:
Ryanair has confirmed it plans to close all of its airport check-in
desks by the end of the year in a bid to reduce the cost of its
flights.


This probably will reduce costs a fair bit as they currently handle
check-ins manually using a bit of paper and a pen (to avoid having to
pay to use the airport computer systems), so it's quite
labour-intensive.


I can't see how it will save much labour at the majority of airports.
They will still have a "bag drop" [and I bet at least some of the
current "check-in compulsory" categories will become "bag drop
compulsory"] with probably at least two people even at outposts. One of
the reasons they close the check-in early, of course, is so the same
people can go airside and double as gate staff.

I hope it doesn't get as bad as some small USA airports, where they run
the system with just two employees - one "outbound" front of house and
one doing *everything* else, including on the apron - waving the
airplane in, unloading and loading bags (including putting them on the
belt and taking complaints about missing bags) etc.
--
Roland Perry
  #19  
Old February 22nd, 2009, 10:36 AM posted to rec.travel.europe,uk.railway,uk.politics.misc,alt.travel.uk.air
Roland Perry[_1_]
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Posts: 510
Default Ryanair to abolish check-in desks

In message , at 09:04:04 on Sun,
22 Feb 2009, Neil Williams remarked:
That's a somewhat different agenda, and could be assisted by allowing a
much more generous carry-on allowance.


The issue with this, apart from that it's the Government and BAA that
restrict it by size and to 2 items (all airports now?),


The "2 items" is a bid to reduce security queues, but I don't think the
*airports* have an agenda to restrict carry-on size, other than as part
of a general agreement with the airlines. In fact I think Heathrow is
the only airport where I've seen the "does your bag fit" gauges (in the
transit area) and policed by security people - rather than at the
check-in desk or the gate and policed by the airline staff.

From my observations at EMA, the gate gauges are used primarily to
extract some extra revenue from passengers whose bags are half an inch
too big, rather than to trap those people with hugely oversize bags.

is that there won't be room for it all.


Easyjet seems to cope.

Didn't Ryanair announce recently that even your shopping has to fit in
the "one bag" in order to try to reduce this issue?


I noticed such a rule, didn't know how new it was.

That said, they could perhaps consider fitting larger luggage areas to
the passenger cabin, though this would reduce seats, and unlike XC
(say) they can't exactly take a standing load.


Came back from Berlin on a very new Ryanair plane last week (first time
I've flown with them in perhaps 15 years) and was very impressed at the
size of the luggage bins (much larger than normal - actually had to
stand on a seat to reach my bag which had slid to the back of the bin)
and also lots of space under the seats.
--
Roland Perry
  #20  
Old February 22nd, 2009, 10:41 AM posted to rec.travel.europe,uk.railway,uk.politics.misc,alt.travel.uk.air
Roland Perry[_1_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 510
Default Ryanair to abolish check-in desks

In message
, at
01:23:34 on Sun, 22 Feb 2009, Mel Rowing
remarked:

Will they change their policy of not allowing on-line check-in for the
entire group if travelling with a toddler in the party. Or will it be
more efficient to insist that toddlers are checked in with the rest of
the hold baggage?


I wonder what they will do after they get a few fines for allowing people
with Non EU passports to travel to a country that they don't have a visa
for!


Passport control is nothing to do with airlines.


Of course it is. If the airline flies someone who does not have the
credentials to enter the destination country, they get a hefty fine from
the authorities (as well as having to arrange to take them back).

If it's a low-cost doing a 25 minute turnaround, the plane will usually
be long gone by the time the passenger has "failed" immigration checks.

Where a country has apply-in-advance visas then the airline will do even
more stringent checks, sometimes using a specialist and not just the
regular check in staff.
--
Roland Perry
 




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