A Merry F**king Christmas to Ryanair.

Big Chief

Severe dissatisfaction.

I had my flight from dublin to glasgow at 2:45..

I leave my house at 1pm to get it, traffic in dublin is an absoloute nightmare, my checktime at latest is 2:05pm..

I finally reach the airport and go straight to the ryanair desk at 2:10pm, they refuse me entrance, i beg them, this is the first christmas my whole family including brothers and sisters will be fully together in 3 years, no compassion from a snarly little cow at the ryanair desk, really really cheesed off, no more flights to scotland today through ryanair and she showed absoloutley no compassion for my situation and turned me away. I go back to the desk 10 mins later and beg some more, turn me away yet again.

I would just like to wish a merry christmas to the *****rs in ryanair, first time ive flew with you in ages as i usually go aer lingus and stunts like this do nothing but tarnish a already shìt reputation.

I am MAN

thats terrible, hope you work something out for today

Big Chief

and all i had was hand luggage, i did say i could run as there was no need to check in my bags and that it was a 5 min walk to the departure lounge.. really is a disgrace

I am MAN

I watch the program "Airport" quite a bit and they are usually alot more generous and esp being xmas eve and just hand luggage...disgrace really.

is it looking likely that something will be sorted today?

I feel for ya!

An Fear Aniar

You should have left the house earlier. You've only got yourself to blame.

You know that Ryanair doesn't do any frills - either catch your flight or miss it.

steveland?

That's really crap Big Chief.

I read something a while ago about Michael O'Leary. There was a guy who's flight had been cancelled by Ryanair and he wasn't going to get home to his family. He saw Michael O'Leary being interviewed in the airport so he went over and made a huge scene shouting at him.

Michael O'Leary stopped the interview and asked the man how often he visited his family. The man said once every two weeks or so cos he has to work abroad. Then O'Leary asked him how many times he visited his family before Ryanair came along and the man said he only saw them once a year or so. So he hugged Michael O'Leary and thanked him in front of the cameras from the interview....

Just an interesting story I though, although it's no help to you Big Chief...

Sorry buddy, hope you get a flight tomorrow or sometime soon

Suaimhneach

I hope you have a happy Xmas dispite all that.

That really sucks.

Canis Lupus

Thats utter muck.... I could say u should have left earlier but thats reeeeeeeeeeeally reeeeeeeally low by the check in girl. It's xmas eve and yur travelling home..... Feel real sorry for ya chief and I hope someone ****s that girls xmas up for her.

Stark

Michael O'Leary stopped the interview and asked the man how often he visited his family. The man said once every two weeks or so cos he has to work abroad. Then O'Leary asked him how many times he visited his family before Ryanair came along and the man said he only saw them once a year or so. So he hugged Michael O'Leary and thanked him in front of the cameras from the interview....

That's crap, the guy runs a business. "Thank you Michael O'Leary for accepting my money" :rolleyes:

And yeah hard luck Big Chief. That girl behind the counter sounds like a right snooty cow and hopefully karma comes to her this Christmas. I only fly with Aer Lingus if I can. I know they're not much better these days, but at least they're not completely anally retentive. Roll on Easyjet's arrival to the market.

mad m

Brutal!!! they probably sold your ticket to a standby.

Big Chief

got a 14.99 flight to glasgow from aer lingus site at 8:40 tonight, feeling a bit better now.

An Fear Aniar = i thought over an hour was ample time for getting to the air port from leeson street air coach since i stay in the city centre, i usually only leave 40 mins or so and ive never missed a flight yet in the many i get to visit back home. Just the fact it was 5 minutes and it being christmas eve and all, i never gave her any agro apart from begging and explaining my situation and she acted stuck up and well, lets shall we say not the attitude i would expect.

mad m

ah great to hear big chief you got a ticket.....have a good one....

Chong

Fair play to ya Big Chief Damn Ryanair.

Red Alert

i've noticed that with a lot of check in people - they seem to suffer from some inferiority complex and then make people pay! never met a helpful check in person.

boo4842

Anyone else read that Ryanair book?

Needless to say, they pretty much pride themselves on not offering good customer service.

-One flight was delayed almost 24 hours in Luton. No one apologized, no one offered anyone a free hotel. THey all had to sleep in the terminal.

-Another flight stranded in Beavais, everyone was kicked out and not allowed to sleep in the terminal, as it closed at 10. Ryanair offered bus fair into town only to get a hotel, max 5 euros.

-Another 100 or so stranded passengers were offered cots in a hanger when the plane was cancelled indefinately. They thought the passengers might be stranded in France for a week, but managed to get a flight a few days later.

- The 1 millionth passenger who won free flights for life was told that she no longer would be recieving them. After a 4 month court battle she finally won compensation.

-Passengers with disabilites have to pay for their own wheel chairs. Some have been left stranded at gates because the staff have claimed they are not insured to help them on/off the plane.

Bottom line, Ryanair don't care about you. They are making money whether you are happy or not. They charge 15 euros for a flight, don't expect anything else. If you missed a bus, you miss a bus - its not going to wait around for you.

Also note that flight time is flight time, the time it takes off. Everyone should be on the plane at least 20 mins before this. Everyone, has been annoyed sitting there waiting for one eejit that couldn't get to the airport on time and delayed the other 120 people on the flight.

Eurorunner

Horrible for something like that to happen but you were very lucky to get sorted out with aer lingus for such a low fare.

Having said that, punctuality is a big deal to ryanair these days. It happened to me a couple of months ago too - and whilst i thought at the time it was badness on their part not to let me through with just hand luggage, they are putting a lot of emphasis on punctuality.
This wouldnt have happened a couple of years ago. I can remember dropping a friend of mine off twice for ryanair flights that were due to leave - and he got on no bother! But then they were coming in for a lot of stick for not sticking to timetables,etc.
As regards check-in, well its christmas eve, a ****ty day to work that job for sure - and she probably just didnt have any say in the matter anyways. In my case, they rang through to the dept. gate to check if there was any possibility.

ShiverinEskimo

What pisses ne off about ryanair the most is that they cash in on the christmas time hugely. With everyone going a little heavier luggage wise they are uber strict on their excess baggage charges - knowing everyone will have extra crap when they get pressies and stuff. I had to pay 90 euro going back one between me and my girlfriend. They are pure money hungry bastards..Like dealing with robots, they don't care, they aint paid to care. I have never met a single friendly employee..they are all snotty ****ers who think they are better than you - drive me ****ing mental they do. And they wonder why people don't be in a rush from the bar when the flight is called, treat people like scum and they will act like it..

Dub13

Stark wrote:

Roll on Easyjet's arrival to the market.

Dont get your hopes up...EasyJet are just as bad if not worse than RyanAir.

lomb

listen ShiverinEskimo at the end of the day u know what there like, if u choose to deal with them accept them. they arent holding a gun to ur head. u wanted to take the luggage and they charged u for it so what.
however it would be bad if u didnt know what there like and they releaved u of 90 euros.
at the end of the day ryanair have reduced airfares in europe considerably. they are wan%^& and will /may get whats coming to them in 10 years. it will take this much time for other players in europe to get to their costmodel. its already happening as we speak. eventually customer service may play a part in who u choose to travel with as they all charge roughly the same give or take a bit.
ryanair were the first in europe copying a successful usa model. i certainly would not be investing in ryaniar as soon they will have lots of competition. god only knows they dont have any real good will. this is why the share price has crashed and will fall much further. its a very unstable business.

jonny68

I do sympathise with you big chief,ive had so much ****e myself with ryanair that i could almost write a book about it,they are the single worst airline for customer service hands down..really pathetic..hope everything worked out in the end for you.......

jonny68

An Fear Aniar wrote:

You should have left the house earlier. You've only got yourself to blame.

You know that Ryanair doesn't do any frills - either catch your flight or miss it.

Yeah well if it happened to you i bet you wouldnt be coming out with crap like this..........

jester77

Dub13 wrote:

Dont get your hopes up...EasyJet are just as bad if not worse than RyanAir.

Well I would have to disagree. I remember having to wait over 30 mins at the train station in Paris to catch a taxi to the airport. As a result I arrived 5 mins after the checkin time. As has happened with Ryanair a few times they wouldn't let me on board, however unlike Ryanair the checkin girl said she would put me on the next flight with an available seat at no cost. Fair play, any time that has happened on a Ryanair flight I've ended up having to pay over 100 sterling to get on the next flight!

ArphaRima

I just hope that people who get done over by different companies actually learn from their mistakes and refrain from giving them business in future. A few more quid will get you a flight with another airline, from a better airport, served by better public transport, and not cost you extortionate baggage fees.

Lump

HA HA, Ryanair say leave two hours to check in, what were you doing arriving 5 minutes late, if you'd done what they suggested, ie arrive at 12.45 for a 2.45 take off, even if you had been and hour late you still would have arrived on time. You just didn't want to sit around the airport for maybe an hour.... you have no one to blame but yourself. Stop moaning. Ryanair have rules like EVERY other airline. They, like other airlines stick to them. Crap, I know.... but tough. It's madness anyway arriving at the latest possible time you can... it's christmas, checkin could have been packed, security etc etc.

John

Agent Smith

as its been said before...

thats what you get for a cheep fare.


by the way, ryanair staff get bounus's for being on time.

el rabitos

yeah, sucks to be you and all that. but what do you want for €30. i mean. i think ryanair rules. a hundred or so other people were on the plane u missed and they all got home for xmas on time. so its your fault jerky. the fact that it was a bitch at the desk just rubbed in the fact that you should have got off ur ass earliar. merry xmas

super_furry

Ryanair are ****, but I still use them because they're so cheap. You get what you pay for, and therefore I always make sure that I never give them any excuse to mess me about. If I'm flying with them, I'll always make sure I'm in the airport an hour before check-in with exactly the right weight luggage - I'll even check it on the bathroom weighing scales.

They're basically just looking for an excuse to rip you off, so if you use them, make sure you don't give them one.

Deadwing

I do feel sorry for you, its a total headwrecker, but as said, you really do only have yourself to blame. Check ins are 2 hours beforehand for a reason. That reason is so you dont miss your plane by arriving 5 minutes after boarding.

Mercury_Tilt

This post has been deleted.

RainyDay

It can't be that much of a surprise that traffic around the airport was much heavier than usual on Xmas Eve. You were asking for trouble leaving your house at 1pm for a 2.05 pm check-in. It is not just a question of how fast you could run to the departure gate. Once they have closed the flight and confirmed the numbers, if they were to take any extra passengers, they would have to redo a whole pile of paperwork & admin, and would risk delaying the other 100 or so other passengers who made sure they got there on time.

Glad to hear you got home safely, though.

Lump

Yea, ryanair only puts on enough fuel for the weight that the plane is carrying (ok it's more complex then that) But the dispatcher has a load of safety paperwork etc to fill in, and you arriving 5 minutes late means that it takes you 3 minutes to check in, 3 minutes to run to the plane, a couple of minutes to get on/settled, the chance that they have to re-do the safety announcement 2 minutes, then the added time to re-do paper work, 5 minutes, that's a delay of 18 minutes.... if they then have to close up and taxi to the runway it's highly likely that they'll miss there spot for taking off... Ryanair are cheap because they are allocated take off/landing times.... if they miss them, they have to wait for the next available one.... could be in 2 hours time. I'm sure the 100+ people on the plane would love you if they had to sit on the tarmac for 2 hours becuase yuo were only "5 minutes late". I hate people that moan about Ryanair/easyjet.... Pay €200 to fly with Aerlingus.... if you are late with them, they still won't let you on the flight. So STFU.


John

A Dub in Glasgo

Leaving at 1pm was way too late for a last check-in of 2.05pm. Ryanair have its policy of closing the gate 40 minutes prior to take off. They very rarely move from this policy, blaming traffic holdups in Dublin City Centre is not going to cut it and it is not really unexpected.

They could have dealt with it better but ultimately, it was your own fault you missed that flight!

Ryanair have been the reason I have flown back to Dublin from Prestwick much much more since they flew here as I remember what it was like flying with Aer Lingus as the only operator to Glasgow. It was bloody expensive and I probably travel 3 times as much to Dublin than when AL had the monopoly.

A Dub in Glasgo

fluffer wrote:

I just hope that people who get done over by different companies actually learn from their mistakes and refrain from giving them business in future. A few more quid will get you a flight with another airline, from a better airport, served by better public transport, and not cost you extortionate baggage fees.

Dublin to Prestwick Airport as against Dublin to Glasgow Airport

Prestwick Airport has a walkway from the Airport to a train station and the train takes 45 minutes into the centre of Glasgow with half price travel. Glasgow airport does not have a train service.

Dublin Airport is the same for both airlines, Glasgow Aiport is not better than Prestick Airport. Glasgow Airport does not have better public transport links although it is closer to Glasgow and with hand luggague, there is no difference in baggage fees.

therecklessone

Everyone else seems to have something to say, so I'll join in.

Big Chief, they could have been nicer to you given the day that was in it, but rules are rules. Let you through, and next week its somebody who has to make a flight for a funeral/wedding/interview. Or "I'm meeting somebody the other side, and they're driving for three hours to collect me, and I have no way to contact them".

Leaving the City at 1pm for a 2.05pm check-in is lethal. You have no idea what you will encounter along the way. What if there'd been a major accident at the Port Tunnel works and the traffic was at a stand still? What if you'd spent 30 minutes waiting on a bus because the one you'd expected to get broke down around the corner? Todays lesson is...plan to arrive at the airport at least 1.5 hours before the flight departs, 2 hours if possible. Give yourself time to recover from a mishap.

You reckoned you'd make it to the gate in 35 minutes? I spent 40 minutes queing to get through security in Stansted during the summer, what if you'd encountered a similar delay? More importantly, the check in staff have no way to trust that you will go straight to the gate, rather than an amble through duty free or a quick pint or three. They let you through and you're a late arrival at the gate? Possible slot missed, and they will get a severe dressing down. Would you risk losing your job to help a complete stranger on Xmas Eve?

Finally, if people were unhappy with Ryanair they wouldn't fly with them. The airline has prospered for the last ten years, because it gives the vast majority of its customers exactly what they want. I've had bags lost by British Midland, flights cancelled with SAS, and I've been snarled at by Aer Lingus staff. The worst I've got from Ryanair? A couple of minutes late, and thats after 30 or so flights with them. That said, if things do go wrong I don't expect any compassion, but then I doubt I get that for my €40 flight.

Glad you got out with EI by the way, hope you enjoyed the Xmas.

/me crosses fingers that 11.30 to Stansted departs on time tomorrow, else I ain't seeing Spurs vs Palace...

Like others have said, it's your own fault. You know right well what the traffic in Dublin is like, you should have left earlier. All airlines recommend that you arrive at least 2 hours in advance of the flight time for a reason. I know it's too late now, but I would never give myself an hour to get to the airport in check in. I just flew to Madrid last week and gave myself 2 hours before the check in even opened to get the bus into town and the Aircoach out to the airport. I had an hour to wait before the check-in even opened which was boring and a waste of time, but I didn't even want to risk arriving late. I went to check-in 25 mins before the time and there was already a queue. There was a problem with the bag weighing and it took me over an hour and a half to check in. I ended up only having 30 mins to spare, to eat my lunch and whatever, before I had to be at the boarding gate.

If you want to be the smart arse who turns up last to check in, avoiding the queues and going straight to the boarding gate, you run the risk of arriving late and being refused. If you can't take the consequences, don't take the risk. I can't believe you had the cheek to blame Ryanair for this when it was clearly your own fault. Why should they let you potentially hold up all the people who made the effort to arrive on time?

dudara

i thought over an hour was ample time for getting to the air port from leeson street air coach since i stay in the city centre

sorry that this happened to you, but that was your mistake right there. Even if the road was clear from the city centre all the way to the airport, I'd still give that trip 2 hours minimum.

Ryanair are very clear about their check-times, it can suck sometimes, especially like what happened to you, getting caught by only a few minutes, but thems the rules.

Dub13

I live very close to the Airport (Baldoyle) and I would give at LEAST an hour to get there....most times I give two hours,and again my house is only a couple of miles away.

elexes

i usually try and plan to be at the checkin desk about 30 mins befor it plans to open . i cant rember a flight i was on where i was not at the desk after the member of the flight crew .

tbh tho u should of know bing x-mass the roads would of been jammered with ppl trying to get home its the same every year and u did leave it a bit late to leave .

but for the sake of 5 mins i cant see why the girl couldnt just let u on ? should of looked to speek to her manager or simular unless the q's for security were 30 mins long .

at liest u rebooked with a propper airline .

Red Alert

it's just that their staff seem so rude all the time. we were always told at work to be at least courteous to people - seems like ryanair forgot that part of the training.

Lump

I know someone that used work for ryanair.... They are put under soooo much pressure by management. They get bollocked if they dont call some one Sir or madame, even if they are talking to a friend that is flying with ryanair. Also they have to fill out massive amounts of paper work if they slip. In the end of the day, it's more important to keep the plane running on time for 150 people that are on time then to make it run late for one wanker that arrives late.

I can see how check in people get stressed some times, they get a lot of grief from people who don't read the rules of carraige before packing... they then arrive with 12 bags, each of which weights near on 2 tonne, and they bitch and moan when they get charged for being over weight.

John

cujimmy

A Dub in Glasgo wrote:

Leaving at 1pm was way too late for a last check-in of 2.05pm. Ryanair have its policy of closing the gate 40 minutes prior to take off. They very rarely move from this policy, blaming traffic holdups in Dublin City Centre is not going to cut it and it is not really unexpected.

They could have dealt with it better but ultimately, it was your own fault you missed that flight!

Ryanair have been the reason I have flown back to Dublin from Prestwick much much more since they flew here as I remember what it was like flying with Aer Lingus as the only operator to Glasgow. It was bloody expensive and I probably travel 3 times as much to Dublin than when AL had the monopoly.

Me too. When I first started to travel Glasgow to Dublin in 1990 it cost me £79(stg) return booking 4 weeks in advance. now is what £15 -£20 each way

Da_cOmRaDe_MiKe

i would have got to the desk and basically said can i speak to your supervisor please.

Lump

Da_cOmRaDe_MiKe wrote:

i would have got to the desk and basically said can i speak to your supervisor please.

They would have said the same thing

Be on time Numb Nuts

John

Slutmonkey57b

1: You booked with Ryanair, this was very stupid, you deserve whatever you get.
2: You assumed there'd be no traffic on CHRISTMAS EVE!! Stupid, stupid, stupid. You deserve whatever you get.
3: You booked with Ryanair, you deserve whatever you get.

Never ever complain about Ryanair's service, I have no sympathy for you. Learn your lesson and book through a different airline.

janullrich

A few months ago I had a crap experience with Easyjet where they delayed my flight two and a half hours from Berlin so I missed the connecting flight with Ryanair in Luton. Bottom line is that I will never fly with either of these robbers again regardless of cost (or try to). Easyjet and Ryanair are just the same. Robbers with useful service.

okidoki987

I would never take a flight on Christmas Eve.
Too many things can go wrong.

In the UK there is "Airport" on TV, why doesn't RTE or TV3 do a series "IRISH AIRPORT" or something and then the likes of Ryanair will get the real publicity they deserve for their lack of customer service.

Bard

Dub13 wrote:

I live very close to the Airport (Baldoyle) and I would give at LEAST an hour to get there....most times I give two hours,and again my house is only a couple of miles away.

I live in Dundalk and it takes me about an hour for me to drive to Dublin Airport. Although I'm not the most organised person in the world I'd still allow 2 hours just to get there and make sure I'm there in plenty of time (shortly before the checkin desk opens). Frankly you do have nobody to blame but yourself - it's a bitch that you missed your flight but it's your own fault. You were late. I'd be pissed off if it happened to me, sure - but rules is rules.

I rarely fly Ryanair though. No frills my arse. To paraphrase Billy Connolly.. "Today I'll have multiple frills! Give me frills and plenty of them my dear! I'll tell you when to stop."

Red Alert

ok i'm sure i get this - one minute they're being berated for not calling someone sir/madam then the next they're being rude! seems like a screwed up outfit.

BuffyBot

the likes of Ryanair will get the real publicity they deserve for their lack of customer service

If you look at Airline, you'll see that easyJet actually come out looking a lot better than the passengers 99% of the time...

Gilgamesh

hwy is everybody talking about 'Service' in relation to Ryanair. the only service they offer is to get you from point A to B, if YOU FOLLOW THEIR GUIDELINES!!
don't think that they are making a forutne by allegidly ripping people off.
if a person is 20 minutes late getting onto the plane, they loose their take off window and it can cost them a fortune for therefore interrupting flight traffic on an airport.
Other companies have this issue too, but they deal with it differently.
my advise is therefore only. BE there WAY ON TIME, then you won't have that problem.
if you call a decent Taxi company they recommend you to leave yourself AT LEAST 2 hours to get there

The_Conductor

I was flying to Lisbon via Paris CDG with Cityjet on the day before Christmas eve, in order to be with family. I bought the ticket online 6 months in advance. The flight leaving Dublin was delayed by over an hour- meaning I had precisely 6 minutes to Departure (not check-in) from Paris to Lisbon. They held the flight in Paris for me..... On arrival at Lisbon my luggage was not there (given the fact that I had bypassed security in Paris and raced to the plane, I wasn't too surprised). I was assured by the lady at the AirFrance desk in Lisbon airport that a staff member would personally deliver my luggage to me the following day and that I could expect it between 2PM and 3PM (despite the fact that it was a goodly distance over 50km, and there is a policy of only delivering luggage to the nearest bus station over 50km). I was given the name of the staff member, and a contact number for them to confirm the details. At precisely 2PM the following day I was called on my mobile for more precise directions- and my luggage was hand delivered 20 minutes later.

On my return flight yesterday it was delayed leaving Lisbon, and then further delayed because of headwinds. Once again our passage through security in Paris was expedited, and the flight caught.

Book online, in plenty of time, and you will most likely find offers from the main carriers not too far off those you might expect from the budget carriers, but with a vastly better service.

I cannot commend Cityjet/AirFrance highly enough.

Essentially- its a case of you get what you pay for. If you have unrealistic expectations- you will, likely, be dissappointed. Shop around- we're no longer stuck with a monopoly situation, and if you're willing to pay a few pence extra for peace of mind- the options are there.