Low cost airlines – a flight of fancy!

By Prionsias O'Mahony Saturday May 24th, 2008

SUMMER is here and despite the deepening economic gloom, it’s a safe bet that many of us will opt to head abroad for our holliers, attracted by the promise of cheap Ryanair flights.

Or are they? A recent article in The Independent, the respected British newspaper, described Ryanair’s fares as ‘flights of fancy’. ‘Buying a ticket from Ryanair’s website is an experience that leaves me enraged,’ the journalist writes. ‘Although the front page flashes adverts about free or low-cost flights, the starting price no longer bears any resemblance to how much you'll finally end up paying.’

Labour politician Kathleen Lynch agrees, opining that the notion of low fares with Ryanair is ‘close to becoming a joke.’

How come?

The basic accusation is that the money consumers save on the headline price is lost after all the hidden fees and taxes are added in. For example, I’ve just logged on to the Ryanair website and checked out a return flight from Cork to London in June. The fare is 99 cents each way, giving a total of just ?1.98. After the ubiquitous ‘taxes and fees’, however, that rises to ?58.70, or almost thirty times the initial figure. That’s not all. Each item of luggage checked in at the airport attracts a charge – for both legs of the journey. I decide to check in one bag at the airport only to see that an extra ?30 has been added to the bill (clicking on ‘two bags and airport check-in’ attracts a charge of ?70).

I'm then asked if I would like to be one of the first passengers to board to the aircraft. Ryanair does not allocate seats – it’s first come, first served. One angry internet commentator says that ‘boarding resembles a cattle stampede and free for all rush’, so I decide to pay for priority boarding – another tenner. The website then asks me to ‘confirm country of residence to purchase travel and medical insurance’. Critics complain that the wording is misleading, giving the impression that this insurance is obligatory. It’s not, but anyone who believes this to be the case sees their bill rise by another fourteen euro. I purchase the insurance and watch my bill rise to ?112.70.

a far cry

That's not the end of the matter. Booking by credit card means a ?4 each-way charge, bringing the end total to ?120.70 – a far cry from the headline figure of ?1.98.

As for the flight itself – if you fancy a bottle of water, or a sandwich, or a quick scan of the newspaper, you’ll end up coughing up more again. Nor should you assume that you’ll be landed in the nearest airport – for example, Ryanair's flights to Frankfurt actually take you to Hahn, which is 75 miles away.

Other points of note? Flights are usually non-refundable and non-changeable. Flight deadlines are enforced – don’t expect the pilot to wait around if you’ve gotten delayed in the duty-free.

All this gets people in a tizzy. To quote from a contributor to The Irish Times letters page. “What’s next? Billing per minute for use of the lavatory? Per-second billing to use the reading light? Flat charge for using use the ‘call attendant’ button?”

These charges bring in lots of lolly for Michael O’Leary and crew. A 2007 ABN Amro report by aviation analyst Andrew Lobbenberg estimated that the company brings in more than ?100 million per annum from so-called ‘hidden fares’. According to the Irish Independent, “a spokesman for Ryanair said he could not comment on the specifics of the report beyond saying ‘Andrew Lobbenberg is a clown’.”

So there.

That’s typical of Ryanair’s unapologetic attitude. “What part of no refund don’t you understand? You are not getting a refund so f*** off,” Michael O'Leary once said.

NOTORIOUS

The company is notorious for penny-pinching. It famously charged a disabled passenger £18 for the use of a wheelchair. He successfully sued on the grounds of discrimination, prompting Ryanair to impose a wheelchair levy on every passenger. Staff are banned from charging mobile phones at work. They must also bring in their own pens to work and buy their own uniforms.

It’s easy to complain and many do. Ryanair has been voted the world’s least favourite airline. Newspaper reports increasingly refer to it as the ‘supposedly low-cost airline’. A quick internet search yields a ton of vociferous criticism. “A very tiring and stressful journey”, “a deeply unpleasant experience”, “abysmal”, “no more of this cattle-market cheap fares business…if you want to fly you’ve got to pay”.

Thing is, much of the criticism is bunk.

Before Ryanair, “flying was the preserve of rich f***ers”, to quote O’Leary once again. Nowadays, despite all the ‘hidden’ charges, it’s pretty easy to get to Europe for next to nothing. I’ve booked my fair share of sub-?20 flights over the last year or two, so I’m not going to join the whinging club. The pricing structure may not be the most transparent, but it’s still cheap as chips.

One internet commentator puts it well. “Dealing with low-cost carriers such as Ryanair is like playing a game. In order to play well, you need to know the rules. Most complaints about the airline come from people who don’t know the rules. So yes, you can be angry that Ryanair’s rules are different from everyone else’s, but you’re not going to get a whole lot of sympathy from me if you don’t know or follow the rules of the game. Ryanair makes a ton of money off of the folks who don’t know the rules.”

So what are the rules? Firstly, don’t check in baggage. Ryanair allows customers to bring one item of hand luggage and the weight cannot exceed 10kg. Any checked baggage attracts hefty charges. Those of you willing to pay for the privilege should try to ensure that any checked baggage does not exceed 15kg – anything above that attracts a whopping fee of ?15 per kilo. In other words, it costs ?150 to check in a 25kg bag, or ?300 on a return flight.

Mind you, 10 kilos is more than enough for a short break. People tend to bring half the house with them on their holidays, which defies reason really.

Baggage tends to be the biggest money-spinner for budget airlines, but there are others. Skip the option for travel insurance. Don’t waste your money on the airline’s over-priced food and drinks (even newspapers bought on board are more expensive than at normal retail outlets). Pay by debit card, not credit card – credit card bookings are landed with a charge of ?4 per person for each leg of the journey. With the former, that’s reduced to just ?1.50. Ryanair does not accept payment via laser cards, so the best option is Halifax’s Visa debit card (debit cards are a good idea in general and the worldwide acceptance of the Visa label make the Halifax card the obvious choice).

Priority boarding? Sure, it’s nice to avoid the queues and the stampede for seats, but there’s no need to pay for it. Instead, opt to check in on-line (free), which automatically entitles passengers to be among the first to board. By checking in online, you have nothing to do once you arrive at the airport – just go through passport control and walk straight on to your flight.

It can be time-consuming trying to find the much-publicised ‘free’ flights. Check out www.skyscanner.net or google ‘flight checker’ – both are useful search engines which quickly throw up the cheapest flights. Midweek flights tend to be the cheapest, although weekend bargains are certainly possible. Try to book well in advance – as time passes, prices increase, often dramatically.

If you want luxury and pampering, look elsewhere. Ryanair (and Aer Lingus, which has also opted for the no frills model, although its prices still don’t compare to Ryanair’s) should be thought of flying bus services. They get you from A to B – enough said.

As for the silly saps who check in heavy baggage and who pay over the odds for soggy sandwiches – well, their choice. By doing so, they are allowing Ryanair to lower fares for the rest of us. O’Leary has said in the past that he envisages most flights being free in the future, with the airline making up the revenue shortfall through onboard add-ons.

Of course, some people will disagree. “Ryanair are the biggest con merchants”, reads one internet comment. “A 1p flight never ends up less than at least £20 by the time they have finished charging”.

£20 for a flight? Break out the violins.