Ryanair

[marje]

Just been to check my husband and friends in for their Ryanair flight and discovered that you can only check in for free from 7 days to 2 hours before the flight. However, for the return flight I can only check them in from 27 May, which is no good as they are still on holiday. Phoned Ryanair to be told that there are only 2 options: either pay to check in now or find an internet cafe or similar whilst away and print return tickets from there. Before Ryanair changed to allocating seats I could print off both outgoing and incoming tickets.

As my husband and his friends have no idea about logging into the website or checking in online, that was obviously out of the question. So, no alternative but to pay for allocated seats to return home.

What a swiz.

[jno]

are you sure you can't check in in their names while they're away?

[EcclesCake]

JNO, I think it is the printing of the boarding cards that is the issue.

[ummmm]

Teach your husband how to do it. It's only printing an email.

[AB Editor]

Do they have smartphones? You could check in for them and then email the boarding pass. Then at the airport they can show their phones to the scanner.

Additionally many hotels will help out with this sort of thing.

[marje]

Yes I could jno but you have to show the printed ticket when you turn up at the airport for the return flight. The woman I spoke to at Ryanair said either pay up or print off whilst on holiday. If I had been going that is what I would have done, but hubby and friends are not computer savvy and would have no idea where to start.

[jno]

oh, I see, sorry. Yes, the time may be coming where we all have to know how to use a computer. It's doing as much as possible electronically, and not having to pay humans, that keeps Ryanair's prices down - but in effect you have to know how to get onto a website in order to qualify for the fares. So Mr marje will have to learn or pay for his ignorance, I'm afraid.

[ummmm]

Marje...I flew with Ryanair in Jan and ruined my boarding pass (spilt drink) they just wrote me out one at the desk...foc.

[marje]

I did think of that Ab Editor but they are at an age where they want physical tickets. They would worry that something would go wrong otherwise. I do think that the woman at Ryanair could have said that there was an option to show an email at the airport, but she didn't.

ummmm - hubby never prints things and teaching him would be a nightmare. Ever since he had his stroke his memory is shot.

[AB Editor]

A chat at the front desk to log in and print of boarding passes might be the best bet then :)

[marje]

Crikey ummmm, they did that without charging you? I am amazed! Ryanair woman said if they turned up without a printed ticket, they would be charged £70. That's why they want the tickets printed before they go.

[ummmm]

Ryanair are trying to be super helpful at the moment. If he's going to have to pay get him/them to try and wing it at the airport.

[ummmm]

Marge...honest, I posted a thread about it. I made a typo on my ticket, they amended it. Then I spilt a drink on the new one and it wouldn't scan so they wrote me one out. I was surprised...

[gness]

Marje....I once got a hefty refund to which I wasn't entitled by emailing the details of what had happened to Ryanair......Try an email to customer services saying why your husband can't print them abroad... they do sometimes have a heart......x

[jno]

Ryanair had a nightmare financial year in 2013 so they've done a complete U-turn in consumer care

[ummmm]

I just looked for the feedback link you gave me, jno, but it won't work for some reason.

Marje...def email them. They are not the same company they were a year ago.

[SeaJayPea]

Suggestions - Get the fax number of where they are staying, print them out yourself here then fax them to them.

Or scan them and email them to somebody there.

What do you think?

[LyndaB]

I love ryanair, but I do think this is just an attempt to get us all to pay for priority boarding. We were fortunate in that we knew that there was somewhere near where we were staying where we could print off our boarding passes. They have only just changed their rules on this. I think that if you pay a fiver and pick your seat, then you can print the passes off 30 days before

[marje]

I've paid up to save the three of them any stress. They're going on holiday to chill and I know they'd fret about it if they had to try to find somewhere to print their tickets. They're also going in private apartments not a hotel.

I'll try emailing Ryanair gness, thanks for the suggestion.

Ummmm - at least you could show that you had printed one before you spilled a drink on it, perhaps that's why they wrote one out for you.

I know they'll amend small errors foc, only before you check in though I think.

Seajaypea, don't know the fax number, as I said they're going to private apartments and the owners don't live there.

LyndaB, yes you can print off 30 days before if you pay £5 and if you pay another £2 you also get priority boarding.

Thanks for all your suggestions.

[jno]

a non-working feedback link, hm, well, there's a cunning ploy.