For all the publicity stunts they play, I just love it when Ryanair tells it like it is.
Promising "never" to charge fuel surcharges on their airline tickets, Ryanair lashed out at competitors today for what it calls "rip off" and "scam" pricing. It is true that oftentimes a ticket price will more than double in cost when fuel surcharges are added in and these surcharges are often disguised as government taxes. And with oil on the rise again, look to see even higher fuel surcharges in the months to come.
While I appreciate Ryanair’s showcasing of the fuel surcharge controversy (it’s even worse in America where law does not require the full price of a ticket to be displayed, allowing airlines to get away with advertising fares that are as little as a third of what the a/i price is), I find it curious that they are crying wolf when they have pioneered the practice of added fees to airlines ticket.
That €7 ticket you see advertised from Ryanair is invariably going to set you back a lot more than €7. Taxes? Sometimes included, but often not and when not included, they can quickly double or triple the cost of the ticket. Online check-in? €6.99 each way. Processing fee? €5 each way to use anything other than a prepaid MasterCard to pay for your ticket. Bag check? €40. Skis? Don’t ask.
As I mentioned above, at least Ryanair explicitly discloses these fees when your purchase a ticket, unlike fuel surcharges which are often wrapped into a "taxes and fees" line of the ticket that is not broken down on most airline booking websites.
I got a chuckle today when I read this story because it seems like such hypocrisy on the part of Ryanair, but I am glad someone is highlighting that most airline base fares today are very deceiving.
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