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This post was last updated on July 15th, 2018 at 03:08 am
8 years ago I booked a flight with Ryanair to Glasgow from Stansted. I was delayed on the train but still arrived on time (or so I thought), however, on arriving at the check in desk I was told I was late and therefore not allowed to join the queue. I then had to pay an astronomical amount for a new flight. The service I received was horrific and the staff were incredibly rude. From that day forth I swore never again to fly with Ryanair.
Until now.
Today, all these years later, I had an almost identical experience. This time I checked in online, arrived 40 minutes before my flight and made my way through security. After having my bags searched I checked the departures board, to which I was informed that my flight was boarding. I then proceeded to have a quick toilet stop and make my way to the gate. I wasn’t stressing out, nor did i even consider for a moment that I might miss my flight.
I arrived at the gate to be told I was late and that I must buy a new ticket. I was truly shocked. Other flights had said last call, why didn’t ours say that? Why were there no announcements? The gate didn’t even say it was closed when I got there, it said final boarding!!
The man at the desk was rude. The people at the information desk were rude.
So many people e-mail me for my advice for applying for cabin crew jobs being ex BA crew, and I normally say customer service skills is key! But clearly Ryanair are an exception to the rule. Zero customer service skills? Apply now!
The queue at the information desk was huge and was filled with people that had all been turned away from their flights. Everybody in the line shared the same opinion- Ryanair are thieves that will do anything to make extra money from you! I’m all for budget airlines, I’ve had great experiences with easyjet, whizz air, air Asia and spice jet, Ryanair however are on a completely new low. Their level of service is horrific.
As ex cabin crew myself I like to think I’m familiar with the industry and how things work. I’ve travelled a lot, with a lot of different airlines, but none have ever been so bad as Ryanair!
The outcome? I am currently sat at Reading bus ration after a mammoth 6 hour public transport endurance so far because I couldn’t afford to pay the outrageous fees they were asking for to pay for a new flight. With only a few minutes to find the money and £110 fee I decided that it was above budget and I would just have to look forward to my next trip at Easter.
To top it off, just to worsen my opinion of the airline, while on my way back to London on the bus I received an e-mail from them apologising for diverting my flight to East Midlands airport as a result of a technical fault! So even if I had made the flight I wouldn’t have even left the country anyway!
My advice? If you want to reach your destination, avoid Ryanair! They give the worst service I have EVER experienced and I can guarantee I will NEVER be booking a flight with them again! Agenda for tonight? Drowning my sorrows for my trip that never happened!
Steve Dacosta says
May 15, 2017 at 8:31 amWhat do you expect for 12 quid. Fly first class or not at all.
Hayley says
May 15, 2017 at 9:02 amIf only I could find flights for £12. They don’t do those in school holidays unfortunately!
Duane says
August 19, 2015 at 12:36 pmI can identify with the comments on this webpage. I just had the experence of having to pay €90 to print boarding passes for my wife and I for a return trip from Fuerteventura to Stansted. We tried checking in online 2 days before the flight 3 times but kept getting error messages after completing all details and clicking check in.
When we got to the airport we explained to the agent. I showed him my internet browsing history and the error messages. Despite this we were forced to pay or miss the flight. He said we had to pay and complain to customer service after.
We made the complaint but were just sent a standard response from an email address you could not reply to. No mention was made of the browsing history and error message screenshots I attached to the complaint. It was obvious it was not even investigated.
These guys treat customers with disdain and are complete rip off artists. On the whole though, I believe airlines should be providing boarding passes. How can you pay for a ticket but can’t board the flight? What have you actually paid for, the option of boarding if you can print your own boarding pass?
Danik the Explorer (UK) says
March 5, 2014 at 11:20 amI have never had a problem with them (over 100 flights), but I have read so many stories. Sorry to hear about this, I thought Ryanair was going to change its image and be more customer service friendly, but not in this case. 🙁
(p.s – its Wizz Air not Whizz) 😀 😀 😀
Have a great day and Easter isn’t that far away 😀
Hyde Flippo (@hflippo) says
March 1, 2014 at 9:02 pmMy wife and I flew Ryanair from Stanstead to Ancona, Italy. Not only was the flight delayed several hours, but they changed the gate three times — without telling anyone. I’ll spare you the details of the nightmare flight from Lübeck back to Stanstead, also delayed.
Nina says
February 18, 2014 at 2:46 pmFeel sorry for you. I’ve had a bad experience with them too. About 6 months ago I traveled from Milano to Halkidiki (airport Thessaloniki Macedonia) – I did reach to Greece, but the staff were very rude, unpolite. Even the bad experience can be learned from. 😉
Hannah says
February 17, 2014 at 4:24 pmThat sounds horrid! Fortunately I’ve never had a problem with Ryan air, although heard many horror stories. I think you just have to play it extra safe with them when travelling: be the first at the gate and double check all information. Their flights are much cheaper than others and I guess you do get what you pay for (the lack of customer skills!)
http://www.thatadventurer.me
Azzah says
February 17, 2014 at 3:56 pmI absolutely hate RyanAir! Had a bad experience with them as well!!