Breaking news! Ryanair CUTS fees and charges in customer service shake-up

Updated
Breaking news! Ryanair CUTS fees and charges in customer service shake-up
Breaking news! Ryanair CUTS fees and charges in customer service shake-up

Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary obviously got out of the right side of bed this morning - as the airline has announced as series of fee cuts and customer service improvements.

Following on from a customer feedback page on their website, Tell MOL, which urged travellers to give their opinions and suggestions on Ryanair's service, the airline has now acted upon them and has come up with a number of changes, including reducing fees when you forget to print out your boarding pass, as well as allowing for an extra little carry-on bag.

And, over the next six months to the end of March 2014, the airline will introduce the following (gasp) customer service improvements:

1. The "Recaptcha" security code will be removed from the Ryanair.com website for individual bookings next week.

2. That awful moment you realise you've booked the wrong date? From 1 November, customers who book directly on the Ryanair.com website (ie. not via travel agents or screenscrapers) will be given a 24 hour grace period from the time of their original booking, to correct any minor errors (i.e. spelling, names, routings) made in their original booking.

3. Fancy a nap? From 1 November, Ryanair will operate "quiet flights", prior to 8am in the mornings and after 9pm in the evenings. During these quiet flight periods no PA's will be made on board other than required safety announcements. Ryanair will also dim the lights during these quiet flights so that any customers who wish to snooze, can comfortably do so.

4. You now won't be charged for that cheeky bottle of whiskey you bought in duty-free... From 1 December, Ryanair will allow passengers to bring a second small carry-on bag (small ladies handbag or small airport shopping bag) no bigger than 35 x 20 x 20 cms which will allow a bottle of wine or equivalent to be carried.

5. Arriving at the airport and realising you forgot to print off you boarding pass will not be quite so horrendous. From 1 December, Ryanair's boarding card reissue fee will be cut from €70/£70 to €15/£15 for customers who have already checked in online. Customers who fail to check-in online will continue to pay a €70 airport check-in fee.

6. Finally, from 5 January, Ryanair's standard airport bag fees will be cut from €60/£60 to €30/£30 at the bag drop desk, and from €60/£60 to €50/£50 at the boarding gate, bringing them into line with competitor airline standard airport bag fees.

Ryanair's Michael O'Leary said: "We are very excited at these significant improvements. We are actively listening and responding to our customers so that they can continue to expect low fares and on-time flights on Ryanair, but will now enjoy easier website access, 24 hour grace periods, a second small carry-on bag, reduced airport bag fees and quiet flights. We hope that our passengers will enjoy these service improvements."

And, wait for it, there's more. Ryanair's Director of Customer Service, Caroline Green said: "These are the first in a series of customer service improvements which Ryanair is actively working on to make our low fare services easier to access and more even enjoyable.

"As some of these policy changes will require website changes and handling staff retraining, we will be rolling them out over the next few months. If customers have any other suggestions or feedback they want us to hear, then please use our customer feedback service "Tell MOL" on the Ryanair.com website."

Well we never. Perhaps the fact they were voted the worst brand in the UK for customer service back in September had an effect...



Related articles

Ryanair passenger left stranded as he couldn't afford £50 baggage fee

Brian McFadden calls Michael O'Leary a 'scumbag'





Advertisement