Our Cityjet flights have been cancelled for our April trip and we have booked with Ryan Air.
We did not select to pay for allocated seating. Might sound like a stupid question but Ryan Air do sometimes get some bad press - if we have not paid for allocated seating - we will still be guaranteed a seat on the flight right?? We just don't get to choose where we sit?
Also you have to check in and print your boarding passes before arriving at the airport. I think because we have chosen not to pay for allocated seating we can only do this 7 days out instead of 30 days if you pay for allocated seating. Apparently we will be charged 70 pound (or whatever that is in Euro) each if we don't show up with check-in and boarding passes. Not sure how we will get around this as we do not have a printer or the internet at the house in France.
Tried emailing them but it sent an e-mail saying to chat on line which I tried to do from my phone last night during their operating hours (I am in Oz at the moment) and it said it was closed grrrr.
Glad you sorted it Jo, because i might need to fly this year I read up on the boarding pass mobile app bit and it says any EU/EEA
"Mobile boarding passes are available to EU/EEA Nationals. Eligible customers must hold a valid passport or national identity card issued by the government of a European Economic Area (EEA) country and must be departing from an airport that will accept a mobile boarding pass, click here for details".
Ryanair has a free mobile app. The app can be downloaded to your iPhone or Android mobile device from the Apple App Store or Google Play.
Thanks everyone. I have contacted our neighbour in France and they have a printer and internet and have advised that we can do at their house.
John Whitall I think I read somewhere that you need to be a resident in France to be able to do the mobile thing - can't remember where might even be in the trail of replies below.
I started this discussion with the aim of getting a simple answer but it seems to have started a bit of a frenzy among all the helpful replies. Thanks to all those who took the time to provide some helpful advice.
Check in online & save your boarding pass to a memory stick. If you go to Bergerac, go to ADM Informatique (opposite end of the 'high street' from the big fountain) and print it out. Or don't save it but go into your mailbox on the spot via one of their computers. I'd say save it to your memory stick anyway but then I'm a belt and braces type. It will cost you a euro or so. There are other places but they are less easy to find.
You miss my point completely Gerry. Which was that Europe's most successful airline Ryanair AND the group that owns BA, Iberia, what's less of British Midland (and maybe soon Are Lingus) are Irish. We must have a gift for it :-) Ryanair brought cheap airfares to Europe and Stelios jumped on the bandwagon but now that's he's been dumped one has to admit that Carolyn McCall is a very good CEO and Ryanair has been forced to become more customer friendly.
I think you'll find the trend is away from large airports. It just takes too much time to navigate around Heathrow, Frankfurt, etc. etc. Smaller hubs are now in favour.
I'm not old enough to be an expert on WWII airfields (apart from a passing interest in those in Lincolnshire) but if Nice T1 is of that vintage then the Luftwaffe really had it good.
I'm a bit out of date but when (only time and an emergency) I flew Ryanair from Beziers to UK a few years ago, it didn't go well. I had to pay Euro 80 to print out the boarding pass (didn't know before hand and couldn't have even if I had known and no Internet/printer at the airport) plus they would not accept any payment method I had (Amex, Visa or cash). My debit card, which had worked in the ATM outside the airport 15 minutes earlier wouldn't work on their machines and they refused to accept the cash when I got it from the ATM. Only time in many visits to France where the French staff lived up to their arrogant reputation of not giving a sh*&. Sheer luck there was an English girl working there. She took my cash and put the charge on her credit card - really saved my life. If she still works for them and reads this ,thank you again.
Assuming you get there OK, go to Leclerc or Carrefour and buy a cheap printer/scanner - you can get them for about 40 (costs more for the ink when replacements necessary of course) and even I am surprised how often I scan stuff and send to the kids or accountant in Oz
John Scully, I think that there are other airlines other than Ryanair and British Airways/Iberia that are good. I have used easyJet often and find them more passenger friendly than Ryanair. Also, easyJet fly into major airports rather than WW2 aerodromes with the superior connections and facilities that come with large airports.
Ryanair do this to encourage you to book seating. There are internet outlets everywhere with printers. Most libraries or mediatheques are equipped. There must be one not far from you.
Belvès is about 25 minutes drive from here, know the place well. The tourist office is tiny, mind you I have never been in. It may be seasonal, but should be open when you are here. As John says, worth a try. There is a shop there doing computer stuff. If you are driving, there are a few SFN members around there, if you are driving at worst you can find me, I am beyond le Buisson on the way to Lalinde, very close to Cadouin. I take it you must be flying to Bergerac, hohum...
Well said John. I travelled to Limoges and back for £34 last week. Ryanair has single-handedly opened up France for us. Otherwise we would be in Normandy or Brittany freezing our socks off. If you don’t like them, don’t use them.
Thanks to everyone who provided some useful advice. Our house is near Belves - I will check with my neighbour if she has a printer however does anyone know of anywhere in that region where I could get Internet, check in and print. We will be flying out of Bergerac.
Nick Allbeury I am in Australia and have Internet here that is how I managed to book my flights. When we are in France we have no Internet.
I have nothing against Ryan Air as I have never flown with them. We have always gone to Brive and flown with City Jet because they fly direct into London City however they have cancelled on us this time.
Michelle Alrey I might try and get back on line and select the seats and then I might be able to get 30 day check in and be able to print and check in before we leave Australia - thanks for the advice.
Lordy me I’ve never read such misinformed twaddle. I travel Ryanair all the time.
Whether you pay or not you get an allocated seat. The Scrum is for the overhead cabin space. After the first 90 your bags are put in the hold free.
If you want to print your pass early or sit with family then you need to pay.
In a posting Brian mentioned Angouleme as one of the airports feasible....Do they still fly various flights, as I thought they'd done the re-furb and then thrown the dummy out at Ryanair's request for more money, and, against Poitier Airport's advise to comply, closed routes!
just an addition:-
Mobile boarding passes are only for EU nationals - i didn’t know this.
Boarding cards are only ‘re-issued’ at the airports. They cost 15€ each BUT, you MUST have already checked in to have your boarding pass re-issued so you MUST find someone who could do this for you. Even someone abroad whom you trust, with access to a computer, plus your email address and reservation number, could do this for you. Once you check in for your outward flight, Ryanair do not require you to re-input the passport details when you check in for the return flight.
I really hope this all helps
Do you have a smartphone? Ryanair have a new app which gives you a mobile boarding pass so you never need to print one ever again. You only need access to wifi in order to use it, and if you don’t have wifi in France then just pop along to your nearest McDonalds where you will usually find free wifi
Otherwise, you can buy an advance allocated seat for as little as 5 £/€ plus 2 for priority boarding (7 total) or just pay 10 for the best seats and priority boarding included. All these price options allow you the 30 day check-in time. Tickets are so cheap on Ryanair, i think it’s worth your peace of mind to add on one of these options, and you can add them at any time after buying the original ticket, and print off your tickets before you travel.
I know that the 7 day check-in time is a money-making idea for Ryanair, but you pay your money and you make your choice. If you want cheap fares to airports that the big carriers don’t fly to, then you need to play by their rules. Personally, I love them and couldn’t live without them !
I hope this helps
As Michelle says if you don't pay for a specific seat then you are allocated one when you check in online. I believe this is a relatively recent new system. I experienced this in September and all was calm and efficient when boarding.
I have used Ryanair for many years mostly travelling from Stansted to Montpellier or Carcassonne. I have always found the service to be perfectly adequate and have no complaints at all. It may be a very basic service but the price reflects that and for a short flight it's no different to a train or a coach. There is very little waiting about, my flights have always been on time, the staff friendly & professional and once my earphones are on I can drown out what's going on around me. My return flight last September was less than 100 euros including booking an allocated window seat. I may be in the minority but I am happy to fly with Ryanair.
Find a friend/neighbour with internet and ask them to print off a ticket for you. It's easy as long as you have the ryanair ref number and passports to hand. OR Go into your local town and find a stationers shop or internet cafe and you'll be able to print off a ticket using their computer, again you need your ref no and passports. How did you manage to book the flight in the first place if didn't have the internet ?!
