Ryanair defends new fees

Ryanair, the low-cost Irish airline, is finding itself having to defend a new fee which will make those passengers who check-in online have to pay extra for priority boarding. Yet the London Times points out that this is simply one of nearly 15 surcharges that the carrier has introduced over the course of the past several years, including extra fees for those paying with a credit card-which happens to include most clients who purchase their tickets over the internet-a charge for any checked bags, as well as a fee for checking in at the airport, rather than online. The carrier also plans to make passengers pay extra if they wish to use their mobile phones during flights, a new service soon to be introduced by Ryanair. In most cases, the nearly fifteen fees and surcharges actually end up totalling more than the actual basic price of a ticket.

Yet Ryanair is adamant that its main goal is to keep its airfares down. The carrier noted that several of its fees are actually “optional.” For example, if passengers wish to avoid the checked bag fee, they should fly without checked luggage. Sinead Finn, Ryanair’s Director of Commercial Revenue, also pointed out that the carrier has reduced the basic cost of airfare by approximately 4 percent over the course of the last three to four months. Yet Finn noted that the air travel industry is under sustained pressure and he warned that “it’s not going to be a nice situation for the next two years.” Despite this, Ryanair is committed to keeping airfares as low as possible, but Finn noted that selling ancillary services, in addition to discounted seats aboard airplanes, is becoming an increasingly important part of the carrier’s business strategy.

www.ryanair.com