Ryanair - The Case of the Magic Baggage
 

A friend came to Spain last week via Ryanair. When he came out of the airport he remarked that he had exceeded the 18 kilo allowance for his bag and had to pay €12 excess. I carried his case to the car, and having carried my daughters case when she brings everything but the kitchen sink and stays within the limit, I thought it strange that he had managed to exceed the limit as the case felt lighter.

Put him on the plane back today and low and behold, the amazing 1 kilo overweight case had turned into a two kilo overweight case with an excess baggage charge of €33!!!

He had bought nothing whilst here, simply re packed the case with what he bought with him on the outward journey.

I draw no conclusions ...... I leave this with you as a cautionary tale! ;):D

Re: Ryanair - The Case of the Magic Baggage
 

Thats easily explained Mitzy, you see when flying out to Spain the case is packed with enthusiam and high hopes whereas when flying back home it is packed with more doom and gloom and we all know that high hopes weigh less than doom and gloom.
:D

Or, it could be a "case" of the weighing equipment of course. Ever tried checking your case at an empty check in desk of a different airline before checking in ?

Re: Ryanair - The Case of the Magic Baggage
 

I always chuckle when people weigh their cases on other non-used check-in desks - and it's often or not Brits who are flying with Ryanair.

And then of course even funnier is the 'swap-stuff-about' game. ... if I put my very heavy bottle of Pernod (or fave tipple) in your suitcase that should even things out.

I tried to book a flight today with Why-on-earth Ryanair - the hold baggage came up today at 24 quid (or was it Euros) still the bloody flight was only 9.99. AHHHHH!

I was saw a man & woman (assumed married) going out of Alicante... she took out about 10 large-ish apples from her suitcase to put in his... who the bloody hell carries 2 kilos of apples when the excess is so high - buy em in Blighty FFS???

Oh Ryanair - you cause so much stress at check-in - I have a 'hate them, love them' relationship with them!

They once claimed I hadn't paid for my hold baggage online even though my print-out said I had - he was adamant 'the system' was right so I had to pay or I wasn't getting on the plane !!! B******ds

Re: Ryanair - The Case of the Magic Baggage
 

I just booked flight back to the UK and have paid €30 more with Thomsonfly just because I refuse to let Ryanair have the opportunity to rip me off.

Re: Ryanair - The Case of the Magic Baggage
 

Where we live Mitz we cant really use any one else, the two nearest airports are only served by ryan air so he has the monopoly.

Re: Ryanair - The Case of the Magic Baggage
 

Why does almost everyone slag Ryanair? People are always moaning about this charge and that charge. They do not rip people off, they simply grab a headline price, which of course is unrealistic. How can anyone operate a profit making business by giving their products away. Ryanair charge for everything, that said, they still end up being the cheapest in the long run.
Mitzy, would Ryanair have ripped you off for 30euro after you had bought the ticket?
As for the luggage surely your friend was there when they weighed it?

Re: Ryanair - The Case of the Magic Baggage
 

you forgot to mention the 10.000 cigs

Re: Ryanair - The Case of the Magic Baggage
 

If only that were true lic, but it is not. When you take everything into account, ie the full price paid to get from where you start your journey to where you finish your journey then many times Ryanair is not the cheapest.

You are right, they claim a "headline" price which is not realistic and barely truthful to say the least.

And gallerie, if you are including Sevilla in your 2 closest airports, you have much more choice including clickair to gatwick.

Re: Ryanair - The Case of the Magic Baggage
 

I'm not slagging them off. I am stating a fact that the same suitcase with the same clothing with the same airline weighed a kilo more at one check in than it did at another, and thats plainly not acceptable. I'm not moaning about the charge for excess baggage if your baggage weighs more than it should.... read the post again :D The cheap flight cost him actually €45 more then he thought it would be .... and yes both he and I were there when the case was weighed but you cant argue with the check in staff, cos if you dont pay the money you dont fly!!!

They are not giving their product away, but they have to be sure that the methods they use to calculate the cost of that product are accurate otherwise the customer is charged incorrectly.

Re: Ryanair - The Case of the Magic Baggage
 

Always question the scales!
There was a rumour a couple of years ago that the check-in staff were on commission for excess baggage, and that the scales were never zero'ed and also that the allowance was different both ways! You can always check at an empty desk or weigh before you leave for the airport. And always argue loudly so that those behind you in the queue can hear, then everyone will question the scales!

Re: Ryanair - The Case of the Magic Baggage
 

most women bring enough to last them on a world cruise and they are only here for a week.why would a woman want about 20 pairs of shoes.tops.day dresses.eavening dresses.jeans.hair dryers.ect ect then lol around in a tshirt and shorts all week.....women please explain.we all want to know why

Re: Ryanair - The Case of the Magic Baggage
 

exceeded the kilo .... mmmm ya right was traveling and was the smae over exceeded kilos ..ask for the kilo Receipts , not the one thats hand done but the computer one , get your bag weighed ryanair over weigh bag , there been cought in Ireland but due over price off DAA Dublin airport ( same Government companys ) ha , F*u*c*k off back to Connemara': There's no love lost between Ryanair supremo Michael O'Leary, pictured, and Aer Arann bainisteoir Padraig O Ceidigh
War in Irish skies as regional rival claims O'Leary told him 'F**k Off'
your been over charged on you KG ryanair over weigh by 1 kg over it a fix
and i see it
i brought this to tv comapny and told me it the airport that do it not airline

Ryanair do it to you
jurdy

Re: Ryanair - The Case of the Magic Baggage
 

:ohmy::blink::confused::unsure::huh:

Re: Ryanair - The Case of the Magic Baggage
 

didn't you let him wash his clothes before he went home???

must be the dirt:eek::rofl::rofl:

Re: Ryanair - The Case of the Magic Baggage
 

That could be it :D

Re: Ryanair - The Case of the Magic Baggage
 

Barman I will have what he had.make it a double.

Re: Ryanair - The Case of the Magic Baggage
 

Not just ryanair all airlines just trying get more money out off us.
im suprised were aloud luggage at all.

Re: Ryanair - The Case of the Magic Baggage
 

Not totally off topic but increasingly your check in bag is weighed, your hand luggage is weighed but never has any airline yet weighed a large coat with pockets stuffed full of some heavy stuff to keep hand baggage within limit. :sneaky:

Re: Ryanair - The Case of the Magic Baggage
 

Another way is to wear 2 vests, 4 shirts ,2 pair of jeans, 3 hats and 3 jumpers :rofl:but its bloody hot in August :rofl:

Rgds

Rotor

Re: Ryanair - The Case of the Magic Baggage
 

Where you check in online and just have carry on there seem to be no checks at all.

I have a very light hard shell suitcase from Netto which is exact max dimensions for squeasyjet and ryanair and I always weigh it on the bathroom scales before leaving home. This July it was about 11 k so I took a bit out so it was just over. No body gave it a second glance. There were Spaniards at the gate with bags as big or bigger than mine that looked very heavy one in front of me got on the plane chose her seat then complained to the flight attendant that there was not enough room in her overhead locker despite not being able to lift it to really try and the attendant whisked it away to an empty locker and hoisted in without a word!

Re: Ryanair - The Case of the Magic Baggage
 

That's usually me. I can get a couple of kilos extra on that way.

As to going from Gatwick to Seville, the extra time and costs for me would outweigh any benefit pretty quickly as I am north of Stansted.

Re: Ryanair - The Case of the Magic Baggage
 

Same for us, MK to Gatwick is a no no for travel at all sensible time of day Stansted is our max but Luton, Coventry, Birmingham and EMA are all doable in the hr so there is plenty of choice.

Re: Ryanair - The Case of the Magic Baggage
 

Because if you don´t take it, it will be the one piece of clothing that you will want! Plus no one has mentioned the books. For a fortnights holiday I need at least five books.

Re: Ryanair - The Case of the Magic Baggage
 

Okay Mitzy, so you were not slagging them off. It must have been an uncalibrated scale at one of the airports.
How long do you think it will be before all airlines make the passenger hold the hand luggage, and both the passenger and bag are weighed together?
I wonder how many of us would be classed as having excess baggagethen!

Re: Ryanair - The Case of the Magic Baggage
 

Funny you should say that:

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage...cle1511586.ece

Sounds like a good idea to me.

Re: Ryanair - The Case of the Magic Baggage
 

I'm sorry lic, an uncallibrated scale is totally unacceptable when it is used to calculate and levy charges unfairly on customers.

I dont know how long it will be, and if it will happen at all, but if the scales are calibrated correctly then it wont be a problem will it as we will know what we are being charged, if at all, is correct and fair ;):)

Re: Ryanair - The Case of the Magic Baggage
 

There is one airline in the States that makes "large" passengers pay for two seats if they "overflow" one!

Re: Ryanair - The Case of the Magic Baggage
 

Uncalibrated scales are highly illegal if you are charging for something involving weighing goods, if you know for a fact they are being used report it to trading standards,

Rgds

Rotor

Re: Ryanair - The Case of the Magic Baggage
 

You must have flown Virgin to Lagos - thats exactly what they do - saw a woman being stopped - she had 8 coats on !!

Re: Ryanair - The Case of the Magic Baggage
 

I bet the aroma was lurvly:rofl:

Re: Ryanair - The Case of the Magic Baggage
 

For a few quid all you folks worrying about excess baggage, could save yourselves a lot of heartache.

Fishing scales!

They are much more accurate than bathroom scales for weighing bags and if you wish, light enough to tuck into your suitacase in case of any arguments at check in!

In fact some bright sparks are starting to sell a slightly modified version as luggage scales these days and charging twice as much for them (wish I'd thought of it first....)

Re: Ryanair - The Case of the Magic Baggage
 

I must be missing some thing hear.normal people come out verry light and stuff there cases with cigs and spirits on the way back.how can you do this if you bring every thing and take bakck the same.

Re: Ryanair - The Case of the Magic Baggage
 

My wife flew for the first time with Ryanair from Málaga to Bournemouth today with warnings about baggage scams fresh in her mind but apart from the fact that the inside of the plane looked a bit like the inside of a Lidl supermarket, as though the contents of a large rubbish bin had been strewn around, and the cabin crew appeared to have attended the same charm school as Mercadona check out assistants there was no problem.

However, I was instructed to wipe Ryanair from my bookmarks and informed that she is going to revert to Thompsonfly next time even if it is twice the price.

Re: Ryanair - The Case of the Magic Baggage
 

I have had enough!

I must have been incredibily lucky with Ryanair - I have taken over 48 flights with them in the past couple of years.

Never have I boarded an aircraft that was dirty, anyway a dirty aircraft is not the fault of the crew, its the fault of the messy people on the previous flight. Cabin crew make several passes of the cabin during a flight, asking for empties and rubbish, if passengers chose to chuck their rubbish on the floor, this is NOT down to cabin crew. Observing them (from the front row on a few occasions) they are on the go the whole flight with possibly a 10 minute break to grab some food, if they are very lucky, and no-one calls them. The 25 minutes between flights is taken up with disembarking passengers and embarking the next lot.

I can honestly say also that I have never had a grumpy or unpleasant crew, I have generally found them charming and helpful - obviously some more chatty and jolly than others but never rude. (I wonder how much grumpiness experienced by some of you is down to your attitude on boarding the plane and the way you treat the crew??)

Neither have I had any problems with baggage - OK I don't put anything in the hold these days but it would still not be a problem. As posted earlier, I took the trouble to buy suitable scales to ensure my bags are at or under the allowed weight and my bags are within the stipulated size. Checked and cabin baggage allowance is a total of 25 kilos, surely enough for two weeks holiday.

I know we are lucky to be regular travellers, but many of you moaners out there are too. Half the problems people seem to encounter is because they don't take sufficient care when making a booking. Do you really need 'priority' seating - you will be in company with about half the passengers. There's a saving already. Now its no longer free with 'Check and Go' we shan't be bothering.


Ryanair provide an excellent service, its certainly far from the luxury and style of early days of air travel - but it's a tiny fraction of the cost and you have to look at it as commuting (for the short flights that most of us do) - is it really any worse than being stuck in a traffic jam on our busy roads or standing like sardines on the tubes or buses -mile for mile its a darn sight cheaper!

The flights are cheap, because the income is derived elsewhere. i.e.

On-line booking - saves on staffing.
Expensive and difficult access by phone - ditto
Baggage & variations (Golf clubs, musical insrtuments etc)
Excess baggage
'Priority' seating
Food, drink and gifts supplied in flight
Scratch cards in flight
Insurance, car hire, hotels etc. etc.,

- don't buy the extras - buy your sandwiches, drinks, books etc., airside so they don't take up baggage allowance.

Sorry folks, but I for one prefer flying regularly the Ryanair, paying for just what I need, than with a company that makes me pay for frills, baggage and services that I don't need and can't afford.

And by the way - in all those flights, we have experienced only two delays, one due to a lightening strike - every other flight arrived on time or early...

Talk about looking gift horses in the mouth - get real you lot.

Hooray for Ryanair!!!!!

Re: Ryanair - The Case of the Magic Baggage
 

I think many people forget that the budget airlines are business`s , not subsidised public services, so of course their aim is to make profit...out of you the passenger!
If you dont like the service change carrier,go first class and pay ten times more,or charter your own jet, 20 times more,then if your not happy you have good reason to moan.

Rgds

Rotor

Re: Ryanair - The Case of the Magic Baggage
 

Well, I don't have a problem with Ryanair, or any other airline for that matter. I haven't flown anywhere for about seventeen years and from what I hear of other people's experiences I have no inclination to.

Re: Ryanair - The Case of the Magic Baggage
 

I fly with ryanair as I dont have a choice as I live in Bournmouth/Poole area

and cant travel to London to get to Malaga

I havent had a problem with Ryanair, Im lucky I can take all I need for a 3 day trip in hand luggage ... which I might add has never be checked for weight (thank god)
But saying that Ive had a few raised eyebrows from security staff at the airport with what I had packed (dirty weekend)(think about it)
Bournmouth airport is so nice to go from really, its not over croweded and for £2 you get a bottomless cup of coffee :P
will be glad when it gets out of the 70's set up :)


Will make a point tho if you book online make sure you check in online and print your ticket out, cause if dont you will be charged something like 8 euros each way for not checking in online.


Over all I cant grumble about ryaniar ... but going back to original thread, I agree I would contact trading standards with the weighing system, I had the same problem coming back from italy, i checked on thompson scales and there was a 2kg difference to the easy jet scales, and I did make a stink about it cause I had 2 grumpy crying kids with me... and got let off :P

Re: Ryanair - The Case of the Magic Baggage
 

So have I!!!
You seem to be missing the point!

I have no problem with Ryanair charging for anything. Then I have the choice of using them or not.

My point is nothing to do with cleanliness or their tarrifs ....... Its simply to do with the facts mentioned in my original post. Its inexcusable.

Re: Ryanair - The Case of the Magic Baggage
 

True Rotor, all businesses make money out of the paying pasenger but just to keep things in perspective, an example low cost return flight London to Faro at the end of this month for 10 days is currently 118 pounds, plus luggage, plus any other extras. The same route and date with BA economy is 188 pounds all in and "only" 253 in club. The extras with "low cost" soon mount up too. Yes, chartering one's own jet does get rather prohibitive at something like 40 times these club prices so I have not yet actually taken that option.

In a busy year I took around 300 flights, some of which were long haul of 9 to 11 hours and with every flight I take I research thoroughly and take the best value for money for me and whoever is flying with me. Ryanair may suit a lot of people but they are on my "only if I have to" list. Saludos.

Re: Ryanair - The Case of the Magic Baggage
 

And incidentally, focusing more on Mitzyboys first post, when flying with Clickair who also charge for checked in luggage, in my experience if you have checked at least one bag in they dont seem to bother too much about either the weight of your check in or the weight of your hand baggage. If you have checked in nothing then your hand baggage comes under closer scrutiny. The most I have ever 'got away with' was with Iberia when between the two of us we were allowed 50 kgs but we checked in 100 kgs. Nothing extra to pay although that was a single extreme event.