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You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2012/nov/06/ryanair-extends-booking-fee-cards
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| Ryanair extends booking fee to Cash Passport cards | Ryanair extends booking fee to Cash Passport cards |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Ryanair customers who went to the trouble of using the airline's own credit card to avoid paying a £6 booking fee will no longer have that benefit after the firm announced that all passengers will have to pay the admin charge. Anyone taking a Ryanair flight after 1 December will be required to add on the £6 a person fee for each single journey – on top of the headline ticket price – irrespective of how they pay. | |
| Until now, customers who took out a Ryanair Cash Passport Mastercard could avoid the credit card fee, which adds £48 to the cost of booking a return journey for a family of four. | Until now, customers who took out a Ryanair Cash Passport Mastercard could avoid the credit card fee, which adds £48 to the cost of booking a return journey for a family of four. |
| The move is the latest in a long battle between Ryanair and the Office of Fair Trading over hidden card charges. Until November 2011, it was possible to avoid the airline's credit card fee using any prepaid Mastercard. Before that, consumers got around it by using a Visa Electron card, but that was also shelved when it became too popular. Since then the airline's own credit card, already criticised for its other charges, has been the only payment method allowing consumers to escape the booking charge. Ryanair blamed the OFT for its rule change. An OFT investigation in July led to 12 airlines – including Ryanair and easyJet – agreeing not to hide charges until the end of the booking process, and instead include all compulsory fees in the headline price. | |
| In a statement, Stephen McNamara of Ryanair said: "Ryanair regrets the recent anti-consumer ruling of the OFT, which will result in thousands of UK Ryanair Cash Passport holders no longer having a free form of payment that allows them to avoid the £6 admin fee when booking flights on Ryanair.com. This is another example of regulatory interference by the OFT which once again increases the cost of travel for passengers." | |
| He said it was perverse that the OFT continued to impose regulations that increased the cost of air travel, but had done nothing to halt mis-selling by screen scraper websites, which duped passengers into paying hidden booking costs. | |
| Ryanair's charge is similar to the £9 per booking charge (more if paying on credit card) now levied by rival easyJet for all customers. Ryanair insists it will now include the admin fee in the upfront price. | Ryanair's charge is similar to the £9 per booking charge (more if paying on credit card) now levied by rival easyJet for all customers. Ryanair insists it will now include the admin fee in the upfront price. |
| Separately it has emerged that Ryanair has looked at the possibility of charging passengers for carry-on baggage as part of its plan to increase revenue and profits. | Separately it has emerged that Ryanair has looked at the possibility of charging passengers for carry-on baggage as part of its plan to increase revenue and profits. |
| Deputy chief executive, Michael Cawley, told the Irish Independent that baggage charges are among those that are always under consideration. Asked if Ryanair might also consider charging for carry-on baggage, he said: "If you don't charge for something, that service isn't appreciated,. When it was free, 80% of people checked in a bag." Now just 35% of Ryanair passengers checked in a bag. | |
| "We'd consider anything, but we're not doing it at the moment," he added. | "We'd consider anything, but we're not doing it at the moment," he added. |