Budget airlines break new rules on opt-in website pricing

Budget airlines Ryanair and easyJet are failing to comply with European laws that ban pre-checked boxes on websites that sell flight tickets. New rules provide that optional price supplements must be accepted on an 'opt-in' basis. The European Commission announced this week that it is stepping up pressure on airlines to ensure …

[kevin elliott]

About time.

I booked some tickets through the Orange Monster's web site earlier this year and it was anything but Easy to navigate through to the end of the purchase without buying or getting conned into one of the many unwanted extras....

And if you board at an airport where you're bussed out to the plane, your priority boarding means nothing more than first on the bus - not first on the plane.... Is that a con or not????

Still I suppose you get what you pay for, but if you miss the opening specials when they publish thei new schedules, they're anything but cheap....

Bet they lose my luggage for posting this...

[Neil Hoskins]

I wish...

I wish the opt-in spam rules had been an enforceable Regulation, rather than a toothless Directive that UK.gov has no interest in applying, and the Data Protection Commissioner has no intention of enforcing.

[Stephen Whitaker]

Hmm

I'm not sure how they can say they are complying with the "opt-in" approach! Its surely just an excuse to flog you insurance at every opportunity just like the mobile phone operators used to (and probably still) do!

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: About time

I'll second that!!

Ryan Air's pricing is about as opaque as they come. Your articles long list of "options" and additional charges shows that. I mean, charging for checking in is ludicrous! Unless you have internet access (and there's a good chance you don't, especially on your return flight), what else are you supposed to bloody do?

And I simply can not understand how they can get away with headline ticket prices of 99p which magically turn into 40 quid by the time you get to the end of the purchasing procedure. It's outrageous.

And their "airport taxes" and "surcharges" seem to magically go up and down in inverse proportion to the cost of the ticket. Strange that, don't you think?

Never again.

[Andy]

I'll be buggered

I live in France and have a Carte Bleue, but being English I habitually navigate their website in my maternal language. That does not offer Carte Bleue as a means of payment, so I've been paying the Visa charge every time up until now!!!! I just tried it in French, and it is indeed free for the CB. Bugger, bugger, bugger.

-A.

[Anonymous Coward]

flymaybe.com

I've just booked my regular flight with flybe. Insurance (£4.49) is ticked on by default, as is baggage (twice, at £7.99!! each way). It also costs £4 just to pay them by credit card. They do allow free payment by Electron, but I've never found out how to get one of these and flybe won't tell me.

In fact flybe won't tell me anything at all now, since I'm now banned from contacting their customer support for pointing out how they could improve their service so many times.

At least they don't charge £6 just to check in, as bmibaby do.

Posted AC because there's no competition on my route and I have to fly with them.

[Dennis Healey]

Tax rip off

Remember - if you have to cancel or don't take a flight you can claim the tax back as it is not the property of the airline - they just collect it for the Government and the airport .......you weren't taxed because you didn't fly.

Good if the fair is 99p and the tax £40

Paris cos she is on special offer all the time

[Winkypop]

Airlines have gone to the dogs

I'd actually prefer the days of full-fare flights.

You just paid and then you flew....

No bullshit.

[Mad as a Bat]

bmibaby has same problem

I booked a couple of days ago with bmibaby to Ireland. There site has insurance already ticked as well. Deselecting this option causes a pop-up to appear that is worded to make it sound like the world will end if you don't pick their insurance. They also have the additional 6.99 charge for manual check-in although this falls to 3.99 if pre-booked online or nothing for online check-in. Go figure.

They also charge to pay by credit/debit card but this charge does not apply if you pay by a bmibaby Mastercard. Funny I thought that the credit card companies charged for every transaction and it didn't matter whose card you had. At least its not as bad as the ridiculous Ruinair "handling charge" that adds a booking fee per-person per-ticket (i.e. each way). For all Ruinair's headline figures of £1 or £0 tickets it still always works out £20 cheaper to fly bmibaby to Ireland than to fly on Ruinair and you don't have the rugby scrum to get seats on the aircraft.

[David Buckle]

Neilson Holidays

Also pre-ticked an "in-flight meal" for a 2 hour flight at a cost of £13 on top of the published price, which I didn't want becasue in-flight meals are not wothwhile. I wouldn't have minded so much if it was an option but they even disabled the tick box so you couldn't opt-out!

Thanks OUTLAW - I'll be asking Neilson ( who I think is run by Thomson) for a refund of the meal and point them in the right direction of the law.

[Emperor Zarg]

@Kevin Elliott - Priority bus

In my experience and to my amusement at Bergamo... sorry, Milan... Ryanair send the Priority Boarding passengers on a separate bus to the aircraft ahead of the masses - so you do get to choose your seat even if you are bussed to the airport. Perhaps this doesn't happen at every airport where Ryanair uses remote stands.

[E-Victims.org]

Don't forget E-Commerce Regulations

The airlines also have to comply with the E-Commerce Regulations/Directive. Which we've been able to use to resolve disputes.

Booking with your credit card gives you insurance in case an airline goes bust - it maybe worth the credit card charge for that insurance. Jennifer Perry, Managing Director - www.e-victims.org