Check in fee refund?!

Hey all...

I fly Ryanair quite a bit, but lately they have added a £3 check in fee per person per flight if you hold a non-EU passport. They said it can get 'refunded upon application' but give no further info unless you call their pricey hotline number (lol now I know how the fares are so cheap). Does anyone have any experience in getting the £3 refunded? I'm making 6 flights so £18 back wouldn't hurt...do you just ask for it when you go to the check in desk and they see you have a USA passport? Cheers for the advice,

seriously? is this well-advertised on their website?  what a flipping rip off.

(sorry- have no info on how to apply for refund)

Wow! Total crock! I never heard of that. Isn't that some form of discrimination?

Right, the last time I flew Ryanair I booked online and when it asked if you hold an EU passport you say no, and you shouldn't be charged 3 pounds for not checking in online. That's only for people who hold an EU/UK passport. It is NOT for people with non-EU passports. I checked in at Bristol and wasn't charged anything, got on the plane, all was well. As I was checking in at Dublin to come back the girl was like, you need to pay the 3 pound check in fee as you didn't check in online. I explained to her that I didn't have to do this in Bristol and she just kept saying, you need to pay 3 pounds. So, I went and stood in this line for about 20 minutes to pay 3 pounds. I get up to the desk and explain to the woman that I didn't pay this in Bristol, why am I paying it here. She looks at my passport and says, you have a non-EU passport, you don't have to pay 3 pounds. I'll change it on the computer and off you go. So, I go BACK to the check in desk and the original woman checks me in. Don't you think she should have known this bit of info??? I was pretty peeved to say the least.

Ryanair is a complete rip off. They now offer you speedy boarding for a couple of quid. They walk around the boarding area in Dublin trying to sell you the opportunity to get onto the plane before other people, even though we're all getting on there evenutally. It's such a scam.

lol I went from Prestwick to Dublin and had to pay the £3. The reason they gave was because people with non-EU passports need to pay to use the check in desk because they need to make sure you have the correct visa for the country you are going to. She said the check in fee was refundable if you didn't have luggage (but didnt tell me how to get it back).

Easyjet on the other hand, lets me use the online check in with a US passport so obviously they're making money off of people who don't know they can get it back. Online I did research after posting the original post and most people do request the £3 or 3 Euros (in Europe) back at the check in desk. They do sometimes charge you on the website (new rule since December 07) but it can be refunded provided you are not carrying luggage. Interesting Bristol didn't charge you, on the website it looks like there's no way around not being charged so maybe they changed it? They can easily become a ripoff, but sometimes are good value if you are not carrying luggage, etc. Obviously the credit card fee/check in fee is daft, but I just got return tickets to Tuscany from Prestwick for £35 including tax and a ticket to Belfast for £5 each way including tax, which is good value. Obviously they charged £6 extra for the check in fee for a roundtrip flight but I will request it back and see what happens...thanks for your advice everyone, just wondering if people had paid for it and got it refunded on check in. It is a bit discrimatory if Easyjet lets you check in online and Ryanair doesn't and give you a lame excuse.

It had been awhile since we booked with one of the cheapie airlines...  I just recently did two itineraries with Jet2 (Leeds-Bradford being the main base for them & that's pretty close to where we live!).

I can tell you that I was surprised!  Despite the cheap flight fares advertised, they charged me extra for the privilege of PAYING with our Visa debit card (how else was I supposed to pay buying online?!).  They charge you extra for any baggage you want to check.  And they charge you extra if you want to pre-select your seats (before check-in at the airline counter).  By jeebus!  What else are they going to charge me for?

I've only flown a low-budget airline once and that was when I was on that reality TV programme in Inverness. The production company put us all on an Easy Jet flight from Stansted. When the flight attendant came around with the drinks cart I asked for a coffee. She handed it to me and stood there looking at me. I had NO idea we had to pay for beverages! CHEAPOS!!!

I've only flown a low-budget airline once and that was when I was on that reality TV programme in Inverness.

You were on a reality tv programme?!? More details please!!

You were on a reality tv programme?!? More details please!!

Oh it was about 4 years ago. From the makers of Most Haunted on SKY Living TV. It aired for 5 days and Im pretty sure nobody watched it 

I was surprised I had to pay this too. I met some Canadians who thought this was discrimination. So not only do we have to pay a fee, check in at the desk, and cannot use web check in, we cannot get priority boarding. But as this fee applies to many other passengers (including passengers with disabilities!!!), I can see why those of us EU foreigners WITHOUT checked luggage get overlooked.

I haven't heard about a refund though.

http://www.ryanair.com/site/EN/conditions.php?pos=MYFLIGHT

hey Olive! On that link you posted, a wee bit down the page it states:

"Where a passenger is unable to avail of Online Check-in by reason only of a matter marked (*) above any Airport Check-In fee paid will be refunded at the time the special services are requested. Where a passenger is unable to avail of Online Check-in by reason only of not being the holder of either a valid passport or a National Identity Card, issued by the government of an EU/EEA country, any airport check-in fee paid will be refunded upon application."

so i suppose i didn't understand what the 'application' was, but after googling it looks like you can request it back at the airport. it makes more sense if they had an option on the site to tick if u had a non-EU passport, but they probably make money this way because ppl will forget to request it back. When I go to Italy next month I'll see what happens when I ask for it!

hopefully they do retrospective 'applications'!!! Nice to know they aren't discriminating against non EU or people with disabilities... but it would be nice if they advertised that better!

good eye! I missed that.

Let us know what you find out!

I spoke with someone at RyanAir today and was told that you need to complete your flights, and then apply to have your fees refunded. You can fax a copy of your itinerary/confirmation number to: 00 35 318 121 230  Supposedly you will have the fees refunded back to your original card in less than 10 working days. I don't fly till early May, so we shall see. 

You are a star Courtney! I have one completed flight from January. I think I have been avoiding them since then! I have another one booked in June.

So I guess just a cover letter with the fax is enough?