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Ryanair to close airport check-in desks

Tuesday, 24 February 2009

Low-fare carrier Ryanair plans to close its airport check-in desks by the end of the year and make passengers check in online to reduce costs.

Officials at the no-frills Irish airline said by reducing its costs at airports, savings will be passed on to passengers through lower fares.

Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary told the Daily Telegraph passengers will be able to leave their luggage at a bag drop but otherwise everything will be online.

“Ultimately, we want just one in five people to check in luggage,” he said.

The carrier said that 97% of passengers booked online already and 75% used the internet to check in.

Spokesman Stephen McNamara said the airline saw the move as the “logical next step” in an effort to pass on savings to passengers through reduced fares.

The plan has emerged days after Ryanair launched an in-flight mobile phone service that will eventually be extended to its entire fleet of more than 170 planes.

Available initially on 20 Ryanair aircraft, the system will soon allow passengers to make and receive mobile calls and texts on all Ryanair aircraft.

The charge for passengers to check in at the airport, rather than online, has also risen from £2 to £3. Mr McNamara, said: “This will reduce our costs at airports and that means we can pass on those savings to our passengers in the form of lower fares.

“Hopefully by the end of the year we will have bag drop-in areas instead, which will be manned.”

Earlier this month, Ryanair said it would cut 200 jobs based in Dublin, including pilot positions as it forecast a sharp drop in air traffic to and from the Irish capital this year.

Last week Ryanair announced that it is to become the world's first budget airline to offer passengers a mobile phone service.

Around 50 aircraft will be upgraded over the six month trial period, with all 170 planes expected to be kitted out within 18 months.

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It's the trend of the future, not just in the airline industry. RyanAir didn't become what it is today because of bad ideas--on the contrary. Over here in the US, even the "main line" carriers want you to check in on a machine, be it on your computer before heading to the airport or at a self-service kiosk in front of the ticket counter. They only want to speak to you for purposes of attaching the tag to your bag and checking your ID. Even my car rental in Florida earlier this month was much the same, although someone did help me with the machine since I had never used (or much less seen) a self-service kiosk at a car rental agency. Put simply, if you don't embrace technology and the control it gives YOU over YOUR transactions, you'll be left behind.

Posted by Phil | 26.02.09, 23:17 GMT

Good point sam

I've experienced something similar. The charges on hold baggage has encouraged everyone to become a little more creative while packing and the result of this is overloaded baggage compartments and rather unseemly scrambles before take off. Air travel really has lost its magic...

Posted by mark | 24.02.09, 17:47 GMT

I've heard that rumour too, and I'm not happy!

Those remote control units are quite good, although computer run by 'windows', you gotta expect the odd crash :)

Posted by Worried Ryanair pilot | 24.02.09, 14:10 GMT

Well it was too good to be true wasn't it ? When that cocky little O'Leary gave our own Declan on BBC Breakfast television last year an absolute assurance that Ryanair would apply no fare increases due to fuel charge rises some of us , thought " How can he do that ? "
Well we now know it was only a gimmick , and following the big loss in their accounts , it's clawback time ! Who knows where all this Ryanair cost cutting is going to end ?
Here's one suggestion : Why not sack half their mechanics and maintenance staff and only service the aircraft once every three months ? That would make some reduction in the wages bill wouldn't it ! !

Posted by Jack | 24.02.09, 13:51 GMT

There's a rumour that Ryanair are considering using remote controlled aircraft to avoid paying for pilots.

Posted by T J McClean | 24.02.09, 12:39 GMT

We normally use Ryanair for our summer hols which is usually 15-17 days in length, As long as we can check-in to come back before we leave I am ok with this. However on the bags issue, Yesterdays flight from Alicante - Dublin 18.05 was full and the last group of passengers were forced to put their bags in the hold as all the baggage compartments were packed. this was frustrating for many as they had to remove their valued belongings from their bags in front of watching passengers. The plane (737) could not cope with the scenario of all passengers carrying one piece of hand luggage.

Posted by Sam | 24.02.09, 10:56 GMT

if o'leary were first minister here in northern ireland the wasters would be got rid of within days.........wiithout bonuses or pensions..........resulting in more and better schools, hospitals, roads, you name it!!...better or not?

Posted by willeric | 24.02.09, 10:54 GMT