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The airline that levies a "wheelchair supplement" on every passenger and invented the notion of a fee for paying by debit card, is about to start charging for one of the absolute basics of air travel: check in.
Any passenger booking with Ryanair from September 20 onwards will be offered a choice: either check-in online, or pay a £2 ($5.50) fee per person, per flight. The twist is that travellers with bags to check in are denied the internet option.
Europe's biggest no-frills airline charges a £2 fee for web check-in at present, but this will disappear from September 20. Ryanair denies that "chequebook check-in" is designed as revenue stream - instead, the airline aims to modify passenger behaviour to cut staff, facilities and therefore costs.
"We have Europe's lowest fares, and want to cut them even further," said Peter Sherrard, Ryanair's head of communications.
The price of a round trip for a family of four will rise by £16. Bookings made up to September 19 are unaffected; even if they are for flights next summer, the check-in fee will not apply.
A spokesman for British Airways said the airline had no plans to charge for check in, nor, for that matter, to ditch its free luggage and on-board food. A spokeswoman for easyJet said: "We have no plans to do that at all" - but the airline gave the same response two years ago when Ryanair announced it would start charging for luggage.
Earlier this month, easyJet announced it would "simplify" its rules on luggage by introducing a fee of £2 per piece.
Industry observers believe that Ryanair could start charging for using the on-board toilets, on the grounds that the aircraft washrooms occupy space that could otherwise be used for seating. The airline has always denied plans for passengers to pay a pound to spend a penny.
- Independent
