Ryanair Airport Check-In Refund
File this under the “annoying” category. While in Europe last month, I flew a quick leg on Ryanair — one of Europe’s low-cost carriers that provides dirt cheap airfare and tries to get you by charging for everything extra they can. Ryanair also pushes you to use web check-in; if you check-in at the counter, they make you pay a check-in fee. What is annoying, though, is that if you don’t have an EU/EEA passport, you have to check-in at the airport, and thus have to pay the check-in fee. At Stansted, that fee was 3 GBP.
On the help section of their website, though, they have this section: “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, from that, due to my US passport, I should be entitled to a check-in fee refund of the 3 GBP. Of course, Ryanair provides absolutely no information on how to do this on their website.
Luckily, there is the internet, which led me to the post “WARNING: RyanAir Online Checkin” over at Less Than a Shoestring who managed to figure all of this out. Apparently, to request the refund, you need to write to them with your name, flight details, and confirmation number to:
Ryanair Refunds Dept
Ryanair Head Office
Dublin Airport
Co Dublin, Ireland
Yes, that’s right, you actually have to write in, which just makes this process even more annoying. So if you’re going to write to get the fee refunded, its probably a good idea to mail it while you’re in Europe. From the United States, it cost my ninety cents to mail the request to Dublin.
Ryanair will reply to your letter at the email address you used to book the ticket (so while I have to pay international postage, they don’t respond in kind). Frustratingly, they got back to me telling me that they needed a copy of my passport identification, and that, you guessed it, they would appreciate it if I mailed it to them in Dublin. Now, there was no way I was going to provide them a copy of my passport, but I did send them a heavily censored copy of my identification page that removes most of the private information, which should suffice.
At this point, its pretty much a matter of principle that I am trying to get this fee refunded. The current weak value of the dollar makes this slightly more worthwhile, too — 3 GBP is somewhere around 6 USD right now, so even spending two dollars to get four back seems somewhat worth it. While it probably is not worth getting worked up over a single 3 GBP fee, it almost certainly is worth writing in after a round trip (which would have TWO check-in fees) or several legs.
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Greetings Student Scrooge!
On the 10 flights I have taken with RyanAir since they instituted this rule, I simply selected Web Check-in at the time of booking and have used airport check-in without a hitch. Only once did they even mention that I hadn’t paid the fee; I simply told her I’d called the hotline who said I would be given a refund anyway, so the check-in attendant dropped it. Personally, I’d rather not give them the money up-front. But if you don’t/didn’t know, you should most certainly apply for the refund — and yes, it is about the principle here.
As I note in the post, it is also possible to FAX your request to their number in Ireland, which is probably cheaper than international postage.
I would appreciate it if you left a comment at the page you link to, updating us all when your refund arrives. Thanks!
poetloverrebelspy, I’ll be honest, given that this was my first time dealing with Ryanair and given what I had heard, I didn’t want to risk doing anything creative to try to get around the fee, but in hindsight you’re absolutely right that it likely would have worked. I’ll keep that in mind for next time.
And while you are right about the fax option, I simply didn’t have a fax machine easily accessible right now — I so rarely need to send a fax.
I will certainly keep you updated!
how long did it take you to get your refund? thanks….
adeline, I’m actually still waiting on the refund. Timing wise, it took them about two to three weeks to respond to my letter requesting the refund.
I then replied to the email fairly quickly with the additional requested email, and it has now been a little less than a month — I’m hoping to hear back soon, and I’ll definitely update the post.
poetloverrebelspy – I had read that your technique would work on the Less Than A Shoestring website and tried the same when I arrived at Stansted. However, the person at check-in flatly refused to check me in until I had paid the airport check-in fee. Whether this is an isolated case or a new rule, I don’t know, but it’s worth bearing in mind in future.
This was a flight taken in mid-April from Stansted. Of course, on the return flight from Stockholm, there were no problems whatsoever, and they didn’t even ask about why I had not checked in online.
Hi Student Scrooge,
Curious – did you ever get your money back? How long did it take for your credit card to be credited?
Cheers
Hi Julia,
Unfortunately, I am still waiting. I am not really holding my breath at this point, and am pretty annoyed with Ryanair. I played their game by their rules, and ended up losing.
I just wrote a quick update here: http://www.studentscrooge.com/2008/11/15/ryanair-a-bird-strike-refund-update-and-a-rant/
- Richard
that’s a shame Richard. I have not sent my request in yet – still have to photocopy my passport, but I have at least 45 euros worth of “check-in fees” (and more to come!) in the past 2-3 months so it’ll be worth it for me to pursue this! plus, i am living in dublin for 6 more months so i can keep bugging them. will keep you posted!
I flew from Frankfurt Hahn to Ireland round trip and paid 50 euros for my family of 5. At the time I bought my tickets I chose online check in and the day before found we couldn’t check in online as I am a US citizen. At both locations they told us we had to go pay the fee and bring back the receipt before they would check us in. We did so and I would like my refund. What I would like to know is if I send it in via fax what exactly do they need? The receipts? Is it OK to write the names, confirmation number, route, dates etc. on the receipt? If I have to also send a copy of the passports this fax is going to cost me almost as much as the fee for one person. Also reading here it could take 6 months to get the refund if it is even returned? With multiple family members is Ryanair really the cheapest airline? Is it worth it? A great benefit of our military is that we can take military hops to many Europe locations for no fees at all. I may have to stick to seeing those locations for the principle that I feel they aren’t upfront about what things actually cost.
@Julia — Wow, yes, 45 Euros worth of “check-in” fees would definitely be worth pursuing. Please keep me updated! You’ve also got a nice advantage being there in Dublin. If you haven’t already done so, you might want to check out the page over at Less Than A Shoestring (http://nobudgettravel.wordpress.com/2007/11/13/warning-ryanair-online-check-in/) — they’ve got some advice on other ways you can get around the fees.
@Cat — I hear your frustration! Ryanair’s entire model is based on people getting sucked into all of the extra fees, but I agree that it is not fair at all that they then make it incredibly difficult to follow their own rules. As I mentioned in my follow-up, I faced the same problem you’re talking about — the cost for someone abroad (who, afterall, is usually the one being faced with the check-in fee) to pursue this refund often outweighs the refund itself. That just plain stinks, and its why I loathe Ryanair on that level.
I was also charged for check in again when my flight as cancelled and we were re-routed. I had already paid and done online check in for both myself and friend. I will be writing to Ryanair and faxing them as I cant guarantee which method is better. I hope that they deal with the refund quickly. 30 euros for check in and 46 pounds for coach fare from Stanstead to my city. It all adds up considering our return flights were only £44 each ..grr. I am also going to charge the postage and possibly my cigarettes for the stress caused by the cancelled flight.. try my luck.
Hi all!
This is a very late update, but I’ve got good news! I sent in the proper paperwork to ask for my refund on Dec.19 – haven’t crosschecked what I requested but on Jan. 7, I received a flurry of e-mails from Ryanair customer service and was refunded a total of 45 euros on to my credit card!!
There is hope for everyone
Cheers
I’m curious: did they eventually give you a refund for the airport check-in fee?
@Julia — Way to go! That is terrific news — and an amazing turn around time. For 45 Euros, I would have definitely considered it worth the effort.
@E — Alas, I never got my refund… its been about a year now, so I think I can effectively give up. I only was requesting one refund, so it wasn’t worth much of a fight (except on principle!). However, if you look at the post above yours, Julia managed to get 45 Euros back, so there is a success story for you.
did you end up getting your fee back?
hey guys,
i just got charged 10 euros and would certainlyy love to get that back. Y’all know if they have an email address that I can send my app to instead of mailing/faxing??
thanks yall!!!
the address given has no postcode? is it correct?
I paid 40 pounds worth of check in fee – and I would like it refunded.
Just wanted to let you know that I was successful in getting the check-in fee back from Ryan Air, given the reason that we were unable to do online check-in, despite only travelling with hand luggage, as we are not EU passport holders.
I had heard of RyanAir delaying refunds and requesting further information so included all possible information and documents possible with my letter to RyanAir -booking confirmation number, passenger names, outbound flight details, inbound flight details, and photocopies of our booking confirmation, boarding passes and passport pages.
My credit card was reimbursed within a few weeks of sending the letter. It was a bit of effort to go to for the sake of £20 but worth it on principle.
@tova — I never did, but as you can see from the comments, some other people have had success.
@geo — As far as I know, there is no email address, which I’m pretty sure is a deliberate choice to make it more difficult.’
@tsa23 — The address worked for me when I mailed it in.
@Vicyk — well done! Always nice to hear a success story.
http://www.ryanair.com/site/EN/faqs.php?sect=chk&quest=whoco
“From the 19/3/09 all passengers (bar exceptions below) will be able to check-in online.
Passenger can check-in online for one of both of their flights from 15 days up to 4 hours before the scheduled flight departure time of the flight on http://www.ryanair.com
The following passengers do not qualify for Online Check-in:
* Children aged between 14 and 15 years travelling alone – PLEASE NOTE – Ryanair will no longer accept unaccompanied minors under the age of 16 from the 1st October 2009 onwards
* Passengers travelling with infants (*)
* Passengers travelling with driving licences as their form of photo-ID
* Online Check-in is not available from Moroccan Airports
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 upon application. A refund of the airport check-in fee is only applicable to the person unable to avail of the service and not all passengers in the reservation.
A refund of the airport check-in fee is only applicable to the person unable to avail of the service and not all passengers in the reservation.”
Does-it work?
stop press bristol-dublin ryanair charged me stg£20×4 total £80 then on return journey changed fee to £40×4 total£160 thieves never again i would rather swim
another success story! my airport check-in fee has been refunded. Thanks to you guys; wouldnt have applied for a refund had it not been this website! thanks thanks!!
geo:)))
PS: It took ~2 weeks! (thats including shipping etc) sent app on march 31st by mail and money was credited to my credit card on april 15.
@rory: they charged you that much FOR WHAT???
Aaahhh. My mum is disabled and therefore HAD to check-in. However they say that she can claim the fee back.. WRITE TO THEM!! at Dublin Airport (no Postcode)
Done that in April 2009. No reply…..
I have tried faxing them on 003531 8121230 or 8121213 from the UK but it wont connect!!!
Anyone got a better number ( am i dialing the write code?)
I’ve also tried e-mail at info@ryanair…
I’ll post any updates.
still no reply!!! ,,, Thanks I enjoyed that moan but its the principal!!