HARRY FOY
Sir, - Question: When is a Low Fares Airline not a Low Fares Airline?
Answer - When they delay getting your baggage to the arrivals area for two hours, make you miss your next flight with them, then insist on charging you £40 to book another flight the next day.
A reasonable approach or sharp business practice? Not until this happened to me did I realise all those smartly dressed young people in Ryanair uniforms are not actually employed by them at Stansted. They work for Groundstar, a new baggage handling company hired by the airline to, amongst other duties, get your baggage moved quickly from the aircraft to the carousel. Should this take two hours to do and should I as a passenger have had to pay a fee of £40 when their delay to my baggage caused me to miss my next Ryanair flight?
Earlier this year Ryanair awarded all its passenger and ramp handling work at Stansted to Groundstar. This, they confirmed through their web site, was to improve customer service. The result, however, was insufficient trained staff to handle the work in busy periods. Should passengers then have to pay a price because of this business decision?
Ryanair's response to my written complaint was far from adequate, sending a standard letter quoting procedures and clearly designed to cover a delay to an aircraft and not the baggage in it. Their letter avoided the whole issue of baggage delays caused by the new company.
How then can we enjoy cheap flights with Ryanair through Stansted without the worry of delayed baggage and missed flights?
This dilemma can, with some ingenuity be overcome. In future when travelling with them we intend to wear as much of our baggage as possible. All our travel clothes can be worn in carefully disguised layers using combat trousers with multiple pockets to store such things as cameras, toiletries, papers etc. The correct size and weight cabin baggage can be used to store folding travel bags for the rest of the journey. This procedure may seem a little over-kill. But enduring some discomfort for a short while may help to ensure a good holiday later with, as far as possible, the benefits of a low fares airline! - Yours, etc.,
HARRY FOY, Belfast