Tra l’ennesima riproposizione di “Mary Poppin’s” e del “Piccolo Lord”, tra un “Circo” ed un “Concerto sinfonico”,  e soprattutto tra una fetta di panettone e un torrone, i telespettatori della Rai, potranno farsi quattro risate, o meglio “Due…risate”. Questo è infatti,  il titolo del nuovo programma che la domenica, a partire dal 29 novembre, terrà compagnia al pubblico di Raidue, dalle 19,00, sino al Tg2 delle 20,30. Considerando il livello del giornalismo italiano, e quello dei comici in forza in tv negli ultimi tempi, si potrebbe, tranquillamente correre il rischio di provare sentimenti e sensazioni opposte. In realtà, trattandosi, dell’ennesimo programma, costituito da un montaggio di spezzoni, non è escluso, che qualche sana risata, grazie ad Arbore e ai fratelli Guzzanti, possa pure scappare.

Trattasi dell’ennesimo riempitivo di palinsesto a basso costo, al quale però si affiancherà un nuovo progetto, targato Raiuno. Non si tratta, del tanto agognato, show comico, richiesto da anni da Carlo Conti, che peraltro, tra “Il gladiatore” e “Ritorno al presente” di programmi ridicoli ne ha condotti abbastanza, bensì di un nuovo e sperimentale appuntamento che vedrà come capocomico Beppe Braida. Il passaggio in Rai, con il flop di “Tutti pazzi per la tele”, non è stato certo un buon esordio, per l’ex conduttore di “Colorado”, che  per due puntate pilota in seconda serata, dirette da Giancarlo Nicotra, cercherà di rifarsi con “Chek.in”. Numerosi comici e le immancabili bellone di turno, in questo caso Nena Restic e Francesca Lodo, saranno gli ingredienti base di questo nuovo show,  ambientato stando al titolo in un aeroporto. Dopo il cinema all’aperto del “Drive in”, il “Grand hotel” di Canale 5, i “Tunnel” e la “Tintoria” di Raitre,  passando per il deserto di “Colorado” e  il circus di “Zelig”, è quindi arrivato il momento di ridere o perlomeno provarci, tra bagagli, aerei e biglietti; Un ‘idea non originalissima, se si considera, che per anni, sui circuiti nazionali di Italia 7 , Eleonora Benfatto prima e Ana Laura Ribas poi, conducevano il programma comico “Lista d’attesa”, ambientato proprio in aeroporto.

During the past weeks, we have been working hard with Ossi design. What to do next, what works, what doesn’t… At the moment, even after an extensive round of user interviews, it is hard to tell what exactly should be done to make the users happy.

The delay in the delivery of 3G connections has been slowing us down and discouraging many users from effectively starting to use Ossi, yet. However, some issues have to be taken for real even based on the reports of a handful of active users. We are taking seriously the feedback we have received and doing our best to use the users’ insights to make Ossi better.

A new “check-in” system is currently being designed and implemented to allow the users a more situation-specific control over when to share their location. This change will be helpful also in making the system more stable and the losses of connectivity more rare.  Soon posting longer messages from one’s mobile device shouldn’t feel so “risky” anymore! Furthermore, we are working on making the newest contents in Ossi more quickly browsable by merging the Friend and Sizzle view. Also, the way groups are presented in the Groups-section is being worked on, to facilitate checking out what has happened in the groups in which the user him/herself is a member.

Last week I had the chance to visit a couple of good workshops and discuss with many of my splendid colleagues. They helped me remember what an ambitious project we are working on as we are trying to come up with user studies that have hundreds of participants and a very long duration. We have taken over a mission that is very ambitious, even crazily so. Launching useful and interesting social media services is in itself a difficult thing to do, but achieving it in aggregation to relevant research is even more so. While many research projects can be proud of getting user studies out of labs into the wild, we are heading somewhere wilder than wild: to the real everyday life of our users.

Even while we sometimes tend to forget this, in certain ways, we in OtaSizzle are pushing the limits. And this is, of course, exactly what we should be doing. Anything less wouldn’t be as exciting.

Airbus A320 da TAM (Foto: Airliners.net / Clique para ampliar)

A TAM enviou comunicado à imprensa esclarecendo que o problema com seu check-in ocorrido na última quinta-feira, 19, não teve a ver com a migração de plataforma tecnológica para o Amadeus. Isso porque nos aeroportos essa mudança se dará apenas de dezembro a março, em fases, como já anunciamos aqui no Portal PANROTAS. Veja a nota da TAM:

“Esclarecemos que a indisponibilidade temporária dos nossos sistemas de check in na manhã desta quinta-feira não está ligada à migração dos sistemas comerciais para a plataforma Amadeus, que faz parte da reestruturação de Tecnologia de Informação da companhia, como preparação para a entrada na Star Alliance. O sistema atual de check in da companhia migrará para a nova plataforma tecnológica apenas em 2010, após a alta temporada, e vai proporcionar um atendimento ainda melhor aos nossos clientes

Agimos rapidamente para minimizar os transtornos aos nossos passageiros, usando cinco aeronaves reservas. As decolagens nos aeroportos de Congonhas e de Guarulhos (São Paulo) foram normalizadas a partir das 14h da quinta-feira. Em outros aeroportos, as operações foram regularizadas ao longo do dia.”

Quase cinco horas depois do problema que atingiu o sistema de check-in da TAM em todo o País, na manhã desta quinta-feira, 19, a companhia registrava atrasos em 45,1% dos voos programados. De acordo com boletim divulgado pela Infraero, até as 13 horas, 171 dos 379 voos programados pela empresa atrasaram mais de meia hora. Outras 17 operações da companhia foram canceladas (4,5%). Em nota divulgada nesta manhã, a TAM afirmou que “após as ações corretivas, o sistema ficou intermitente e, às 8h40, foi totalmente restabelecido. A empresa lamenta por eventuais transtornos e ressalta que a malha aérea deverá estar regularizada ao longo do dia, inclusive com o uso de aviões reservas.”

So I’m here in Vegas, 2 tan coats deep, and exhausted! But starting from the beginning..

Final Check-In

After being up until 2am this morning cooking and prepping food, I was not too bright-eyed at the gym at 6:30am this morning for my final check-in. And the results: 116.5lbs, ~7.65% body fat. I also posed with my suit for the first time which was fun . After that I headed over to get a 2nd coat of tan (got the first at about 10pm the night before), then headed home to finish packing.

Now this does this look like 4.5 days worth of food to you?

Vegas Arrival

Tonight I’m staying with the two other girls from my gym who are competing (both in bikini), and the room rocks. The room is in fact on a private floor, and look what greeted us upon stepping off the elevator..

Room Pics (sorry not sure what wrong with formatting, and I’m too lazy/tired to fix it right now :p )

Alright, I’m off to bed. Registration, Media Sessions, Photo Shoot and Fitness Show Rehearsal tomorrow. Have a wonderful Thursday everyone!

I am now past the six month point in the Battle for Purity and suddenly things seem to be getting harder.

—

Last week was series of stumbles for me. It began with masturbation while my wife was out-of-town. This was accompanied by fantasizing to images of women in my head. The bottom-line requirements for purity in the Battle are no pornography, no fantasy, and no masturbation. So I had clearly stepped over the line.

—

My wife came home and all seemed well. But on Friday I began to experience the same strong desires I used to feel — the urge to browse for something new and the physical excitement that comes with anticipation. I gave into these feelings and went back on-line to view pornography. It was as if the flood-gates had been opened. Rather than bring satisfaction, this yielding to temptation only served to increase my desire. By the time I got home from the office I already wanted more. Twice over the weekend I went onto my personal computer and browsed for more porn.

—

I disclosed my struggles to the SALT Brigade and to the Blueshirts, but I was not completely honest with either group. I did not share to what extent that old physical compulsion had returned. I did not want to betray them by admitting to a significant loss of purity. I did not want to admit this to myself.

—

This week has been a struggle at the office. Especially in the afternoons when I am getting tired and feeling isolated. That old yearning to cruise the internet is back.

—

I think that my hunger has been fed by my eyes. I have not guarded my eyes with the same vigor as I did when I started the Battle for Purity. I think my success made me take for granted that the urges were gone. So I started allowing myself to see women around me again — not looking at them with lust, but also not turning away from them immediately. Slowly, I have permitted lustful images to enter my mind through my eyes. And now that they have entered, there is a lustful hunger inside me that has again become hard to resist.

—

All that having been said, this week at the office has been a victory in the Battle for Purity. I have renewed my covenant with my eyes and tried to focus on the liberating experience that purity has brought to me over the past six months. I was sorely tempted to go back to the internet yesterday (and even again today), but my memory of recent success has convinced me that I can resist these urgings and temptations. Hopefully, as I starve my eyes, the hunger for lust will recede.

—

I do not want to return to the path I used to walk. I am in this for life.

—

LIVE PURE OR DIE!!!

Wall-street reports Germanwings passengers can check-in online, via the Internet or mobile phones, 72 hours prior to takeoff.  Late compared to traditional airlines. Not sure about low cost carriers:)

Mountain View Public Library

The first concern is the cost of such a system. In my last library we used the 3M system for RFIDs and automation. The RFIDs cost $0.46 each (we had 180,000), the RFID readers cost a few thousand each (we had almost 20), the RFID printers were rented and still cost a few thousand. These costs don’t include the costs for the servers, wiring, installation, security gates, self check-stations, and software maintenance charges that total some number beyond my comprehension. At that library we didn’t have, and therefore I didn’t include the cost of a fully automated sorting system and all items fell through the bookslot and into one bin.

The second concern is that, in my experience, these systems don’t require less work from staff at all. We were told that, as the items fell through the bookslot, they would automatically be checked-in and all we would have to do is sort the items and put them back on the shelves. However, this was not case. Items in the bookdrops were only checked-in 60-65% of the time requiring all items to be re-checked manually and sorted for holds and ILLs by hand. Also, metallic items such as anything with a CD, or metallic and reflective paint would not be scannable with the RFID system. Our library system also had a second building that wasn’t RFIDed. This is a similar problem found in library consortiums where items can be returned between library systems and different brands of barcodes or RFIDs are used that aren’t compatible. In relation to the amount of work required by automated systems is how much work staff is still required to do. Generally, the items still need to be pulled that are on hold or ILL, they still need to be

My third concern is; how well does the sorting machine actually work? I’ve been to a few libraries that use an automated sorting system that simply doesn’t sort the items in a way that’s even remotely effective. The items are misfed, mislabeled, and missorted to such an extent that the librarians have simply stopped using the system. The complaints from the poor folks who are stuck with these machines are long and plentiful and filled with stories of what could have been better done with the hundreds of thousands of dollars that were spent on the non-functioning machine. Of course the vendors promised the world to these sad librarians and I’ve actually heard the vendors say at conferences that staff will never have to touch a book again! In fact, I’ve had to stop spending time in exhibit halls at conferences because I’ve angered too many venders by my questions that lead them to admit to the Music Man like lie they just blatantly made to the group of librarians who surrounded their shiny new machines that would solve every library problem ever created and sure to come.

My final concern surrounds the ease of use for the patrons who are forced to use this machine. As the librarians are already frustrated with many of these systems, the patrons forced to use them oftentimes have the same experience. Many times the system has a new set of rules that patrons must learn, the system doesn’t work intuitively or consistently, and the end result is that the patron makes a mistake, the machine doesn’t work and the patron gets blamed, feels stupid, or simply doesn’t want to learn. And honestly, who can blame them? They already have to learn how to use ATMs, different self-check systems at grocery stores, smartphones, computer programs, different computer platforms, and the list goes on.

As a side story – I was recently talking to a library director at a conference about their RFID system and she made the comment that items need to be returned one at a time through the bookdrop for it to work but patrons were putting in more. Someone asked how they make sure that items are put one at a time through the bookdrop and she simply said “oh, we made a sign.” I asked her how that worked out for her, and she said…(I’m not kidding)… “it’s a really nice sign that’s made out of brass and engraved” and then looked at me as if that settled the problem and answered my question. I’m not sure that it did, but I gained a lot of insight into how that library works with that statement.

Luckily, I found that the Mountain View Library’s system solves almost all of these problems and is, as a library building, a very beautiful and functional space. Perhaps, one day renewing my faith in library vendors and automated systems. I will be blogging about how this whole thing SUCCESSFULLY!!! works in the days to come.

We have long since established the the Wife (To Be) and I are a rare breed of people, whom I refer to as Chronoptimists.

We blatantly refuse to believe that there are only 24 hours in a day, 60 minutes in an hour and 60 seconds in a minute.

We prefer to think that time is bendable to our will.

At least that must be what my parents think.

On my part, I can only imagine how stressful it must’ve been for them to send us off to the airport for the trip.

First, some facts.

Our plane was due to take off at 12 Midnight, which means that checking in STARTS at 10PM.

So, to us, this means that we should be there earliest by 10PM, and have up till 1130PM before check in stops. This would allow us to leave the house comfortably at 1030PM to catch a 20 minute cab ride to the Airport, with 40 minutes of “buffer” time for contingencies such as Emergency Toilet Breaks along the way.

To my parents, it means that we have to be there LATEST by 10PM,for checking in. On top of that, we should probably include some “buffer time” for emergencies such as Strikes by the Cab Company, the entire Singapore Taxi Fleet being annihilated by a Meteor Strike, Traffic Blocked by Runaway Cows and the hot favorite “Last Minutes Runs back home for Forgotten Passports” (I have been assured that the Home => Airport => Home => Airport “Passport Dance” is an age old and time honored Family Custom ). This means that we should be packed and all prepared to leave for the Airport by no later than… 6 in the morning. Haha. I kid, of course. They would prefer it if we were at the Airport at 6 in the morning.

I think you can only imagine the states my parents must have been reduced to when we touched down from our Malaysian flight at 3PM that day with nary a bag packed for the trip to Germany. They must have been convinced that the plane is going to leave without us at 7PM, when we strolled home with packed dinner for everyone. By the time we leave the house at 10PM (hassled out by ominous and haunting sounds of Hostile Key Jingling), I think they had to valiantly put on the “It’s your money you are wasting if you cannot catch the plane” front.

But deep down, we know that they have been reduced to little more than little pools of worry.

It’s sweet.

Times like this, I wonder if I could ever care and worry so much about Somebody elses’ trivialities, especially when said Somebody is a young punk who is half my age. It’s the sort of thing that fills you with the bitter sweet feeling when you’re going for a long trip. On one hand, you’re looking forward to the adventure, and on the other, there is this little uncomfortable feeling inside when you remember that there is someone back home actually worrying if you’ve eaten or brush your teeth.

It must have been a big relief for the Parents when they realized we were one of the first to arrive at the Airport for checking in.

There was a warm and fuzzy feeling inside when we started hugging each other goodbyes – and then they wanted to open up our locked backpack to go through the list of things that we would have Forgotten to Bring.

“Where did the semester go?” Suddenly the last week of classes is upon us (next week) and project deadlines are coming up fast (first week of Dec). Meaning, I won’t have time to go to the Homeland for a big turkey dinner. Way too much homework and not enough time. Which bites because the Maternal Grandmother has back surgery next week and I want to be there to stress out about her.

Em maio, a diretoria fez muita força para trazer Autuori;  seis meses depois, já não havia lá grandes motivos para espernear e tentar bancar a pesada proposta do Qatar. A razão era simples: com um time consideravelmente melhor que o do ano passado, o treinador carioca teve desempenho bem inferior ao do execrado Roth. A saída era inevitável.

-x-

À exceção de Dorival Junior, gosto dos nomes cogitados para o cargo. Silas faz milagre com o modestíssimo Avaí; Adílson é Adílson, anda até dando voadora em placa de publicidade.

Hoje um amigo ainda lembrou do uruguaio Jorge Fossati. Tive que concordar com ele: a LDU é um dos times que mais gosto de ver jogar, ultimamente.  Nos tempos de goleiro, Fossati defendeu times como Penarol, Olimpia, Independiente e Rosario Central. Treinou as seleções do Uruguai e do Qatar (!). La Liga costuma ser implacável em Quito, mas também chama a atenção por atuar com personalidade em campo ajeno. Isso viria bem a calhar.

Ryanair Baggage

Travelling with Ryanair for newbies

Ryanair offers shockingly low prices but some of their policies are equally extraordinary. They found a niche in the market where they are a leader. And they work hard for it.

Internet is full of horror stories, I personally witnessed a situation when a couple wasn’t allowed on board because Ryanair allows overbooking. That basically means they always sell more tickets than there is spaces. Just so you don’t get caught out. Some of their fees are really outrageous.

Anybody thinking of travelling with Ryanair should first read their FAQ.

General advice

Ryanair are as inflexible as required to lay their hands on your money. I.e. if they can charge you, they will charge you. Any mistakes on the part of the traveller are penalised severely. They make millions on those hidden charges.

Credit Card Fees

Something I talked about already.

Baggage Fees

Passengers are encouraged to only take as little baggage as possible. Ryanair’s really strict. Here’s an excerpt from their FAQ:

Each passenger is permitted to check- in up to a maximum of 2 bags with a maximum weight of 15 kilos per bag (subject to the payment of the applicable checked baggage fees).

Checked baggage fees are charged per person/per one way flight. Discounted fees are available online.

No pooling or sharing of baggage allowances is permitted, even within a party travelling on the same reservation. Each checked bag is permitted a maximum 15kgs allowance. In the event that you are travelling with 2 checked bags please be aware that no pooling of individual checked bag allowance is permitted (each bag is permitted a maximum weight of 15 kilos).

Any passenger exceeding their 15kg personal checked baggage allowance (per checked bag purchased) will be charged for the excess weight at the applicable rate per kilo

Read on to find out about further restrictions.

It really is worth reading through this section prior to making your travel arrangements. Every single item of luggage apart from the cabin baggage is charged for separately.

Each passenger (excluding infants) is permitted to carry one piece of cabin baggage on board (free of charge). Strictly one item of cabin baggage is permitted per passenger (excluding infants). Your handbag, briefcase, laptops, shop purchases, camera etc must be carried within your permitted 1 piece of cabin baggage. It should weigh no more than 10kg and not exceed the maximum dimensions of 55cm x 40cm x 20cm.

So it is strictly 1 item of hand luggage ONLY and nothing more period! This also applies to any items purchased at duty free shops. You’ll have to fit all your belongings into the one item of hand luggage.

Before you ask, they do check if your luggage fits within the maximum dimensions. I have a case that is barely within these measurements and am often asked to put it through the baggage gauge. You may not believe me but I did see disappointment on their faces when it did. I don’t know if they are commissioned for any oversize baggage that they find or if it was spontaneous.

You should also be careful about your hand luggage:

Extra/oversized cabin baggage will be refused at the boarding gate, or where available, placed in the hold of the aircraft for a fee of £35/€35. If you are unsure, check at the Bag Drop desk before going through security.

Here’s more:

Be warned Ryanair are now becoming completely militant about bags at the gate. In Prestwick they are now weighing bags at the gate and if you are even 1kilo over they will charge you £35 to check your bag in. At Dublin if your bag does not fit in the baggage gauge they too will sting you with a 35EUR fee. Ryanair are cheap but can end up being much more expense. Unless you have no choice book another airline or if you do fly with them make sure your cabin bag is small and weights just 10kg.

Check out this website for a full list of Ryanair fees

Print boarding cards

If you follow the strict rules and print off boarding cards and stick to luggage limits you will be fine. Staff surly and very quick to check you are compliant – and woe betide if you are not as they are ferocious in making sure you are within the rules. On our return flight many (15-20 ) passengers were pulled to one side and made to condense cabin luggage. A no frills airline I would use again if there was no other choice. Other negatives – constant selling during the flight and the most uncomfortable seats ever even on short haul.

Online check-in is currently the only option. You must have your boarding cards printed out or guess what – there will be an additional fee. Again absent those minded, lost or forgetful will be penalized for their lack of organization. This really is infuriating as surely other airlines would simply find out a way of resolving this type of issue. But the whole purpose is that you do pay the fee if you have forgotten because it’s yet another source of income.

Contact

I never needed to phone Ryanair apart from the one time when I found out about their enormous telephone charges. I decided it wasn’t that important for me to contact them anymore . However, their outrageous telephone fees seem to have changed since.

A remnant of the good old times is this website. As I check today it costs 1op per minute to contact them from a landline in the UK within the normal working hours weekdays only. However, they still have the expensive line paid at £1 per minute that’s open longer hours as well as weekends. Just so you know in case you have to phone them in emergency.

You will probably find their cheap lines extremely busy but it’s one of their strategies to minimise costs. You should only call with important matters. It’s nice to benefit from their low prices so we should all respect the fact they’re saving on the contact centres (I guess it’s easy to say when everything goes well but much harder when you’re pissed off).

Timekeeping

Arriving ahead of schedule is their greatest pride. If they land ahead of schedule or on time it’ll be announced on board and the message is usually followed by another about how 95% or their flights arrive on time.

Ryanair is Europe’s most punctual airline, as verified by the UK Civil Aviation Authority. We are committed to doing all we can to operate flights on time. You can help us enormously by being fully prepared for your flight. In particular, by pre-booking on our website for items such as checked baggage/priority boarding/baby car/booster/seats/sports/musical equipment; arriving at the airport in good time; travelling with the correct cabin baggage allowance; having the correct travel documentation ready for inspection at check-in, at security points and at the gate; and arriving at the boarding gate in plenty of time.

I guess the idea behind their punctuality is much more than just PR. Airlines pay for “any Aircraft which is on the Airport (from touch down to take-off) or scheduled to be on the Airport for any part of the following periods“.

Which is just one of the many fees. Here’s an examples of charges applied by the London City Airport.

Ryanair’s trying to keep these costs to the minimum, as “or scheduled to be on the Airport for any part of the following periods” simply means that if the plane is late your fees start to be calculated at the beginning of plane’s scheduled arrival up until the late departure time.

Some of the non-cheap carriers are not very strict about punctuality, some are even notorious for not sticking to the timetable but its passengers that are paying for their negligence.

On the other hand, Ryanair staff are extremely well organised and will push for speedy boarding. Which is what brings me to allegations of their lack of friendliness.

Unfriendly staff

I guess sometimes you could really say they’re unfriendly. Some of them are very tense and strict. I have never seen any of the staff losing it with any of the passengers but I wouldn’t be surprised to find this to happen occasionally.

On the I hate Ryanair blog I found this comment by one of Ryanair staff:

Hi,
I work for Ryanair myself, as a cabin crew, and really can only apologize for what we’ve got to offer. People seem to forget that both crew and passengers should both stay on the same side and blame whoever is making great money out us, real idiots, that for one reason or the other, have to work or fly for this company. Ryanair sucks, no way how to deny it, but can we really start doing something about it? As for myself, having to daily deal with both very unhappy cabin/flight crew and angry passengers, I can only suggest that we cooperate and put Ryanair where they really deserve: in court! To those passengers who take it on crew i beg you some mercy because we are, at the end of the day, the ones that suffers the worse of treatments, the ones that literally starve in foreign countries and put into debt and live in constant fear of loosing our miserable job just because somebody is in a bad mood. For some, the solution is simple and immediate: leave Ryanair! Unfortunately, this is so well schemed out, that most of us end up owing more money to the company and to the bank that we have no other choice. What Ryanair do to hire crew is called fraud very well hidden in smart contracts and based on big lies. Most of us are trapped and desperately seeking help to get rid of this company. Normally, we are foreigners that got into debt, changed country and find ourselves in a dead end. To all the unhappy passengers, again, I apologize and ask for their help. I am currently seeking help in an European court and encourage others to do so. Sometime, this has to end because such a fraud cannot sustain a company on a long term. That’s Ryanair’s biggest stupidity.

I have no clue what this person means by fraud very well hidden in smart contracts but it is definitely alarming.

Generally, you’re safe if you know the rules and come prepared. Once they have noticed you don’t know the rules they’ve got you. And they’ll make you suffer. You’re their prey of the day . Some people feel uncomfortable about being rushed about and sometimes patronized.

No airport announcements

Don’t expect to hear any airport announcements of this sort: “Passenger Smith and Wozinsky are requested to proceed to gate number 5″. Ryanair doesn’t pay for airport announcements and you have to make sure you’re at the right gate at the right time.

No connecting flights

Be careful when booking connecting flights with Ryanair. You’ll have to check in at the airport again to get onto another flight. And if you have little time or the first plane is late the plane won’t wait for you.

Ryanair is a ‘point-to-point’ airline. We therefore do not offer, and cannot facilitate, the transfer of passengers or their baggage to other flights, whether operated by Ryanair or other carriers.Passengers should not book onward flights connections with Ryanair or indeed with any other air or surface carrier.

Ryanair accepts no responsibility for making connections and therefore will not be liable for any losses or expenses arising out of any failure to achieve a planned connection. Source: Can I book a connecting flight with Ryanair?

That also means, if you want to buy tickets for more than one journey, you’ll need to pay credit card fees again unless you have a Visa Electron.

No changes

No changes can be made to a reservation once a passenger has checked in for a flight

As you probably know, Ryanair currently only offers online check-in. That means you’ll be filling in your personal details yourself: your date of birth and passport number must be correct. You will be refused to go onboard if your details don’t match exactly. And if they don’t you’ll also not be able to make any changes. The only option then is to buy a new ticket.

No senior fares

As simple as that.

Excess baggage fees

Tommy & Gail Sheridan pay £870 excess baggage charge on £30 flight

Again, sever penalties per each kilo of excess baggage. You can end up paying a fortune. Always consider flying with another airline if you have a lot of excess stuff.

Flights cancellation and schedule changes policy

If your flight is cancelled or before the date of travel, is rescheduled so as to depart more than three hours before or after the original departure time then you will be entitled to a travel credit or full refund of all monies paid if the alternative flight/s offered are not suitable to you and you do not travel. Source: Ryanair Terms and Conditions of Travel

What this means is if your Ryanair flight is cancelled or rescheduled 2 days prior to your planned flight you’ll get your money back. Say, you paid £10. This is precisely what you’re gonna get. I guess I don’t have to tell you booking with another airline 2 days prior to departure is going to be expensive .

Remote and secondary airports

Yeah, that’s quite of a nuisance actually. Recently I bought very cheap tickets to Oslo Torp and was very disappointed when I found bus travel to Oslo would cost me almost twice as much as I paid for my fare. This is a part of the cheap ticket deal. Some of the airports are quite far away from bigger cities so plan your trip ahead. The use of cheap airports is combined with the use of ‘cheap’ arrival/departure hours.

Weird arrival/departure times

Some airports start to charge extra early in the morning just so it’s possible to get to or from the airport using public transport. Ryanair, however, sometimes schedule their flights beyond these periods, usually early in the morning or late at night. Beware, because if you don’t own a car you’ll pay dearly for a cab.

Summary

From my experience Ryanair do charge their customers for most stupid things. This is their policy, this is how they make money. Frequent flyers are not surprised and come prepared. I’ve learned my lesson the hard way and wish I had known how strict they were in executing their rules. That’s the way it is and once you accept it you’ll enjoy their low prices.

For those interested, here’s some info:

Ryanair’s marketing techniques

Price of Ryanair Tickets

Ryanair Fees and How to Avoid Them

Let me know of your experiences with Ryanair. Were they bad/good? Do you enjoy flying with Ryanair? Do you hate them?