Spooky or what?
Two days ago I wrote about an issue I faced with hand baggage at the Ryanair departure gate.
Now I discover the following story from the Daily Telegraph:
Airport staff offered scheme to help catch Ryanair passengers with excess baggage
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/transport/8890300/Airport-staff-offered-scheme-to-help-catch-Ryanair-passengers-with-excess-baggage.html
I realise that this refers to John Lennon Airport in Liverpool - but can my experience on Sunday be mere coincidence?
Answers on a postcard, please.
Wednesday 16 November 2011
Monday 14 November 2011
The Great British public
I had a bit of trouble at my departure gate at Stansted Airport on Sunday as I was flying out to the sun with Ryanair.
I guess he was only doing his job but for some reason the Ryanair employee homed in on my hand baggage as he checked my priority boarding pass and passport: " That's looks a bit big, mate," he said, adding, "See if it fits in there," as he pointed towards the I-can't-believe-it's-not-the-right-size contraption at the gate desk.
No problem, I thought - this is the bag I purchased (at some expense) five years ago for my six or eight flights a year to Iberia.
I made sure it met Ryanair's measurements (Easyjet allow a bag of greater dimensions) as I felt I ought to meet the lowest common denominator.
And it's never let me down. Which is not surprising as I always travel for three or four days and have packing the bag down to a tee - including weighing it on the bathroom scales to make sure I don't fall foul of Ryanair's 10kg weight limit (Easyjet have no limit, provided you can lift it unaided into the overhead locker).
Until Sunday. Would the bloody thing fit? I think you know the answer.
A BBC Watchdog investigation of last year sprang to mind - you remember, the one where they checked out the I-can't-believe-it's-not-the-right-size contraptions at Luton Airport and found them to be smaller than the airlines' accepted guidelines.
Anyway, I huffed and I puffed.
"That'll have to go in the hold," I was informed. So, add £40 to the extra day's parking, the extra night in a hotel and another day on the car hire and it all made my low-cost ticket look pretty high cost.
Why the other extra cost? Well, Ryanair emailed me two weeks ago to say my flight on Monday had been cancelled and I had been transferred to the Sunday flight.
And that's when the Great British public came to the rescue.
"Can you put on some of the clothes from the bag?"asked one fellow passenger.
An interesting concept - that got me thinking. WHY won't the bag fit when it usually does?
Then it came to me - the magazines I'd bought for my business partner were pretty bulky. Maybe if I took them out.......
Eureka! Minus the mags, the bag fitted perfectly into the I-can't-believe-it's-not-the-right-size contraption. A round of applause from my fellow passengers and a lap of honour from yours truely.
I threw the mags into the bin - £10 worth against £40 for a bag in the hold; no contest.
"I'll take one of those for you," said a man in the queue.
"I'll take one as well," said someone else.
So, a bit of bin diving and some quick distribution and it was sorted.
Regulation hold bagage AND my magazines.
I counted them all out and then counted them all back in again by the time we landed three hours later.
Thank you, fellow passengers. I love you all.
I had a bit of trouble at my departure gate at Stansted Airport on Sunday as I was flying out to the sun with Ryanair.
I guess he was only doing his job but for some reason the Ryanair employee homed in on my hand baggage as he checked my priority boarding pass and passport: " That's looks a bit big, mate," he said, adding, "See if it fits in there," as he pointed towards the I-can't-believe-it's-not-the-right-size contraption at the gate desk.
No problem, I thought - this is the bag I purchased (at some expense) five years ago for my six or eight flights a year to Iberia.
I made sure it met Ryanair's measurements (Easyjet allow a bag of greater dimensions) as I felt I ought to meet the lowest common denominator.
And it's never let me down. Which is not surprising as I always travel for three or four days and have packing the bag down to a tee - including weighing it on the bathroom scales to make sure I don't fall foul of Ryanair's 10kg weight limit (Easyjet have no limit, provided you can lift it unaided into the overhead locker).
Until Sunday. Would the bloody thing fit? I think you know the answer.
A BBC Watchdog investigation of last year sprang to mind - you remember, the one where they checked out the I-can't-believe-it's-not-the-right-size contraptions at Luton Airport and found them to be smaller than the airlines' accepted guidelines.
Anyway, I huffed and I puffed.
"That'll have to go in the hold," I was informed. So, add £40 to the extra day's parking, the extra night in a hotel and another day on the car hire and it all made my low-cost ticket look pretty high cost.
Why the other extra cost? Well, Ryanair emailed me two weeks ago to say my flight on Monday had been cancelled and I had been transferred to the Sunday flight.
And that's when the Great British public came to the rescue.
"Can you put on some of the clothes from the bag?"asked one fellow passenger.
An interesting concept - that got me thinking. WHY won't the bag fit when it usually does?
Then it came to me - the magazines I'd bought for my business partner were pretty bulky. Maybe if I took them out.......
Eureka! Minus the mags, the bag fitted perfectly into the I-can't-believe-it's-not-the-right-size contraption. A round of applause from my fellow passengers and a lap of honour from yours truely.
I threw the mags into the bin - £10 worth against £40 for a bag in the hold; no contest.
"I'll take one of those for you," said a man in the queue.
"I'll take one as well," said someone else.
So, a bit of bin diving and some quick distribution and it was sorted.
Regulation hold bagage AND my magazines.
I counted them all out and then counted them all back in again by the time we landed three hours later.
Thank you, fellow passengers. I love you all.
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