Ryanair has released a four-point rebuttal to the head of the OFT’s comments regarding the carrier’s charging policy, calling John Fingleton’s claims “disappointing and wrong”.
In an interview in today’s Independent, Fingleton criticised Ryanair for not quoting card fees upfront. The low-cost carrier does so on the grounds that these are discretionary charges, but Fingleton says that the fact the charges can only be avoided by using a “low frequency payment mechanism” (pre-paid Mastercard), means Ryanair is operating “within the narrow letter of the law”.
In a statement on its website Ryanair rejected the claims, saying that:
- There are no hidden fees or charges on the Ryanair.com website.
- All non discretionary fees and charges are included in all Ryanair’s advertised prices.
- Ryanair’s payment handling fees are discretionary and are free for passengers using Ryanair’s recommended Mastercard debit cards.
- Ryanair’s insurance services are purchased by customers on an opt in, not an opt out basis, as wrongly claimed by Mr Fingleton.
The carrier added that it “fails to understand why it was singled out for these inaccurate criticisms by Mr Fingleton, when its charges policies are copied by high fare UK airlines.”
Ryanair currently charges £5 per passenger per flight for payments using all credit / debit cards, with the exception of the Mastercard Prepaid Debit Card.
For more information visit ryanair.com.
Report by Mark Caswell
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