Ryanair to Charge $64 to Check-in at Airport

Leave it to Ryanair to cause a stir in the travel industry. Ryanair customers who don't check-in online will be forced to pay a check-in fee of £40 each way – about $64 – to check-in at the airport.

The "emergency check-in fee" will be a mandatory cost to travelers. Don't pay, don't board.

What we found most interesting about this fee is that in most cases, it's more expensive than the flight itself. There's good reason, though, according to the London Telegraph: "the high fee is designed to encourage people to remember, and not to be hit again. Technically the fee is to cover reissuing the ticket," said a Ryanair spokesperson.

The Daily Mail of London reported "Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary said the measures would save him £50million a year. The low-cost airline has been building up to the deadline as from May 1 all new bookings have had to be made on the internet -- with a 'web check-in fee' of £5 applied to all but promotional or special offer flights."

These latest fees are, of course, creating chaos among travelers on Ryanair who either can't access the Internet, or are having problems logging on before their flights.

What do you think? Is this a bad customer service move from the airline, or is Ryanair just trying to add a little convenience to the travel process by asking travelers to avoid the check-in counters?

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