Misleading advertising
May 29th, 2006 | 02:38 AM
#1
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Joined: Feb 2006
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Misleading advertising
Ryan Air is one of the many discount airlines operation across Europe out of Stanstead near London. My recent experience with them is such that I would now pay more not to fly with them.
Recently, my wife and I travelled to Hildesheim in Germany. As we were to visit London afterwards, I decided to look for a no-frills, cheap flight from Germany to London. Knowing that Ryan Air was a no-frills airline I checked their web site and ordered a ticket from Hamburg to London departing 17/05/06. The email receipt from Ryan Air clearly stated that the flight was from Hamburg Lübeck to London Stanstead.
On that basis it seemed safe to assume that Lübeck was the name of the Hamburg airport.
We purchased rail tickets to travel from Hildesheim to Hamburg and took the shuttle bus from Hamburg station to Hamburg airport. There we were told that Ryan Air did not fly out of Hamburg but out of Lübeck, a town some 80 kilometres distant.
At 3.00pm we took an 80 minute taxi ride costing 90 Euros from Hamburg to Lübeck where we were 'allowed' to board the plane (departure 5.00pm) "only because it is late".
The taxi driver (a delightful man from Ghana) told me that it is regular occurrence for passengers to arrive at Hamburg for a Ryan Air flight. It is all a result of Ryan Air's misleading advertising that it flies out of Hamburg. I have since discovered that it uses the same trick with respect to a number of other airports in Europe.
Ryan Air also has a 15kg limit on check in luggage which for us resulted (at 8 Euros/kg) in an excess baggage cost of 80 Euros. I do not know of any international travellers who carry only 15 kg luggage.
I have since heard a large number of harrowing stories about Ryan Air and now understand why they refuse to subscribe to the UK Airlines Charter.
Personally I will be looking for a refund of the taxi fare from Ryan Air. But will never travel with Ryan Air again.
My advice, check everything they tell you - twice!!
Recently, my wife and I travelled to Hildesheim in Germany. As we were to visit London afterwards, I decided to look for a no-frills, cheap flight from Germany to London. Knowing that Ryan Air was a no-frills airline I checked their web site and ordered a ticket from Hamburg to London departing 17/05/06. The email receipt from Ryan Air clearly stated that the flight was from Hamburg Lübeck to London Stanstead.
On that basis it seemed safe to assume that Lübeck was the name of the Hamburg airport.
We purchased rail tickets to travel from Hildesheim to Hamburg and took the shuttle bus from Hamburg station to Hamburg airport. There we were told that Ryan Air did not fly out of Hamburg but out of Lübeck, a town some 80 kilometres distant.
At 3.00pm we took an 80 minute taxi ride costing 90 Euros from Hamburg to Lübeck where we were 'allowed' to board the plane (departure 5.00pm) "only because it is late".
The taxi driver (a delightful man from Ghana) told me that it is regular occurrence for passengers to arrive at Hamburg for a Ryan Air flight. It is all a result of Ryan Air's misleading advertising that it flies out of Hamburg. I have since discovered that it uses the same trick with respect to a number of other airports in Europe.
Ryan Air also has a 15kg limit on check in luggage which for us resulted (at 8 Euros/kg) in an excess baggage cost of 80 Euros. I do not know of any international travellers who carry only 15 kg luggage.
I have since heard a large number of harrowing stories about Ryan Air and now understand why they refuse to subscribe to the UK Airlines Charter.
Personally I will be looking for a refund of the taxi fare from Ryan Air. But will never travel with Ryan Air again.
My advice, check everything they tell you - twice!!
May 29th, 2006 | 03:49 AM
#2
Joined: Jan 2003
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Which part of Hamburg <b>Lubeck</b> you did not understand?
It was your responsibility to know which airport RyanAir uses. They were pretty clear about the name.
If American Airlines told you you were flying from John F Kennedy NY International to Heathrow, would you take the train to Newark International airport and then moan and bi*ch about how they false advertise? After all, both airports are in New York city.
London has 5 airports, so how would you decide which one to go to if flying from London to ????
You assumed and we all know what they say when assumptions are made....
Next time when the airport name is given to you, try to find out where it is and how to get there......
It was your responsibility to know which airport RyanAir uses. They were pretty clear about the name.
If American Airlines told you you were flying from John F Kennedy NY International to Heathrow, would you take the train to Newark International airport and then moan and bi*ch about how they false advertise? After all, both airports are in New York city.
London has 5 airports, so how would you decide which one to go to if flying from London to ????
You assumed and we all know what they say when assumptions are made....
Next time when the airport name is given to you, try to find out where it is and how to get there......
May 29th, 2006 | 04:25 AM
#3
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May 29th, 2006 | 04:28 AM
#4
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It is not only easy to get to the airport by car, public transport is just as easy.
Travelling by train
Take the train to Lübeck main railway station and, from there, take bus-No.6 (busstop 5), or a taxi to the airport.
( taxis from Lübeck take approx 20 min and cost approx 16,- EUR)
Travelling by bus
The no. 6 departs every 20 minutes from the main railway station to Blankensee airport via the center (journey time approx 30 min)
Travelling with the Airportbus from Hamburg
The airport bus runs from Hamburg to Lübeck Blankensee airport and back, with journeys timed to coincide with flights Ryanair. Time of journey time is approximately 1 hour 15 minutes. It costs only 8,00 EUR; (single ticket) additional Information can be found by visiting.
More information under Tel. +49 451 583010 or
http://www.vhh.ag
Travelling by train
Take the train to Lübeck main railway station and, from there, take bus-No.6 (busstop 5), or a taxi to the airport.
( taxis from Lübeck take approx 20 min and cost approx 16,- EUR)
Travelling by bus
The no. 6 departs every 20 minutes from the main railway station to Blankensee airport via the center (journey time approx 30 min)
Travelling with the Airportbus from Hamburg
The airport bus runs from Hamburg to Lübeck Blankensee airport and back, with journeys timed to coincide with flights Ryanair. Time of journey time is approximately 1 hour 15 minutes. It costs only 8,00 EUR; (single ticket) additional Information can be found by visiting.
More information under Tel. +49 451 583010 or
http://www.vhh.ag
May 29th, 2006 | 06:53 AM
#5
Joined: Jan 2006
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???????
>>>If American Airlines told you you were flying from John F Kennedy NY International to Heathrow, would you take the train to Newark International airport and then moan and bi*ch about how they false advertise? After all, both airports are in New York city.<<<<
Newark International Airport isn't in New York City it isn't even in New York State. It is the City of Newark in the state of New Jersy.
Putting Hamburg first would indicate that is is in the either in Hamburg or the close environs.
>>>If American Airlines told you you were flying from John F Kennedy NY International to Heathrow, would you take the train to Newark International airport and then moan and bi*ch about how they false advertise? After all, both airports are in New York city.<<<<
Newark International Airport isn't in New York City it isn't even in New York State. It is the City of Newark in the state of New Jersy.
Putting Hamburg first would indicate that is is in the either in Hamburg or the close environs.
May 29th, 2006 | 07:55 AM
#6
Joined: Jan 2003
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ok, so LaGuardia?
better?
just trying to make a point here. The airline did inform the OP that it was Hamburg Lubeck......
Another good example would be Chicago O'Hare or Chicago Midway airports. If my airline is flying out of Chicago Midway, should I not check how to get there and not assume it's Chicago O'Hare? just because it has Chicago in front of the airport's name?
better?
just trying to make a point here. The airline did inform the OP that it was Hamburg Lubeck......
Another good example would be Chicago O'Hare or Chicago Midway airports. If my airline is flying out of Chicago Midway, should I not check how to get there and not assume it's Chicago O'Hare? just because it has Chicago in front of the airport's name?
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May 29th, 2006 | 10:35 AM
#8
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It's often amusing to see how differently various travelers plan their trip. Some people will do lots of preparations, asking lots of stuff about Ryanair - their reputations, check-in and luggage policies, airports used, "Are this fare for real?", etc - before booking. Others just "assume".
Having said that, I went to ryanair.com and looked up their Destination page for Hamburg (Lubeck). They did not provide a link for transportation to/from the airport, nor a link to book their connecting bus to Hamburg, which they do provide for a fee at various out-of-town airports.
Hey, the whole premise of Ryanair is to provide cheap fare to the public and make lots of money. They don't provide you anything unless they absolutely have to. But I guess one has to know about this first by asking.
And I punch in some dates for LBC-STN, and found plenty of flights for 0.01 euro. So, complain all you want, you can't complain about their prices.
Having said that, I went to ryanair.com and looked up their Destination page for Hamburg (Lubeck). They did not provide a link for transportation to/from the airport, nor a link to book their connecting bus to Hamburg, which they do provide for a fee at various out-of-town airports.
Hey, the whole premise of Ryanair is to provide cheap fare to the public and make lots of money. They don't provide you anything unless they absolutely have to. But I guess one has to know about this first by asking.
And I punch in some dates for LBC-STN, and found plenty of flights for 0.01 euro. So, complain all you want, you can't complain about their prices.
May 29th, 2006 | 04:07 PM
#10
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I'm afraid you won't be getting much sympathy here.
I don't see why you are asking for a refund for your taxi fare, when you went to the wrong airport. The reason why Ryanair is cheap is because if flies out of smaller airports. Ryanair clearly states is Hamburg-Lubeck, and it is your responsibility to investigate where the airport is.
On Ryanair's website, it clearly states its baggage allowance, and again, it is your own fault to "assume" it has a lenient baggage allowance.
BTW, I've traveled from US to Europe many times, and honestly, I cannot imagine carrying even 15kg of luggage! That's 33lbs! There is no way I can carry such weight with me.
Before you booked Ryanair, have you checked to see how much the "regular" airlines would have charged you for a one-way ticket from Hamburg to London? You may have still saved $ despite all the surcharges.
I don't see why you are asking for a refund for your taxi fare, when you went to the wrong airport. The reason why Ryanair is cheap is because if flies out of smaller airports. Ryanair clearly states is Hamburg-Lubeck, and it is your responsibility to investigate where the airport is.
On Ryanair's website, it clearly states its baggage allowance, and again, it is your own fault to "assume" it has a lenient baggage allowance.
BTW, I've traveled from US to Europe many times, and honestly, I cannot imagine carrying even 15kg of luggage! That's 33lbs! There is no way I can carry such weight with me.
Before you booked Ryanair, have you checked to see how much the "regular" airlines would have charged you for a one-way ticket from Hamburg to London? You may have still saved $ despite all the surcharges.
May 29th, 2006 | 04:16 PM
#11
Joined: Feb 2003
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Sorry Dvid
Gotta agree with all the posters. The reason RyanAir is cheap is because they fly out of smaller airports. Wouldn't it make sense to check the location of the airport they are using before booking let alone before travelling to the wrong place?? If you are going to book/travel independently you've got to do your homework!!
Gotta agree with all the posters. The reason RyanAir is cheap is because they fly out of smaller airports. Wouldn't it make sense to check the location of the airport they are using before booking let alone before travelling to the wrong place?? If you are going to book/travel independently you've got to do your homework!!
May 30th, 2006 | 03:47 AM
#13
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Good to see that Ryan Air has a lot of fans. But lets be clear about one thing: Lubeck is not in the Hamburg precinct as one reply assumes. It's a village with no connection with Hamburg except that there's an 80 minute autostradt (sorry autobahn) trip between the two.
Since the event we are discussing, I have been informed misleading advertising is a common complaint made against Ryan Air.
The next point that needs to be made clear is that there are six airports around London. London is always quoted with the particular airport to or from which you will be travelling. Hamburg has one airport and it isn't Lübeck. But if you place Lübeck next to Hamburg and London next to Stanstead in the same sentence, you are inviting people to draw a certain conclusion based upon parallel reasoning. You can hate it, but that happens to be a valid way of reasoning. Just read the Supreme Court judgments if you don't believe me.
In retrospect, my mistake is very clear. I trusted an airline's mistatement; but never again. Now advertsing that relies upon that ruse is purposefully misleading and in most countries there are laws to prevent it. Perhaps they haven't reached the web yet - but they will. As for which part of Hamburg Lübeck didn't I understand? I would have thought that was self evident. And I am amazed at how many bloggers are wise about Lübeck. But be honest. How many bloggers had to look it up on a map because they had never heard of it before.
I thought so!
Since the event we are discussing, I have been informed misleading advertising is a common complaint made against Ryan Air.
The next point that needs to be made clear is that there are six airports around London. London is always quoted with the particular airport to or from which you will be travelling. Hamburg has one airport and it isn't Lübeck. But if you place Lübeck next to Hamburg and London next to Stanstead in the same sentence, you are inviting people to draw a certain conclusion based upon parallel reasoning. You can hate it, but that happens to be a valid way of reasoning. Just read the Supreme Court judgments if you don't believe me.
In retrospect, my mistake is very clear. I trusted an airline's mistatement; but never again. Now advertsing that relies upon that ruse is purposefully misleading and in most countries there are laws to prevent it. Perhaps they haven't reached the web yet - but they will. As for which part of Hamburg Lübeck didn't I understand? I would have thought that was self evident. And I am amazed at how many bloggers are wise about Lübeck. But be honest. How many bloggers had to look it up on a map because they had never heard of it before.
I thought so!
May 30th, 2006 | 04:32 AM
#14
Joined: Mar 2003
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>Just read the Supreme Court judgments
Please provide a link or reference because just your saying so holds no weight.
I cannot see how you can keep insisting that an airport must be in its namesake city in order not to be misleading. There are many airports which do not meet your criteria including all of Washington, DC's (none are in the city), one of the 3 main New York City airports, Hartford, Paris, Tokyo, Rome......... I guess all are misleading?
Also, you admit you made a mistake by going to the wrong airport, which has nothing to do with the location of the "right" airport. Even if Hamburg Lubeck was closer, you still were in error. The length of the ride to the "right" airport is esentially irrelevant.
Please provide a link or reference because just your saying so holds no weight.
I cannot see how you can keep insisting that an airport must be in its namesake city in order not to be misleading. There are many airports which do not meet your criteria including all of Washington, DC's (none are in the city), one of the 3 main New York City airports, Hartford, Paris, Tokyo, Rome......... I guess all are misleading?
Also, you admit you made a mistake by going to the wrong airport, which has nothing to do with the location of the "right" airport. Even if Hamburg Lubeck was closer, you still were in error. The length of the ride to the "right" airport is esentially irrelevant.
May 30th, 2006 | 09:12 AM
#15
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This has nothing to do with RyanAir and I have never flown with them, but what does that have to do with anything?
Most of the long haul international flights to Tokyo land in Tokyo Narita International, and guess what? The airport is near a big city of Narita, Japan and ~60 km from Tokyo, yet it has Tokyo as part of it's name.
Tokyo also utilizes another airport, the Tokyo Haneda airport and that's where most of the domestic flights go out of. Narita actually replaced Haneda for international flights in 1978 as it was getting too crowded.
So, you are going to tell us that Japan Airlines, ANA, Cathay Pacific, United Airlines, American Airlines, Lufthansa, British Airways and many many more major airlines are all lying to us? and are tricking us with false advertising?
Wake up, nobody tricked you, nobody lied to you, you just can't admit it was your mistake.....
Trust me - IT WAS!!!
Most of the long haul international flights to Tokyo land in Tokyo Narita International, and guess what? The airport is near a big city of Narita, Japan and ~60 km from Tokyo, yet it has Tokyo as part of it's name.
Tokyo also utilizes another airport, the Tokyo Haneda airport and that's where most of the domestic flights go out of. Narita actually replaced Haneda for international flights in 1978 as it was getting too crowded.
So, you are going to tell us that Japan Airlines, ANA, Cathay Pacific, United Airlines, American Airlines, Lufthansa, British Airways and many many more major airlines are all lying to us? and are tricking us with false advertising?
Wake up, nobody tricked you, nobody lied to you, you just can't admit it was your mistake.....
Trust me - IT WAS!!!
May 30th, 2006 | 01:06 PM
#16
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Sorry, Dvid, I'm with everyone else. Regional airports will often tack on the name of the nearest large metropolitan area for informational and marketing purposes (witness "Tokyo/Narita" or the more recent badging of "LA/Ontario" for the "international" airport in Ontario, CA-- almost 60 km east of Los Angeles). They aren't hiding the fact that they're in different cities (there it is on the website!!: <i>Hamburg (Lübeck) (LBC)</i
, so it's not false advertising. You have no leg to stand on in this argument-- you screwed up, plain and simple.
When I or my travel agent ticket a flight, I am always careful to verify which airports I will be using. Especially since within 65 km of my house I have five commercial airports....
As far as the checked baggage weight limit, RyanAir has the right to impose such limits as they please. Funny thing, however: Their website says their checked baggage weight limit is 20 kilos (http://www.ryanair.com/site/EN/faqs....ggageallowance).
Hard lesson learned, I hope: Do your homework better next time.
, so it's not false advertising. You have no leg to stand on in this argument-- you screwed up, plain and simple.When I or my travel agent ticket a flight, I am always careful to verify which airports I will be using. Especially since within 65 km of my house I have five commercial airports....
As far as the checked baggage weight limit, RyanAir has the right to impose such limits as they please. Funny thing, however: Their website says their checked baggage weight limit is 20 kilos (http://www.ryanair.com/site/EN/faqs....ggageallowance).
Hard lesson learned, I hope: Do your homework better next time.
Jun 2nd, 2006 | 10:54 AM
#19
Joined: Mar 2003
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Dvid:
Let me come to your defense -- slightly.
I do agree that this business of airlines & small airports tacking on the name of the next nearest largest city (no matter how far away it is) is getting out of hand. Why don't the officials at CRW just call it "Washington-Charleston Yeager Airport," since the Washington metro area is only a convenient 5-hour drive away???
I think that there needs to be some kind of international rule that prohibits airports/airlines from using the names of cities over a certain distance away. Or, alternatively, they should be required to at least list the distance from the city if the airport is outside the appropriate radius.
Nevertheless, I agree w/the other posters that ultimately, you are responsible for finding out all of the information. Anyone who does even a little bit of European travelling knows that Ryanair is borderline manic when it comes to missed flights, baggage allowances, etc., and that they often use far-away airports.
If you don't travel much (especially to a foreign country), you may want to use a travel agent that is knowledgeable about the particular place(s) you will be going to. I've never been to Africa, but if I ever wanted to go, I'd probably want to use a TA, as I would hate to be thousands of miles away from home & have some unpleasant surprises.
Let me come to your defense -- slightly.
I do agree that this business of airlines & small airports tacking on the name of the next nearest largest city (no matter how far away it is) is getting out of hand. Why don't the officials at CRW just call it "Washington-Charleston Yeager Airport," since the Washington metro area is only a convenient 5-hour drive away???
I think that there needs to be some kind of international rule that prohibits airports/airlines from using the names of cities over a certain distance away. Or, alternatively, they should be required to at least list the distance from the city if the airport is outside the appropriate radius.
Nevertheless, I agree w/the other posters that ultimately, you are responsible for finding out all of the information. Anyone who does even a little bit of European travelling knows that Ryanair is borderline manic when it comes to missed flights, baggage allowances, etc., and that they often use far-away airports.
If you don't travel much (especially to a foreign country), you may want to use a travel agent that is knowledgeable about the particular place(s) you will be going to. I've never been to Africa, but if I ever wanted to go, I'd probably want to use a TA, as I would hate to be thousands of miles away from home & have some unpleasant surprises.
Jun 2nd, 2006 | 11:48 AM
#20
Joined: Jan 2003
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"I've never been to Africa, but if I ever wanted to go, I'd probably want to use a TA, as I would hate to be thousands of miles away from home & have some unpleasant surprises."
Better yet, post on the Africa board. There's more collective knowledge there than any single TA would possess
Better yet, post on the Africa board. There's more collective knowledge there than any single TA would possess
