Ryanair is trying to force users to download its mobile app by eliminating paper boarding passes, starting on November 12.
As announced in February and subsequently delayed from earlier start dates, Europe’s biggest airline is moving to digital-only boarding passes, meaning customers will no longer be able to print physical ones. In order to access their boarding passes, Ryanair flyers will have to download Ryanair’s app.
“Almost 100 percent of passengers have smartphones, and we want to move everybody onto that smartphone technology,” Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary said recently on The Independent’s daily travel podcast.
Customers are encouraged to check in online via Ryanair’s website or app before getting to the airport. People who don’t check in online before getting to the airport will have to pay the airport a check-in fee
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The policy change is also meant to get people to do more with Ryanair’s app, like order food and drinks, view real-time flight information, and receive notifications during delays.
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Eliminating paper boarding passes may create numerous inconveniences. To start, not everyone wants Ryanair’s app on their personal device. And many future customers, especially those who don’t fly with Ryanair frequently or who don’t fly much at all, may be unaware of the change, creating confusion during travel, which can already be inherently stressful.
Also, there are places where Ryanair flies that don’t accept digital boarding passes, including some airports in Albania and Morocco.
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People who are less technically savvy or who don’t have a smart device or whose device has died won’t be completely out of luck. Ryanair says it will accommodate people without access to a smartphone with “a free of charge boarding pass at the airport” if they’ve checked in online “before arriving at the airport.”
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Source: Ryanair tries forcing app downloads by eliminating paper boarding passes – Ars Technica
And of course, because apps run under different regulations and restrictions than websites, Ryanair can collect information about “lifestyle”, such as location, what other apps are running and who knows what else. Apps are pretty scary stuff, which is why so many companies are pushing these things on you in lieu of their websites.
Robin Edgar
Organisational Structures | Technology and Science | Military, IT and Lifestyle consultancy | Social, Broadcast & Cross Media | Flying aircraft