Blog reader Elaine Carson recently left a comment about her experience with Ryanair’s check-in policy. This topic certainly seems worthy of discussion, as it affects every holder of a U.S. passport who plans to use this airline now and in the future. She writes:

I just returned from a fabulous weekend trip to Venice for Carnevale on Ryanair. When I got back I read the article in the January 26th edition of the Stars and Stripes about how Ryanair is encouraging people to travel with only hand luggage, and charging a fee for using the check-in counter. I only had carry-on luggage but wasn't allowed to use the online check-in service -- I tried, and had to call the Ryanair help center at the cost of 1.86 euros a minute to find out that those of us with American passports can't use the online check-in service.

Does anyone know of a way to contact the powers that be at Ryanair so we Americans living in Europe can start a letter-writing campaign to get this rule changed? It's ridiculous to be charged an extra fee for the privelege of arriving an hour earlier and standing in line, when I WANTED to use the online check-in service!!

Up until recently, I had no firsthand experience in the matter, but last weekend, I used Ryanair to fly out of Frankfurt-Hahn. As I planned to fly with only hand baggage, when purchasing the ticket through the Ryanair Web site, I selected the online check-in option, so as not to incur an additional fee. When I used the airport check-in services while outbound from Frankfurt-Hahn on March 23, I was not charged an additional fee for the privilege. En route home from Gothenburg City Airport on March 25, however, was a different story. There, when I checked in at the airport counter, I was told I needed to pay 40 Swedish kroner. My argument that I was not eligible for the online check-in as a non-EU passport holder got me nowhere, but I vowed I would take steps to ensure that this injustice was brought to light.

It does appear that for those of us who incur the charge, a refund option is available, and I fully intend to pursue this as a matter of principle. The Ryanair Web site’s terms and conditions regarding Airport & Online Check-In advise:

Where a passenger is unable to avail of Online Check-in by reason only of not being the holder of either a valid passport or a National Identity Card, issued by the government of an EU/EEA country, any airport check-in fee paid will be refunded upon application.

Further perusal of the Web site leads you to an address at which you can petition for refunds:

For Refunds - Cancelled Flights

Ryanair Refunds Dept

Ryanair Head Office

Dublin Airport

Co Dublin –

Fax +353 1 8121230

Claims must be accompanied by information including the flight confirmation number, full flight details, date and routes, and passenger name(s).

A posting on http://nobudgettravel.wordpress.com/2007/11/13/warning-ryanair-online-check-in/ is devoted to the topic of these check-in fees, followed by an interesting thread of comments from others who have both experienced the fee and seen it waived. The posting suggests that it is highly inadvisable for non-EU passport holders to actually attempt to avail themselves of the online check-in, stating “RyanAir denied boarding to at least 9 fliers at Stansted Saturday morning when those passengers presented online boarding passes but did not have EU passports. RyanAir claimed their tickets had been falsified and were therefore canceled.”

Does it seem scrupulous or even legal to charge an individual for airport check-in when no other option is available? Please, those of you with experience on the fee, do weigh in on this topic. Readers out there with legal expertise, please make yourselves known.