Ryanair to introduce customer service improvements

Ryanair is to enhance what it calls "its industry leading customer service" over the next six months.

It comes weeks after they introduced a customer service email on its website.

The budget airline is to get rid of it's 'on time' flight announcement on early morning routes.

Customers who book on the Ryanair website will also be given a 24-hour grace period to correct any errors, like names or spellings.

From December, passengers will also be able to bring a second, small carry-on bag - such as a ladies handbag or airport shopping bag - into the cabin.

The low-cost airline said in its statement: "After an extensive customer feedback programme through its "Tell MOL" page on the Ryanair.com website, Ryanair confirmed that it was introducing the following customer service improvements over the next six months to end March 2014."

1. The “Recaptcha” security code will be removed from the Ryanair.com website for individual bookings next week (on 1 Nov next).

2. From Nov 1, customers who book directly on the Ryanair.com website (i.e. not via travel agents or screenscrapers) will be given a 24-hour grace period from the time of their original booking, to correct any minor errors (i.e. spelling, names, routings) made in their original booking.

3. From Nov 1, Ryanair will operate “quiet flights”, prior to 8am in the mornings and after 9pm in the evenings. During these quiet flight periods no PA’s will be made on board other than required safety announcements. Ryanair will also dim the lights during these quiet flights so that any customers who wish to snooze, can comfortably do so.

4. From Dec 1, Ryanair will allow passengers to bring a 2nd small carry-on bag (small ladies handbag or small airport shopping bag) no bigger than 35 x 20 x 20 cms which will allow a bottle of wine or equivalent to be carried.

5. From Dec 1, Ryanair’s boarding card reissue fee will be cut from €70/£70 to €15/£15 for customers who have already checked in online. Customers who fail to check-in online will continue to pay a €70/£70 airport check-in fee.

6. From Jan 1, Ryanair’s standard airport bag fees will be cut from €60/£60 to €30/£30 at the bag drop desk, and from €60/£60 to €50/£50 at the boarding gate, bringing them into line with competitor airline standard airport bag fees.

Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary said: "We are very excited at these significant improvements in what is already Europe’s No.1 customer service airline.

"As we implement our plans to grow from 80m to over 110m customer p.a. over the next 5 years, we are actively listening and responding to our customers so that they can continue to expect low fares and on-time flights on Ryanair, but will now enjoy easier website access, 24 hour grace periods, a 2nd small carry-on bag, reduced airport bag fees and quiet flights.

"We hope that our passengers will enjoy these service improvements, while still enjoying Ryanair’s low fares and on-time flights."

Ryanair’s Director of Customer Service, Caroline Green said: "These are the first in a series of customer service improvements which Ryanair is actively working on.

"As some of these policy changes will require website changes and handling staff retraining, we will be rolling them out over the next few months.

"If customers have any other suggestions or feedback they want us to hear, then please use our customer feedback service 'Tell MOL' on the Ryanair.com website."