(Or the world’s most satisfying Mars Bar)
Earlier today, I had one of those brilliant moments where I realised I’d stuck it to The Man: I made money out of Ryanair.
Ryanair loophole
A couple of months ago, I read a story about a customer finding a loophole in Ryanair’s in-flight service that allowed him to make money. I didn’t think that loophole would stay open for long.
Flight to Dusseldorf-Weeze
Well today, I tried it out as I flew to Dusseldorf-Weeze with Ryanair. I ordered a Mars Bar, and was told it would cost me a bargainous EUR1.50. The conversation went a little like this.
“Can I pay in either pounds or euros?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“And can I get the change in either pounds or euros?”
“Yes.”
“So I can pay in euros, and get the change in pounds?”
“As long as I have the change, yes.”
EUR20 = how many pounds?
So I dug out the biggest euro note I could find – a twenty, alas – and requested the change in pounds. The stewardess reached for her calculator, tapped away at it for seemingly eons, and then gave me… a twenty pound note. Woo-hoo! Take that O’Leary and your £10 to print my own boarding card charge.
Mistake or policy?
Obviously this may just have been a mistake by the stewardess rather than a policy flaw – I intend to find out – but at current exchange rates, I got a free Mars Bar and made about EUR2 in the process. The feeling of childish, smug satisfaction was immense…
Tags: airlines, budget airlines, charges, cheap flights, Dusseldorf Weeze, euro, pound, Ryanair, Transport
Bravo! Taken one for the team.
Excellent work Mr Grumpy Traveler – can’t say I’m surprised at the stupidity of the O’Leary clan – whether it’s the steward-person or the policy people.
Grumpy Travelers 1 – Stupid Money-Swindling O’Leary 0.
isn’t it amazing how the smallest victories bring us such satisfaction!
20GBP = 21.67 on today`s FOREX so I think you were short-changed if yr Mars Bar was 1.50.
[...] week or so ago, I wrote about how I’d made a profit out of Ryanair by buying a Mars bar. I paid in euros, got my change in pounds, and came out a couple of euros and a Mars bar [...]
[...] meal? €11 and I didn’t even get to try out David Whitley’s RyanAir exchange rate scam (see here) as they would not accept a £20 [...]
When O’Leary will know that, he’ll charge us more! are you crazy!! this is thing that has to be secret!