There are some big changes coming down the tracks at Ryanair, are there?<\/p>\n
There are indeed, although for many people the changes won\u2019t make any difference at all. <\/p>\n
What do you mean?<\/p>\n
From Wednesday of this week Ryanair<\/a> is getting rid of paper boarding passes<\/a>, which means that pretty much everyone travelling with the airline will have to use the digital pass that is sent to the Ryanair app on their smartphone.<\/p>\n Why is the airline doing this?<\/p>\n According to Ryanair, moving to digital-only boarding passes \u2013 or DBPs as they are being called \u2013 will lower \u201cairport costs and fares for all Ryanair passengers\u201d. It will also lower costs for the airline, and you know how much it loves to save money. <\/p>\n And is it all about cost?<\/p>\n No. The move to DBPs will, Ryanair promises, offer \u201ca better service (including flight info) for customers on the day of travel [and it] improves customer service and rebooking during flight disruptions\u201d. It is also better for the environment and will, we are told, \u201cget rid of 300 tonnes of paper annually\u201d.<\/p>\n Well that sounds good. How exactly will it work?<\/p>\n It does sound good \u2013 and generally speaking it is a good thing. From Wednesday passengers will no longer be able to download and print a physical boarding pass, Instead they will use the digital version that is generated by the Ryanair app during the online check-in process.<\/p>\n So what is the process?<\/p>\n You check in online on Ryanair.com<\/a> or via the Ryanair app before you arrive at the airport \u2013 and that is pretty much as it has been for quite some time. Once the online check-in is completed, a Digital Boarding Pass will appear automatically in the app on your phone. You present this to airport security and to Ryanair staff at the boarding gate, and off you go. <\/p>\n And everyone already uses the app, do they?<\/p>\n Hmm, \u2018everyone\u2019 might be a bit of a stretch. According to Ryanair\u2019s chief marketing officer Dara Brady<\/a>, more than 80 per cent of passengers \u201calready use digital boarding passes, and therefore won\u2019t be affected by this progressive change\u201d. That leaves around 20 per cent who do not use the app. To put that into numbers, Ryanair flew just under 20 million passengers to and from destinations all over Europe \u2013 and Morocco \u2013 last month, and based on its numbers, up to 4 million people were not using digital boarding passes.<\/p>\n So what happens if I don\u2019t use the app?<\/p>\n Quite simply, you might want to start if you plan to travel with Ryanair. <\/p>\n But what if I don\u2019t have a smartphone and can\u2019t access the Ryanair app?<\/p>\n According to research published by Deloitte<\/a> early this year, around 95 per cent of Irish people have a smartphone \u2013 with the penetration of the technology almost universal. And according to Ryanair, \u201cIf passengers don\u2019t have a smartphone or tablet, as long as they have already checked in online before arriving at the airport, they will receive a free-of-charge boarding pass at the airport. However, they will not be able to access real-time flight updates or benefit from enhanced customer service during any flight disruptions.\u201d<\/p>\n