No free priority boarding with on-line check in on Ruinair.

Ryanair, Europe’s largest low fares airline, today (19^th May) announced changes to its optional priority boarding service which allows passengers to be first to board their flights. Airport check-in passengers currently pay £4/ €5 for this service, while web check-in passengers receive this service free of charge in order to promote online check-in.

From 3^rd June, Ryanair’s new web check-in/ priority boarding policy will be as follows:

Ø Web check-in will continue to be free of charge.
Ø Web check-in passengers will no longer receive priority boarding free of charge.
Ø Web check-in passengers will pay the same £4/ €5 fee payable by airport check-in passengers for priority boarding.
Ø All passengers can pay for priority boarding either at the time of booking or at the airport.

Very smart mister O'Leary...

First give it free with online check-in (so everybody goes without luggage), then raise the airport check-in fees 2 times, and now, when everybody loves the online check in, stop giving away the free priority boarding...

On the other side I think it's logical: On many flights there where more then 50 priority boarders... well, what's priority then?

yes thats right - there are only a maximum of 80 priority boarders per each flight - sometimes priority is a longer Q than the other passengers!

What of the bookings already made or made before 3d june for flights after 3d june ?
Will they keep their right to priority boarding or will it be necessary to pay for it at the airport ?

I like to have a window seat, it's more fun, you see what happens at take-off and landing, and, in between, you can look at the view below, and take photos.
With a priority boarding, you can nearly always choose a window seat - it's often not possible if you are a non-priority pax.
Which means, I'll probably pay the new fee...
If it can somehow help remaining profitable, flying and expanding its routes despite the fuel price rise, I'll pay it happily !

I like this new rule! Never made any sense to give priority boarding rights to web-checkin passengers, but this is a more fair system and will decrease the pax in the priority-line which is even better.

At the gate, there are still two queues, priority and non-priority.
In the priority line : the web-checked with priority, and the other priority pax.
In the other line : the web-checked without priority, and all the other pax.

I had booked before 3d june, with the web checking option, a flight after 3d june.
What happens then ? Had I to pay the fee to get a priority ? No !
When web checking, I was sent a "priority boarding pass", which allowed me the go in the first queue.