I booked my family holiday through a travel agent and my return flight was with Ryanair. In the document I received from the travel agent it stated that if I didn't check in online I "would be charged an airport check-in fee". In all the holiday hassle I forgot to check in and had to pay the fee. When I got to the airport I was told that the travel agent received a phone call from Ryanair telling them that I hadn't checked in yet. Should this information have not been passed on to me? As if it had I would have remembered to check in and would have saved £250! I'm just wondering if I have any rights in this situation?
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6Welcome to TSE, but I believe the answer will depend on the particular agreement you had with your particular travel agent, as well as the jurisdiction you are in. Generally, the onus is on the traveler to worry about every detail of the trip, from securing documents and meeting other legal requirements to being where s/he needs to be, when s/he needs to be, for departure. When I book through any third party, I always confirm with the carrier(s) that they have my direct contact information.– chosterJul 20, 2018 at 16:24
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3You can probably leave a bad review for the travel agent.– ceejayozJul 20, 2018 at 16:24
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4(1) unfortunately, FWIW, it's almost certainly a flat-out lie that they "telephoned them" (2) unfortunately you have no "rights" against the travel agent in this case (3) you can complain bitterly to the travel agent and demand some sort of compensation (4) if the facts are all correct, do what ceejayoz says. This is one of those cases where it's much better to just book your own flights.– FattieJul 21, 2018 at 0:48
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Online check-in is almost always beneficial and is worth your time. Come up with a method which ensures that you never forget it again. One way is to add all flight segments to your calendar (e.g. Google Calendar), and set up a notification reminder 48 hours and 24 hours before takeoff. When you receive the notification, do the online check-in.– ptsJul 21, 2018 at 10:49
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1 Answer
Travel agents are normally required to inform you of changes to material circumstances. Those would be things like: change of flight time, change of seats, change of airports, change of layovers, change of booking class, etc. Reminding you to check in would be merely a courtesy, as they've already warned you about it at the time of booking.
Therefore the answer is no, the agent is not at fault here.
As a side note I would add that its extremely unlikely that Ryanair actually called your travel agent. I've been flying with them for many years and I've never received such a phone call, even if I was about to miss the flight altogether. Its much more likely that your travel agent merely received an automated email from Ryanair reminding them that check-in is open. For this reason its always useful to make sure that the airline has your contact details stored, rather than just the contact details of your travel agent.
answered Jul 20, 2018 at 16:35
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1You seem pretty certain that the travel agent has no fault, however, contract law in Germany for example specifies some duties to protect each other's property in a contract (I have no idea if that applies here). Are you a lawyer in (all) European countries or are you just guessing? Jul 21, 2018 at 15:37
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@DonQuiKong I am not lawyer either, but I believe that saying "you can check in online for free or at the airport for £250" already fulfills any duty to protect each other's property. It was not a "loss" or "damage to property". OP was presented with a choice and there is no reason to remind him to make one or the other. He simply purchased particular service for £250. Now he regrets it, but it's another matter entirely.– Agent_LJul 21, 2018 at 17:15
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@Agent_L if the airline reminded the agent and the agent chose not to pass on that reminder that damaged ops property. I'm not saying they had to, but this answer is essentially giving a legal opinion based on the answerers opinion of what the law should be. Jul 21, 2018 at 21:17