Sir, - I was prompted to write to you as a result of reading Mr Don Heenan's letter (June 22nd) on Ryanair profits.
Recently I booked a return flight to the UK for my wife with Ryanair. Due to the ongoing dispute between travel agents and Ryanair, I was unable to book through my usual travel agency and I had to book direct by phone with Ryanair using my credit card. Ryanair charged me £3 extra for this. I understand that this is twice the amount that Ryanair has offered travel agents for taking bookings.
On her outward flight my wife was charged £2.50 for a small bottle of wine from the drinks' trolley because she paid in Irish money. The sterling price was £25. Based on the rate of exchange on that day the correct charge should not have been more than £2.75. I might add that I recently travelled with Aer Lingus and paid £2 (Irish) for similar bottles of wine from their drinks' trolley.
It seems that Ryanair charge more for drink served on board and for inflight duty-free than Aer Lingus. They certainly charge considerably more than the Aer Rianta duty-free shops. - Yours, etc., David Byrne,
Sutton Grove,
Dublin 13.