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Ryanair dark UX patterns summer 2026 refresher

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31–40 of 207 posts

Re: Ryanair dark UX patterns summer 2026 refresher

#31

Oh, don't get me started on Ryanair, but alas. You go through what seems the entire check-in process, you get what seems like a summary at the end, with a link to a UK government site where you need to go next to get a travel authorization, I spend an hour doing that, finally finish that, I show up to the airport the next morning to be told I'm not checked in, having to pay a hefty fee to do a late check-in for each…

Followed the app's instructions to go to gate 15, sat there waiting for the gate to open, until eventually getting a notification that I'd missed the flight from gate 30. Went to the help desk, was told that since I was the only person who made that mistake it was clearly my fault rather than the app (which was still displaying the wrong gate, even while I was at the help desk). Got booked on a $400 replacement flight for a journey which was originally $50. In the queue to board the replacement flight, I meet around 20 other people who missed the same flight for the same reason, all being told "it's clearly your own fault, ryanair has no responsibility here"...

Re: Ryanair dark UX patterns summer 2026 refresher

#33
When I was a broke student I used a script to observe the RyanAir prices and frequently flew around Europe for extremely cheap (10kg carry-on/backpack). Good times. These dark patterns are a nuisance but easy enough to navigate around.

Re: Ryanair dark UX patterns summer 2026 refresher

#37
post #10

Unfortunately some of the airports I care about only have connections mostly with low cost, Ryanair and others. If regular lines would care to offer similar connections, I would gladly pay a bit more.

People often say they'd gladly pay a bit more, but I don't think that's how they act. In the case of Ryanair, I think not using them often means that a casual weekend away could become a much bigger dent in my family's monthly budget.

[deleted]

Re: Ryanair dark UX patterns summer 2026 refresher

#38
post #29

That “Don’t Insure Me” option hidden in the middle of a country list is pure evil. I’m used to seeing dark patterns everywhere but that’s a first for me. From where I stand, it’s not fair to charge the hell out of people who fall for these tricks while giving steep discounts to the ones who don’t. Maybe there’s a “fool me once” aspect to Ryanair’s shenanigans, so at least their impact might be limited somehow.

Eh, we might be all better off if a lack of curiosity was more regularly financially excruciating.

Re: Ryanair dark UX patterns summer 2026 refresher

#39

Someone should make an extension that clarifies everything, kind of like the anti-enshitification extensions for youtube. https://unhook.app/

The problem is that, adapting Brandolini’s law, it is an order of magnitude harder to make an extension to circumvent these tricks when companies have teams that make daily changes to their applications to make it shittier than before

Re: Ryanair dark UX patterns summer 2026 refresher

#40
post #29

That “Don’t Insure Me” option hidden in the middle of a country list is pure evil. I’m used to seeing dark patterns everywhere but that’s a first for me. From where I stand, it’s not fair to charge the hell out of people who fall for these tricks while giving steep discounts to the ones who don’t. Maybe there’s a “fool me once” aspect to Ryanair’s shenanigans, so at least their impact might be limited somehow.

Eh, we might be all better off if a lack of curiosity was more regularly financially excruciating.

I just want to see a price and book a flight, not engage in an online escape room with financial consequences.
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