Ryanair trying to squeeze even more cash from passengers with baggage fines!
AIRPORT staff are facing the SACK unless they slap penalties on RYANAIR passengers for breaking carry-on baggage rules.
Departure gate workers at Stansted have been told to hit at least SIX people per aircraft with a £35 fine as they board.
Anyone failing to reach the minimum target is served with a "file note" - three of which lead to a disciplinary meeting.
Union bosses are in uproar over the move and have threatened strike action by hundreds of workers.
The GMB claims SWISSPORT - Ryanair's contractor - is "bullying and harassing" staff to wring more cash out of passengers.
In a memo seen by Sun City, Swissport passenger service and sales manager Kirstie Brooks agreed to "review the procedure" three weeks ago. But the GMB claims nothing has happened since.
Ryanair only allows passengers to take one bag weighing 10kg or less on to a plane as hand luggage.
Passengers breaking the limit have the choice of paying £35, repacking the bag, binning it - or not flying at all. Ryanair's outspoken chief executive Michael O'Leary joked last month that bags were "verboten" - and his fees could go up again in the spring.
So another Ryanair shockers....but shocking service doesn't come as standard everywhere because you are not paying top Dollar - take Bargain Villas for instance, we have hundreds of properties on offer from company and villa owners all at bargain prices.
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Is this the stupidest snow story so far?
MISSING! Have you seen this snowman? Average height, pound coins for eyes, twig arms and answers to the name of Dave.
STUNNED police officers have branded a woman "completely irresponsible" — after she phoned 999 to report a stolen SNOWMAN.
Cops said she thought it needed their involvement because she had used pound coins for the eyes and teaspoons for the arms. Now the caller, from Chatham, Kent, has been "spoken to" by officers to advise her about what counts as a real emergency. Kent Police issued a transcript of the call which they received overnight as they fielded thousands more from people due to the sub-zero conditions.
In it the woman tells the operator: "There's been a theft from outside my house.
"I haven't been out to check on him for five hours but I went outside for a fag and he's gone."
The operator asks "Who's gone?" and the woman replies: "My snowman.
"I thought that with it being icy and there not being anybody about, he'd be safe."
The incredulous operator asks her: "Do you mean an ornament?" The woman replies: "No, a snowman made of snow, I made him myself.
"It ain't a nice road but you don't expect anybody to nick your snowman."
The operator then tells her that it is an emergency line and she should not be ringing it to report the theft of a snowman.
Kent Police received more than 8,000 general and 999 calls in 48 hours, double the normal amount.
Chief Inspector Simon Black said: "We do have powers to prosecute people for misusing the 999 system, but in this case the woman genuinely thought this was a theft that she should report because she'd used pound coins for the eyes and teaspoons for the arms.
"This call could have cost someone's life if there was a genuine emergency and they couldn't get through. It was completely irresponsible.
"We have spoken to her and advised her what is a 999 call, and this clearly was not."
Is this the stupidest snow related story so far? let me know if you have any others we can share. Meanwhile if you want to get away from all this winter snow why not grab a touch of winter sun then why not search Bargain Villas
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3 Great Travel Gadgets Under £10!
Like most chaps im a sucker for a good gadget. Probably something to do with boys and their toys? Anyway, here are 3 great travel gadgets and the best thing is that they all cost under a tenner....sweet!
Splitterbot Headphone Splitter
This handy little robot-shaped accessory lets you share music on your mp3 player with friends. The cute little robot has a pair of headphone sockets for eyes. Just plug his head into your mp3 player, attach 2 sets of headphones and share away.
Small enough to carry with you wherever you go, with a handy keyring attachment, Splitterbot means that you'll never have to share your headphones again.
Splitterbot Headphone Splitter - dimensions: 4.3cm x 3.3cm.
Available via Shineyshack
In-Flight Comfort Kit
This handy in-flight kit has lots of bits and pieces to make your flight a little more comfortable.
Sorry, there's not magic wand to give you extra legroom but the inflatable travel pillow, eye mask and ear should help you get a bit of shut-eye while the travel soap and wet wipe will give you a chance to freshen up before you disembark.
The whole kit packs away neatly into a drawstring bag and is suitable to include in your hand luggage.
In the pack
- Inflatable jersey neck pillow
- Wet wipe
- Earplugs
- Paper soap (10 sheets)
- Padded jersey eye mask
- Drawstring bag
Available via Shineyshack
True CashStach TU41
Never run out of money again!
This clever capsule has a special cash clip inside to wrap an emergency note around. It will take up hardly any room on your key-ring, yet will really get you out of trouble by covering that last round of drinks, or paying for the taxi home at the end of the night!
Constructed from dark chrome plated aircraft grade aluminium with a waterproof neoprene 'O' ring, the CashStash is so handy you'll never want to leave home without it!
CashStash Features
- Aircraft grade aluminium capsule
- Brass cashclip
- Waterproof 'O' ring
- 10mm split ring
- Key ring attachment
CashStash dimensions: 4.5cm x 1.5cm.
Available via Shineyshack
When you've finally stopped messing about looking at gadgets you might want to move on the the more serious matter of booking your next cheap holiday villa - search Bargain Villas for the latest special offers.
5 holiday scams & rip offs to watch out for!
Money switching
US and euro currency notes are particularly at fault here: many of their denominations are the same size or otherwise relatively hard to distinguish. In a car it’s easy for an unscrupulous cabbie to use sleight of hand and switch your note to a lower denomination. Ensure you learn your numbers in the appropriate language and, if in doubt, loudly and slowly count the amount as you pay the potential scammer. Sometimes, as a tourist, you just have to be annoying.
Car Jacking
You didn’t spot the sly criminals eyeing you and your possessions as you filled in the form at the hire-car stand. A few miles down the road, just after you’ve stopped at a red light, your tyre bursts. Generously, the motorcyclists that were alongside your vehicle at the lights offer their aid in changing the slashed tyre – and snatch all your belongings while you’re struggling with the jack. Most common in the touristy parts of Spain, but it also occurs in Thailand.
The Ticket Collector
Particularly prevalent around Paris Metro ticket machines, where a friendly local in the queue offers to help you obtain your seven-day pass. He gets the right option up on the screen, but your card mysteriously won’t work. No matter, he will use his and you can pay him back in cash. So much for unfriendly Parisians - this guy’s a Samaritan! Only after performing the transaction and watching him speed off down an escalator do you realise you have paid him 77 euro for a single-use ticket.
Roman Holiday
Phew, you made it to your Rome hotel safely, you checked in and are just freshening up when a man with a clipboard knocks on the door: he needs to do an inventory of your room and to determine that every appliance is working properly. He will probably ask you for a hand in checking the taps in the bathroom for leaks - but he has deftly left your door off the latch and, while you’re busy in the bathroom, his accomplices will have swarmed in and fled with your belongings.
Shoe Shine Scam
A trick employed in souks and markets everywhere is to thrust apparent samples, or surpluses, of sweets, fabric or tobacco at you and then claim you misunderstood the transaction and you have to pay, over the odds, for the “gift”.
A variant of the same that seems to have wandered beyond the bazaar is that of the “grateful shoe shiner”. You pick up a shoe shiner’s brush that he dropped in the road, and he is so grateful you have saved his livelihood he insists on shining your shoes – for free, of course, you think. Wrongly. When your shoes are gleaming - as you are, at the freebie - he will demand grossly inflated payment. Fellow shoe shiners soon appear to help to reinforce his claim. This routine has reached virtual plague proportions in Istanbul.
If you have any holiday scams you'd like to share drop us a comment!
Now you’re savvy to a few scams here’s a genuine deal with no strings attached…honest guv’nor! Search Bargain Villas for your next cheap holiday villa and you could save a packet.