Brits booking Ryanair flights should always pay in the local currency or risk getting ripped off
BRITS who are booking their Ryanair flights abroad should make sure they are paying in the local currency - or they could end up being ripped off.
Thanks to poor currency exchange rates, holidaymakers who don't pay for their flights in the local currency could end up paying more than they bargained for.
A found that when booking Ryanair flights from abroad to the UK, the airline would switch the currency from the local one to pounds at the end of the booking process.
The result is a much worse exchange rate than one that would be offered by the bank if you're booking in the local currency.
For example, a flight from Alicante to London Gatwick would cost €156.45, but the system would automatically exchange this to £145.82.
But if use the exchange rate given by a Visa bank to convert, then the same amount comes to £137.10 instead, saving approximately £9.
Ryanair's default exchange rate worked it out as 93p to the euro according to Which?, while Visa had 87p to the euro.
Brits can avoid being caught out by this by opting out of the Ryanair exchange rate, which can be found underneath the "more information" link.
However, this is not easily located, which could lead to passengers falling victim to additional costs.
Last year, Sun Online Travel reported Ryanair were using a higher currency conversion rate than average exchange rates as it was out of date.
A Ryanair spokesperson at the time said: "Fares, taxes, fees and charges are payable in the currency of the country of origin of travel unless another currency is indicated by us at or before the time payment is made, for example, because of the non-convertibility of the local currency."
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When booking Ryanair flights, passengers should avoid rows 11A, 11F and 12F, according to SeatGuru.
These three seats, while classed as window seats, are missing a window and will only have a view of the plane wall.
Sun Online Travel has contacted Ryanair for comment.