I knew it! As I suspected last month, when Ryanair announced the intention to abolish desk check-in, there’s going to be a sneaky reintroduction of web check-in fee. Well, there is no way they’re not going to exploit this now that everyone’s obliged to check-in online.

What do you know – it’s coming at €5 per flight per passenger!

There will be some phasing out of desk check-in service between now and October, with huge penalties in order to discourage anyone from going near those desks at all. For the whole shebang and gooblydooks on this, read this press release. Frankly speaking, how can this web check-in charge be “savings” that can be passed on to the passengers, I don’t know.

Of course, this spells more profits for Ryanair. They can finally charge EVERYONE again for check-in fees, not just non-EU/EEA travellers or people with luggage to check-in. In fact, this means you are actually paying them to do the work yourself! Without any designated airport desks, they also need not employ so many staff anymore so I expect some of them may be seeing their P45s sooner than they’re expected to. Ryanair would probably cite recession as an excuse for that or something.

I need a better paying job just so I don’t have to fly with Ryanair anymore.

Ryanair is clearly desperate to stay in public eyes and certainly believes in the mantra “no publicity is bad publicity”!

Last week, it was all about abolishing desk check-in service. Earlier this week, they went on blogger bash fest. And today, what that comes in as “breaking news” on Irish Times and BBC is the plan to introduce charges to use toilets on board! Whoa! What’s next? Charging a pregnant woman because she’s clearly carrying “extra passenger” with her?

You know, I’ve always defended Ryanair’s to my friends with “have no expectation and you won’t be disappointed” and “what you see on the tin is what you get” but it’s getting harder and harder to side with them. I’ve fly often with them and so far, so good. (Touch wood!) But sometimes, extreme measures like this really made me go, blah…

If I can afford it, I would choose to fly with different flight operators but until then, I’d just chalk this to another of their madness that I’m going to shrug off. Not that I’ve ever use their toilets on board come to think of it. Afterall, I only fly with them for short-haul (2 hours max) flights and I never really like the sorry excuse of a small, usually disgusting, cabin that’s being passed off as lavatory. That also explains why I could never understand why anyone sane would go for a tryst or attempt to join the so-called mile high club in one. Seriously unclassy.

This should really have been blogged last week but while it was on my radar, I’ve been up to my eyes with a gazillion and one tasks to complete. (In fact, this switch is also on my to-do list.)

Anyway.

Finally.

An electricity service provider that promises substantial saving on the crazy utility prices, no thanks to the years of monopoly that ESB had.

To be honest, I am a bit annoyed with ESB at the moment, as I’ve just received our latest household bill. They had just up the rate of electricity unit (with effect from January 2009) from €0.1597 to €0.1640! At time of recession and economic downturn, and where the price of oil worldwide had came down (they previously sought for the green light for an increase on the premise that oil price was too high), this is really quite unacceptable.

At the heel of the receipt of this bill, it reminded me of the Bord Gáis’ The Big Switch that I saw through an announcement on their website. I’d wager you have heard all about it too, even if you’re not already a current customer of Bord Gáis, given it was written up well on the Irish Times’ PriceWatch, they’re advertising it everywhere (including Facebook!) and everyone is talking about it. The changeover is really quite simple – just sign up for the switch and Bord Gáis will take care of everything else.

As pointed out by the Irish Times, consumers who change over their provider from ESB to Bord Gáis stand to enjoy a saving of up to nearly 24% – that’s a lot of money that you and I can do with in our own pockets right now. I’m switching mine with immediate effect, well, after reading and understanding the terms and conditions involved of course.

Ryanair has been in the news a good bit again this week, and for a change it’s not about yet another attempt on hostile takeover of Aer Lingus or advertisement infringement etc.

Instead, they’re introducing a new fleet of flights that allow in-flight mobile phone calls. Well, of course, this is a service that comes with a price (check this press release) and is currently available only to Vodofone and O2 customers. To be honest – can people really not wait till they arrive at their destinations to make further contacts etc? The plane is the only mode of transport where I don’t have to hear incessant ring tones of phone calls and text messages coming in (personally I keep my mobile on silent at all time), and I can also do without hearing one sided conversation (for some reason, a lot of people increases the decibel when speaking over the phone in comparison to talking to someone while seated side by side).

Never mind. I don’t think this will be a major issue since most people probably wouldn’t be too keen on paying the exhorbitant fees. Afterall there is a reason why people are flying Ryanair despite all the grumbles about their charges and service – they’re the cheapest option to fly in/out of Dublin to European destinations. Therefore money matters.

Another piece of news that I just saw on BBC is their plan to scrap desk check-in service. I can’t find any details yet from their website, but it certainly raises a few questions.

Currently, online check-in service is only available to EU/EEA passport holders with hand luggage. Other international travellers and anyone who has luggage to check in must pay additionally for desk check-in service. Already this is obligating many to travel light (which is not a bad thing to be honest) and it’s also rather unfair that international travellers be charged more by the nature of their citizenship.

Now, if the desk check-in is to be abolished:

1. Travellers who have hold luggage must check in online then drop off the luggage at bag drop. I’m imagining chaos with this if the tags were not put properly etc and there is need for someone to man the bag drop anyway, so how is this different from having desk check-in?

2. Will this be a sneaky way to re-introduce some kind of online check-in charges to all travellers at some stage in the future?

3. What happens to international, non-EU/EEA travellers? Can they now suddenly avail of online check-in whereas previously they can’t (for reasons unknown – or the faible “it’s for security purposes” without further explanations) or will they just not able to travel with Ryanair anymore?

I guess only time will tell what Ryanair’s full plan is. They are always full of surprises and implement radical changes, enough to confuse anyone who doesn’t travel regularly with them. Frequent travellers on Ryanair know full well what the score is and I’d imagine by now have benefited in the experiece to become one of the most unflappable air passengers in the world.

In all the years living in Dublin, I have yet to seen so many demonstrations and marches organised in the city. Until this year. With so many issues nagging at the population left, right and center, on top of economic downturn, more and more people are taking to the streets to make their voices heard.

Earlier in the year, the atrocity of the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians saw a series of protests held in the city in succession. So far, the various protests and marches since January:

03.01.2009 : Anti-war Groups against Gaza Bombing
10.01.2009 : Anti-war Groups against Gaza Bombing
13.01.2009 : Anti-war Groups against Gaza Bombing
17.01.2009 : Anti-war Groups against Gaza Bombing
02.02.2009 : Taxi Drivers against Deregulation
02.02.2009 : Busworkers’ Action Group against Transports Cutbacks
04.02.2009 : Union of Students in Ireland (USI) against Fees Reintroduction
05.02.2009 : Taxi Drivers against Deregulation
06.02.2009 : Taxi Drivers against Deregulation
09.02.2009 : Taxi Drivers against Deregulation
09.02.2009 : Teachers United against Education Underfunding
11.02.2009 : Dublin Bus Action Group against Transports Cutbacks
16.02.2009 : Union of Students in Ireland (USI) against Fees Reintroduction
17.02.2009 : Taxi Drivers against Deregulation
18.02.2009 : Garda Representative Association (GRA) against Government’s New Pension Levy
18.02.2009 : Civil, Public and Services Union (CPSU) against Government’s New Pension Levy
18.02.2009 : Dublin Bus/ SIPTU against Transports Cutbacks

And upcoming protests and strikes, including one tomorrow:

21.02.2009 : National Demonstration organised by ICTU, 2pm, Parnell Street to Dáil Éireann
25.02.2009 : Garda Representative Association (GRA) against Government’s New Pension Levy (morning)
26.02.2009 : Civil, Public and Services Union (CPSU) One-Day Strike
28.02.2009 : Dublin Bus/ NBRU One-Day Strike
01.03.2009 : Dublin Bus/ SIPTU All-Out Strike (from this date, possibly ongoing)
09.03.2009 : Dublin Bus/ NBRU One-Day Strike
10.03.2009 : Dublin Bus/ NBRU One-Day Strike

With regards to strikes, it’s prudent for commuters to pay particular attentions to them. Usually, per what is norm for Dublin, such strikes may be averted following union-authority discussions. But given the unsettled times, who know what’s next?

Everywhere you go around the city, you’ll see now of the Christmas lightings and trees and decorations. There were Christmas songs belting through the sound system from Brown Thomas but unfortunately now this may be shut because the Dublin City Council deemed it noise pollution blah di blah. I mean, c’mon, this is pretty much part of Grafton Street Christmas tradition – to walk past BT, admire their beautifully decorated windows (with overpriced items that I could never afford, but that’s not the point) and sing/hum along to the Christmas carols!

Please don’t spoil this festive cheers by being so uptight about this. I don’t know of anyone who complained about the music and as far as I know, it actually puts people in Christmassy mood. More than the weird Christmas tree on O’Connell Street that the city council was raving over.

And staying with the topic of music, watch this video by Playing for Change. I know it’s not Dublin-specific, but it emphasises music as an universal language that links people together. Including Dubliners, and you and me who live in this city.

There are a few reasons why I think it’s appropriate to post this video here today. First and foremost, it’s a beautiful song that’s produced using recordings from all over the world, harmonised together so elegantly that it resonates with everyone. Secondly, this organisation aims to promote peace through music, and this is one endeavour that I’m whole-heartedly supporting. Thirdly, I think we can all do with a good reminder that no man is an island and we have wonderful people, friends and family, that stand by us every day, every step that we take. (Quite nicely, it was Thanksgiving yesterday in the US, so what are you thankful for this year?)

We need more positive actions like this.

In the past week, we’ve seen chaos in the Middle East (so much so that it’s nearly business-for-usual that doesn’t quite raise the eyebrows anymore), military coup in Thailand and most shockingly the violent attacks in Mumbai that left over 100 people dead and a few hundred more injured. At the moment there are some progress made in containing the attacks and I hope there will not be anymore unnecessary casualties.

But it begets a few questions. Why are men still using violence in order to achieve what they want? How come, through the ages and civilisations, are there still systems and governments that don’t work that the people felt they need to speak out radically? And why are men not searching for better middle grounds to their ideologies, and at times agree to disagree, or able to disagree without being disagreeable?

Sure, there are no simple answers to these. I long for the ideal world, but hey I also often live behind a rose-tinted glasses, Pollyanna world. I’ve tried stepping out and look at things with more cynicism and skepticism, but I didn’t (and still don’t) like what I see.

Oh well, this is something best left to philosophers to debate.

Well, half of them. Them being large multinational companies.

This can’t be a very good news in time of economic downturn. Almost half of multinational companies surveyed by IDA (they surveyed 97/538 companies, which works out about 18% of client portfolios) that are currently based in Ireland have indicated that given a second chance to relocate their companies, Ireland would not have been their choice. The two main cited reasons – high business costs and poor infrastructure. It appears not only the residents here are tired of rip-off Ireland, foreign investors are also unhappy with fatigued accountings.

With the widening of European markets, there are more options than ever for any company that’s currently looking into tapping into the continent. Of the companies that said they would have chose a different location, almost 2/3 of them would choose Eastern Europe. Not only that, some 16% would even go to UK. This must be sending some major alarm bells to the government!

But of course Ireland does have its own saving graces, since the other half surveyed are happy where they are right now and would not have choose an alternative location. Top of the list of graces is the favourable corporation tax rates, which even McCain evoked time and time again during his (now lost) presidential bid debates and speeches. The other main advantages are skilful set of labour, high technological knowledge (although we still sorely need better telecoms and broadband infrastructures) and favourable regulations for multinationals relocating here.

However, in times of global competitions, the balancing act is tricky at best (e.g. maintaining high living standard but battling rapid increases in wages which reduces profits and thus taxation) for the government. Not only that, the international economic climate also influences decision making by large international firms which are trying to remain competitive. For one, a large number of the multinationals currently based in Ireland are American-owned, and if tax breaks offered by President-elect Obama be deemed more favourable, the companies may begin to downsize their operations here and return to US for their expansions.

I guess we won’t know right now how the events will unfold. Only time will tell. In the mean time, the government has to stop sitting on the laurels of Celtic Tiger, and start to think of Plan B (and C and D) to keep the economy of the country growing. One thing that I can think of right now is, stop spending frivolously on all sorts of overbudgeted and overran (time wise) projects!

Taking a break from the usual Dublin-related blog entries, I came across this video while catching up on some US election articles on The Guardian. Hurray to the Irish for embracing diversity and never forgetting one of their own – Obama’s great great greatgrandfather hailed from Co. Offaly.

(By the way, all the 4 main names on the election tickets have Irish ancestry. I wonder if the others have songs written and dedicated just for them the way it does for Obama.)

You can sing along to the chorus too, if you wish:
O’Leary, O’Reilly, O’Hare and O’Hara,
There’s no one as Irish as Barack Obama,
From the old Blarney Stone to the green hills of Tara,
There’s no one as Irish as Barack Obama.

Not sure though if Bill O’Reilly would be pleased with such inclusion. He hasn’t exactly been a fan of Obama of late from what I gather from the media…

Trying to pack the items after the checkout staff scanning them along as quickly as possible. Heavy items in first so fruits and vegs are placed on top and will not be squashed. The eggs even higher over to avoid cracks. Separating food and non-food items. Pay for the purchase. Put purse/wallet away. Move away because there are items coming through for the next customers even before you can evacuate the packing area.

All these happen at the checkout so quickly that, seriously, how many people actually look at their receipt and check if it’s correct before they leave the premises?

I’ve always tried to at least scan through my receipt, although not always, especially when I’m in a hurry. Lately however, I’ve been particular about checking my receipt, after one too many incidents where I ended up being overcharged. Surprisingly, or maybe not, I’ve never been undercharged.

It all started when I was being charged a lot for some toothbrush that I thought I’ve found a great promotional deal on. Upon recheck of the price, apparently the item on promotion wasn’t the one that I’ve bought. That was a case of mislabelling, or so I was told. Except this “practice” seems to be more widespread than ever. It happened several times that I started scrutinising every detail on the labels to ensure that I’ve picked up the right item. I’m nearly not surprised anymore on seeing similar items placed side by side, with ambiguous promotional sign placed in front. Pick the wrong one and you could be paying a good deal more.

As extension to that, I also started paying more attention to my grocery receipts. It is astonishing, how often I’d still be overcharged. I would have imagined, now that I have ensure I’ve picked the right items in relation to the prices displayed, and with the barcoding system, this shouldn’t happen. But no, I’m still being charged more. They are usually items that are marked to have reduction in prices, except somehow at the check out, the deduction didn’t happen – I would have been charged the full price!

Of course, the shops normally have policy that if you found such discrepancies, they will refund the difference. But the onus to this is, as a consumer, you need to be aware of every little details of your purchase and you will have to alert them of this. Surely as a merchant, they also have the responsibility to ensure their system is working correctly and that the customers are paying more than they should. However, when overcharging is happening nearly everytime I shop, I have pretty much lost the confident and trust in the merchant.

I query such discrepancy every time, even when the amount is negligible. And even when the queue behind me is long and everyone’s getting impatient. I refuse to let them think they can get away with such small deception each time. Little by little, if people don’t notice nor query it, they can make a pretty profit out of it!

It’s the time of the year where students are starting or going back to college. First there are students of UCD starting in mid-September, then students of RCSI, DCU, DIT etc starting a week or two after that, and last but not least TCD in early-October. That’s the trend for Dublin colleges as far as I know of.

At the same time, flights are arriving in Dublin airport with fresh-faced students, be it someone from Europe on an Erasmus exchange or someone who’s here and registered as a fully-fledged international student. For the Europeans, their main worry would most likely be competing with the Irish for accommodations. And maybe a small sense of inadequacy in using English 24/7 for the first time in their lives. For the non-Europeans though, add on another (major) headache – the immigration.

This article in Irish Times today highlights the immigration issue that every foreigner faces in this country – the procedures involved in making sure your entry and residency status in this country is legal and above board. But as pointed out in this article, the immigration procedures are arbitrarily carried out and trying to pinpoint on guidelines is a mammoth task for many.

If you are an international student who applies for a visa while still residing in your home country, this is the minimum guideline from the immigration service website. The international students office in your education institution should also be able to provide assistance and further information that you require.

For continuing students, things should be more straight forward as there would be a record file in place and one who also already have some experience dealing with the immigration bureau. Please note that the processing fee for visa this year has increased from €100 to €150.

The following is a list of minimum documentations that everyone applying visa in person should be aware of, and hopefully these would be all that would be asked to produce. The thought of re-queuing outside the GNIB office with hundreds of other students should be an encouragement for anyone at all to ensure he/she has all documentation at hand the first time round.

• Passport, with at least 6 months validity post-course completion date
• Letter from college, certifying that you are a registered student with fees paid
• Valid student card, obtained following registration week in college
• Bank statement showing sufficient funding, or letter from sponsor
• Proof of course attendance, particularly if attending private colleges e.g. DBS
• Evidence of private medical/health/personal insurance
• Specific bank giro of €150 for processing fee, or credit card to pay this amount

[Note: this is only a guideline, and is by no means exhaustive. The invididual immigration officers dealing with the cases may exercise their rights in requiring more documentations and in approving/declining the visa applications.]

I am uncertain of this year’s application procedure (this has been changing several times in the past years) so I would just write on what I know based on last year. While the immigration bureau on Burgh Quay opened its door at 8am, students were asked to queue outside (it snaked around to the back to the building/block even) before numbered tickets were distributed starting at 9.30am. The number of tickets distributed per day was limited. Someone who was too far back at the queue may not get a number and would have to return another day.

A good book and a music player won’t go astray while one waits for his/her turn inside the office once a numbered ticket is obtained. For some, based on the number given, it could well be hours before their turn to talk to an immigration officer. Some people leave to return later, but my advice on this is, if you’re doing that, time it smartly. If your number is called and you miss it because you’re not there, then you’re back to square one and will have to queue again another day.

A few minor things. Be courteous and respectful. Turn off the mobile phone. Put it on silent otherwise. The office will most likely be packed this time of year so your bag doesn’t need a seat. Hours spent at the immigration bureau is frustrating, but everyone is in the same boat. Good luck!

If you have any other tips, or have been at the bureau recently, share it with us through the comment box.