Before you read: some questions to help you think about the topic and the words you might need.
What experiences do you have of bad airline service?
What effect does the Internet have on companies who give bad service?
A British holidaymaker who was made to pay more than $460 just to get her Ryanair boarding passes printed out at the airport has taken to social media to vent her fury.
Suzy McLeod told UK publication the Telegraph that the budget airline charged her €300 ($460) to print out five boarding passes when she went to fly home with her family from Alicante, Spain last week.
She had checked in online, but without being able to use a printer, had thought the PDF file on her smartphone would be enough at the airport.
McLeod managed to scrape together the cash, but when she got home she posted a comment about the incident on a Facebook page made especially for Ryanair.
"I had to pay €300 for them to print out a piece of paper! Please click 'like' if you think that's unfair," she wrote.
More than 358,000 people had clicked "like" on the post within five days, and it spurred more than 18,000 comments.
McLeod says the flights were advertised at £166 per person, but once they coughed up for baggage fees and the boarding passes, the family had paid £1,650.
"We could have gone first class on BA (British Airways) for less money," she told the Telegraph.
They had been on holiday for 15 days and couldn't print the return boarding passes before they left home and Ryanair only allows printing within two weeks of the departure.
Ryanair spokesman Stephen McNamara says the airline's terms and conditions are clearly outlined when you book a ticket, and McLeod had accepted the penalty fee when she purchased the tickets.
Guessing meaning from context
Try to guess the meaning of the words in bold and match them with their closest meaning from the choices in the right. The answers are below the table.
|
taken to |
A |
1 |
Release energy, to let out frustration |
|
vent |
B |
2 |
anger |
|
fury |
C |
3 |
To get something out, forced to find/release |
|
checked in |
D |
4 |
To encourage, to do something to make something begin or start, motivate |
|
scrape together |
E |
5 |
Rules/conditions are written to be easy to understand, opposite of confusing |
|
spurred |
F |
6 |
To only just be able to get something/s together to do something, only just succeed |
|
coughed up |
G |
7 |
To book, to confirm at a hotel or airport desk |
|
Clearly outlined |
H |
8 |
Begun some action |
A=8, B=1, C=2, D=7, E=6, F=4, G=3, H5
Some discussion questions using the new words to help you better understand the word meaning and how to use them correctly. Try to use the words in your answer.
1. What spurred the customer to take to the Internet? Do you agree with her actions?
2. Do you think that the comments that the others left on the Internet also vented anger?
3. Could Ryanair be furious over the bad stories about them?
4. When you have checked in a hotel or airport have you needed a printed receipt? Why do you think Ryanair needed one?
5. Do you think she was correct to cough up the cash and pay the airline? What else could she have done?
6. What would you have done if you were not able to scrape together enough cash to pay the airline in this situation?
7. Do you think it is fair that a company like Ryanair can use the excuse that their conditions are clearly outlined to take the action that they took?
Some example sentences using the new words to help you to better understand their meaning.
1. Many citizens of Seoul have taken to the streets to vent their anger at the government.
2. A lot of people are furious at the governments plan to increase tax.
3. It is important to check in for a flight at the airport 2 hours before you fly.
4. Because of the high apartment prices, it is hard for young people to scrape together enough money to buy one.
5. High debts in the U.S.A. has spurred many people to stop spending and save money.
6. I was angry that the taxi was so expensive and I didn’t want to cough up so much money.
7. It is clearly outlined in some cafes that you can’t smoke inside.
ECK Education
