How do I avoid being charged under Ryanair's new allocated seating policy?

Travel Q&A

Q. What do you think of Ryanair's new terms? Boarding cards are only available to print off a week before your flight, so if you are going away for two weeks and have no access to email/printer, you must pay for pre-booked seats – or pay for check-in at the airport for the return flight. Bev Foster, Middlesbrough

A. Yours is just one of dozens of responses we have received from passengers annoyed that Ryanair has "moved the goalposts". The airline demands passengers print off boarding passes in advance. Previously, you were allowed to check in up to two weeks ahead. But when the airline introduced allocated seating, it reduced that to just one week for people who don't pre-select a seat. Sure, it's a nuisance to have to print out a boarding pass halfway through a two-week holiday, but many hotels allow it for free – and there are always internet cafés.

The problem will prove temporary for many passengers, since the airline will follow easyJet in allowing boarding passes to be loaded onto smartphones – "hopefully by early July," says Ryanair.