Recycled papers?

On a recent 9.25am Ryanair flight from Faro to Dublin, a reader says she was charged €2 for a copy of the Irish Independent , 30 cent above its normal retail price of €1.70. She also says the copy of the paper she paid €2 for looked like it had been “recycled copy from the earlier Dublin to Faro flight”. She asks whether it is legal to charge more than the cover price and the short answer is yes. The cover price on newspapers and magazines is no more than a recommended retail price.

We contacted Ryanair to see whether it was actually charging €2 for the paper and if did “recycle” copies left behind by passengers on the outward journey and sell them to those on the inbound journey. We received the following statement: “Once again this is a baseless complaint. It was made perfectly clear to this passenger before they chose to buy the newspaper that the on-board cost is €2 and they chose to buy it.”