Say what you will about students and their budget lifestyles—working 20 hour days, seven days a week, for two weeks of the year; and, like moths to a flame, attending chic gallery openings purely for the free booze and food—but you cannot deny a student’s innovative ability to do absolutely everything on the cheap.
So when it comes to travel, we’re fairly convinced that forgoing the luxuries of a major airline carrier and choosing the budget option (and valiantly accepting that you’ll be landing in their obscure tin-shed “airport” that is so far away from the city you’re aiming for, you need another flight to get from that airport to the city centre) is, tbh, the only option.
British student Adam Armstrong, attending Leeds City College, is an upstanding citizen among battlers thirsty for a bargain, and someone from whom we can all learn volumes.
The Guardian reports today on Armstrong’s unrivalled prowess when it comes to dodging an unwanted fee: when a ticket to Ibiza was reserved on Ryanair for Armstrong by his girlfriend’s stepdad (another hot tip: date people whose stepdads will buy you tickets to Ibiza), Armstrong’s surname was mistakenly recorded as West, the name that Armstrong uses on Facebook.
So when Armstrong was faced with the £220 (approx $400) fee from Ryanair to change his name on the ticket, he did what any regular student faced with that amount of money would do: he legally changed his surname to West by deed poll, and only had to pay around £100 for a new passport to match.
Armstrong West criticised Ryanair’s fees, telling The Guardian:
“Ryanair pride themselves on being a customer-centric business, it just seems like a joke when they wouldn’t change the name. I just thought it was completely ridiculous. All they needed to do was hit the backspace key on a keyboard and they want to charge me £220?”
Armstrong/West also encouraged others to “find a way around the system” when presented with similar dilemmas.
A God among students. Challenge accepted.
via The Guardian.
Image by Philipe Huguen via Getty.
