IdeaWell

Project ideas from Hacker News discussions.

Ryanair fined €256M over ‘abusive strategy’ to limit ticket sales by OTAs

Original Article

Hacker News Discussion

📝 Discussion Summary (Click to expand)

1. Ryanair's Dark Patterns and Upselling Tactics

Users heavily criticize Ryanair's booking process for hidden fees, forced upsells, and manipulative designs like burying the "no insurance" option alphabetically.
"the option to not by travel insurance was in the middle of drop-down list of countries!" (arethuza)
"100% dark pattern. As is disabling "paste" on check-in..." (patall)

2. Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC) Scams

A major thread condemns POS terminals, ATMs, and airlines pushing home-currency payments with hidden spreads (e.g., 15-25% markups), preying on ignorance.
"they tried to coax me into using my local currency instead of GBP and hid a £20 spread..." (dcminter)
"their payment processor... offers them this opportunity to 'unlock hidden revenue for merchants'" (alibarber)

3. Ryanair's Blocking of OTAs and Defenses of Its Model

Debate on Ryanair's tactics against resellers (to protect upsells) vs. OTA scams (e.g., COVID refunds); some defend Ryanair for cheap, direct flights despite friction.
"OTAs were blocked because they just run scam..." (throw9023093209)
"Ryanair's actions had 'blocked, hindered or made such purchases more difficult'" (aquir, quoting authority)

🚀 Project Ideas

DCC Decliner App

Summary

  • Mobile app using computer vision/OCR to scan payment terminal screens, detect Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC) prompts, and alert users with vibrations, audio cues, and overlays advising "Always pay in local currency" while showing real-time interbank rates vs. offered rate.
  • Core value: Prevents even tech-savvy users from falling for hidden spreads (e.g., "hid a £20 spread"), saving 3-15% on transactions.

Details

Key Value
Target Audience International travelers, including tech-savvy HN users who occasionally fat-finger prompts ("just the other day I fat fingered the screen")
Core Feature AR camera scan → instant ripoff % calculation → guided decline
Tech Stack React Native, TensorFlow Lite (OCR/CV), ExchangeRate-API
Difficulty Medium
Monetization Revenue-ready: Freemium (basic free, pro with rate history $2/mo)

Notes

  • HN users hate it everywhere: "Uber does it, Walgreens, ATMs... decline the currency conversion scam" (xp84, dcminter); even shops enable it for "free money".
  • High utility for travel; viral potential on forums like HN/Reddit.

CleanFlight Booker

Summary

  • Web service/PWA that automates Ryanair (and similar) bookings via headless browser, auto-declines all upsells/insurance/dark patterns, simulates full checkout to show true minimum cost upfront, then completes booking.
  • Core value: Bypasses mazes ("go through the entirety of their checkout procedure"), delivers PDF ticket without app/spyware, for budget travelers avoiding £20+ extras.

Details

Key Value
Target Audience Budget EU flyers tired of Ryanair/EasyJet dark patterns ("deselect all the up charges at multiple screens")
Core Feature Input route/dates → preview min cost → one-click book with defaults (no bag/insurance/app)
Tech Stack Next.js, Puppeteer/Playwright, Ryanair scraping (respect robots.txt where possible)
Difficulty High
Monetization Revenue-ready: $1-2 per booking fee

Notes

  • Directly addresses wishes: "airlines were forced to put their booking behind an API" (amelius); "easy to book without being upsold? skip screens" but admits dark patterns catch people (quokwok, patall).
  • Sparks HN debates on ethics/scraping; practical for "only use if no choice" users (dcminter).

FX Ripoff Scanner Extension

Summary

  • Browser extension + mobile companion that during online payments (e.g., Ryanair, PayPal) detects currency prompts, injects real-time interbank rate comparison, highlights spreads/fees, and auto-fills "local currency" option.
  • Core value: Makes "direct costs up front" visible ("I'd like to see that outlawed"), prevents rage-quits from hidden markups like £20 spreads or 10% PayPal losses.

Details

Key Value
Target Audience Online shoppers/travelers facing DCC online ("coax into local currency... hid £20 spread")
Core Feature DOM monitoring for currency selectors → overlay with % ripoff vs. Visa/MC rate → one-click local select
Tech Stack Chrome/Firefox extension (React), exchangeratesapi.io, WebExtensions API
Difficulty Low
Monetization Hobby

Notes

  • Echoes rants: "always pay in local currency (your bank/visa gives better rate)" (doikor); "PayPal... lose 10%" (bgbntty2); praised by all as essential travel hack.
  • Easy HN adoption; fosters discussions on regulation ("heavily regulated" - clan).

Read Later