One flew over the Cuckoo's nest: Airline charges $60 for boarding passes

It's microcharging gone too far. The European airline Ryanair is tearing out the check-in desks at 146 airports where it flies. As of October, if you want to check in for a Ryanair flight, you've got to do it in advance for £5 ($7.60) per flight, and if you forget, you'll be slapped with a hefty £40 ($61) "boarding card re-issue fee" per flight to get one from an employee at the airport.

Until now, no-frills Ryanair has been one of the most affordable European carriers thanks to its minuscule airfares, provided you knew how to sidestep its myriad of extra charges. Those include paying $30 to use a debit card to paying $40 to carry your airport shopping on board to paying $100 for checked baggage with a ridiculously low 33 pounds. But this new set-up pretty much takes the airline off the map for American travelers.