I am flying out of Frankfurt Hahn to Bologna on Ryanair. We are scheduled to arrive in Bologna at 9:20PM and plan to pick up our rental car and drive to our hotel just outside of Bologna. The car rental companies all close at 11PM. If we are delayed and arrive later than 11 PM we are really in a bind! Can we feel pretty confident our flight will not be delayed - it will be in October so no worries about snow.

My first plan was to taxi to a hotel in Bologna then taxi out in the morning, pick up our rental car and drive to our destination. BUT, Bologna has a festival that week and rates are tripled!

Thanks for any input.

This is one of those questions for which there's not going to be a satisfying answer. Most airlines' flights operate on time, so the strict answer to your question is yes. All it can take, though, is bad weather or a mechanical problem that evening, neither of which anyone can predict and neither of which will likely happen, and you could have a delay. Someone can post here about their Ryanair flight that was or wasn't on time, and it will have no bearing on your flight that night. You've given yourself a good buffer. I think you have to go into these things knowing that it will probably all turn out fine, and deal with any problems when and if they happen.

Just don't show up at the main Frankfurt Airport that night. Despite the name, Frankfurt Hahn, which Ryanair uses, is about 75 miles from the city of Frankfurt.

Check with the rental car company to see what their policy is. At some airports they will stay open late for a delayed flight if incoming customers have reservations.

Jeff - you are so right, I was grasping for reassurance, knowing the timing would be a risk any way I looked at it.

Thanks Cranachin, great advice, I will check with them. I didn't know there was a possibility they would wait.

In my experience the low fare airlines tend to keep more strictly to their schedules than some others. It's how they make their money, load, go, land, reload and off again as quickly as possible. However, when there are delays they tend to pile up at the end of the day. So for your peace of mind, in all cases, have a plan B.

In this case I think I'd simply plan to stay near the airport on the night of arrival unless I was willing to pay the inflated taxi fare and pick up the car in the morning. I dislike more than anything having to think about what happens if....if I can help it.