ParrotMom

So, what is good or bad about Ryanair? What is the cost of upgrading from Economy? Most important. are they safe and what is the big deal...is it def, no frill..

alanRow

<<< What is the cost of upgrading from Economy? >>>

Nothing - because they don't have any upgrades. It's all one class

As to the advantages / disadvantages of Ryanair

They fly to some "interesting" airports - so the cost of getting form that airport to the city they claim to serve can be higher than the cost of the flight

They enforce the rules rigorously - so when they say 15kg of checked in luggage they mean 15kg of checked in luggage and no a gram more. So checkin closing 40 minutes before the flight means that, your cabin bag being 55x40x20cm means just that...

They charge for EVERYTHING - checked baggage, airport checkin, card fees per PERSON per FLIGHT.

Check your booking carefully - if you get it wrong then you'll pay heavily to correct it & they have been known to "helpfully" add fees on for services that you don't need - and then make it difficult to remove them

FINALLY - if things go wrong, don't expect Ryanair to give you a single bit of assistance. If your flight is cancelled then your next opportunity to fly may be several DAYS in the future. Be prepared to throw money at a problem.

flanneruk

There's nothing to upgrade to and they've never had an accident. Which, since they fly more passengers between countries than any airline, anywhere, ever, arguably makes them the safest airline in the world.

Most cities don't have airports, miles away: a Ryanair flight from Rome to Dublin, for example, uses Dublin's only airport and the airport that's closer to the centre of Rome than the one Alitalia, Lufthansa, BA or any American airline uses.

They're the world's biggest international airline because milllions of people can't see the point of paying their competitors for useless frills when the flight takes less time than the security queue.

traveller1959

I find nothing wrong with Ryanair - they are safe and reliable - but do thorough research on airports, rules and regulations, rates and extra fees.

Airports: Yes, they do use some obscure airports which might be far away from your destination (like Hahn, which is, in fact, 130km from Frankfurt), but others (like Rome or Dublin) are very close. Be sure to locate the airports on a map and enquire about public transportation (indeed the train ticket from Stansted Airport into central London may cost more than the airfare).

Rules and regulations and extra fees: Yes, they have specific rules which other airlines do not have and they enforce them. It is a part of their business model. What counts it the total price. Check carefully.

Service: I always liked their check-in and onboard service. Yes, you pay for a drink or sandwich but why not? Prices are reasonable and quality is good. On the flight to Stansted they sell rail tickets which is very convenient (no need of queueing up) and you save 2 pounds.

Conclusion: May not a bad choice. Once flew from Weeze into Stansted for 39.99 Euros return + 30 Euros for the train ticket (return), made about 70 Euros total. Lufthansa charges 99 Euros from Düsseldorf into Heathrow. For me, a difference of 29 Euros is not worth the hassle to drive to Weeze and have the train ride from Stansted. But everyone has to decide for him/herself.

AAFrequentFlyer

<i>since they fly more passengers between countries than any airline, anywhere, ever,</i>

where do you get your incorrect info from???

Just a simple example:

RyanAir is projected to fly 50M this year

AA almost doubled that last year

DL carried ~35M just in the first 6 months of this year

UA carried ~32M in the first six months of this year


Granted that only about 15% of that traffic is international for the above, but saying that going from Dublin to London is international, would be like saying that going from NY to Atlanta is international. Cross country flights are 2500 miles, Dublin to London is 280 miles.

janisj

AA - My gosh, sometimes you just like to pick fights for no apparent reason. The statement &quot;<i>they fly more passengers between countries than any airline, anywhere, ever</i>&quot; is 100% correct. fl specifically included the <u>between countries</u> bit. And you specifically included <u>Granted that only about 15% of that traffic is international</u>.

So you are disputing fl's post w/ totally irrelevant information. He didn't say Ryan Air transports more people than anyone else. He said they transport more people across international borders than anyone else. And you have all but confirmed that.

The point wasn't distances. London to Dublin is International. NYC to Atlanta, or LA to Miami aren't . . . .

AAFrequentFlyer

I believe that he tried to infer that somehow they are the safest airline that flies internationally by carrying more international passengers that any other airline. Flying from Dublin to London, while technically considered international, and I do agree with that, is an actual 45 minutes up in the air. Flying NY-LA is a 5 hours up in the air.

And we can debate the fact that Dublin-Rome is not really international now for EU passport holders anymore. After all, they all hold the same passport.

rkkwan

So, what's so great about being carrying the most international passengers? Does it even matter? Who cares? Maybe Southwest should start advertising themselves as largest domestic airline in the world. Big deal.

---

The UK airlines do like interesting tag lines and corporate names. Some of us still remember Virgin's line of &quot;4 engines 4 longhaul&quot; - well, until &quot;carbon footprint&quot; becomes a household term in Europe. Haha...

I also wonder what's going to bmi's &quot;baby&quot; now that Lufthansa is taking over the parent. Will it like its step-father?

Geordie

&lt;&lt;So, what's so great about being carrying the most international passengers? Does it even matter? Who cares?&gt;&gt;

Obviously it matters to AAflyer or he wouldn't have gone off trawling to find the figures

&lt;&lt;The UK airlines do like interesting tag lines and corporate names. Some of us still remember

Virgin's line of &quot;4 engines 4 longhaul&quot; - well, until &quot;carbon footprint&quot; becomes a household term in Europe. Haha...&gt;&gt;

Some of us also remember US adverts like United's &quot;Come fly the friendly skies&quot; obviously the ad men don't fly United.

AA's slogan &quot;We know why you fly&quot; where did that little gem come from.

Northwest Airlines. &quot;Some people just know how to fly&quot; I bloody well hope so

Continental Airlines call to the workers of the world &quot;Work Hard. Fly Right&quot;

Great stuff

Geordie

flybob

&quot;After all, they all hold the same passport&quot; WRONG - I have a UK passport and each country has its own

Odin

And some countries issue national identity cards eg France &amp; Spain and it is possible to travel to some EU (eg UK) countries using this card and no passport.

wally34949

This is probably not the airline to fly if you need a last minute ticket or have a lot of luggage to cart. Seating of 30 inches can be tight, too.

But if you book ahead and it is a short flight, you should be fine.

Here is a seat pitch guide for European airlines.

www.airlinequality.com/Product/seats_europe.htm

bratsandbeer

We flew Ryanair 2 years ago - don't know how it is now.

First time with Ryanair 4 years go was from Venice to Dublin with a change in London. No problems.

2 years ago we flew from East Midlands England to Dinard France. No problem. Both times the planes were nice - we had leg room.

We knew to keep our luggage under the weight restriction so we paid nothing extra either time.

There is no assigned seating so everyone tries to be first in line to board.

For the price we were happy. However, there are some who have had problems.

kswl

The good thing about Ryanair is that it is cheap.

The bad thing about Ryanair is that it is cheap.

The important thing to know about Ryanair before you book tickets is that is is cheap. I like it

alanRow

The worst thing about Ryanair is that it may not be cheap - and sometimes you don't discover that until you reach the airport

MikeD

At the risk of starting another 'my airline is bigger than your airline&quot; argument, I have personal experience of Ryanair giving assistance when things go wrong - yes I'm the exception that proves the rule !

Last year when flying from Bristol to Knock(Ireland) for 0.01 Euro our flight was cancelled like all other morning flights at Bristol due to fog. The Ryanair desk very helpfully arranged for all passengers who wanted it to be put on evening flights to Dublin / Shannon instead (including me), or put on the follow morning's flight to Knock.

I have no problem with Ryanair, but then I've used them to fly between regional airports in Europe, travel light and can book well in advance. For me they and Easyjet are a godsend, flying with a major carrier would be much more expensive and require long drives to the bigger airports at each end.

Having said all that if you are flying between capital cities, can't book in advance or have a lot of luggage then they are probably not the best option.

And yes they are safe the biggest risk to your health is the shock at the triumphal burst of music and applause when your flight arrives on time

Good Luck
Mike

alanRow

Ryanair jet makes emergency landing after birdstrike

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7719716.stm

kmjmmm

My daughter just flew Ryanair and had to stand in a long line a long time to pay 20 British pounds in each direction because she had an American passport. She booked in London as she is there going to school.
By the time she paid to get to the airport in London and the extra fees she paid more then other airlines. Just be add up all costs before purchase.

alanRow

Ryanair will - in theory - refund that if she asks.

I take it your daughter missed the bit that online check-in is only currently available to citizens of EEA countries, but if she had checked luggage then currently online checkin isn't available to anyone