vinolover

I've been reading a lot of posts that are scaring me off from using Ryan Air but I'm starting to think that I'm over analyzing this.

Here's the scenario:

We need a one way flight from Dublin to Edinburgh. We don't have to make any connections to another flight, friends will pick us up at the EDI airport.

It seems the only two choices to fly direct non-stop are Ryan Air and AerLingus. AerLingus has only one flight a day pretty early in the morning. Ryan Air has three flights a day (we would choose the middle flight, leaving early afternoon).

I'm not that concerned about getting the cheap Ryan Air fare since with the add on for luggage and fees it is only a little less expensive.

I'm also not worried about the luggage restrictions as we travel VERY light.

What I AM worried about it what I've read about Ryan Air flights being delayed for hours or cancelled. Is this a frequent occurrence? Would we be better off just taking the sure thing with AerLingus?

markrosy

I'm from Europe and have used Ryanair frequently - in life you get what you pay for. Expect VERY cheap flights. No customer service, no communication, occasional delayed & cancelled flights, acceptable planes. Oh and also expect to be surcharged for everything but taking breath on the flight. My 18 month old ws treated as excess baggage and charged at 7 euros for a flight to Italy!

You play the game and if it works you get extremely good value for money - if it doesn't don't say everybody didn't tell you so!

Good luck

vinolover

markrosy,

Yes, thanks I was aware of the customer service, excess fees, uncomfortable planes, etc. I'm willing to risk all that.

What I'm really concerned about it is our chances of the flight actually happening and hopefully happening on time.

I'd really rather take an afternoon flight (which Ryan Air offers) rather than an early morning flight (which is all that AerLingus offers).

Is there information on Ryan Air's on-time performance?

WillTravel

Ryanair has one of the best on-time performance rates of any airline, because of the fact it's so strict.

Alec

Chances of your Ryanair flight being cancelled or unduly delayed are no worse than with other airlines, and survey suggests considerably better.

Reisender

Now it has been a couple of years ago when we used Ryan Edinburgh to Dublin and all was just fine, on time, and no problems. one nice thing is they use the "real" airports for this journey so that makes it nice. I would say if you like their schedule better go for it. Heck you could always use the Aer Lingus as a fall back option!

sandyatlanta

We took the RyanAir flight from EDI to Dublin and back to EDI last June. We encountered no problems at all...the funniest part is when passengers run on the plane to get the best seats - for a 40 minute flight!

alanRow

There are "best seats" on a flight to Edinburgh - they are the window seats on the left hand side as you will normally get a view of all of Edinburgh as you approach to land.

jent103

I've taken Ryanair twice, and both flights were on time, no problems. Not exactly conclusive data, but there you have it. During our last flight they informed us that Ryanair was Europe's most on-time airline, rates of 90%. Now, whether you believe the airline or not is questionable, but I would tend to believe that the awful stories are more rare than reading the posts would lead you to believe. (Besides, who doesn't have an equally bad story about another airline?)

vinolover

Thanks for all the replies. This is exactly the info I needed. I'm going to go ahead with booking the flights on Ryan Air. I did see that for these two cities they do fly out-of/into the main airports so that works out perfect for us.

I do agree that finding the BEST seats is silly for this type of flight. We often fly inter-island flights in Hawaii and Southwest Airline in the rest of the U.S. where there are no pre-assigned seats. For these short flights I don't care where we sit or if the seat is a bit cramped.

Thanks for putting my mind at ease everyone!

SiobhanP

Anyone who liogves in Europe flys them regularly. My other half often goes to London, Manchester r Birmingham for a day and flies back the same night. Delays are only occasional and never too long. There is nothing wrong with them they just charge a lot for food and drink on board!

Sandylan

Ryanair,which is a little over 20 years old,is actually the largest international airline in the world,in that it carries more people to different counties than anybody else.While its headquarters are in Dublin it is almost 50% owned by American investors and is a constitient of the Nasdaq QQQ fund.Its planes are exclusively modern Boeings. I travel on it a lot but do not particularly like it.It starts off with the battle on the website (www.ryanair.com) where I have to fend off their attempts to sell me priority booking and travel insurance.I have become pretty good at that by now.Sometimes I book cars or hotels there though and they can be good value.I do not carry much luggage so I avoid paying for that.On the flight itself I am ready with my own food and only buy coffee.I regard it as a glorified bus service . Having been on at least 100 flights with them I have to admit they have got me to some wonderful places at modest cost and with complete reliabilty.

flanneruk

I'm intrigued by your belief that Aer Lingus is, relatively, a "sure thing".

Whatever makes you think this? I'm aware of no evidence any of Europe's minor airlines have a better punctuality record than Ryanair.

alanRow

Ryanair has a wonderful product - but why do they spoil it by all the shady practices they use to "extract" more money out of you. And as for "customer service" - they must use people kicked out of the TSA for cruelty

At the moment they have an overcapacity problem. How much of it would disappear if they treated people as people rather than "units of revenue"?

swatts1

Three years ago we took the one way flight to Edinbuggh from Dublin with absolutely no problems. Of course we were not used to everyone running for the plane and pushing and shoving to get a seat, but the flight was fine and it got us where we needed to go on time.
Have a great trip!

amyb

I also took them about 3 years ago DUB to EDI and back with no problems. It was a bit disconcerting though, as we were waiting down on the tarmac as the plane pulled up, and we got on the front as the arriving passengers got off the back. Felt like a bus!

At that time, they let me combine the weight of my (heavy) luggage with my SO's (not-heavy) luggage to equal the baggage allowance for 2, but I understand they might not do this anymore.

alanRow

<<< I understand they might not do this anymore. >>>

The word you are looking for is "won't". They specifically mention it in their baggage FAQs. It's a nice little earner for them so why should they care if it upsets the cattle - sorry passengers

specs

My daughter took Ryanair from Dublin to Edinburgh for a week end. She was pleased with all aspects of the flight, as she wanted to getaway for the weekend quickly and cheaply. I asked her if there was anything she disliked about the airplane or the flight,she said "How would I know? I was sleeping." Good advice from the mouths of babes.

vinolover

flanneruk, of course I understand that no airline is a "sure thing", I just meant that based on the many posts I'd read about Ryan Air it seemed to not be recommended by many people on this board.

We have flown all over the world over many years so I know any airlin, large or small, has delays, weather problems, etc. I just worried that people said Ryan Air may not honor the idea that they need to get you from point A to point B in a timely fashion if there were problems.

The main reason I was concerned about this particular route is that there is no alternative such as taking the train if Ryan Air has a problem or cancels out flight.

But based on the replies to this post I'm going to go ahead and book Ryan Air. We really don't mind "cattle call" airlines for short flights. I can certainly do without a snack for 40 minutes. These days we don't get anything to eat even on major domestic airlines in the U.S. for a trip half-way across the country.

alanRow

<<< I just worried that people said Ryan Air may not honor the idea that they need to get you from point A to point B in a timely fashion if there were problems. >>>

Ryanair WON'T. They'll put you on the next available flight - which may be several days in the future - or, more likley, disappear leaving to wonder what to do