Ryan Air
 

Is this a reliable airlines? prices are pretty cheap...I am traveling with 3 other people and we are all college students who don't mind a bit of sketchiness but i just wanted to see if anyone else has use them or if they just rip you off in some way.

deep discount no frills airline. YOu will pay for checked luggage and any food and drink. Very little leg room, and usually fly into secondary airports, so travel times into the city may be longer and more expensive than flying with another carrier. Also, prices quoted dont usually include tax which can raise the fares considerably. But it is a "real" airline. Consider it like taking the bus, but with wings.

Ryanair is actually one of Europe's biggest airlines.

Before booking, I would suggest to read the fine print VERY carefully.

As ellene said, they will charge you for checked luggage, and have a lower limit of 15kg. Each gram above that gets charged as excess luggage.

Also check the airports where you want to go with Ryanair:
Barcelona is not BCN airport (near the city of Barcelona), but Girona, a good distance north of Barcelona.
Frankfurt is not the major international hub, but Frankfurt-Hahn a landing strip in the middle of nowhere 100km west of FRA.
This list goes on and on.

It's not that they would deliberately cheat or lie, but you have to read EVERYTHING very carefully.

I would never ever take Ryanair on legs where it matters to get to my destination in time, e.g. to catch another flight back.

If something goes wrong (delays, cancellations) you are on your own.
They neither care nor help, even if it's been their fault - regardless of what the law says.

Check out what others say:
http://www.ryanaircampaign.org/

Air fares are an indicator of the level of service they will provide. The use of the words 'rip off' is not appropriate. Unhappy discount airline travellers have no one to blame but themselves. They did not read the information available. Airlines like Ryanair are a wonderful source of transportation for millions who cannot afford a premium carrier.

When our Ryanair flight from Malmo was diverted due to fog, they provided coach transportation back to the original airport (Stansted).

There are Rules & Regulations in force re. air traffic (cancellations, delays, etc) in the European Union.
Cheap airlines have to follow those regulations, as well as business class-only carriers. This is no "service" issue.

I think I never said that Ryanair was a "rip off": but READ their fine print.

I also cannot understand people who book Ryanair or similar, and expect to be treated like royalty and invited to free wine and cheese above the clouds. That is absurd.

But LCC are not necessarily the cheapest option for air travel in Europe.

1. Check the dates. LCC often travel during off-peak times. Can you get to the airport at 6am, or from the airport after 11pm, if necessary.

2. Check the luggage limitations. If Ryanair only allows 15kg (appr. 30 pounds), can you travel with that allowance? Check fees for extra kilos and add to your calculation.

3. Compare prices, including necessary transfers to your final destination. Regular airlines often offer comparable prices when you book in advance or during promotion periods, when available.

I have just booked with Ryan Air for a trip to Spain - and have been amusing myself with reading web reports of the issues people have with them.....

I have no problems with the no-frills bits - that's why the fares are so low. But I am a little concerned about reports of how people say they have been treated when things go wrong (ie late or cancelled flights). Basically, they don't have too much trouble getting their money back for a cancelled flight, but that's ALL they get without extra effort. The only people who report having been able to get compensation for the extra cost of getting to their holiday destination (even on a later Ryanair flight which they had to book on the spot at the full price) or for the cost of an airport hotel to avoid having to sleep on the airport floor, have been those willing to sue RyanAir in the Irish Small Claims Court (apparently quite easy to do remotely for a cost of €15).

The only thing I can report first hand are

1) The web site is NOT good at explaining what the full costs are - you are presented with an up-front price that seems attractive, then on the next page shown what the "taxes and charges" are, then on the NEXT page shown that you will be charged for hold baggage. Note that although you can pay for up to three hold cases per person, the total weight per person (not per case) is 15kg - with no weight pooling allowed between the group, and a hefty charge per excess kilo.

There is also a fee for "airport check in". (The free "online check in" is actually a very good idea - you print your boarding card yourself - but of course is not an option if you are checking hold baggage. It seems a bit off, if you are paying for baggage, to be also charged extra for the check-in that you then can't avoid. Note particularly that if you select "online check in" the system automatically assumes you want to pay for "priority boarding" (you have to notice the separate hyperlink if you want to turn that off).

Be warned that priority boarding (available to any passenger for ta charge) just means "called first to the departure gate". If you are at an airport that busses you to the plane, there is still a free-for-all when you get off the bus. (Hint - If there IS a bus make sure each member of your party travlels near a different door, so whichever door ends up nearest the plane, one of you can race up the steps to bag a set of seats together). The point is that there is no seat allocation at check-in, so no way of guaranteeing that your group will find seats together on a full plane.

2) The only time I have flown with Ryan Air I was appalled to find that there are TV screens all over the plane booming out commercials (no programmes) all the way. I did manage to turn the volume down a bit while the trolley dolly was not looking. I gather they still have these screens.


I think I've just put myself off my holiday ! No I haven't - Valladolid, here I come !

Before any Ryan-ophile or company hack comes on to say "Stop moaning, you wimp - you get what you pay for", can I just reiterate : I don't mind the "no frills" (ie having to pay for food and drink on the plane, less legroom, a smaller baggage allowance, and no seat reservations) - what I find fault with is

1) The attempt to disguise the total cost comparison (hiding the extras and baggage restrictions several pages deep, and automatically selecting priority boarding when you choose "online checkin")

2) The poor record of customer service when something goes wrong and you DON'T get what you paid for (ie a flight at a specified time to a specified place).

Google "RyanAir" and "problems"

I suggest people read this - www.ryanair.com/site/EN/faqs.php?sect=CHARGES - and realise what it means

For example if you use a CC to book the flights then you are charged £2.00 (€3.00) per passenger per leg - not per booking as most companies would do.

And if you are a typical American work out what the excess baggage charges will be before booking - you get a 15kg allowance per passenger not per bag.

Ryanair (note it's one word) is very good at making people think it's cheap and they can be, but only if you read their rules and follow them to the letter.

And NEVER rely on them for anything important - they will get you to your destination - but that may be several days time

One final thing - if you think you have found a way to get round Ryanair rules be assured that you haven't, that Ryanair know about it and you are going to get bitten big time

In addition to the weight restrictions, there are restrictions in the dimensions of the bags. There are "measuring" slots near the ticket counter. If the bag will not fit in the slot, be prepared to pay extra. Also, you can take the bag to the counter to check the weight ahead of time. One lady's bag weighed 25 kilos. At 8 euro per kilo, she had to pay 80 euro extra.

IMO the most agressive and sly tart in the world.

Sleep with her and (and I frequently do) and you may get the ride of your life. If your are unlucky you'll feel as though you died from the AIDS you contracted from her!

How many airline classify kids under two as excess baggage?

there again how many airlines get you across Europe for E1 plus tax?

I also recently noticed that there is an additional fee for travellers with non-EU passports, so keep that in mind as well. (A few Euros/GBP I think).

In the end though, you still end up with a round trip ticket within Europe for less than $50, which ain't bad at all!

asalamy

That's a good one - racist possibly. Not quite - but very Ryanair

TO be fair to Ryanair (for once) I think the "bag size measurer" is only for cabin bags, not checked luggage.

With people pushing the cabin baggage limits (to avoid the hold baggage charges) they have to be sure that bags will fit in the lockers. So many people now bring bags on board that are in effect medium sized suitcases.

asalamy it's a fee for not being able to use online check-in. It isn't specifically non-EU as there are several categories of EU passport holders who don't qualify for online check-in either

The checkin rules don't discriminate by nationality; Ryanair's T+Cs clearly (to the extent anythging's clear with these guys):

"Where a passenger is unable to avail of Online Check-in by reason only of not being the holder of either a valid passport or a National Identity Card, issued by the government of an EU/EEA country, any airport check-in fee paid will be refunded upon application"

Has Ryan Air changed its weight policy? When I took it, there was a 15 kg limit per checked bag, but I also had a 10 kg limit for a carry-on.

The 15kg limit is definitely the TOTAL weight of checked luggage - not per bag.

At the end of the day it is a fee for having a non-EU passport, but at least now I can explore trying to get a refund!

The problems I frequently read about in the newspapers here relate not to getting to your destination, but getting back. If your flight back is cancelled, you can have your money back - which will be way too little to book an immediate flight with another carrier. Or a seat on the next Ryanair flight with space - which may be days away, with you having to pay for your own accommodation until then. I've read too many horror stories about people having to pay to hire a car & drive back (also paying for a ferry) from Germany, for instance, to ever book with Ryanair. Plus the CEO has such an unpleasant attitude I would not want to give them my business.