Opinions please

Need travel from Rome to Barcelona and then from Barcelona to London.

I will always fly with someone else if I have the choice

It's Ryanair not Ryan Air, when they say something they mean it to the letter, they are sticklers for rules, when things go wrong you are on your own, they don't fly to Barcelona they fly to Girona, they charge for everything, there isn't a free checked luggage allowance, excess baggage costs an arm, two legs and the life of your first born, it's virtually impossible to get a flight for the price they quote.

Consider flying Vueling to Barcelona and Easyjet to London

We took Vueling from Venice to Barcelona last spring and everything was fine. My sons will be flying from Barcelona to Rome next spring and prices I found on Vueling were great.

Just had three clients flying Ryanair, and I was a nervous wreck. Plus, prices were outrageous. It was the absolutely only way they could get where they were going, on the date they needed to travel, but I'll be darned if I would use them again. Their page of rules and regulations is worse than that of the 1960s girl's Catholic high school I attended.

That said, sometimes one is forced to fly Ryanair. Like alihutch says above, "if I have a choice."

I took Ryanair twice in September. Including the checked baggage fee (1 bag each way) and all other fees, my total cost was 90 Euros for a MAD-STN (Madrid to London Stansted) trip. There were no problems with the flights, the attendants, the passengers, etc. at all. I could have taken EasyJet for more money, but why? (I'd likely take EasyJet if it were a more convenient and/or cheaper option, as I have done before.)

I have taken Ryanair three times because they are the cheapest. Just don't have overweight bags and be prepared to fly some odd hours and into some out of the way airports and terminals. Also they will try to sell you different items three times on an hour-long flight and will not offer any beverage or food services.

I've flown Ryanair numerous times. I like cheap, and they're cheap. I don't care about being treated like a prince or getting free sodas - I just want to get to point B from point A. There are lots of rules to follow, so if you don't like to follow rules, there are many other carriers. If you don't travel light, you may not like Ryanair much either, but I do anyway. You must pay attention to the location of their airport and the ground transport options before getting your tickets. Only problem I've ever had was not their fault; an airport worker's strike meant we were dumped off at Liege instead of Charleroi and had to bus to Charleroi. But the buses showed up and got us there eventually.

I also know (as a colleague used to work for the body that deals with airline complaints in the UK) that when there are big delays at an airport which would entitle you to food and drink vouchers, Ryanair withdraw their staff so that you can't find anyone to get them from.
And I hate that damn fanfare that they sound when they land on time...it's almost worth arriving late to miss it!

And there was the occasion that they left 700 passengers at Stansted as they didn't have enough check in desks

http://news.carrentals.co.uk/ryanair...d-3427946.html

I met a woman recently who told me she usually flys Ryanair. I asked her why and she told me that she is basically looking for a husband. There are no booked seats on that airline so she goes on board when the flight is about half full. She goes in the front door, looks at the talent and sits beside somebody who might be of interest to her.She has had two dates so far but as a teacher who meets few males she reckons that it worth trying.She mentioned that flights to Ireland are the best as the people on board are quite happy to talk.

You will find horror stories about every airline, including British Airways.

Sandylan, that is hilarious. Maybe Ryanair should feature her in their advertising (but only if they are willing to pay!).

All airlines have horror stories, but only one is responsible for about 80% of the complaints (and it's not BA). I do fly with Ryanair and have never had a dire experience, but my preference is not to....my name for them is the scumbag airline.

I know if you pay for your tickets with a prepaid debit mastercard you don't have to pay some fees but can the card be from the US?

Bad rap for Ryanair. We flew Ryanair from Girona to Stansted on April 25. No problems at all. We were suppose to fly with them from Rome to Girona too but the flight was canceled on April 18 due to the volcano ash from Iceland so after sleeping in the airport we went back to the train station at Termini (Rome) and caught the train to Monte Carlo where we boarded our cruise on April 19 for the remaining 6 nights of our cruise. ( the cruise sailed from Barcelona and the first stop was Monte carlo) The cruise ended in Barcelona where we caught a cab to Girona (140 euro ) and boarded our Ryanair flight without any delay. We were over on cabin baggage weight but they waived the charge for that days flights. (April 25) The plane was clean, the crew was organized and we landed ahead of schedule. Ryanair refunded our fees for the canceled flight and all is well.

We've flown RyanAir many times. Other than the FAs hawking merchandise in the aisles, we found it to be completely acceptable.

We flew five people from Beauvais (an hour north of Paris and about a $100 cab ride) to Venice for $65 - total for five.

We flew Rome to Stansted for a mere $30 US.

It's worth the tighter (think AirTran) seats and limited luggage weight allowance. Keep in mind that when they say ONE carry on, they mean ONE. Fit your purse or camera bag into your carryon. We found the luggage fees for a single checked bag to be quite reasonable.

Flew RyanAir Dublin to Bergamo Italy and I will NEVER fly RyanAir again no matter what the cost...cheaper than others..? not when they charge an arm and a leg for an "overweight" (??) suitcase. I was a total wreck coming back to Dublin from Bergamo and the entire time we were in Italy I was afraid to buy ANYTHING for fear of being "overweight" again. They sent me about 4 emails prior to our trip reminding us of the "rules." ONLY one carry-on and if it's your purse that's all you get! No extra shopping bag etc. However, we'd been advised to purchase the pre-boarding option...good plan actually. We sat ourselves down in the 1st row and watched as the plane filled up w/people carrying purses, shopping bags, backpacks etc...what happened to that rule. I carried a very heavy backpack and on our way back we divided up all my things between my husband's and my suitcase and both our backpacks that we carried on after paying to check our bags - of course. I wasn't "overweight" going back. I don't think I was overweight going over! My advise is avoid RyanAir - BTW there was a woman in the long give-us-your-money line whom I asked how much overweight she been accused of - she answered that she was not paying bc she was overweight, she was charged extra because she did not have an "e ticket!" and, she said, she was charged for not smiling when assessed the charge...that's the RyanAir feeling. Watch yourself or you'll be assessed a fee for not smiling!

<i>he cruise ended in Barcelona where we caught a cab to Girona (140 euro ) and boarded our Ryanair flight without any delay.</i>

Unless Stansted was more convenient, the taxi cost of going to Girona would seem to cancel savings obtained by flying Ryanair.

I love that someone scopes out the talent when she boards the plane.. on her search for a husband. FANTASTIC!!!

I've never flown Ryan Air and had a choice betweent them and Easy Jet. I know that both have cheap flights but they jack the prices up on baggage fees and whatnot.. so if you are bringing some suitcases, be prepared to spend extra for your bags and KG allowances.

>.I love that someone scopes out the talent when she boards the plane.. on her search for a husband. FANTASTIC!!!<<

Wouldn't the supermarket be cheaper?