In the final stages of our Milan/Venice travels. We will be arriving and departing through Rome (only city available with AirTransat). We have always taken the trains from there but looking at the prices of Ryan Air versus Eurostar the flight in much more affordable. Just wanted to check on what others experiences have been with Ryan Air. Are they dependable? A one hour inexpensive flight looks great compared to the 4 1/2 hour train. Any advise/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks and Happy New Year,
LisaS

I have used Ryanair close to 100 times and have never ever had a problem, however if you do then you really are on your own.
Ryanair gets you from A to B and usually on time. You don't mention if the flight is a connecting flight - if it is then I'd advise you to ensure you have lots of spare time in case of a delay. In most airports they close their Check-In desk 40 minutes before departure.
HTH, Pat

<<<A one hour inexpensive flight looks great compared to the 4 1/2 hour train<<<
Check exactly where RyanAir in flying to/from. Sometimes going to/from a remote airport may make the journey much longer (and sometimes not so cheap). And don't neglect the checking time

The advantage of trains is that they usually depart and arrive near the center of the city, and you can board shortly before departure. Therefore, the total journey time will be little more than the 4½ hours.

To take that one hour flight, you will have to get to the airport (Ryanair often uses airports far from the city) check in, go through security, collect your bags (pay extra for checked bags with Ryanair) and get into the city at the other end.

You may find it is actually quicker to go by train.

I agree with Heimdall; a 3-5 hour train ride would almost be a wash with a one-hour plane trip on Ryanair, for the reasons he stated.

Occasionally there are other reasons than speed to take a flight, but count the actual cost carefully before you decline a train for that reason. The price of flying must include the bus or cab to and from Ryan's typically remoter airports.

Ryan Air is reliable. But trains are often a quicker option when you factor in all the advance check in/security issues and travel to often remote airports.

Also - a lot depends on how much luggage you have. RyanAir has strict baggage limitations.

all that being said, when one finds one of their 1 euro, or 10 euro flights (plus taxes of course) Ryanair is certainly a good option . . . .

Ryanair is generally reliable - but I would NEVER rely on them if I have an important connection.

Do a search for Ryanair and you'll find out what happens when things go - BADLY - wrong

This one

http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessa...30&start=0

I have used Ryanair only a handful of times. There has always been a delay on the return flight and last trip, there was a problem both on the outward and return flight.

On the last trip, the return was hugely delayed due to fog at Stansted, the flight was eventually diverted to Luton. The passengers were not left in the lurch, Ryanair did provide coach transfers to those who needed to get to Stansted.

If the timing of your arrival and a connection is critical, take the trains. If you have flexibility and a cushion, and if it works out cheaper (really, even after ground transportation etc.), fly. But read very carefully the bits about the luggage rules and know your pounds from kilos...

Thank you all for your advise. We have decided to take the train routes. I do enjoy the trains and the scenery and the $$ actually come out pretty close when adding baggage, cab to airport and so on.
Thanks again, LisaS

RyanAir is one of the few profit-making airlines in Europe

<<< RyanAir is one of the few profit-making airlines in Europe >>>

And what does that prove?

I appreciate this discussion as I'm thinking of taking Ryan from Stansted to Palermo this summer.

I posted this link on another thread. You can look up dependability statistics for any airline on any route:
http://tinyurl.com/yzqxta

This thread shouldn't even last this long.

Air Transat flies into FCO. Ryanair only uses CIA.

Pretty much end of story.

Well, you could switch airports from FCO to CIA, but then you'd lose all possible time benefits, which are dubious anyway. Given Air Transat's record, though, I wouldn't make any same-day connections. Because they are a charter operator, and have a small fleet, huge delays are pretty common.

We took Ryan Air from Florence, Italy to catch a connecting flight at Charles De Gaulle, Paris. They took off over an hour late with no apparent reason and, when the flight attendants told us there were a lot of Air France passengers taking that same flight they also said they called ahead to Air France, and that Air France would wait because there were so many of us. Well a bunch of us got to the Air France terminal only 15 minutes late, the plane had gone, and we were told that Ryan Air never called them. So as one poster put it, think carefully regarding the cost of flying versus train travel and, if you decide to fly, please take an extra early flight if you need to make a connection. We got stuck in Paris for the night (Air France paid for the room though). And although its nice to be stuck in Paris, we had jobs to go back to, school for the kids, and people waiting for us at the airport in New York. Plus we had to pay for another dinner and breakfast not planned for. Good Luck!!!

ledhead - Ryanair doesn't fly to CDG.

ledhead Ryanair don't do connections either - it's point to point and IT'S UP TO YOU to make any onward flight