Ryanair: anxiety re possible delay for connection
 

These arrangements were booked last year and I am now worrying that there may not be enough time, by the time we collect our baggage at Luton. On Sat 2 July by Ryanair we should arrive at 2.20pm at Luton airport from Dublin. We have bought a National Express bus ticket for 3.15pm from Luton to Heathrow, where we have a flight booked to Prague. Are Ryanair flights usually on time?

Hi Jim,
This is a difficult queston as lots of things can cause delays and you have less than 1 hour to get to the bus.

If you havn't already booked why are you going to Heathrow from Dublin via Luton? Aerlingus fly direct to Heathrow and they are adverising E9 plus taxes each way.

Cambe, it looks like I've stuffed up here. Have already booked the tickets. Wish I'd known earlier about Aerlingus going directly to Heathrow. Ryanair's fares are non-refundable. Does that include the taxes of 32 euros? What about Aerlingus' baggage limits? Ryanair's have become more extreme since our booking last year.

Taxes are always refundable, however, I believe that you must apply in writing, it's not a simple over the telephone transaction.

What time's your flight to Prague? Perhaps you can find a faster way of getting from Luton to Heathrow - it's not such a long journey, and traffic is probably lighter on a weekend.

Ryanair usually has just about the best punctuality record around (being late costs airlines money, and Ryanair don't understand incurring costs. That's why they're such pains about advance check in).

But no airline is infallible, and it really doesn't matter to you whether they're on time 85% of the time or 95%.

If you absolutely have to be on the 1515 bus, you've been foolish. But there is a 1540, and National Express aren't concerned about your taking the bus you've booked on - though if you enjoy worrying, it's always possible there'll be no room on the 1540 (or that it'll blow a tyre on the journey).

If you want to cancel your Ryanair flight, remember you've not only got their cancellation charges, but the near-certainty the flight you book instead will be pricier (€9 flights are very unlikely to be available on midsummer Saturday afternoons!). Net, you'll probably find it cheaper to get a cab than all the extra charges.

The cheapest fallback if you miss the 1515 and can't wait for mthe next bus, though, is to get the train to Kings Cross (35 mins and from May 16 it runs direct to the Underground station again), Circle line to Paddington (10 mins), then Heathrow Express (15 mins to T1-3).

Thank you all for your help. The Aerlingus flight would be nice and simple, considerably reducing stress - particularly if we could get the taxes refunded. What we would lose by buying a new aerlingus ticket we would probably save on excess baggage (extra 5k with aerlingus, as we will be travelling for 10 weeks in Europe. We might have been OK with the 1540 bus.
Leaning towards a new ticket.

Jim,
You can get an Aerlingus flight on 2nd July for E37.37 that in inclusive of taxes and booking fee. That works out about £25 GBP
If you must connect with the 3.15pm bus I would cut my losses. A taxi from Luton to Heathrow would probably be around £60 GBP.
www.aerlingus.com

If you are ever doing this again or know anyone who is, the cheapest and most convenient way to travel to Prague from Dublin is drive to Belfast and take the Jet2 flight direct to Prague for £30 GBP.

Have a lovely stay in Ireland and enjoy Prague

Dear Jim,

If you can still make changes, Aer Lingus flies from Dublin to Prague on Fri and Sun - 122 E inclusive.

Go to www.whichbudget.com.

((I))