Ryanair vs. Easyjet
 

Hello,

I have an option to fly either Ryanair or Easyjet. Price-wise not much of a difference. If you had a choice, which would you choose?

Also, has anyone flown Meridiana airlines? Apparently it's one of the Italian budget airlines.

Thanks.

I've had two flights on Ryanair and two on EasyJet. Both held to a good schedule, had pleasant staff, and worked flawlessly. I can't think of a reason to prefer one or the other, besides schedule and price. Note that both airlines have loosened their carry-on policies lately.

I think there is a difference. Ryanair is known for having a "take it or leave it" attitude with their passengers if anything goes wrong. Ryanair is less flexible than Easyjet in this regard. The CEO who started the company is infamous for saying things like all we promise is a cheap flight and nothing else. Easyjet also has much better luggage allowance for carry-on and check-in.

If those were my two choices -- I'd use EasyJet hands down.

For one of the no frills airlines, Easy Jet at least tries to sort out problems. On Ryanair you are totally on your own.

All things equal, I would also go with Easyjet. I travelled with both and never had any problems so far but I find Easyjet are more professional in most ways. Everything seemed slightly more organised wiht Easyjet.

You say the price isn't different but I would also consider the flight times to avoid having to trek out to one of London's airports too early in the morning. Lots of their flights are around 6-7am which are best avoided if you need to travel to the airport that morning.

EasyJet claimed on their web site that they do not have carry-on restrictions anymore, subject to a specific size requirement. In my experience two weeks ago, it seemed like they do have a restriction of 10 kg, and they did not measure the bags. Check on the web site for the checked-in restriction.

Ryanair says they now have a carry-on restriction of 10 kg (and specified luggage size). Again, check on the web site for the checked-in restriction.

Note that both of these airlines have changed their policies in the last couple months or so.

ferrier:

You may also notice that EasyJet generally serves airports that are more easily reached, in contrast to Ryanair, which flies into a few airports, mainly former military airfields, which are precariously served by public transport.

It is certaily worth your while checking "ground transport" of your intended destination.

Phil

It may be unkind, but Ryanair has been nicknamed 'Eire O'Flot' - but I have no personal knowledge, so I'll just shut up.

I'd go with Easyjet because of the luggage allowance. Ryanair have cut their check-in luggage allowance to just 15kg (Easyjet is 20kg). And they are VERY strict about charging.

Also, Easyjet's new carry-on policy is now no weight restrictions - provided your bag is a sensible size (ie you can fit it into one of those bag size thingies, which looked quite generous last weekend), and that it's not so heavy that you can't lift it into the overhead.

Note that these two airlines tend to fly different routes and so rarely compete directly.Ryanair flies to a lot of peripheral airports so they have less congestion to deal with and have a much better on-time record than Easyjet.Generally Ryanair is cheaper by a significant margin if you book early but if you book near the time of flying they can charge very high fares indeed.

Another vote for EasyJet. In an interview last weekend with the Sunday Times, Ryanair's CEO - Michael O'Leary - came accross as a nasty idiot. He reported that complaints to the company are ignored (worse, but I can't repeat the language). As for the increase in carry on allowance, it was hinted that he wants to stop all check in baggage by charging £50 per item to go in the hold.
EasyJet have a (slightly) higher air of professionalism about them. Mind you, to defend Ryanair's policy of using smaller airfields, it is often more convenient to land directly into Brittany rather than Paris or Montpellier rather than Nice.
I just think that EasyJet are friendlier. I've been treated like a naughty child by Ryanair staff for not standing exactly where or how they want. It was like being back in school. With the no-frills airlines, you get what you pay for (or haven't paid for!) when it all goes wrong.

EasyJet is easier. Never had a problem on A'dam or Geneva flights. And, all their Swiss flights are crewed by/operated via a Swiss company -- very efficient.

Another vote for Easyjet, due to aforementioned Ryanair attitude.

I vote for EasyJet all the way, they are so much better than Ryanair. I only fly Ryanair when I really have no choice (OK so that's about six times a year... I know what I'm talking about!)

Ryanair's attitude to their customers sucks and I have no faith in the competence of the cabin staff who are always messing about. Let's face it, if you were in that industry, would you actually choose to work for Ryanair or would you only work for them if you couldn't get a job with another carrier? No-frills is great but courtesy costs nothing.

Like Phil says, always check your onward transport. You could end up paying more for your train/bus ticket to get where you want to go than you did for your flight!

I have also flown Meridiana (from Amsterdam to Florence). Their service was very good, indistinguishable from that of a high-cost carrier (as, by the way, is that of EasyJet). But they weren't that cheap when I booked.

By the way, the reason Ryanair has such a great punctuality record is because they grossly inflate their flying times. There is no way it takes 2hrs 30 mins to get from Italy to London, but by scheduling their flights that way, they can claim to almost always arrive "on time". Their turnaround time on the tarmac is about 10 minutes, so if they are late, they have to wait for a take-off / landing slot at every airport and their schedule is messed up for the whole day, which can result in long delays for afternoon/evening flights. You are never compensated for missing a connecting flight, even if it's also with Ryanair.

But they are incredibly cheap, if you book far enough in advance... and the market will decide.

Thanks for all your replies!

Easyjet seems to be doing really well in comparison to Ryanair.

A few more questions...

I just missed a sale on Ryanair for September. Which puts its prices slightly more than Easyjet. If you buy a ticket on Ryanair or Easyjet and it goes on sale between the period you purchase the ticket and when you fly, would either offer you the discounted price? Has this happened to anyone?

We're leaving next month and I'm wondering whether there's any likelihood that tickets for that period will go on sale again.

I asked about Meridiana since it departs and arrives in the actual airports I preferred. Less transfer time, but the price is just over $50 (Cdn) or so for each ticket. And I haven't heard much about this airline's reputation. I saw a few posts complaining about delays and cancellations.

> I'm wondering whether there's any likelihood that tickets for that period will go on sale again.

It seems to me, at least with Easyjet that I check the rates from time to time, the principal is the ealier you book, the cheaper. So I'd say buy it now !

I have received credits from Easyjet towards future flights when the fare has dropped (Note not as part of any special sale). You can read their policy on this http://www.easyjet.com/EN/book/regul...l#pricepromise

Another plus for Easyjet is they only charge 10gbp to change per flight segment or name on a reservation up to 2 hours before a flight. Ryanair charge 15gbp.

For the average person taking a single flight or two I doubt you will notice any of these issues with Ryanair. Ryanair's "on-time" record is over 90% - I agree they inflate the time the flight a little but at least you can pretty well count on being at a certain place at a certain time. With either airline, show up in plenty of time to complete the check-in prior to them closing down the window.

For me Easyjet wins every time. I wouldn't readily give my money to Ryanair which operates under the rule that customers are at best an inconvenience!

When you factor in the long and expensive trek to out of the way airports that Ryanair use, the small conveniences like free sandwiches and cups of coffee, the absence of customer service, the reasons for flying with Ryanair diminish on careful consideration and flying with its much derided competitors increase. You don't say where you are flying to, but I presume Italy, when all the costs and convienience etc are talken into account you might get just as good a deal with BA, Alitalia, BMI etc

BMI is a good deal too if you get a cheap ticket. For flights out of Heathrow, I expect small to significant delays, based on my recent experience.

It's interesting to read people talking about prices dropping.
I was due to go to a conference in Edinburgh (Herriot Watt University) in October and booked my BMI Baby ticket in March this year. It cost £69 (Cardiff to Edinburgh).
One of my colleagues decided in June that he'd like to come with me and his ticket cost £35. I e-mailed BMI Baby but did not receive a reply, so I wrote instead to the Sunday Times and they printed my complaint. The reply from BMI was - tough luck, we have added more flights on that route and you've lost out. I know the figures are small but it goes against the budget airlines policy of book early to get the best prices.
As it happens, I have since been asked to speak at a conference in Antwerp on the same day and they will refund me my Scotland flight.

The company in Antwerp will refund me - not BMI Baby, sorry!!

I've flown Ryanair several times. No complaints and I've been ON TIME with courteous, if not enthuiastic, service each and every time. Only did easyJet once and was 3 hours (yes, hours) late.

I have looked at various industry figures and note that on average Easyjet`s fares are more than 50% higher than those of Ryanair.Ryanair is also far more punctual with a consistently superior record month after month.Easyjet though does fly from the main airports as a rule but I have not always found this as convenient as it might seem.Quite often on Ryanair you can be out of the airport and in a hired car in a very short time.

As has been said previously on this thread, Ryanair build in lateness into their flying time (i.e. by making flight times appear longer than they really are). So therefore it is inevitable that they will have a better "on-time" record than EasyJet.
The other criticism made this week by the UK Government (aimed directly at Ryanair) was that the advertised cheap fares were usually only for one way and the return was considerably more expensive (source of information was "The Sunday Times" travel supplement last Sunday).

I've flown EasyJet twice and they get you from A to B safely. Nothing more. That's ok for their short flights. We had a delay once, the airport waiting area was too small and then they began preboarding even before the plane was there and we were waiting in the cold directly in front of the jet-way. It was a bit of a cluster-f&&k, if you know what I mean. But it was a weather delay, they were just overwhelmed and understaffed. My one experience with Ryanair was terrible: I got to the airport 5 min. after they closed check in. They refused to check me in, even though the incoming plane had not landed yet nor had they started boarding. I had travelled 3 hours by train to get to the airport and had figured 2 hours cushion to prevent that, but the train had delays! They simply did not want to print out another weight and balance report to show the pilot an additional pax and baggage. But I got my revenge. I paid €10 for the fare and €40 for taxes and fees. I was able to reclaim the €40 from American Express because the flight was not taken, so the taxes were not due to be paid to the respective governments... Might not work for everyone but it did for me.
Anyway, I will fly EasyJet again next month to Italy. By the way, if you are flying in/out of Germany, AirBerlin has great fares, and better service. Really good.
ciao Patrick / Düsseldorf area

I have only flown Easyjet once from Paris to Barcelona and back (okay, I guess that would be twice), but I had the same experience with Easyjet that Patrick had with RyanAir.

And I *did* get to the airport with several minutes to spare, I just stood in the wrong line. The agent saw me standing in the line waiting to check-in, and when I got to the front of the line, she informed me that I could not check in there and had to walk to the back of the airport to the check-in desk. She informed me that I was standing in the *ticketing* line, not the check-in line.

Of course there was no obvious sign to that effect, and she pointed to a small placard on the counter that I could not have seen well from the back of the line and couldn't have read anyway because it was in French.

Lo and behold, when I walked back to the actual check-in area, the time was now 3 minutes past the check-in deadline and they said I had arrived too late and I would not be allowed to get on the flight -- never mind that the plane had not arrived yet and boarding would not begin for another 40 minutes! And I didn't even have luggage to check, just a small carry-on.

(Furthermore, according to my watch, it was more like one minute late at the most, but there was a clock overhead that they very helpfully pointed out to me. More than once.)

Well, of course I argued that I had arrived on time, and had been standing in line at the easyjet desk for several minutes already, and that the ticket agent had seen me waiting my turn in line with ticket in hand, but it did absolutely no good. Since that was the only flight to Barcelona that day, I had to leave the airport, head back to Paris to find a place to stay for the night, and I forfeited one night of my hotel in Barcelona and lost a full day of my trip.

The one good thing to come out of the experience was that they did allow me to take the same flight the next day. I think I was charged a small penalty, but they didn't charge me twice for the full fare. Gee thanks, easyjet.

Having said all that, I would fly easyjet again, but my advice would be to get to the airport very, very early, far in advance of the check-in deadline! Especially if you are going to an unfamiliar airport and might need some time to get your bearings and find the appropriate place to go to check in.

I still can not believe they would not let me check in three minutes after the deadline, when I had no luggage to check and the plane had not even arrived. It was the only time in my life I understood the concept of air-rage and why people might want to physically attack an airline employee.

If Ryanair has worse customer service than easyjet, then I don't think I will be flying Ryanair anytime soon.

Anyone who has seen the British TV programme "Airline" will know how intransigent EasyJet are when it comes to check-in rules. 30 seconds late is too much - end of story.
A day after one particular episode of "Airline" was broadcast, the BBC showed their version - "Airport" which features Heathrow. In this episode a passenger travelling with El-AL forgot their passport and had a friend bring it in to the airport for them. Not only did El-AL extend the person's check-in time but a member of staff waited outside the terminal with the passenger to get the passport.
As the saying goes, you get what you pay for. Personally, I would rather pay £25 return and take my chances with the budget airlines on short haul - but would still choose EasyJet over Ryanair after past experience. Having said that, I am flying to Marseille from Gatwick next Saturday and have chosen BA because they were just as competitive (£89 return including taxes) - and I get the added benefits of flying with a major airline, although they have just announced their intention to strike!!

Here's a Plus Point for EasyJet:

I noticed there was a price decrease from what I originally paid and called the customer service hotline and now have a €15 credit on file which I can use anytime in the next 6 months. Which I am likely to do...

As a post script to this thread. There is a complaint in todays "Sunday Times" from a traveller on EasyJet last May. They were due to fly home from Faro to Luton, but EasyJet had filled out the insurance paper-work incorrectly and could not travel to Luton. They were taken to Stansted. When the passenger tried to claim compensation for the land journey (made at their own expence) back to Luton, they had to write twice to get a reply which told them that there would be no compensation as when they agreed to be taken to Stansted, it constituted a new contract. They had had the option of remaining in Faro and getting their flight money back. It took a complaint to the Times to get a refund! How about that for customer service?
Mind you, there is also an article written by a journalist who was told to check in as normal at Orlando this weekend. When they got there they were told that the flight had been cancelled and that no compensation was forthcoming as it was "an act of God". They could transfer them onto a flight that left in 10 days time. The other option was to go from Atlanta - getting there was at the customer's expence as the airline was not bound to give compensation. The airline? British Airways.