Questions about RyanAir

[ivar]

There has been a lot of buzz around RyanAir and Santiago lately.

The truth is that I never have flown with RyanAir and I was wondering if anyone has any experience to share. Good and bad. Of course the price is a good thing.... anything negative? What about pilgrims returning home with bikes? How are RyanAir in this regard?

Another thing that I was looking at is the fact that you buy individual tickets for each stage of your travel. If you need to go from Santiago to Oslo, you need to buy one ticket Santiago - London, then another one from London - Oslo. If the weather gets bad in Santiago and you loose your flight to Oslo, it's your problem and you will not get a refund (and will be stuck in London).

Anyone with experiences on these things?

Thanks,
Ivar

 

[Anonymous]

It's a good thing for the town (mostly)

Ryanair's good sides:

• One of the most 'on time' carriers - flies punctually or even ahead of the schedule.
  Cheap. You can find true bargains, flying for under 20 euros p.p., including taxes
  Very extensive network

Bad sides:

• Point to point airline only, doesn't care about any connections
  Limited baggage allowance
  Very limited customer service

 

[Anonymous]

What about pilgrims returning home with bikes? How are RyanAir in this regard?

never tried to take a bike on a plane, Ivar, but both Ryanair and easyJet are increasingly moving towards hand baggage, even thinking of getting rid of checkin altogether (cuts staff costs and turnaround time). They have turnaround times down to 1/2 hour or less, so I would imagine bikes are out unless it's a foldable one that will fit in the overhead locker!

Another thing that I was looking at is the fact that you buy individual tickets for each stage of your travel. If you need to go from Santiago to Oslo, you need to buy one ticket Santiago - London, then another one from London - Oslo. If the weather gets bad in Santiago and you loose your flight to Oslo, it's your problem and you will not get a refund (and will be stuck in London).

that's alsolutely right. They are point-to-point services and offer no connections, i.e. no baggage check-through and no guaranteed transfers. Then again, at the prices they charge . . . I assume they'll be flying to Stansted which is well outside London. If you find yourself marooned, it's cheaper not to go into London. Spend the evening somewhere locally like Cambridge - a bit further afield, Ely and Bury St Edmunds are both former pilgrimage towns.

I have used budget airlines a lot and think them excellent. They're particularly good for quick breaks that don't cost very much. They make their money on the busy times of the year around public holidays etc, so the key to using them is to go out of season and/or midweek and wait for the special offers (free flights etc). Downside? Well, greens tell us that aeroplanes aren't very good for the environment.

 

[Anonymous]

I would imagine bikes are out

specifically mentioned in their T&C - see http://www.ryanair.com/termscond/conditions.html under 'checked baggage'

 

[ivar]

Thanks for the input Peter, I got the paragraph below from the RyanAir conditions....

"Many items of sporting equipment including but not limited to large fishing rods, golf clubs, bicycles, scooters, surfboards, bodyboards, snowboards and skis are inherently unsuitable for carriage by airlines operating fast turnarounds such as Ryanair"

But then I kept reading...

"However, upon payment of an additional charge of £17/ˆ25 (or local currency equivalent) per item, per sector (flight) irrespective of weight, Ryanair is prepared to carry such items on a ‘limited release’ (i.e. entirely ‘at your own risk’ for damage or delay) basis. You may therefore wish to ensure that you have suitable private insurance cover in force for such items. Due to space restrictions, we recommend that all sports equipment is pre-booked and pre-paid by calling your local reservation centre, as not to do so may result in the item being refused carriage at the airport. If the fee is not paid at the time of booking or on your outbound it will still be imposed on your return journey.

I am curious to hear from anyone that has tried getting a bike on a RyanAir flight. It seems like it is possible with this additional charge and the "limited release".

Ivar

 

[Anonymous]

" You may therefore wish to ensure that you have suitable private insurance cover in force for such items.

meaning that your bike might not come out in the same condition as it goes in, a problem I have had in the past sending a bike by train.

Insurance is also an answer to the missed connection problem. At least in the UK, travel insurance (for example from Ryanair ;-) ) is v cheap these days.

 

[juancmontero]

Re: It's a good thing for the town (mostly)

Ryanair's good sides:

• One of the most 'on time' carriers - flies punctually or even ahead of the schedule.
  Cheap. You can find true bargains, flying for under 20 euros p.p., including taxes
  Very extensive network

Bad sides:

• Point to point airline only, doesn't care about any connections
  Limited baggage allowance
  Very limited customer service

I agree with the Ryanair's good and bad sides mentioned by ps1.

My personal opinion is that actually the good sides are far better than the most of rest of airlines anyway.... Punctuality is really good, which is very appreciated... and prices are simply the best, or at least the best offers you can find... I still remember now when Ryanair had offered to pay you 1 pound if you flew with them.... Do you know any other airline that has offered something like this ever?... I don't....

I agree also with the mentioned bad sides...., but in some extend..., I think these are usually general bad sides for many other airlines?.... As an example..., Iberia, which usually charges at least 10 times more for a ticket, has also a limited baggage allowance, otherwise you have to pay the overlimit..., I remember 2 years ago when I had to pay a supplement on my baggage allowance for being only 4 kg over the limit... :?

Anyway, I'm really glad Ryanair has decided to fly to Galicia...., now the other airlines (say Iberia)..., will have to either retire from Galicia or put the prices down..., something they should have done many years ago..., but of course..., this didn't happen because the had the monopoly of Galicia, .... not anymore..... THANKS GOD!!!

One other thing I wanted to talk about is the flight times of the current (Santiago - London) Iberia flight and the future Ryanair flight.
I really hope the Arrival and Departure times of the Ryanair flight will be in the late afternoon or night, and not in the midmorning or midday as the Iberia's flight, this is again just ridiculous!!!
When you have to fly in the midmorning or in the midday, that day is clearly lost... I think the best departure times are usually in the late afternoon or night.
What are your opinions on this regard?

Juan

 

[ivar]

Copenhagen - Santiago

Hi Seamus,

RyanAir is not flying to Santiago yet. It is supposed to start in April, but no official statement has been given by RyanAir yet. They will fly to London (Stansted) from Santiago and one or two other places.

RyanAir is starting flights to Porto mid January (check RyanAir website for availability, since I heard that 3 months worth of tickets are sold out).

From Copenhagen you could take EasyJet to London, then either the Santiago flight or the Porto flight (depending on when you are traveling).

If you travel via Porto I would check out the ALSA website (bus):
http://www.alsa.es/VentaParticulares/contenidoHorarios.jsp?ag_localeLanguage=en

It looks like there is a bus leaving Porto at 16.00 arriving in Santiago at 20:15 (euro 38,-).

If anyone else has a better route, please post a reply here.

Welcome to Santiago!!

Ivar

 

[Anonymous]

Re: Copenhagen - Santiago

If you travel via Porto I would check out the ALSA website (bus):
http://www.alsa.es/VentaParticulares/contenidoHorarios.jsp?ag_localeLanguage=en

It looks like there is a bus leaving Porto at 16.00 arriving in Santiago at 20:15 (euro 38,-).

If anyone else has a better route, please post a reply here.

there are 2 trains a day Porto-Vigo, change at Redondela for Santiago. Also takes about 4 hours - more comfortable than bus!

Alternatively . . . walk! the Caminho Portugues

 

[Anonymous]

Re: London - Santiago

RyanAir is not flying to Santiago yet. It is supposed to start in April, but no official statement has been given by RyanAir yet.

now on Ryanair's website http://www.ryanair.com/press/2005/jan/r ... 10105.html