ryan air

[buena!]

After my camino, I am going to fly from Santiago to Rome and found a flight (pre taxes) on ryan air for 15 euro. However i've heard pretty crappy things about them (like they were voted worst airline by trip advisor...)

anyway i don't care about strict luggage restricctions but i'm wondering if i should consider their insurance (or i guess you can purchase outside insurance for their flights?). i have to be in florence on june 22nd (no flexiblity w that), but want to leave as much time for the camino as possible.

any thoughts or experiences anyone with ryan air?

buena.

 

[WolverineDG]

I haven't flown Ryan Air, so I can't advise you about that, but if you are looking for trip insurance, you can take a look at the website http://www.insuremytrip.com . There, you can get quotes for insuring your entire trip. I usually just get coverage for airfare. I've only had to make a claim once & got my check in about 2 weeks.

If you haven't already purchased your ticket, what about finding a flight to Rome on another budget airline, like EasyJet? I flew on that airline & found that the flights left full, & on time. Not as cheap as Ryan Air, but they do have a better reputation.

Kelly

 

[frescotours]

Some clients of mine (from the States) took a Ryan Air flight in March from the UK to Seville, Spain and they said that besides the very strict luggage restrictions (you will pay for any kilo over) that the flight was fine, and that even the airplane was new!

Hope this helps! Good luck!

 

[Magnara]

We flew Ryan air from Stansted to Biarritz and it was fine, very full with lots of families (ie little kids) on board, but it was only an hour. Just like a bus trip, and no set seating. If you buy your ticket online you get priority boarding. We had travel insurance anyway which covered luggage loss and illness/injuryfrom leaving home to returning, wouldn't travel without it.(My husband was knocked over by a car in Hawaii a couple of years ago, boy were we glad we were covered - US hospital costs, business class repatriation to Australia, we would be working to 90 to cover what that would have cost us!)

 

[Dawn of a new Day]

I flew from Stansted to Biarritz last year. I thought they were great, I carried my bag on, didn't seem to check the weight (us canadians get away with alot) , the food and coffee prices were outrageous.
I think what they have changed is it is 3E to NOT CHECK IN 1 bag. This allows the person to get preboarding. one luggage is 6E. i don't believe they get preloading. Pay online and pay another 3E for using the credit card. guess they need to make money, i paid 1cent for my flight plus taxes. I wouldn't get the insurance. they are as good as any other airline. and of course they are always full

 

[pjdine]

Ryanair

I have flown with them quite a few times, because they operate out of a small airport near to where I live, and are still scandalously cheap (next time I promise I will go by train, but my flights to Madrid to join the Camino in May are one penny each way). They are cheap and cheerful, and (as already has been said) like a bus trip - no seat allocation (first come, first seated), and no frills - but clean and efficient. They charge for checked baggage, so if you can get away with carry-on, then do. They charge for (lousy) food and drinks on board, so bring your own.

They tend to fly into obscure airports, so check where exactly you are going. For example, their Venice flight is actually into Treviso, not Marco Polo - no real problem, except that it is a bit further away, and has a tendency to get fog-bound. They fly into Pisa for Florence (like everyone else). Pisa is a nice, human-scale airport - 10 minutes into Pisa itself, and with a regular shuttle train or bus service to Florence.

I've never had any problem or unavoidable delay with Ryanair - about 8 years ago we had to divert to another airport because of fog, but they provided buses (on a Sunday in Italy!) to get us to our destination.

Just book early online for the best prices.

Best wishes,

Pippa

 

[Dawn of a new Day]

I booked on line, and there is a 3Euro charge for NOT checking in luggage. i am carrying mine on, for this preboarding. anyway my fare 1cent. the best deal around
dawn

 

[buena!]

thanks everyone! one less thing to think about, horray !

i'm curious, where are you flying to/from to get the 1 cent deal? the flight i'm looking at went down from 19.99euro to 14.99 euro, but i don't expect it to keep dropping to nothing! maybe they have sales at certain times?

p

 

[Dawn of a new Day]

The price goes up and down, by the day. just keep checking, and when you are happy with the price book it.

 

[Minkey]

Essentially you get what you pay for. If you're offended by plastic/plain airline interiors then don't... But on the plus side, it only cost me €6 to fly back from Santiago! Can't even buy a single ticket on the tube across London for that!!!!!!