RYANAIR???? Is this a good airline?

[lorax]

I am thinking of flying from Dublin to Biarritz on Ryanair.... would this be a good way to get there? They seem to have alot of additional charges...I just wonder if I book this ticket, will they surprise again at the airport?? I have the Osprey Aura 65 backpack...will that fit in as carry-on or will I need to check it?

 

[crackmrmac]

Hi,
Ryanair continue to flourish as they carry millions of passengers each year. Many of these are repeat travellers.
Before you book, trawl through the small print or indeed go through the booking process as far as confirm booking so you can see final price. Carry on luggage is free and also means you can check in on-line which incurs no extra charge.
Cabin luggage allowance is one item maximum 10kg with dimension 55cm x 40 x 20.
if you have your own insurance be sure to de-select this in booking process.
There's also the €5 credit card per flight, unless you have an Electron card.
Also note, I believe if one member of a group booking wishes to check a bag , then all members of group must check in at airport and incur charges. So perhaps consider individual bookings if you think this might arise.
Just some points to consider.
Ryanair are a good(& safe) airline once you remember that they are a low cost airline with lots of rules; also trying to boost revenue with lottery tickets etc for sale during flight.
Try googling your Osprey Aura 65 for dimensions or measure it yourself.
I'm flying to Santander myself with Ryanair and returning with Aer Lingus from Santiago

Brian.

 

[William Marques]

Irish carrier Ryanair, Europe's largest budget airline, may start charging passengers for using the toilet while flying, chief executive Michael O'Leary said.

"One thing we have looked at in the past and are looking at again is the possibility of maybe putting a coin slot on the toilet door so that people might actually have to spend a pound to spend a penny in future."

Last week, Ryanair announced it was to shut all check-in desks at airports and have passengers check in online instead.

Yet another in the line of recent Ryanair tricks to make their upfront cost seem small.

In the same interview he did nothing to explain why debit card payers have to pay £4.75 per flight and credit card payers more, saying they could pay with Visa Electron.

The question of having to put anything you buy airside into your already undersized (Ryanair carry-on is smaller than eveyone elses) handluggage was also asked and dodged.

 

[MikeB]

Ryanair's attitude to pricing has always reminded me of Thenardier's (the inn-keeper / crook) song in Les Miserables


"......
Reasonable charges
Plus some little extras on the side!

Charge 'em for the lice
Extra for the mice
Two percent for looking in the mirror twice
Here a little slice
There a little cut
Three percent for sleeping with the window shut
When it comes to fixing prices
There are a lot of tricks he knows
How it all increases
All those bits and pieces
Jesus! It's amazing how it grows!

...."

(If you don't know it, you can find this song here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFPsEwV38Q0&feature=related)

Ryanair prices are not always cheap when you take everything into account. This year, I'll be flying back from La Coruna to Heathrow on Clickair - for both timetable and price. For the flight to Stansted which left about 11am, you had to get back from Finisterre the night before. The La Coruna flight leaves in the afternoon with a bus from Finisterre to La Coruna about 9:45am, so I can either arrive at Finisterre a day later and still see the sun-set, or spend an extra night there.

But Clickair charged me 14% (yes, fourteen!) credit card fee ! They're all at it !!

Mike

 

[Dale]

A link to the pay toilet article. :twisted:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090227/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_ryanair_toilet

 

[ivar]

A link to the pay toilet article. :twisted:

They may need to make emergency landings now so that broke pilgrims can go and pee... :wink:

..and what currency do they accept, if it is coins only this can get interesting :?

 

[KiwiNomad06]

lorax
Another issue Rebekah just faced with RyanAir was that she had to pay an extra charge at the airport as she didn't hold an EU passport. I think it was something like 10 Euro for each flight.

 

[lorax]

WOW... now that is a CHEAP airline...making people pay to use the bathroom.... I'm sad I even have a ticket on such an airline. It will be interesting because I will fly them AFTER my Camino. We'll see if I learned anything about Patience!

Karla

 

[Sagalouts]

what is the cheapest airline that flies direct to Santiago from England Ireland and most of the major cities in europe.( iberia/ba via madrid £216-aer lingus only after may2nd £145)
how many airlines fly to girona pau rodez nimes lourdes carcassonne porto santander on a regular basis,and in doing so increase the local econamy-
which is the only airline that flies direct to santiago from more than a dozen major cities in europe.
how many airlines can you book car parking-hotels-hostels-travel insurance.
Me and Rosie used Ryanair to fly to Santiago and back from England first week in february.
price for flights 4p-price for using own choice of debit card £16 If we had used their recomended card we could have flown for 4p( thats from england to spain and back for two)
if you opt out of the extra's and just take hand luggage thats how cheap it can be,just pennies,for a 4 hour round trip on a safe and reliable airline for two.
whenever an inovative airline tries to bring cheap travel to the masses the larger airlines join up and try to bully it out of existance ( Freddy Laker etc) with bad publicity and misleading stories
Because of Ryanair being at the forfront of cheap and basic travel every other airline has had to follow suite- a win win situation.
I have never understood the dissing of Ryanair are you sheep beleaving what you read in the papers or just snobs.
As far as the Camino and its varied routes go there is only one airline in europe that serves them
all.
now what was the question
Ian and Rosie

 

[sillydoll]

Cross your legs when flying Ryanair!!!!


http://www.cnbc.com/id/29425513

Ryanair's chief executive said Europe's largest budget carrier might start charging passengers for using the toilet while flying
"One thing we have looked at in the past and are looking at again is the possibility of maybe putting a coin slot on the toilet door so that people might actually have to spend a pound ($1.43) to spend a penny in future," O'Leary told BBC television.
He said this would not inconvenience passengers traveling without cash.
"I don't think there is anybody in history that has got on board a Ryanair aircraft with less than a pound."
A spokesman said the airline had considered the fee as a possible source of extra revenue since passengers had the option of not using the toilet on board, but added that "maybe O'Leary was just taking the p*ss this morning".

 

[Rose Louise]

My tuppence worth.

Ryanair was a means to an end. It was cheap, clean an efficient. That's all we require. I don't recall exactly what we paid but whatever it was, we considered it 'bargain' priced and were extremely impressed with the quick turnaround time.

Rose Louise

 

[Rebekah Scott]

It´s wonderful if you are European. If you are not, prepare yourself. You are going to be buggered-about without mercy, and your wallet will be chiseled. If that´s worth the low price, then by all means go for it!

Yes, it´s cheap up front. And you get what you pay for.

Reb.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Ryanair is in the best 20% of the airlines in the world for accidents, so safety is not a concern. They have unbundled the various costs so that the customer can buy only what he wants. Aviation regulations pertain to safety. For example, flight attendants are there for safety and emergencies, not to serve coffee and pass out playing cards. Airlines that use flight attendants as servants do so as a business decision. Rolling the cost of amenities into everyone's ticket price is also a business decision. Ryanair has chosen not to. Charging to use the restroom seems a bit extreme, and I will be surprised if they actually do it! But I am not sure it is worthwhile to complain about not getting freebies. They never were actually free! Ryanair will take all the money you want to hand them, but they do not insist that you hand it to them. I find that very progressive in a world where even the banks are cheating us. "Yield management" practices of the airlines can result in almost as many fares as there are passengers. On your next flight, ask your neighbors how much each paid for his ticket. You will be surprised at the wide-ranging answers.

 

[ivar]

This might be next.. :?