Well Done RYANAIR

the next thing on ryanair will be coin slot to use the overhead storage and one to use the seat table. mike's law its called

 Just before everyone has another bash, it isn't just the RA card that has a inactivity charge. My Escape card has to be used every 3 months or a £1 fee is deducted. If you don't like it, don't get it. Simples!!

Mark

well said if all people want to do is knock Ryanair simple answer is don't book / fly with them paid higher price's and fly with someone else i will carry on sticking to their rules and getting my cheap flights 

Yup, I agree with mnj and Markfish!

Hubby and I always check out and compare the prices for all the cheap n cheerful airlines before booking. RA always comes up tops for cheapest price. Mind you, hubby and I only travel with hand luggage and I realise that suitcases can add £15 to £20 per person per flight.

Yes, its a bit of a 'cattle market' when embarking the plane / leaving but to be honest, when I have used other airlines in the past, I havent found them to be any different.

As mnj said, if people stick to the rules, they wont be landed with any additional costs.

I nearly always travel with Ryanair, because they usually offer the cheapest fare. But only for that reason. Therefore, I feel entitled to criticise them - and I do so at every opportunity. Everything about their product is tacky and unpleasant. From the garish colours; the non-reclining seats; the cacaphonous fanfare if they land early; the constant barrage of selling things - from electronic cigarettes to lottery tickets to over-priced food and drink; aggressive and unfriendly, and often linguistically incompetent staff; having to stand in queues to board; having to walk through the rain and wind (any N European airport) instead of using an airbridge; and don't start me on the extra "optional" charges. It all adds up to a most unpleasant experience, albeit one I can endure for up to 3 hours.

I grant that they have been instrumental in bringing fares down and opening up Europe to the masses. But they have also caused huge problems in areas where they've pulled out all of a sudden, eg in France, Belgium and Spain (Granada, Jerez, Alicante? El Prat, Ciudad Real) leaving blighted airports and foreign homeowners and tourists with no local airport to fly to.

And let's not forget the other low-cost carriers who contributed to the revolution in air travel, notably easyJet. From 2000 we nearly always flew with them from Liverpool to Malaga on our frequent trips to Andalucía. They were great. Unfortunately, they rarely compete on price these days. Other budget airlines have been significant too - Air Berlin, Wizz-Air, Vueling, Jet2, Bmibaby. The whole experience is usually much more pleasant with them.

We are currently on a quick tour of relatives which involves flights from Malage to Frankfurt Hahn; Karlsruhe-Baden Baden to London Stansted; and Bristol to Malaga. All with Ryanair. Total cost for two of us - just over 200 euros. Unbelievably cheap.

But, I shall continue to criticise Ryanair and I shall continue to fly with them if they offer me the best deal.

Hypocritical? No, pragmatic!

Sorry PablodeRonda .... your statements are not pragmatic, rather yes, they are hypocritical!! If you really detest them, then why fly with RA?

If I had such strong convictions (which I dont), I'd not want any of my hard earned cash going to Mr O'Leary .... I would use other airlines!

 cos they  are cheapo cheapo and give us all something to moan about in the true brit way

Look, Wend691. We live in a harsh economic world these days. It'sdifficult to have strong principles when every penny counts. Of course I'd rather fly with a more comfortable airline that treats its customers well, but I can't afford to.

As we travelled yesterday on an overdrowded S-Bahn from Heilbronn to Karlsruhe, then on another train to Baden-Baden, followed by a bus to Karlsruhe Baden-Baden airport, stood in a queue for ages to check in a case and then stood in line for ages to board our Ryanair flight, then after being bombarded with sales patter for 1.5 hours, then an hour long bus ride into London from Stansted, I thought: "Wouldn't it have been nice, at our age, to have flown BA or Lufthansa from Stuttgart to a proper London airport, and used taxis ...". But it's just a dream, I'm afraid, unless we somehow come into money.

So, I'm afraid, Wend691, for the moment I have to remain PRAGMATIC.

Hubby and I are coming to Spain for a visit February.  We normally go to Santander and drive down to Mojacar, but we are flying this time.  We shall fly with Easyjet and not "Rudeair".  I am Irish and I can categorically state if there was no other airline to use I wouldnt fly, simple as that. I used Ryanir once back in late 90's and never again.   O'Leary is a rude, ignorant little man and runs a rude/ignorant and nasty airline.  If people continue to use this crap company then they continue to operate and laugh all the way to the bank.  I mean how on earth can he have thought a few years back that he could float an Irish company on the UK stock exchange, he's stupid as well as all the above.  We will pay approximately £70 more by using easyjet, but its money well spent.  You get what you pay for.  I for one would not like to use an airline that the industry itself is worried about.  Ryanair apparently has such a quick turn around time at airports, that the word from control room staff and other employees  at airports is this is absurd and cutting corners like this is just not safe practice.I would rather pay more and feel safer, thank you very much. 

Pabloderonda...

BA Stuttgart- LHR Christmas week 153€ or 204€ depending which of the two daily flights you select. Fare quoted is one way including taxes, fees, charges and surcharges and including up to 23kgms baggage...

I would imagine your flight with You know who probably came to about the same cost if you include the transport from Stansted and all of ryan's hidden extras...

Foxilady...

You are right in your statement about turnround times; 25 minutes is not enough; that's why he's fighting AENA at Alicante over the use of airbridges. The use of an airbridge in turn requires the use of a pushback tractor and the increased costs that he would encounter by having to have on available the moment his aircraft arrives on the stand. I can fully understand AENA wanting to have their use made mandatory; no-one airside want passengers milling around willy-nilly on an exposed dispersal with aicraft taxying and underslung wing engines turning. One wonders who M.O'L will blame when one of his punters gets ingested... After 40 years in the aviation industry I can state with certainty that an exposed dispersal is one of the most dangerous places in the world.

To be honest I think it's only a matter of time before Ryanair is declared 'persona non grata' in Spain by regional. and national government and by AENA.

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This message was last edited by foxbat on 15/12/2011.

Yes foxbat i totally agree with you "its only a matter of time"  I was given the info re turnabout time by an air traffic controller who is a friend.  Yes i absolutely agree wth you also re all the hidden extras with Rudeair.  One just has to sit down and weigh this all up, combined with their poor service, it's a no brainer.  What a crazy world we seem to  live in now.  We have peeps worrying about where to put money to gain most interest, when what they should really be concentrating on is where is the safest place to keep any spare cash.  Then we have peeps trying to save money by using Rudeair and not concentrating on the bigger picture ie safety.  I constantly marvel at how our priorities have altered over the last 30 years or so, utterly amazing.  I would prefer to use BA but it really would work out just that bit too expensive for us, so Easyjet is our compromise.  I rarely fly and travel by train or boat whenever i can, just trying to to do my bit for the environment. 

Sorry to disappoint you, Foxbat. Our Ryanair flight from Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden to Stansted cost 18.99€ each including taxes, charges, and booking fee and £8 each for the Stansted bus into London. My wife booked a checked in bag which cost 15€. We don't buy anything on board, so I paid about 28 euros and she paid 43 - way cheaper than your comparison. BTW you forgot to include the cost of getting from Heathrow to London in your itinerary, so your comparison was hardly fair.

You've raised an important point Foxbat about health and safety related issues in terms of people disembarking from a plane to an exposed dispersal rather than entering the airport through a airbridge. Its certainly something for people to think about before booking a flight with RA or any other airline.

Just wanted to point out that this is the approach to boarding a plane used at East Midlands airport (ie exposed dispersal). Have to admit, the only 'milling' (rather, power walking in many cases !!) hapening is people focusing on getting on the RA plane before everyone else (particularly if they've been daft enough to pay the priority boarding fee). Certainly is good exercise for some, and I bet some people dont generally move as fast!!!