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Original poster

Ryanair. Would you or are they the pits?

70 replies

Girlsnightin · 22/01/2019 21:23

The package price for our family holiday is £££ and I can save £500 by booking direct with the hotel and using Ryanair. Just concerned as I hear soooooo much bad press about them, I'm worried that they'll manage to screw something up and I rue my penny pinching ways.....

I can afford the £500, but would feel a bit ripped off. Package deal has slightly worse flight times.......

OP posts:

redexpat · 22/01/2019 21:47

Never had a problem. But read the small print and pack well. Get to the airport in good time if you need to check bags.

OlennasWimple · 22/01/2019 21:50

Just remember that with any airline if the hotel and flight are booked separately you won't be ATOL protected

This is a really good point.

Greggers2017 · 22/01/2019 21:52

Love Ryanair! They are the difference between our family having 1 foreign holiday a year to 3.
Last year we went to Lanzarote for £27 return each. Italy for £28 each and Malta £35 each. Book a cheap hotel through on the beach or alpha rooms and you're laughing.
You get what you pay for.

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Flying Holidays

mrsk28 · 22/01/2019 21:53

Personally not a fan at all. Not a comfortable trip and planes aren't even clean.

BramRang · 22/01/2019 21:59

I fly with them all the time and have never had a problem. I used to take the Manchester-Hamburg route (usually as cheap as £9 single) often to visit my Mum and it was a great deal. It costs me more to visit her now in Surrey, and the trains are a whole lot more hassle.

Not sure I'd fancy it if I had baggage to check, etc - I normally just pay for extra carry-on bags if there's an option as it's easier to keep to their rules that way.

somewhereovertherain · 22/01/2019 21:59

Can’t fault Ryanair. Flown them loads over the last 30 years. Play by there rules and no problems. I’ve never booked and extras till this time and booked priority to get the bags on.

Have flown so many other carriers recently the worst two where Virgin and Delta.

eurochick · 22/01/2019 21:59

It's a flying bus. Check the rules, comply with them and it should be fine. If a volcano erupts or other natural disaster occurs, don't expect five star service.

Mulberry72 · 22/01/2019 22:06

We (DH, DS12, and I) fly to Spain with them 4/5 times a year and have done for over 10 years and have never had any problems.

It’s basically a flying bus and as long as you factor in bags, priority boarding (if you want it) food etc, then you’ll be fine.

Some of the worst flights I’ve ever been in have been with Jet2, in terms of delays, antisocial behaviour by fellow passengers etc,

AnyFucker · 22/01/2019 22:09

I would and I have many, many times with no issues

Read the website. Understand there are extras. It's still cheaper albeit no frills. But what do you expect for 29 quid to the Canary Islands ? It's not difficult.

pootleposeyperkin · 22/01/2019 22:10

Often flown Ryanair out of Liverpool, never had an issue.

DramaAlpaca · 22/01/2019 22:11

I've never had a problem & I fly with them a lot. As long as you follow their rules it's fine.

Nubbled · 22/01/2019 22:14

I will never use Ryanair again. Never had a flight with them that wasn't delayed.

Jsmith99 · 22/01/2019 22:21

Ryanair operate cheap no-frills flying buses with almost zero customer service. Read carefully their rules on bags, online check-in, printing /downloading boarding passes etc etc and be sure to follow them precisely. Then you should be fine.

Viebienremplie · 22/01/2019 22:23

They are ok if you are doing a short trip for work, a full-on family holiday with kids and baggage, I wouldn't want to risk it personally.

I've had many horrible experiences with them, and also they ruined many family holidays last year with their strikes...£500 is not worth the hassle if the trip is remotely important to you imo. Also after extras and all the paid 'add-ons' that are unavoidable, I bet it's not as much as £500 difference

babydreamer1 · 22/01/2019 22:40

Flown with them loads and never had a problem. Needed help with booking an infant comfort seat recently and they referred to manager and got me all sorted for free, refunded our original infant fee. Cost £30 extra in the end and means ds can go in a car seat.

Just stick to the rules, pay for all you need up front, bring your own food , don't be late and they are great.

Original poster

Girlsnightin · 22/01/2019 22:46

@Viebienremplie, I think you've summed up my worries!

OP posts:

redandwhite1 · 22/01/2019 22:51

Since they cancelled my flight and couldn't offer another home for 6 days which meant I had to pay a huge amount of money buying a last minute flights x3 home I now won't touch them with a barge pole, even if they were £££ cheaper, flown several times since and booked a holiday this year and don't even look at their website!!

I got all my costs back from them but still a massive hater here!!

torthecatlady · 22/01/2019 22:53

We're flying to Malaga with them in June. It was cheap, we paid extra for cabin bags up to 10kg each (which is a new one for me) but haven't paid extra to sit together. My husband will plug his earphones in anyway, so didn't seem necessary no hold luggage as it's a short trip.

Designerenvy · 22/01/2019 22:56

I've used Ryanair quite a bit over the years. Never had a problem. And always got a very good price

anniehm · 22/01/2019 22:57

I flown with them, they are a bit rubbish (selling scratch cards is plain weird) but you get what you pay for. Do factor in all the sneaky charges etc and buy travel insurance as there's no guarantee they will cover their obligations if we crash out of the eu and your flight is disrupted.

I would use Ryan Air again if they are significantly cheaper but prefer BA or EasyJet if there's a choice as they just are nicer and have looked after us well when flights were disrupted (I bet others can say otherwise but BA were brilliant when the ash cloud closed airspace and they earned a lifetime of brownie points!)

snop · 22/01/2019 23:10

Been with Ryanair loads and never had a problem, I always pay extra for seating together though

VonHerrBurton · 22/01/2019 23:45

We were stranded in Sardinia. No return flight, no representation, just money back. All 48 quid each. We ended up spending hundreds to get home and fought for weeks to get our money back. Never, ever again. I can honestly say that unless it was a serious emergency and they were the only option, then I'd rather stay home.

Fr3d · 22/01/2019 23:51

Usually fly Ryanair and find them really efficient. Flights on time etc. Flew a "posher" airline recently as part of a package holiday and found them way less efficient, terrible queues. Also smaller rockier planes. We were missing Ryanair!

halfwitpicker · 23/01/2019 00:10

Op, if you're just gonna be panicking about them striking just book elsewhere. Not worth the extra stress if you will be worried.

StarlightLady · 23/01/2019 08:46

Do you know who you would be flying with if you took the package? The chances are it would be a charter flight offering similar standards/conditions.

Plus if you book it yourself you can go directly to your accommodation when you choose. You are not waiting for other flights to arrive or other passengers to be dropped off on a coach.

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