to fly with Ryan air? Anyone had any experience, good or bad?

[dandycandyjellybean]

prob wrong place but need a quick response. Trying for a cheap holiday and their fees seem very good. I know you have to pay extra for baggage, but are there any other hidden extras? Any advice gratefully received.

Don't like them but use them because they have so many direct routes from Scotland. If I had the choice of paying a little more I would fly with another airline, even Easyjet or Monarch. They're not that cheap anyway.

I've not admittedly had any terrible experiences but its their attitude that they're out of catch out their passengers whatever way they can. Flying to Malaga recently, I was requested to put my very small purse into my hand luggage, tried to explain it had all my documents in it but they said no, its a handbag. So I did so and then was asked "Boarding pass". Well its now zipped up in my hand luggage so I caused further delay while I retrieved it. Even had to put a newspaper into my hand luggage which I then couldn't retrieve to read on the journey. Ditto a small bottle of water.

Must say I worry about their policy of charging for hold luggage, as it means everyone brings hand luggage, which surely cannot be all that safe if the plane hit bad turbulence. Never mind the difficulties it causes when boarding and disembarking.

Ryanair are fine....until something goes wrong. They have the worst reputation for refusing to pay compensation, even when there is a very clear cut legal case. If your flight is delayed or cancelled, do not expect to be rescheduled. Do not expect to be provided with the legal requirements of a meal and accommodation. Do not expect a refund without a very long and proptracted battle. Their latest trick is quite breathtakingly audacious. After being dragged throiugh the courts and for refusing to fulfil their legal obligations over the Icelandic volcano, they have now put a surcharge on all flights, so their current and future passengers are forced to pay for Ryanair's legal costs.

Their advertisements also frequently are incredibly offensive. a few choice horror stories here. Sexism in ads is fairly common and the ASA have upheld more than one complaint about false advertising.

Don't be fooled by thinking they're as cheap as they seem.
They whack on a fair bit as you finish your booking for booking fees and any baggage.
If you have kids, definitely do priority boarding. We didnt and had issues on our return journey with seating.
MAke sure you have enough time to buy water/drinks before you board as they charge you loads for water. Take your own snacks and food.
Remember to print off your boarding passes and tickets before you go as they charge you £40 for each ticket!
My friend didn't know this and got hit for £160 at the airport.

I really prefer to not travel with them but they can be the cheapest to lots of destinations, so just don't fall into any of their traps.

DON'T DO IT!!!!

Old, creaky, unsafe, dirty aeroplanes is my reason. They have fiddled their books very clever accountants that means they depreciate their planes over a longer period than the rest of their industry, to make their numbers look better. (i learnt this in a finance course so it must be true )

This means they have older planes than everyone else. I was forced to flu with them once and it was awful. you could tell the plane was really really old and you have to hand back your magazines (equally old) at the end of the flight. As mine had chewing gum in it I was happy to give it back to them ...

fly not flu. I have flu at the moment so i can't type

I would never knowingly fly them again if it could be possibly avoided.

Nasty nasty company, nasty policies, treat their customers badly as a matter of course and unless the airports they use are hugely convenient over other operators not even that cheap these days (once you add everything into the mix - don't forget travel to & from their airports to where you actually want to be).

I've found as cheap or at least competitive options flying out of Gatwick or Heathrow (I live in London), or on other 'budget' airlines. Do your research!

used for 2 trips over last year - 2 flights arrived on time, other 2 early.

Make sure you read the instructions - many of the problems seem to occur when people don't.

I was amazed at the number of families with young children who boarded the plane at the very last minute and hadn't booked seats. this was at times when they must have known the plane would be full. why did they then expect to get seats together???!

I fly with them very often. Be careful when you book as many of the tick boxes are checked 'yes'- so you need to uncheck them.
I have never had any problems at all, I have only really travelled alone though, I can imagine it would be quite stressful if you had small children.
But can't really argue with the prices, I flew to Germany AND back, for £12! [think of my carbon footprint emoticon]

Whilst the price is never as low as the headline grabbing figure, they are still WAY cheaper than any traditional carrier.

My OH & I have used them a fair bit to travel to her home country in the Baltics. The way you have to look at it is that it's a game. So you can get a a prepaid master card from Phones4U for £10. If there's two of you, it's just paid for itself. If there's more, you are saving!

Get/borrow the lightest cases you can and cram them. Wear your biggest items of clothing, including coat. Put as much stuff in your pockets as possible.

Take your own snacks (food can go airside) then get a bottle of water in the waiting area.

I've never bothered with priority boarding. It's not a big deal to me but if you have children, it's worth sending one adult in first to bag the seats for the rest of you.

As for old creaky planes, let me say I've never seen one. Ryanair have the newest fleet in Europe! The average age is 3 years which compared with BA is brilliant. They also have an enviable safety record and must comply to all EU safety rules. The way I see it is that O'Leary's too tight to pay for a new aircraft & the resulting compensation so he'd rather pay to have the maintenance done properly.

If you expect luxury then forget it. But if you think of it like a taxi and bear in mind what you are paying then it's good value.

Oh also they never shut up. First they tell you the safety regulations, then they tell you all about drinks, then they try to sell you a scratch card.... then it's perfume..... food, you land, they play a silly tune.

You don't need priority boarding to sit with your children. I got on a flight with my 2 small ones and it was jammers, they said there was a seat at each end of the plane. I just smiled and said, oh how lovely, one of you is going to mind the three year old, a peaceful flight for me!

It was amazing how quickly they moved a few people to find a few seats together.

they play a silly tune.

They only play it if they are early or on time. The way I see it, is it's a small price to pay for being ontime or early. And if they're late, thank god it's not played!!!

The biggest problem i have with Ryanair to be frank is the rather large amounts of stag/hen parties. Usually better on the way back when they're all hungover.

The silly trumpet tune is the only thing about Ryanair I object to in all honesty.

I love Ryan Air. I have been with them twice, both times our flights were on time, had a pleasant journey, and they were unbelievably cheap.

It is just a case of reading all the small print, with size of luggage etc.

Niceguy2, I'm sure they advertise longer times, as they are always on time. The last flight I got with them was meant to be 1hr 40, and it took 40 minutes....

Also the landing is always terrible! Always a big bang on the ground. But for those prices I don't care too much.

Never again.

You get what you pay for - simples. Read the small print - I can't stand people who fail to read what is included in the price they are paying and then whinge when it is more. RA are very honest that their prices are designed to actively discourage checked luggage and airport check ins.

They have a very good ontime departure and arrival record and they take safety seriously and the hand luggage allowance is great. They don't take customer service that seriously - why would they? Most people who use RA have no brand loyalty - it is all about the price. So long as they offer the best price people will fly with them.

I love them - would rather have an uncomfortable hour or two on a flight (not that it actually ever has been) which arrives safely and on time and spend my cash on holiday. And DH and I have always been able to sit together just by being on time (without rushing to the front of the queue) or paying priorty boarding.

They are just the pits: every single time and if I could avoid flying with them, I would (and have tried but can't). Avoid if you can

I have flown with them once and would never choose to again. I didn't get hit with any extra charges because I really read the small print and made sure that our bags were within the limits. My problem was that the cabin was so cramped and uncomfortable, and the staff were so rude.

If you do fly with them, the following may be helpful:

1. The destination airport may not be where you expect. My flight to Barcelona was actually to Gerona, a two hour train journey away.
2. When we boarded all the passengers were directed to the back of the plane leaving the front empty. Apparently this is to keep costs down on take off and landing. There is no reason to not move as soon as the seat belt lights go off, this meant that my husband and I were able to get a row of three seats each and sleep for the rest of the trip.
3. Take an eye mask, the cabin is canary yellow inside!
4. Take your own food/ snacks
5. Fly with easy jet!

May not be where you expect? Only if you don't check where you are going first, in which case blame no-one but yourself.

Depends where you're going really. I fly with Ryanair every year from London to Dublin, the flight takes about 50 minutes so I'm not really bothered if the seats are uncomfortable, don't need any food etc so I don't find it a problem. I am going next month and my flight was £24 including admin fees and everything. That's cheaper than the train to Brighton!

When I booked the flight the route was from Bristol to Barcelona. As I said above I did read all the small print. When we printed the boarding passes they said Barcelona (GER), thanks to the power of Google I was able to find out that the we were actually flying to Gerona. So yes, do check first but read it very carefully!

Although my last few flights with them have been improved by the helpfulness of my fellow passengers. I think some people have adopted a deliberately extra courteous attitude as a counter balance to Ryan Air's lack of it. I've had my heavy hand luggage lifted for me into the overhead lockers and lifted down again by other passengers, without me even asking. And on leaving the plane, everyone has let people out of their seats first, rather than just a free for all. Or maybe just those flying from Edinburgh are just posh!

We flew with them last year to Malaga and back and it was fine. You get what you pay for, read, read, read the website and you will not go wrong.

I wouldn't pay for priority boarding tbh, just get to the departure gate super early. At Stansted they were very good about redirecting people to the correct gate when they stood in priority boarding and should have been in the pleb queue but at Malaga they just let them go through. I was mightly annoyed I can tell you. Was very greatful I hadn't paid for priority boarding.

So what happens then when you get to Gerona when you think you are flying to Barcelona? Are you presumably just left to get yourself to Barcelona?