Has anyone flown with Ryan air? Is it as awful as it's made out to be?

[dandycandyjellybean]

i.e. online checkin but the website's down, etc, getting charged loads of extras you weren't expecting, etc?

Cesttout, flying from stansted to Rhodes on Thursday early morning. Just booked priority boarding. Fingers crossed xx

You'll be fine, just try to remember how much money it saved.tight emotion

Xxxxx...lol.....

I have to fly with Ryan air when I go to where my family are from and it is absolute hell, rude staff and ridiculous rules if there was any other option I would take it but unfortunately there isn't.

It's not as bad as people make it sound. I've been using them for 10 years now at least twice a year.
If you're of average built ie not super tall or very morbedly obese and if your flight won't take over 3 hrs you'll be just fine.
Also you get to buy seats now. No need to run for it when boarding. There's always priority check-in if you really want to make sure you're one of the first people to board.
I guess it all dependsdepends on your expectations and what you're used to.

Agree with much of the above.

We have to use Ryanair a lot because they offer the only flights to family.

On one notable occasion, staff confiscated all food and drink bought by passengers getting onto the flight! They seem to have stopped that now, thank goodness.

We have also managed to arrange the PB thing on most occasions and - I have no idea why - a couple of times, staff let us get on first because we had children and wanted to sit together, even though we didn't have PB. No idea why they did that!

I find the staff are frazzled, hassled but fundamentally OK.

The passengers do seem to have a higher-than-average component of lairiness.

One of the absolute, utter highlights is watching people get fractious over the carry-on size/weight restrictions - which are ruthlessly enforced. I know it makes me a bad, bad person but I always wonder why people try it on. Surely there is no-one who does not know this about Ryanair?

The boarding scramble is genuinely a bit scary. It makes you realise that civilisation is but a thin veneer.

Oh. You can buy seats now?

I suddenly feel almost nostalgic about The Scramble.

I think I may be a Very Bad Person indeed. It did used to make me laugh a bit.

TheCat, in fact you MUST buy a seat now unless you're willing to wait until a week before your flight and they'll allocate you one. It works if you're flying alone.
They've found another way to take your money.

Oh and I agree re boarding with small children. It very much depends on which way the wind blows that day

Fuxache. Zombie thread!

If i dont have an option i fly with them , but always prebook a seat and priority boarding so no problems there.

It's pretty basic so fine for a short flight but wouldn't do a family holiday with kids with Ryanair

You have to print your boarding pass yourself before you arrive at airport otherwise they will charge you I think £45 to print at airport

Check in online

If you are taking your luggage into cabin ensure it is the correct size and weight. Flew recently, some people were requested to put their baggage into the hold for free due to lack of space inside the plane. This means you have to wait at the baggage carousel to collect your bag, so not good if you are in a hurry and have connections to catch, but ok if you are not in a hurry.

I like the low cost airlines - bargain travel !

I think theyre absolutely fine. Theyre a budget airline, there are no frills, but its no worse than travelling on a train, in fact better as you definitely get a seat. If the flight is not too long and you bring a magazine, its fine, but I would be worried about legroom for flights longer than 2 or 3 hours. I think easyjet are a bit nicer, but ryanair are the cheapest, and I actually think theyve improved in the last few years. They dont spend the whole flight selling scratchcards anymore, which is a plus

All these comments about sprinting to get the best seats- that's stopped now.
A week before your flight you can officially check in and be allocated a seat free of charge. They do give you seats together if possible. That means the mad cattle crush is a thing of the past and Ryanair is getting more civilised (second handbag, duty free bags no longer hve to fit in your cabin bag).

I personally volunteer to have my cabin bag put in the hold as you pick it up from the baggage return as one of the first to come off the plane, saving you the trouble of wheeling through endless corridors.

Work the system to your favour and Ryanair is great. I also live an hour from a tiny airport that claims to serve a much larger city 90 minutes away!

Only flown once with them to benidorm. It was ok. The plane looked very bargain basement. Colours are hideous and jarring. The crew were Spanish and very nice.

They got us there safely. The main thing.

I check in a week before the flight usually, once it becomes free, and they just allocate your seats, so no rushing to queue. I havent had to do that for years

I fly with them when I can because they are cheap. I check in as soon as possible, and fly hand luggage only so it's fine. The legroom is comfortable enough (I'm near enough 6ft).

You get what you pay for but buy a magazine and some food before you board and it's quite comfy really

Follow their rules and it really is fine. I travel 3 times a year to visit family and travel by myself with 2 young children.

It is much better now that the mad scamble has been done away with as everyone on board now has an allocated seat (they charge you though if you want to pick your seat/ guarantee seating with your party). Not sure why everyone still queues up an hour before the flight - old habits die hard I guess.

Last time we went (last month) we didn't even print our boarding cards - I downloaded the Ryanair APP on my phone and when I checked in online, my boarding cards appeared on my phone and just scanned those instead of a paper copy - it was rather civilised (for Ryanair).

As an aside, I have been flying with them 3 or 4 times a year for 10 years and never once have they boarded families first since they changed their rules on pre boarding just as I had children !!

Never again. Flying Prestwick to Paris, due to arrive before 9am. Flight was delayed several times due to 'fog' in France (skies over and around Paris totally clear). Eventually take off with hopes it would clear when we were in the air. Garbled announcement when we were landing that we'd been diverted. Got off the plane to find we'd been diverted to Brussels. Coaches due to arrive 'in 10 minutes' to take us to Paris/Beauvais. Do not leave this spot (to eg use the loo or buy food) as coaches will not wait for you.

Coaches show up 3 hours later. Get on coach. Coach gets puncture on motorway. Puncture takes 2 hours to fix. Consider teaming up with fellow passengers to start a new life in northern France. Warned not to go anywhere to eg buy food as once coach fixed it will leave, and will not wait for anyone.

Coach fixed. We drive past the outskirts of Paris. Passengers ask if coach will stop at a nearby train station that we can see to let people get home faster. We are refused, as 'Ryanair runs a point to point service'.

Finally get to Paris from Beauvais at 7pm, starving. Ryanair put up a huge fight against compensation/refund as 'it got us to our destination).

Luckily I was travelling solo. But there were families going for a weekend at Disney who lost a full day of their weekend (and a day at Disney which was paid for) and Ryanair showed zero interest in the welfare of any of its passengers, including little kids.

Yes, between Manchester and Shannon or Dublin. Its fine, but like being on a local bus rather than relaxing in the first class carriage of a train. I like the pre-allocated seats. I love the prices...

Zombie thread!!!!!!!!!!