Ryanair . . . no-brainer?

[LeevMarie]

Hi,

DH, DS (who will be nearly 5) and I are travelling to Spain in early July with parents in law.

I've been looking at the costs of the flights and we can fly into the same airport with Ryanair and save nearly £350 for our family of 3 vs booking the same flights with Jet2. The times are very similar (early morning outbound and midafternoon returning).

I mentioned this to my mother in law yesterday and she warned me quite strongly against booking anything with Ryanair. I know they don't have the best reputation for punctuality, but she even said that irrespective of what we choose to do, she's not going to fly with Ryanair and would rather pay the extra. 😂This is crazy, right? Or am I missing something?!

I've flown with EasyJet before and that was pretty terrible, but it's only a 2.5 hour flight. I can tolerate pretty much anything in order to save this amount of money.

Is Ryanair really that bad? Flying to Malaga, so there maybe some stag or hen parties on the flight, I guess, but surely that's a risk you take regardless?

[KEG05]

have you been through the whole process of adding the extras on? Ryanair make you pay for absolutely everything. The initial price isn’t the actual price. it might not be as big a difference once your actually at the check out point x

[Lifeisnotabedofroses]

Flew Ryanair to Italy and back last week. First time with them. On time on the way, an hour late coming back. Very good experience. Had paid for 2 hand luggage and that worked fine. Planes were standard. Staff very pleasant. Reasonable trolley service. Would definitely fly with them again. Often fly EasyJet. Could see no difference.

[So1invictus]

Ryanair is more punctual than Jet 2 and Easyjet. For a short haul I always shop around but Easyjet then Ryanair would always be my first ports of call. Have you checked Iberia Express and Vueling? Don't discount airlines you imagine will be more expensive either- I'm using BA this summer as it's cheaper than any of the above.

[pompomdaisy]

Flew with Ryan air couple of years ago and ended up feeling like I was sat in a zoo. Kids running everywhere, people swearing. I avoid it for the same reasons I avoid vue cinema.

[Greycatclub]

I’ve never had a good or easy flight with Ryanair. (Or very clean)

No issues with any other budget airline. That said if Ryanair were significantly cheaper and it was short haul I’d probably still choose to save the money

[WhatWhereWhenHowWhy]

I had a horrific experience with Ryan Air last year and will never ever use them again. Honestly, such a shocking experience that it would sound comical to even type it!

[Tryphenia]

I refused to fly Ryanair for years after a series of long-delayed flights really messed things up (missed my own conference keynote and a wedding), but I’ve had to return to them recently as I was flying to destinations where only their flight times suited. Bang on time, which is all I need when travelling with hand luggage.

[Rooma]

I flew Ryan air last week for first time in years. Regularly fly easyJet and have also flown jet2. Ryanair is fine and comparable. All airlines productise the check out process now so you're paying for everything regardless of which one you book. If it's a lot cheaper, go for it. My flight last week cost less than £100 return including checked bags which was amazing.

[Number24Bus]

I had a terrible experience with Ryanair (flight was cancelled and yet they still refused to refund us, we had to claim on the insurance), so I see her point.

[JulieHoney]

If the choice is Ryanair or not going, I’d not go.

[NashvilleQueen]

Flew with Ryan air couple of years ago and ended up feeling like I was sat in a zoo. Kids running everywhere, people swearing. I avoid it for the same reasons I avoid vue cinema.

I've flown with them loads of times and never had this experience. Usually on time and perfectly normal levels of behaviour. They do add on a lot of charges which others airlines make standard so you need to check that but other than that perfectly fine.

[Campervangirl]

I've flown with Ryanair, the first time against my better judgement because I was being snobby and I was pleasantly surprised.
Same as any other airline, yes the first price quoted is not what you pay after adding extras but it's still cheaper imo.
Takes you from A to B, staff are nice, all airlines can have delays.
Not a lot of difference between Ryanair, Jet2 & easyJet

[Tothepoint99]

Flew Ryanair to Italy last week too.

The above all make different points but they are all mostly true.

Yes, it will feel like an assault on the senses. The lighting is so bright, you'll feel like you're in a laboratory. Yes, you will be bombarded with duty free and lottery tickets.

But you will have a decent flight, good customer service, probably on time and get on with your holiday.

As one pp said, click through to see what the actual check-out price will be as you may be able to get closer to BA or EYJ prices.

Sounds like your MIL will find something to complain about, regardless of it it goes well.

[NashvilleQueen]

I had a terrible experience with Ryanair (flight was cancelled and yet they still refused to refund us, we had to claim on the insurance), so I see her point.

I had this once with easyjet where they put me on a freezing cold coach in December (internal flight) and I was about to 15 hours late on New Year's Eve. Never even replied to my emails.

[Pringleface]

I refuse to fly Ryanair. There aren’t many companies I actively boycott but Ryanair are one of them

[FawnFrenchieMum]

Flew with them for the first time last year reluctantly as they were the only airline with seats left to where I needed to be for work.

We were about 3 hours delayed on the way out but on time on the way home. The seats were very small! Other then that not a great deal of difference to other airlines.

I’d risk it for that amount of money if I was paying.

[ModerationInEverything]

I'm surprised at all the Ryan air hate. You get what you pay for, budget, no frills service. I'd definitely fly with them to save £350. Malaga is only a short flight.

[So1invictus]

@ModerationInEverything

I'm surprised at all the Ryan air hate. You get what you pay for, budget, no frills service. I'd definitely fly with them to save £350. Malaga is only a short flight.

Agreed. I use them about 4 times a year, and have had one brutal experience. Landing at a diffyairpory, waiting 3 hours for buses to arrive etc.
Easyjet- same. Worst experience Lisbon terminal 2 last summer. Queuing on tarmac for 2 hours just because the airport departure lounge was so over-crowded they started moving everyone outside.

Both were shit experiences. Neither had been caused by the company themselves.

I'm still waiting on the other hand for refunds from Alitalia from March 2020. I'm also old enough to remember when a journey from where I live in Italy to my home in the UK involved 20 hours and a connection in Milan or Rome followed by another in Brussels or Amsterdam and cost a month's wages. So Ryanair or Easyjet will do me fine!

[pncr]

I use them. They're no worse than easyJet for Addons now.

The seats are small and the stairs up to the plane are more rickety

But I can get a return flight to where I want to go for significantly less than any other airline

I've been delayed with BA and easyJet and Ryanair.

[So1invictus]

diffyairpory? Different airport obvs!

[pncr]

And I too am old enough to remember a short return European flight costing literally £500-750. And having to route through London

[Knullrufs]

My issue with Ryanair is that apart from some of the smaller Irish airports the gate slots they get at terminals are universally terrible. So you’re often waiting to be bussed out to the plane, or bussed back to the terminal. And in these times of short/inadequate staffing, you could easily be sat waiting for a bus driver for ages.

I also don’t like the lack of transparency on the pricing. Once you add on the stuff you need — particularly luggage, which for a family holiday you’re realistically not going to be able to avoid — Ryanair often isn’t cheaper than anyone else. It’s worth checking, at any rate.

As to the likelihood of stag/hen parties or ‘lads holiday’ groups — well, you’re going to Malaga in July. There will likely be some of those on EasyJet and Jet2 as well. You might not care; it’s only a ~3 hour flight. But if you do care, you’re likely to be a bit better off with BA or Iberia.

[MaireadMcSweeney]

I've flown with Ryanair dozens of times and it's fine. Yes you have to pay extra for luggage (any luggage above a small backpack) but apart from that it's fine. They are usually on time, efficient and fine. Cheap and no frills. Also they were the easiest airline to get a refund from during Covid oddly enough.

[ILoveMyCaravan]

I fly several times a year with Ryanair to Spain. Once you're on the plane there is very little difference to other airlines. I've never found them to be delayed/late. I sometimes get a cheaper flight with EasyJet or Jet2 and there is really no difference. It's such a short flight, so save your money where you can!

[Bournetilly]

I’ve flown with Ryanair many times, they are usually on time. I can’t remember a flight where they've been significantly late (say over an hour).

Obviously it’s budget so not going to be the best (not much leg room etc) but it’s fine for a short flight and I’d definitely say worth saving the money.

Just add all the extras on (luggage, seat choices) to make sure it’s worth it. Pretty sure Jet 2 charge extra for all this now anyway.