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?

No problems here with Ryanair. Your MIL may well be able to afford the difference in price but unless she's paying for you, fly with who you want. Set a precedence for the whole holiday.

I'd say easy jet is roughly the same experience. Jet2 planes are slightly more comfortable. I'd go cheaper. Let in laws take a different flight

I find Jet2, EasyJet and Ryanair to all be very similar and BA to be fair. All absolutely fine, just check the rules regarding luggage etc.

I used to fly Ryanair every week for work and never really had any issues. Barely ever running late.

Rynair qould also be my last choice too - l hate them with a passion and wouldn't want to line Michael O'Leary's pockets!

Ryanair are fine, but as others have said, work your way through the whole booking process adding the extras you need on as you go to get the true price. Bags, other than basically a small handbag, and picking your seats cost more (wise, if you want to sit together, don't assume they won't split families up). They actually have a pretty good on time performance really, but have a tight turn around at each airport so they don't build in the same delay margin as other airlines such as BA for example, which may make them seem 'late'. It's easy to be on time if half as much time again as needed is added to your flight time.
Jet 2 include a 22kg baggage allowance per person, and you can select seats for free, though some cost more-extra leg room for example. Jet 2 flights are cheaper if you book them as part of a Jet 2 holidays package, which is what they want customers to do.
Overall I prefer Jet 2, but I'm not averse to Ryanair.

Never had a problem with them. I like that they actually fly from regional airports unlike London British Airways.

Of course it’s not emirates standard, but for a hop Europe it’s fine.

Have flown to Malaga with Ryanair a number of times. Never had stag or hen dos on board. Think its less likely perhaps on earlier flights.
Did have a stag do on flight to Barcelona once🙄
Have also flown with Easyjet and Jet2.
Easyjet by far the worst, dirty plane, rude staff and a really unpleasant experience.
Jet2 is better but I wouldn't say its worth £££s more on a short flight.
My experience is that people complain about Ryanair when they don't want to pay extra for things that Ryanair make it very clear they will charge extra for, eg luggage, seats together, etc.
Never been on a really dirty Ryanair plane and pretty much always on time but as PP said, expect to be as far away from terminal as you can get.

Let her book her own ticket with another airline if she wants to pay more.
Ryanair is a budget airline with a reputation for poor customer service and a lack of transparency over pricing. There’s nothing wrong with it as an airline. In terms of safety, punctuality etc. they’re similar to other airlines flying from the same airports. It’s usually an airport operations issue rather than an airline issue.

Other people’s anecdotes about a single experience they had don’t tell you anything about the airline’s overall performance.

No way would I let a MIL force me to buy tickets costing 350 more for the same short trip. Why does she think she gets to dictate? I’d keep an eye on her making other demands, telling you where you can and can’t go out to eat etc. But then IMO holidays with in-laws are a terrible idea.

Exactly this. Ryanair's hand luggage allowance is basically a small backpack or handbag, not a regular cabin bag. By the time you add on luggage it's probably a lot closer to Jet2.

In all honesty, I've flown with Ryanair loads of times, and I don't recall ever having any issues. The worst flights I've experienced were with BA.

I've never had a problem with Ryanair and have flown extensively with them. Click through to see the final price - they do family packages now. Make sure your hand luggage is within their measurements. You do need to keep an eye on the departures board and you don't have much time to get to the gate.

I've flown with RA loads, they're no worse than EJ really.

But do check the flight costs once you've added luggage and seats, you might not be saving any money with them at all.

Their advertised price is literally just the flight. You have to pay extra for luggage, and extra to choose your seats to sit together.

Provided you've added appropriate luggage and the costs are still cheaper I'd 100% use them.

I've flown RyanAir over several routes for over 16 years and never once had an issue. In fact I've rarely been delayed even with them. It's no frills and a coffee is pricey, but it does what it says on the tin perfectly well and efficiently.

Never had a problem with Ryan Air

It's fine, a bit like the flying equivalent of taking the bus. But yes, go the whole way through the booking process, the extras really add up and it might not end up being much cheaper.

We have used Ryanair multiple times a year for many years for family visits to Ireland and Portugal. Have only once encountered a problem, flight cancellation due to fog and refund was issued automatically before we had even left the airport.
We are well used to navigating the online booking/seat selection/ declining extras etc to get the best deal but I can see how the site can lead customers to a higher spend. I experience similar confusion when pricing up an Easy Jet fare.
Adult DC often join us on holiday and use national carriers to avail of air miles and Amex points and have regularly had delays and cancellations.
DD uses AerLingus out of Heathrow and has never had an on time departure, aircraft still had previous passengers rubbish, cabin bag included but charged £10 to bring into cabin rather than leave at the steps and collect from luggage carousel ☹️
DS has been in his seat at Lisbon on a BA flight only to have flight cancelled, no assistance to find overnight accommodation and flown back to Heathrow next day via Madrid ☹️
I guess you have to understand what you are getting for your money. Ryanair is like bus travel. They won’t mollycoddle you but I think statistically they are among the most reliable. I also cannot comment on what they are like for passengers with additional needs or babies and small children.
I also think that because we fly out of Stansted where Ryanair dominate the airport their operation is smooth and they have aircraft at their disposal to swap around to ensure flights depart on time. This might not be true at other airports.

I've made that choice a couple of times.

No amount of savings are worth the stress of flying with them, and the savings are very quickly eroded once you get stung for all the 'extras'.

Give me any of the other budget airlines any day.

I ❤Ryanair. You play the Ryanair game by jumping through the right loops to keep your costs down and away you go, usually on time compared to 'proper' airlines. It can be like a zoo but so can the 'proper' flights during the school holidays. It is about getting from A to B, not spending a month on the journey. I like flying from Stansted. It is much easier to access than (so called London) Gatwick for many people.

@PoBaFla being split up on a fairly empty flight can be due to the way seats have to be allocated to ensure the correct weight distribution. This is also why they ask you not to move around without checking with the crew first.

hoops, not loops 🙄

I’ve probably flown over 100 times with Ryanair and have never had a single issue. When I see these topics I wonder how many people have actually flown with them or just repeat the Ryanair are terrible narrative because they’ve seen other people say it.

I prefer them to most budget airlines as they are punctual and hold luggage is normally on the baggage carousel before you’ve even got through passport control.

I think they are fine as long as you are careful with their luggage policy. Not keen however on the flying to some random airport rather than the main one (although I understand that is also what keeps costs down).
Out of Jet2, Easyjet and Ryanair, I would rather fly Easyjet, then Ryanair then Jet2. I have found many bad experiences with the latter.

Just had an excellent Ryan air flight from Manchester to Alicante. Couldn't fault it , all airlines have their issues but today was good.

We mostly use BA. We like T5 at Heathrow and it’s convenient. Booking is SO much easier!

We have used RA and EasyJet and Thompson years ago. I don’t like the pushing and general melee. BA has more sophisticated boarding systems. Plus more a generous carry on policy. Going with SAS this summer. Have also been with Icelandair. Both ok. Most short haul flights are pretty basic. So save the money if you can and need to. I never choose an early morning flight and always want the best destination airport. So I pay for that service.

Jet2 are indeed a class act, but you pay handsomely for that experience.

I've used Ryanair a number of times and don't have any major issues with them. If you don't pay for a seat they deliberately seat you middle seat miles apart purely to be annoying, but nothing other than that. I'd definitely use them for a short flight.