Ryanair - hoping for some positive comments

[MascaraGirl]

This morning I booked Ryanair flights for late September, after extensive searching, and with the help of a travel agents, they appear to be the only airline who fly directly to the required destination from the airport that works for us.

If anyone’s had any positive experiences with Ryanair, could you share them? We’ve had two recent poor experiences with BA, and wonder if the whole industry is in decline?

Ryan air are pretty crap but so are most short haul flights, set your expectations low and remember everything is extra.

I’ve personally never had an issue with them, but I’ve only had bad experiences once with an airline ever despite a fair amount of flying - Virgin Atlantic which others rave about!

top tips for Ryan air - check and double check your bag dimensions, they don’t allow any leeway; remember you can’t take on hot drinks but you can take an empty water bottle through security and refill in the airport to avoid paying onboard, you can also take your own food as long as not liquids through security (note a pot of houmous counts as liquid); reserve seats in advance unless you don’t care about sitting together and make sure you have the Ryan air app with the boarding passes downloaded (I take paper back ups). Accept other passengers to holiday destinations will be badly behaved, if they aren’t it’s a bonus!

as I say, not had problems myself but I hate hand luggage so tend to board with only a handbag that I put under my seat and check my other luggage, most people complaining seem to relate to baggage and seat allocation (quite happy to sit apart as I like aisle seats and he likes windows!

They're basic but fine. If you have the app it keeps you up to date re the flight and gates etc.

Big bonus - the seats don't recline. 😊

That’s definitely good news!

Be very very careful with your cabin bag sizes. They are absolutely ruthless about it.

I don't get the Ryanair hate. It is basically transport. It is supposed to get you from one airport to another and that is exactly what it does.
I like the idea of paying for baggage. I don't want higher prices to cover other people's luggage if I don't have any.

I’ve never been a fan of Ryanair but had to book them last year as it was the only option on the days I wanted to fly. I hadn’t flown with them for years and it was totally fine! But as others have said, be careful to stick to their rules.

Often fly with BA but the last two trips I’ve taken with them were not good. For one of them they changed the departure time the day before (after we’d done online check in) and moved the flight 30 minutes earlier on an already early morning flight. We were going to take public transport to the airport but this earlier time meant that we couldn’t and had to order a taxi. The main reason we were using BA was due to the time as the budget flights were too early to get public transport… needn’t have bothered!

And the other trip, BA long haul, had delays of 4 hours each way, which was frustrating. And awful cabin crew who couldn’t give a shit. The only positive was the compensation for the delays paid for all the flights.

I’m in Ireland and find them great. Three weeks ago my Ryanair flight to Madeira was cancelled due to strong winds in Madeira. Ryanair provided us with a hotel room for the night, breakfast the next morning and flew us to Madeira later that day. The same day a poster on Mumsnet posted that her daughter who was flying with EasyJet was stranded in Madeira due to a cancelled flight and had to sort her own accommodation.

I have travelled many times a year for years with Ryanair and I have a absolutely no complaints about them

There was a delay last year for 5 hours and I got 7 x the flight priceback in compo! Spoiler the flight was £48 return. It was paid promptly.

Like all airlines, read up on the rules and follow them.

I view it as a flying shuttle service rather than an expierence as flying used to be.
The more popular routes for stag and hen dos can get a bit rowdy butI've seen the Liverpool air crew put up with no shit and deal with rowdies efficiently!😆

I think you’ll be fine, Ryanair is kind of like a bus in the sky. Gets you from A to B, not comfortable, but fine. You’re never on them for that long anyway!

Ryan air are pretty crap but so are most short haul flights, set your expectations low and remember everything is extra.

In what way are they crap?

They are punctual, staff are pleasant if you don't act like an idiot towards them, you pay for what you need,they have a great safety record. Ryanair has opened up cheap travel for many people. Whether that's a good thing or not is another topic but I have had so many expierences and been to fantastic places because Ryanair made it affordable.
Dh is massive but finds seats more comfortable than Easyjet.

When everything works, they're fine.
When they don't, you're on your own.

Easyjet ans Jet2 far better in my experiences

I looked at both EasyJet and Jet2 but neither had suitable flights

You’re wrong about Ryanair, read my previous post.

@Berlinloverok, I guess I it must have all just been a dream when they cancelled my flight as we were waiting at the actual gate in Stansted on a Sunday night, with not a single member of staff around to help us.

And I must have also imagined queuing up at the ryanair desk for 90 minutes (after we'd eventually managed to get back into the airport post secutrity) to be told the first seat they could offer me was on the following Tuesday afternoon, i.e. 48 hours later.

I ended up having to book a flight with Aer Lingus from Heathrow the next day, get myself from Stansted to there late on Sunday evening (harder than it sounds) and spend the night in a hotel - none of which Ryanair would refund me for, as they'd offered me an alternative.

They left me hanging and I will never fly with them if there's an alternative.

But feel free to tell me I'm still wrong if you want to......

I flew out to Italy with BA and back with Ryanair. No difference at all except a small soft drink and cereal bar with BA. Stick to the correct luggage size and pay for what matters to you (seat selection, larger cabin bag etc) and you’ll be fine.

They are fine, no frills

Take an empty water bottle through security to refill and take your own food if you don't want to be overcharged for a toastie.

I fly a lot with Ryanair OP, you'll be absolutely fine. Enjoy your trip!

I fly RA once a month to come back to the UK. They are fine, always on time but every time I feel a little part of my soul destroyed . Not pleasant at all but they are convenient and very reliable

It’s about as low cost as it gets. The rung below Easyjet in my opinion.

However, play by the rules with regards to seats and baggage and it’ll most likely be absolutely fine. Their safety record is incredible when you think how many planes they have flying about at any moment (more than Easyjet by some margin)

it’s not a complaint as such but the cabin crew are always dead young and inexperienced looking. But still professional.

I’d recommend taking your own snacks but there is a reasonable selection on board, at a cost.

my last return flight cost me less than £60 return including my bag and it arrived early both ways. Very difficult to complain about that!

That is shit. But I’ve been similarly shafted by Easyjet and BA in the past. Some people will have a terrible experience.
for 99% it will be fine.

I fly with Ryanair all the time.. well priced, staff are usually lovely and it's invariably on time. That's all I want really!

Tons of positive experiences with them in 20 years that I have been flying with them! They are the only airline that cover a very regular route that I use so I have no other choice. Just make sure your luggage isn't bigger or heavier than they say it can be.

I’ve never had an issue with Ryanair. They don’t provide food or drink and bag rules are strict of course but if you stay within the rules (check them ahead of time) then they’re generally efficient and professional.

Delays and cancellations are rarely the airline’s fault and a lot of it is down to luck.

Completely agree with you. Think of them like glorified bus service, obey the baggage regs and you’ll be fine.