Flying Ryan air - tips

[Scorpion84]

my family and I are flying Ryanair in Aug to Majorca

not really by choice but these were the best timed flights with my on the beach booking

I've booked 3 hold cases ( we only ever take 3 big suitcases ) and I've pre booked our seats

I hear so much bad things about Ryan air

are they really that bad ?

I've flown with them loads of times and never had a problem. If you want snacks and water for the plane buy them at the airport.

Just make sure you only have one carry-on bag each, and that they fit in the Ryanair guidelines, or you will be charged £70 for each second bag.

What are the bad things? They're fine and remarkable value. All budget airlines charge for food and drink on the plane and most charge for seats and luggage so they're no different in that respect.

Just follow their rules and you'll be fine. Have a good holiday.

We always travel ryannair and never had a problem. Only problems I ever see are people thinking they can take bigger bags than allowed. Rarely had delays as this costs the airline money if they do so they do everything they can to avoid ot.

I fly regularly with Ryanair, it's fine. Just follow the rules and do not have oversized bags, even by a little bit.

No worse than any major airline IMO so long as you stick to their rules.

Just follow the rules and it's absolutely fine.

They’re fine. Have flown with them 3 times a year for 16 years and never had an issue.

Ryanair are the only airline who fly to our little local airport here in rural France so our family and friends use them all the time. They usually run on time and the aircraft are often new or almost new.

As long as you follow their rules on bag sizes and boarding passes (these need to be digital not printed now) you’ll be fine. You can buy your own cold snacks and drinks at the airport if you want to. You can’t take hot drinks onboard.

Absolutely fine for a short flight, no different from Jet2 or the like if you've paid for the luggage and seat allocation you'll be fine.

I often fly with them, if you’ve got hold luggage then ensure you keep your hand luggage within the limits and you’ll be fine. Their planes are clean and have always been on time ime.

Ryanair is absolutely brilliant, they are on time and have the newest planes. They are great value also.

I think the only issue would be if you went over the baggage allowances (don’t do this) or are very tall with long legs, then I would book a seat with extra room.

Other than that have a great flight. Enjoy.

I love Ryanair. They don’t wait for you, so go to ten gate early especially on the way home when passport control catches people out

Thanks all

i suppose it's stuff ive seen in the media

I'm big follower of rules so I'm sure we will be fine 😂

They are perfectly fine as long as your luggage matches their sizes which are clearly stated. You need to book seats together if that's important to you

They are brilliant for me and the areas I want to go to from my local airport. The bad press is usually from people who did NOT obey the rules and get annoyed because they were caught out.

Flew with them to Venice recently. No issues. Arrived on time and was able to order drinks and snacks to our seat. The blue and yellow colour scheme in the plane was jarring and made it look really cheap (which of course it is) but no issues.

Conversely 4 friends travelling at the same time by BA had a bit of a nightmare. 2 were put on standby and one ended up being bumped to the next flight. The one who got the final seat ended up with no luggage and ended up waiting 5 hours for it to arrive on a flight (and not the one the other lady got bumped on to). They did ‘helpfully’ offer to bring her luggage to the hotel when it arrived but it would be in 4 days time!!!

I avoid if possible but most recent experience we did not pay to choose our own seats and the algorithm put one of us at the back and one at the front. I also had an empty seat next to me but no one is allowed to move. So if you would hate to be split up on plane, pay extra to book your seat.

I was denied using the loo on landing it was pure hell
and so humiliating

Yep paid for seating together as there is five of us (3 kids )

But that’s not just Ryanair. That’s all airlines.

Well, that’s a safety issue? You can’t leave your seat when the plane is coming in to land. Should have gone to the loo sooner!

When you fly back out, allow a certain amount of time to check in, as Ryanair's bag drop is not very fast at Palma. On the plus side, security is very quick and the UK departure gates are not too far away (the Schengen area gates can need quite a long walk). Don't get tempted by the McDonald's just before you go downstairs to passport control. There are plenty of outlets the other side.

EES (biometric passport control) is currently running very well at Palma, but so far that's been for adults. If any of your DC are under 12 you will have to go to a desk, and that will take time as there are a lot more kiosks and e-gates than officers. That applies to arrival and departure.

If you have a transfer included in the package then find out what the plan B is if you take two hours to emerge when you arrive. That probably won't happen, but if the bus leaves because it can't wait any more there may not be a next bus. If you had been with an all-in-one operator like TUI or Jet2 then this is all handled by the reps, but as I understand it On The Beach just sells you the components and doesn't necessarily have anyone on the ground.

My tip for the flight is to order everyone's favourite drink while you are boarding. You can bring everything up in the app and assemble the order while waiting at the gate, then hit Send as soon as you get into Bluetooth range (I've even done it from the jet bridge). It is quite special on a low-cost airline when your drinks arrive hand-delivered 5 minutes after the seatbelt sign goes off, and you don't have to wait for the trolley procession.

Try to pack light outbound so you’ve a bit of leeway coming back if you buy anything nice! On our family ticket we got 1x 20kg plus a 10kg for each other person, which was enough, but I really aim for 7kg and buy shampoo etc in destination. Also, it’s much more of a relief, I find, to check in bags, rather than bringing on board, as the lockers can get very crowded, and you run the risk of bag measurement at the gate where you have no plan b option.

Make sure you do the online check in in plenty of time to allow you to contact them within the window if it doesn’t work - we couldn’t check one person in due to the Ryanair system crashing and got charged at the airport which they refused to refund. Also had one flight that was unbearably hot and the overhead fans didn’t work, we were travelling with a very small child who then overheated and vomited everywhere so we now always take a fan! I still use them if the best option but generally try to avoid. Used them recently without DC and all was fine. Have a fantastic trip!