Worth paying for Priority Boarding with Ryanair - have young children

24

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  • itsmylife_2
    itsmylife_2 Posts: 153 Forumite
    Ryan air have never given me preferential boarding with my little boy, but I've never bothered with the priority boarding... as there is a group of you, maybe someone could battle through the scrum and save some seats while the rest get the kids on board.
    tying hard to cut down grocery shop bill...
  • lalamb77
    lalamb77 Posts: 91
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    Huge Thanks for everyone's advise. :D You are all fantastic:beer:
    I think the thing that worries me is paying out for PB (even for only a couple of our group) but then finding it a total waste of money because they bus us to the plane. I hate being short changed!

    From what I can work-out you don't get bused at Reus. But does anyone know if you do get bused at Birmingham if travelling to Reus?

    Also does anyone know what percentage of people now use PBing? If its small then we can probably get away without paying for it but if 90% do then we almost guaranteed not to get seats together unless we also pay-out- if you know what I mean!

    As far as some poor person being stuck with my two DDs - :eek: - it would be a rough start to their holiday! :rotfl::rotfl:
  • MrSmartprice
    MrSmartprice Posts: 17,625 Forumite
    lalamb77 wrote: »
    From what I can work-out you don't get bused at Reus. But does anyone know if you do get bused at Birmingham if travelling to Reus?

    Also does anyone know what percentage of people now use PBing? If its small then we can probably get away without paying for it but if 90% do then we almost guaranteed not to get seats together unless we also pay-out- if you know what I mean!

    As I said in my earlier posts they do not use buses at Reus. There are only about 7 gates, 3 of which do international flights. They only seem to bus people to the little planes which park on the airport fringes. It is quite a small airport.

    The deal at Birmingham is similar. They depart from Terminal 2, which used to be called Eurohub. There are about 10 gates, lettered rather than numbered, and there are 2 queues, priority and other. Few people bother with priority. As you get checked through the gate, you walk to an airbridge, but then go down steps to walk to the the plane rather than on via the airbridge. If you can, use the rear steps for a greater choice of seats. They do not seem to use buses.

    Hope this helps.
  • lalamb77
    lalamb77 Posts: 91
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    Thanks MrSmartprice!

    You information has been fantastic and really helpful.

    I think we are going to risk non-Pbing and hope that if we can't find seats together that some kind soul will be happy to move to make sure the little uns are next to one of us. I'm sure getting there early and running like mad men will ensure we are sat together.:rotfl:

    Thanks for the tip in regards to the rear doors, there will be at least one party of 11 charging towards them next month. :rotfl:
  • lijaloo
    lijaloo Posts: 265
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    Just make sure you get to the correct gate on time. At Reus last week they had put up a sort of partition dividing the departure lounge so that to get to the last three gates you needed go through a second type of security. There was a long queue for the Birmingam and Dublin flights which were departing from two of the last three gates. The departure gate appears on one of the screens so keep an eye on them and as soon as your departure gate is announced go straight to the gate where you need to queue in the "other Q". There may be a long walk to the airplane. The airplane at the departure gate will probably not be the plane you are going to board so if the children walk slowly don't all stay together. As most people will go to the steps at the front of the plane, go to the rear.
  • Bob_the_Saver
    Bob_the_Saver Posts: 5,610 Forumite
    Arrive early. Get to front of 'others' queue, then unless 170 people are in the priority queue (now that you pay - seems about as much chance of that as Gordon being there this time next year) just leg -it and get on the plane ahead of the other 150 or so pax - bums reserve seats at no extra charge.
  • Teahfc
    Teahfc Posts: 1,465
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    Arrive early. Get to front of 'others' queue, then unless 170 people are in the priority queue (now that you pay - seems about as much chance of that as Gordon being there this time next year) just leg -it and get on the plane ahead of the other 150 or so pax - bums reserve seats at no extra charge.

    I am sure I read they sell only 72 PB tickets per flight, checking on alot of the flights of late there are still some very very cheap prices I cannot imagine as many planes are going to to be full this summer than normal, If I fly alone I never take PB if I have the family I always do.
    "Man invented language to satisfy his deep need to complain."


    ''Money can't buy you happiness but it does bring you a more pleasant form of misery.''
  • MrSmartprice
    MrSmartprice Posts: 17,625 Forumite
    lijaloo wrote: »
    Just make sure you get to the correct gate on time. At Reus last week they had put up a sort of partition dividing the departure lounge so that to get to the last three gates you needed go through a second type of security. There was a long queue for the Birmingam and Dublin flights which were departing from two of the last three gates. The departure gate appears on one of the screens so keep an eye on them and as soon as your departure gate is announced go straight to the gate where you need to queue in the "other Q". There may be a long walk to the airplane. The airplane at the departure gate will probably not be the plane you are going to board so if the children walk slowly don't all stay together. As most people will go to the steps at the front of the plane, go to the rear.

    Were you there last Wednesday by any chance?;) We got through that security check quite quickly as we were near the front. But there was certainly a hold up afterwards. There was a flight to somewhere in Morocco going too, and they seemed to be checking them all for that flight very thoroughly.

    Just a point for the OP about seating parents with kids. I am sure I have read that it is against CAA regulations to seat young children away from their supervision. As Ryanair is open seating, and the stewardesses are usually very helpful, I'm sure this will not be a problem.
  • lijaloo
    lijaloo Posts: 265
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    Were you there last Wednesday by any chance?;) We got through that security check quite quickly as we were near the front. But there was certainly a hold up afterwards. There was a flight to somewhere in Morocco going too, and they seemed to be checking them all for that flight very thoroughly.

    It just so happens that I was at Reus on the 17th. I was on the flight to Stansted!!
  • AnnaV wrote: »
    I can't see how they would allow young children to sit on their own anyway!! Surely that is a health & safety issue?

    Why would it be?

    Yet another person with absolutely no concept of what health and safety actually is.
    From Poland...with love.

    They are (they're)
    sitting on the floor.
    Their
    books are lying on the floor.
    The books are sitting just there on the floor.
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