20 reasons never to fly Ryanair

littlegirllost

I have flown with ryan air a couple of times a year to bournemouth. I have never paid more than £28 pound a time after card fees using online check in.

If I got any other form of public transport I would pay over £100. Which is crazy.

If you want better customer service or better baggage offers, fine go and pay the money to other airlines/buses/trains but to me Ryanair offers a cheap service which meets my needs and alot of other peoples I bet.

Alot of airlines cancel flights, its not just this airline who is guilty of it. You get what you pay for and though its adding up its still a hell of a lot cheaper
than other options

inflationbusting

I am sure that lost baggage is calculated as bags lost per 1,000 passengers.

But still, you would think the concept would still be the same if you have 10 or 100 bags to unload. Really, there should be no bags going missing or delayed at all.

dzug1

dmg24 wrote: »

I don't know that they lose less baggage than any other airline, but they certainly are one of the lowest. This is confirmed by the AUC.

Three possibilities - the first one is semantics to some extent.

Firstly airlines do not lose baggage - airports do. It's the ground handling company at the airport that services the baggage, and they may lose your baggage whatever airline you use. They handle it for everyone at that airport. There are some exceptions to this but in the main it's true

Secondly, Ryanair serve a lot of small out of the way airports. If yours is the only flight leaving in the next hour it's difficult to put the baggage on the wrong plane

Thirdly, I'd hazard a guess that a high proportion of the baggage in general that goes missing is on connecting flights - you make the plane in Amsterdam or wherever, your baggage doesn't. Ryanair doesn't operate connecting flights, so there's part of the problem 'solved'.

So it's not so much a question of 'we take better care of baggage' as the type of flight operated.

PolishBigSpender

dzug1 wrote: »

Well yes - but at least by repute you never know what the TOTAL price is with Ryanair until you have boarded and paid whatever random extras they might sting you for at the airport. That may or may not be unfair - but it's an impression many people have.

Ryanair won't 'sting you for extras' - you'll be stung through your own stupidity.

For instance, I flew to the UK last September. I forgot to check in online and was 'stung' for 20zl so I could check in. But it was my own fault.

Likewise, a stupid woman was 'stung' for 15kg of luggage because she thought it was 15kg per case, not in total. But again, it was her own fault - the website is very clear.

People who get 'stung' by Ryanair are the ones who simply don't read the rules. It's actually a very fair airline - idiots pay for the rest of us

dzug1

PolishBigSpender wrote: »

Ryanair won't 'sting you for extras' - you'll be stung through your own stupidity.

For instance, I flew to the UK last September. I forgot to check in online and was 'stung' for 20zl so I could check in. But it was my own fault.

Likewise, a stupid woman was 'stung' for 15kg of luggage because she thought it was 15kg per case, not in total. But again, it was her own fault - the website is very clear.

People who get 'stung' by Ryanair are the ones who simply don't read the rules. It's actually a very fair airline - idiots pay for the rest of us

Well I did say 'by repute', and from numerous posts here and on other web sites loads of people have difficulty understanding Ryanair's rules having at least half read them. Maybe as you say they are all stupid. I would hesitate to make such a judgement.

uganda

Inflationbusting - yes I did say I had used Ryanair many times. I also said I had not used them for a couple of years and had noticed some changes.

I accept that you can have a cheap flight if you follow some basic rules and principles. That is what always attracted me to Ryanair before. But now it has got silly.

Airport check-in costs money. Aside from 'why?' one might also ask isn't that only fair if there's a choice? Because I'm travelling with an infant (which I have not done before) they say I cannot check in online. Why not?

As for baggage, yes it is easy to sneer at stupid people who don't follow the rules, but this argument only works if the rules are clear. There is too much margin for error, particularly as bags are soft and malleable - if everyone used rigid boxes as luggage - which would be the same dimensions in all conditions - this might be fairer. But if one bag-measurer says your bag's fine, and the next one says that it isn't then that is simply not fair is it?

If I'm wrong about the facts then OK I concede. But if that is how it is, it's wrong. If it is not, who's prepared to reassure me?

inflationbusting

The same basic rules and principles have stayed the same though - it's just that now the penalties are quite a lot higher. Most of the charges have gone up in the past few years.

As regards to your question; airport check in costs money, as more people have to be employed to sit at the desk. Isn't it reasonable that people using this service should pay for it, and that Ryanair should seek to profit on it?

As for the infant question, the answer to me is quite clear; infants aren't the type of customer Ryanair would like to attract; not only do they not spend any other cash, there is also the risk of spoiling the ambience for the other passengers. Therefore by forcing the airport check-in, there is some compensations for the airline.

You say you don't have a choice, but you do: don't fly Ryanair and take an airline who does allow you to check in on the desk.

As for the baggage, if you get into the 'marginal' situation (I have before), there is an easy fix, take out a jacket or other bulky piece of clothing and wear it (or get a duty-free bag and put shoes into there), which should reduce the bag size by just a few cms. If this is still not enough, then the case wasn't really marginal in the first place was it?

apt

Inflationbusting - Ryanair says it is going to charge a hefty extra fee for any second piece of handluggage including a duty-free bag. As for ambience on a Ryanair flight ...

inflationbusting

Yeah mate, I read about that, I'm just saying how it has been for me in the past. And you know, even if it changes, I'll just adapt to the rules instead of complain.
In any case, this will put Ryanair on a collision course with the airports; part of their justification for demanding lower fees is that passengers will use the shopping and facilities. For a multitude of reasons, the airport staff like to see you shop.

As for ambience, in my own experience, the cabin of a Ryanair aircraft is much the same as any other, save for less comfortable seats perhaps. I like to read to pass the time and the cabin does the job much the same as any other. If you've been in a plane with five or six infants dotted around with at least one crying at one time, well, that affects your own enjoyment whichever airline you're on.

Of course, it's easy to be snobbish on reputation.

uganda

Inflationbusting, I see where you're coming from, but I still think you're not 100% here.

My 'choice' is not the same as for buying a tin of beans or loaf of bread or a car. I can't just swan off elsewhere if I'm not getting a good deal.

I don't mind paying an airport check-in charge if I have a choice to check in online for free. I don't because I have an infant travelling with me - why should that render me incapable of checking in online.

I don't think your point about the ambience holds for obvious reasons. Also it's only a 40 minute flight so I hardly think the ambience matters. But if they must charge more becuase of an infant travelling for the reasons you give then let em. Oh wait they already have. My basic price ticket was £31 and hers £46.

As for the 'choice' of using another airline...Ryanair has a monopoly on flights from Leeds to Dublin. I am not complaining about that as lots of airlines have monopolies at airports especially small ones. My only feasible alternative is to fly Aer Lingus from Manchester and that involves a great deal of inconvenience.

I have tried to explain I am not a Ryanair basher. I have used them in the past and never had a bad experience. But they are definitely moving into darker territory where I simply don't know what I'm getting for my money. If there was a choice of using a scheduled operator that cost £150 instead of the £107 Ryanair intends to charge me (so far) I would take that just to be sure I got there and back and wasn't put off any flights for accidentally transgressing the rules.

As for unpacking, I pack light and won't have any large jumpers or jackets in my bags to take out in marginal cases, if I need to bring anything like that I'll wear em. But I will still have stuff for an infant. It may well be fine but I just don't feel secure that I will avoid every pitfall. Like I said it's getting silly now.