Ryanair increases baggage charge to £80 for summer

vivatifosi

Sorry to go off at a bit of a tangent, but I'm really surprised that Ryanair hasn't started allowing one way bookings only. It could be a way around the putting people up in a hotel when planes go tech/volcanoes erupt etc as they would have fulfilled their outbound contract. Maybe those crafty regulators at the EU are one step ahead on this, perhaps Ryanair haven't thought of it yet, or possibly we - the flying public - wouldn't like it very much, but at 1p each way...

lostinrates

I dislike ryan air so don't fly it. Easyjet is usually pretty good for us though. Have a corporate wife do later in the year, I did think of booking now ish for a copper jar ticket price, but ultimately I just hate Ryan air too much.

Thrugelmir

ILW wrote: »

Not sure about worst run, it is one of the few airlines in the world that actually make a profit, which is generally considered to be a fair measure of how well a business is run.

Not worst run. Totally the opposite. Plays hardball and wins. Has benefited from the expansion of the EU and economic boom. If people travel less frequently does it have a plan B?

kennyboy66_2

Thrugelmir wrote: »

Not worst run. Totally the opposite. Plays hardball and wins. Has benefited from the expansion of the EU and economic boom. If people travel less frequently does it have a plan B?

Exactly - all logic would point to the first thing going when money gets tight would be weekends to Paris etc etc.

In addition, how can more taxpayer money be thrown at them in the form of indirect subsidies via the smaller airports.

The attraction of a per plane tax is clear to the government - and has the added benefit in that it gets more difficult to isolate it as a per person charge.

ILW

Surely a per plane tax would benefit firms like Ryanair as they tend to run much fuller plains than the Nationals like BA.

Thrugelmir

ILW wrote: »

Surely a per plane tax would benefit firms like Ryanair as they tend to run much fuller plains than the Nationals like BA.

Different type of services though. For comparison:-

Ryan Air averages around 82% load per flight in 2010 so far.

In May 2010, across Europe, The Americas and Asia Pacific, British Airways achieved 69.7%.

Though European air travel is down around 700,000 passenger flights in the first 5 months of 2010.

Altarf

vivatifosi wrote: »

Sorry to go off at a bit of a tangent, but I'm really surprised that Ryanair hasn't started allowing one way bookings only. It could be a way around the putting people up in a hotel when planes go tech/volcanoes erupt etc as they would have fulfilled their outbound contract. Maybe those crafty regulators at the EU are one step ahead on this, perhaps Ryanair haven't thought of it yet, or possibly we - the flying public - wouldn't like it very much, but at 1p each way...

Ryanair only sell one way flights, they don't sell returns or connecting flights. If you buy a 'return' you are buying two one way flights. And it doesn't get Ryanair round the EU rules.

Anyway, I always find these threads funny, as you always get people ranting on about who Ryanair is dreadful, but they have never actually flown with them.

tuggy12

Is this next??

kennyboy66_2

ILW wrote: »

Surely a per plane tax would benefit firms like Ryanair as they tend to run much fuller plains than the Nationals like BA.

Probably true - but I think that flight taxes will go on rising and subsidies will fall.

In 2008 Ireland subsidised internal flights to the tune of 45m euros (Ryanair wasn't the biggest beneficiary). This is for so called essential services such as Dublin-Kerry (4 hours drive).

Ryanair also enjoy subsidies to the tune of 35m euros in France alone.

vivatifosi

Altarf wrote: »

Ryanair only sell one way flights, they don't sell returns or connecting flights. If you buy a 'return' you are buying two one way flights. And it doesn't get Ryanair round the EU rules.

Anyway, I always find these threads funny, as you always get people ranting on about who Ryanair is dreadful, but they have never actually flown with them.

But unless it has changed , it does allow you to buy two flights at the same time, my thought was that they would only allow you to buy one (that's what I was getting at).

I've flown with Ryanair and they weren't great. My main gripe though is that I don't want to go where they fly. If I go to Paris I want to go to Paris, not Beauvais, etc. They did do a great route to Strasbourg for a bit but pulled it when the government wouldn't put their hand in their pocket any more and I haven't used them since. Easyjet is much easier to deal with and when I've priced them up are often cheaper.

Ryanair afficionados may enjoy Tom Chesshyre's "How Low Can You Go?" which looks at where you can go in Europe for 1p.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Low-Round-Europe-Return/dp/0340937858/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1275775604&sr=8-1