Ryan Air

[Lorenzo]

Yes totally agree SWS.

Generally the times of their flights are pretty good too - well I thought so until our April flight times got changed. It has changed from a 12.05 hours departure from Bournemeouth to 19.10 hours and this means we don't get to Palma till 22.20 hours.

Also, a friend who decided to join us at the same time, has just got her ticket for the same flight for under £50 return whereas we booked early and all paid over £100! Grrrh!

[Sparky]

Oh Lorenzo, that is so annoying isn't it but is it the airlines fault if the times change?, i am probably wrong but i thought they were allocated their slots by a higher authority whose name i can't think of .

[animagic21]

Ryanair is like marmite...you either love it or hate it! Luckily we're all entitled to hold an opinion which makes life more interesting....as for us, well we love it cos we can get to PP in 1hr 50 mins sometimes all for £25 return! Seem to have escaped probs so far over the last 6 years or so. The Thomson plane is always experiencing "technical difficulties" & is far more expensive. Having travelled with Palmair in days of old when the owner would personally greet us on/off the plane we are more than happy with our flights now. Sorry if I've offended anyone!

[lollipop]

animagic21, we are all entitled to an opinion and even though I have been stung by ryanair if they offer the cheapest fare I take it. It is after all only a short flight and you don't have to buy their overpriced food.

[pollensa]

When Ryanair first started flying from Stansted a few years ago we would not even consider them. Then Air Berlin stopped (such a shame ) & we were left with EasyJet & Ryanair. Ryanair were so much cheaper that we decided to try them & have flown with them ever since because they always work out cheaper & the times of their flights suit us much better. Basically they are OK. So long as you stick to the strict baggage allowance, get in the queue at the gate early on so that you can get a seat together & can get your hand-luggage on above your seat, we don't have any issues. The flight is only a couple of hours, so why not? When we have flown with easyJet the staff always seem happier & the flight is a pleasanter experience, but that's about it.

[cumberland8]

The latest trick my source has come up with, if you spend over £520 on Ryanair flights with a credit or Debit card the additional surcharge will cost you an additional whopping £48.00.
This can only be found in he tiny writing as a link to optional fees page.
There is a lot of very clever stuff going on in this site(others are catching on very quickly),alledgedly < one small sentence change can earn millions

[Baron de Lay]

Originally Posted by animagic21

The Thomson plane is always experiencing "technical difficulties" & is far more expensive.

Tell me about it!

The first time we flew with them was last year. I'll spare you all the gory details concerning a 24 hour delay in flying us home....... Suffice to say that if Th****n were the ONLY airline flying to Mallorca then we'd use them again!

[Jimbo the Jambo]

Originally Posted by Smiddy

I've flown with them 4 times in the last year, great prices, always on time, no fuss! That'll do me! IMO too many people have a pop at them, suppose it's trendy As they say, "It does what it says on the tin". A lot of the people who end up paying more than they bargained for probably have only themselves to blame.

Smiddy,

Just cruising thru the posts , and, read your post. Spot on mate. I have never had a bad flight with Ryan Air, Easyjet etc. If you read the the small print and have good insurance,
it should be be pain free...????

jimbo

[PP_Kev]

We usually have the choice of Ryan Air or Thompson from Bournemouth, or Flybe from Southampton. And would pick Flybe everytime! Although living closer to Bournemouth, we have had several bad flights with Ryan Air and Thompson have proved hit and miss.

I know with budget airlines you have to make sacrifices, but Ryan Air have been bad every flight we have been with them, where as Flybe have been superb, we would even pay a little extra to go with Flybe.

[cherylbb]

From Money Saving Expert:

Ryanair to pass on budget pain for flights from Spain.

Ryanair customers on flights leaving Spain this summer could be forced to pay extra to travel, even if they've already bought tickets.
The budget airline says this is to cover potential rises in airport taxes, expected to be implemented when the Spanish government's budget is passed in June.
With the budget still going through Spain's parliament, it is unclear what the increase will be. However, as any tax rise is expected to be immediate from ratification date, it is likely to hit just in time for the summer holidays.

Ryanair says in an email to passengers it has been "advised by the Spanish Government of a budgetary proposal to increase airport charges later this month".
It continues: "We are advising customers with a reservation that includes a flight departing from a Spanish airport that we may be forced to debit passengers for any Government-imposed increases in airport charges prior to your travel date.

"Once the Spanish government budget is published Ryanair will advise affected passengers by email of any additional airport charges that may apply to your reservation before any charges are made."
Ryanair's Stephen McNamara says: "The Spanish budget proposes to double passenger charges at Madrid and Barcelona airports, as well as imposing smaller increases at other Spanish airports.

"It appears these increases will become effective immediately after the budget is passed and any passengers who have already booked to travel later this summer will have to pay these higher fees, if the budget is approved by the Spanish parliament."

[sws97sdg]

Saw this Cheryl, I think they are one of the only airlines passing this cost on, most others have said they will absorb any increases themselves!!

[meg1973]

ditto
i got an email about this , im flying out in summer with easy jet and coming home with ryanair and havnt received anything from easyjet saved over £200 doing this but now i may live to regret that

[Nick]

I've also had an e-mail advising of this likely increase.

How am I not surprised that Ryanair are passing this cost on while others aren't !!!

[URI]

Ryan Air have a proven business model and at times it works very well (e.g. as a family of 4 we went to Bergamo for £60 return for a long weekend in Venice).

But they do shoot themselves in the foot when it comes to hidden charges and bad PR. Easyjet had a good balance but I am fearful that they may be losing their edge as well. That said we got a good deal Manchester to Palma for 4 £420 return for July/Aug including all the extras.

[Nick]

I totally agree with the above post.

I use Ryanair in the main because their flight times from Stansted suit us, they're mostly on time, their planes seems modern and clean(ish) and they're just about the most reasonably priced - although this is down my list of priorities as can be seen and their costs are slowly creeping up.

However, they do indeed "shoot themselves in the foot". This is such a shame as with a little more customer care, clarity in pricing and O'Leary keeping his mouth shut a bit more they'd do so much better. Do they not care/or have they not heard of, customer service?

If/when we get out of this damned recession Ryanair could start losing customers if they do not buck up their ideas.