* Ryanair * Ryanair * Ryanair *

peejay1986

livemusic4life wrote: »

If you check in at the airport isn't that a 40 quid charge? Sorry if its already been asked

Pretty sure it's €70 now.

Oryx

syklops wrote: »

You said

Pick me up before I fall

I do always come back. I meant return fares I just wasn't clear. The cheapest I ever paid was 15 euro return to Birmingham. (Tho when the flight home was cancelled they wanted to just refund me ) RA never offer that kind of incentive anymore because they have now cornered the market. Watch fares continue to rise.

A Dub in Glasgo

syklops wrote: »

You said

Most people knew that (s)he was referring to a return and I speculate that you knew that

A Dub in Glasgo

rainbow kirby wrote: »

£33.99 flight + £15 for the train to Luton on Friday evening. Luton airport staff horribly rude and the usual Ryanair unpleasantness.

€44.99 flight on Aer Lingus to Heathrow on Monday evening + £3 for the tube. Not a minute of stress in the whole thing.

I know which option I prefer.

Fair play to you, I would rather get my finger nails extracted than get the tube from centre of London to Heathrow Airport. Much prefer the Heathrow Express

aloyisious

Not about fares, etc.... Channel 4 Despatches programme next Monday night is covering the fuel-load issue on RyanAir planes and includes an interview with a RyanAir pilot (profile-imeage hidden) as a safety issue.

P. Breathnach

A Dub in Glasgo wrote: »

Fair play to you, I would rather get my finger nails extracted than get the tube from centre of London to Heathrow Airport. Much prefer the Heathrow Express

I am dumbfounded: a person who makes it clear that he is quite satisfied to travel with Ryanair and yet feels that he cannot hack the London tube!

rainbow kirby

I commute Zone 2 -> Zone 1 on the northern line during rush hour. Piccadilly line from Heathrow at 9pm is easymode in comparison :pac:

syklops

A Dub in Glasgo wrote: »

Most people knew that (s)he was referring to a return and I speculate that you knew that

I didnt know that (s)he was referring to a return . Im not trolling. Im pointing out that I booked a ticket to London for 22.99. A return would have been 45.98 which is very good value. Saying Ryanair is no longer cheap is incorrect.

Oryx

syklops wrote: »

I didnt know that (s)he was referring to a return . Im not trolling. Im pointing out that I booked a ticket to London for 22.99. A return would have been 45.98 which is very good value. Saying Ryanair is no longer cheap is incorrect.

I know youre not trolling. I havent been able to get fares like that recently. Is that the total incl all their lovely extras, and how far in advance did you book?

In fairness, everything is increasing with them, the only way to get your almost 50 quid fare, is to be savvy enough to dodge all their moneymaking traps. The base fares ARE dearer, and the traps are ever harder to avoid.

joeysoap

Oryx wrote: »

I know youre not trolling. I havent been able to get fares like that recently. Is that the total incl all their lovely extras, and how far in advance did you book?

In fairness, everything is increasing with them, the only way to get your almost 50 quid fare, is to be savvy enough to dodge all their moneymaking traps. The base fares ARE dearer, and the traps are ever harder to avoid.

On a recent BBC program, comparing RY with EJ, there was an interview with MOL, during which he stated that in the future he could forsee fares being completely free and passengers only paying for the 'extras'. Bullsh*t. Everybody who flies regulary can see the upward trend. Ryanair on the whole are still the cheapest and they have done us a tremendous service in ending the monopoly that was AL. Book *early , off peak and midweek and you can still find great prices, But the trend is upwards, even in these fares.

*Book 'too' early and you might well pay a higher fare. Better waiting a few months for the discount. There was very good discounts last week on flights to Faro in August/Sept/Oct. Anybody who booked flights to this destination in say April or May paid over the odds. Mad or what?

Nonoperational

rainbow kirby wrote: »

£33.99 flight + £15 for the train to Luton on Friday evening. Luton airport staff horribly rude and the usual Ryanair unpleasantness.

€44.99 flight on Aer Lingus to Heathrow on Monday evening + £3 for the tube. Not a minute of stress in the whole thing.

I know which option I prefer.

The tube from Heathrow isn't exactly a breeze in fairness.

MOH

Oryx wrote: »

In fairness, everything is increasing with them, the only way to get your almost 50 quid fare, is to be savvy enough to dodge all their moneymaking traps. The base fares ARE dearer, and the traps are ever harder to avoid.

There are no money making traps. It's a simple matter of saying no to the extras. It's mildly irritating, but hardly a trap.

Unlike Aer Lingus, where if you want to check in more online than 30 hours in advance, you're forced at that point to pay extra for an assigned seat.

The base fares have certainly increased, though so have taxes, by quite a bit. And those "no taxes" fares are still going to be calculated to cover some of the cost of absorbing the taxes.

Just randomly checked fares to Heathrow with Aer Lingus for early September, the whole week cheapest available is €120 return. To Gatwick, cheapest all week, €80. Ryanair cheapest, €40, dearest, €46.
Ryanair are also more up front about the fares - you get a week view, with all the flights for a particular day shown. AL show you a month view, with the cheapest flight for a particular day. That often turns out to be one flight at a totally unsuitable time, and all the other flights are far more expensive. There also seems to be a far bigger variation on prices for a particular day.

Based on my past experiences with both, I'd far rather be stuck on a Ryanair monopoly route than an Aer Lingus one. They'll both let you down regularly, but at least with Ryanair you pay less to get screwed.

syklops

Oryx wrote: »

I know youre not trolling. I havent been able to get fares like that recently. Is that the total incl all their lovely extras, and how far in advance did you book?

In fairness, everything is increasing with them, the only way to get your almost 50 quid fare, is to be savvy enough to dodge all their moneymaking traps. The base fares ARE dearer, and the traps are ever harder to avoid.

I booked yesterday or the day before. That is all included. Its actually 15.99 but with the booking fee it comes to 22.99. If you could find a way around the booking fee, such as using their own credit card, you would have return for under 32.

As another poster said, their extras are all opt-in. Having the no insurance thing in the countries list is underhand of them, but most people know about it. Anyone who complains about being forced into paying for extras simply doesn't know how to navigate a website. Not including you in that, just saying. Go on their site right now I saw loads of deals.

opa01_2000

syklops wrote: »

If you could find a way around the booking fee, such as using their own credit card, you would have return for under 32.

I didn't think there was any way around the 'Administration fee' of €7/£7 each way any more even if you have the Ryanair card.

A Dub in Glasgo

You cannot avoid the admin fee. The trend is definitely upwards with Ryanair, they are 100% more expensive for me now than last year (cheapest return fare of £20 last year compared to £40 now. There will probably come a tipping point with respect to me booking with Ryanair or Aer Lingus

opa01_2000

MOH wrote: »

They'll both let you down regularly, but at least with Ryanair you pay less to get screwed.

Have to say I spent nearly 5 years on the Belfast to Heathrow route weekly with Aer Lingus. Had a few delays and one cancellation but always dealt with courteously so can't agree with the above statement on Aer Lingus.

However my experience with Ryanair would be in full agreement with the above statement.

syklops

Well for me its not just about money with Ryanair. A few times in bad weather Aer Lingus went on a go slow because they werent contractually obliged to work in bad weather or some sh!te resulting in me being marooned in an airport for 5 hours. Ryanair, not having union issues were delayed by about 20 minutes by the weather.

Another time I was on holiday and aer lingus went on strike while we were away and there was speculation as to whether we would get home. Ruined part of the holiday on me from worrying about it.

MOH

opa01_2000 wrote: »

Have to say I spent nearly 5 years on the Belfast to Heathrow route weekly with Aer Lingus. Had a few delays and one cancellation but always dealt with courteously so can't agree with the above statement on Aer Lingus.

However my experience with Ryanair would be in full agreement with the above statement.

Spent a year in Amsterdam forced to deal with AL monopoly, wouldn't touch them with a bargepole after that. Almost always late, very expensive no matter how far in advance you booked, even made booking the flight a ridiculous amount of hassle. Got to the stage I'd actually get a train to Brussels, spend a night there, fly home from Charleroi, and it was still cheaper all in than dealing with that bunch of clowns.

opa01_2000

syklops wrote: »

Well for me its not just about money with Ryanair. A few times in bad weather Aer Lingus went on a go slow because they werent contractually obliged to work in bad weather or some sh!te resulting in me being marooned in an airport for 5 hours. Ryanair, not having union issues were delayed by about 20 minutes by the weather.

Another time I was on holiday and aer lingus went on strike while we were away and there was speculation as to whether we would get home. Ruined part of the holiday on me from worrying about it.

For me prior to flying with AL spent 6 months travelling with Ryanair from Derry to Stansted. On one occasion arrived on time into Derry on Friday evening - the worst delay was six hours while the flight was cancelled twice without any warning. On the second occasion it was cancelled was promised I would be refunded to my credit card - took three months and several calls and faxes before they did so.

The worst part, however, was the 'customer service' - there was none. Funniest one was in Stansted the lady at the gate saying, without anybody asking "don't look for vouchers they won't give you any".

syklops

Ive never had trouble with FR customer service. They are always polite and even friendly to me. I have seen them get some terrible abuse though and people have a breaking point.

AnnaSophia

@MissyElliot2 and @Joeysoap: Thanks for your replies, got it sorted in the end, it didn't go through the first time!

jonnny68

Noticed this morning at LBA two unlucky pax were stung for the excess baggage fee, they just appeared to accept it too instead of trying to repack and their bags didn't even look that big, strange, I personally would've at least tried to repack my bag to avoid outrageous fees!

Meanwhile other pax breezed through without any checks and by the looks of it one or two had oversized bags but it appears FR are just happy to sting one or two passengers and are not overly fussed after that as generally they are hardcore when it comes to baggage checking at LBA.

BarryM

jonnny68 wrote: »

Noticed this morning at LBA two unlucky pax were stung for the excess baggage fee, they just appeared to accept it too instead of trying to repack and their bags didn't even look that big, strange, I personally would've at least tried to repack my bag to avoid outrageous fees!

Meanwhile other pax breezed through without any checks and by the looks of it one or two had oversized bags but it appears FR are just happy to sting one or two passengers and are not overly fussed after that as generally they are hardcore when it comes to baggage checking at LBA.

I noticed in Dub yesterday morning that a lady who was told to speak to the lady at the back of the boarding gate line because she had two bags just walked on without doing anything and nothing happened. Comes from a busy day with only two staff (including the guy in the dayglo jacket) checking pax and one 'minder' at the back. On less busy days/times they have two up front and two watching for big bags/two bags.

My tuppenceworth, RyR has a general policy of frighteners, everyone knows a story of someone who had to pay... so most people stick to the rules.

opa01_2000

MOH wrote: »

Spent a year in Amsterdam forced to deal with AL monopoly, wouldn't touch them with a bargepole after that. Almost always late, very expensive no matter how far in advance you booked, even made booking the flight a ridiculous amount of hassle. Got to the stage I'd actually get a train to Brussels, spend a night there, fly home from Charleroi, and it was still cheaper all in than dealing with that bunch of clowns.

Surely you can't be serious - AL booking is light years easier than RYR.

By the time you tick the Terms & Conditions (twice), passed the security check, unselected priority boarding, selected travel without insure, I don’t want a text, I definitely don’t need insurance, don’t need airport parking, don’t need Ryanair talk, don’t need airport transfer (twice), don’t need a sightseeing tour, don’t need a RYR bag, don’t need car hire, don’t want to play and win.

And then when you do online check-in do the most of this again…

MOH

opa01_2000 wrote: »

Surely you can't be serious - AL booking is light years easier than RYR.

I'm completely serious.

By the time you got past AL's then-new website quoting £700 for an economy return fare, their Amsterdam office refusing to accept an Irish credit card over the phone because it was foreign, their Dublin office refusing to book a flight originating from Amsterdam, them changing their minds every second flight about whether they were willing to post tickets out or whether you had to take time off work to get into their office to collect them, them redefining internet standards to insist that valid email addresses couldn't contain apostrophes, the flight almost always being an hour late, discovering later that if you booked through KLM who were codesharing the flight you'd at least get a refreshment voucher in compensation while AL who were actually operating the flight gave nothing, and still paying through the nose for the "service" ...

L1011

MOH wrote: »

I'm completely serious.

By the time you got past AL's then-new website quoting £700 for an economy return fare, their Amsterdam office refusing to accept an Irish credit card over the phone because it was foreign, their Dublin office refusing to book a flight originating from Amsterdam, them changing their minds every second flight about whether they were willing to post tickets out or whether you had to take time off work to get into their office to collect them, them redefining internet standards to insist that valid email addresses couldn't contain apostrophes, the flight almost always being an hour late, discovering later that if you booked through KLM who were codesharing the flight you'd at least get a refreshment voucher in compensation while AL who were actually operating the flight gave nothing, and still paying through the nose for the "service" ...

Are you making a comparison between aerlingus's site in early 2001 and Ryanair's now? As that's basically what you've done by replying there.

MOH

MYOB wrote: »

Are you making a comparison between aerlingus's site in early 2001 and Ryanair's now? As that's basically what you've done by replying there.

No, I made a point that I've had numerous nightmare experiences with AL in the past, stretching back for the last dozen years, far more than I've had with Ryanair. One small element of that was that it used to be nigh on impossible to book a flight with them back then, and someone else made the assumption that I was comparing AL's current website with Ryanair's. Which I never did.

I've had plenty of other far more recent issues with AL and if anything they're worse than they used to be, if marginally cheaper.

L1011

If you can show me any legacy airline that had a decent booking website in 2001 I'd be amazed - particularly as they were nearly all the same booking engine.

If you were willing to go to the absolutely ridiculous levels of inconvenience you detailed to avoid flying Aer Lingus, I'd suggest your issues with them go a bit deeper and personal than website issues.

MOH

MYOB wrote: »

If you were willing to go to the absolutely ridiculous levels of inconvenience you detailed to avoid flying Aer Lingus, I'd suggest your issues with them go a bit deeper and personal than website issues.

You're right of course.
The fact that I used to love flying with them until they kept making me go through ridiculous levels of inconvenience on a regular basis to fly with them, that I have continued to, and still have to fly with them on some routes where there's no option, that in my personal experience they have on a regular basis failed to provide a decent service, is all completely irrelevant.

I obviously have a deeply personal reason for avoiding them. My parents were in fact eaten by a ravenous Aer Lingus 737 that escaped from its hangar one night. Now you know.

Chris_5339762

Just got Ryanair tickets for €51.99 return to Gatwick in October. Perfectly happy with that.