Flying Ryanair for the First Time (for a non frequent flyer)

cailinoBAC

A good friend of mine is coming to my wedding in Spain next week. She's coming from Belarus, which is not exactly home to a vast aviation network. After looking at various options in the end she's flying from Krakow on Tuesday (with husband and four year old). It was her first time booking a flight online.

Soooo, I'm kind of looking for a checklist to give her so that it's not a complete disaster. I think there are a lot of things we just take for granted when we fly all the time (either with Ryanair or anybody else).
For example:
Check in on line and print board passes
Make sure that cabin baggage is under the limits (and handbag has to fit in to cabin bag)
Prebook any checked in luggage
Any liquids not in checked luggage need to be under 100ml
Join queue earlyish so that you get seats together.

anything else?

I don't have any kids myself, so just wondering what the deal is with Ryanair, I guess they just have the same luggage allowance?

nomoreindie

cailinoBAC wrote: »

A good friend of mine is coming to my wedding in Spain next week. She's coming from Belarus, which is not exactly home to a vast aviation network. After looking at various options in the end she's flying from Krakow on Tuesday (with husband and four year old). It was her first time booking a flight online.

Soooo, I'm kind of looking for a checklist to give her so that it's not a complete disaster. I think there are a lot of things we just take for granted when we fly all the time (either with Ryanair or anybody else).
For example:
Check in on line and print board passes
Make sure that cabin baggage is under the limits (and handbag has to fit in to cabin bag)
Prebook any checked in luggage
Any liquids not in checked luggage need to be under 100ml
Join queue earlyish so that you get seats together.

anything else?

I don't have any kids myself, so just wondering what the deal is with Ryanair, I guess they just have the same luggage allowance?

yeah, kids have the same luggage allowance

coylemj

This is on the Ryanair website, it might apply to your friend if she doesn't have an EU/EEA passport, I think 'EEA' covers Norway, Iceland and Switzerland....

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR ALL NON EU/EEA PASSENGERS

Irrespective of a passenger's visa requirements, all non EU/EEA citizens must have their travel documents checked and online boarding pass stamped at the Ryanair Visa/Document Check Desk before going through airport security.

All non EU/EEA passengers must do this in order to ensure compliance with immigration authorities.

http://www.ryanair.com/en/questions/non-eu-eea-passengers-document-check-requirements-for-online-check-in

cailinoBAC

Thanks, I wouldn't have known that.

Stinicker

If she only holds a Belorussian passport then she will need a Visa for the schengen area which will cover her for both Poland and Spain, should she decide to visit Ireland she will need a seperate Irish visa as Ireland is not part of the schengen agreement area.

adamski8

if she understands english then all she has to do is properly read everything in the booking process and anything ryanair send via email. that is all a first time flyer needs. unfortunatly first time and regular flyers dont actually read these things and thats when they get caught out

cailinoBAC

yeah, well I do know that, but sometimes it's hard to take it all in. She understands English just fine, but is already en route to make it to airport for Tuesday morning! Well I'm probably just paranoid, all the things I asked her she'd done already. Thanks for all the replies anyway!

zagmund

adamski8 wrote: »

if she understands english then all she has to do is properly read everything in the booking process and anything ryanair send via email. that is all a first time flyer needs. unfortunatly first time and regular flyers dont actually read these things and thats when they get caught out

Have you ever read *everything* involved in the booking process ? Including all links from all pages (hotel bookings, 75 pages of terms & conditions, destination guides, etc . . .). And then followed all links from those links . . .

It's easy to say "just read everything, it's all explained there", it's a lot harder to actually do it.

z

munchkin_utd

zagmund wrote: »

Have you ever read *everything* involved in the booking process ? Including all links from all pages (hotel bookings, 75 pages of terms & conditions, destination guides, etc . . .). And then followed all links from those links . . .

It's easy to say "just read everything, it's all explained there", it's a lot harder to actually do it.

z

If you read what they send you in the booking confirmation then all the information you need is in there.
Its surprisingly concise for an airline that does try and baffle you in the booking process BUT the confirmation e mail is clarity defined.

Way less cr@p to read than air lingus and other airlines send you with your confirmation.

cailinoBAC

Well all sorted, and she made it here no problem!

Lapin

cailinoBAC wrote: »

Any liquids not in checked luggage need to be under 100ml

This nonsense piece of legislation is often unfairly attributed to Ryanair.

In fairness it applies to all airlines operating within the EU.

doolox

This nonsense about liquids always forces me to spend more money on liquids such as shampoo, toothpaste etc and it is a pain in the arse.

Also because some nut tried to blow up a plane with his shoes we all have to take off our shoes at security check in.

The relevant authorities should put these terrorists away for at least life for this inconvenience visited on the people of the developed world.

flying has become a paranoid chore since hijacking became prevalent in the 1970's

cailinoBAC

Lapin wrote: »

This nonsense piece of legislation is often unfairly attributed to Ryanair.

In fairness it applies to all airlines operating within the EU.

I know it isn't anything to do with Ryanair, but I just added it to the list for someone who's hasn't flown in years.

coylemj

doolox wrote: »

This nonsense about liquids always forces me to spend more money on liquids such as shampoo, toothpaste etc and it is a pain in the arse.

Get a few of those little bottles of bath foam/shampoo that are in hotel bedrooms, empty them and rinse them out and bring them home. Then dispense your favourite shampoo and mouthwash into them for your next trip and you won't have to buy the overpriced mini versions. And the standard tube of toothpaste (Colgate anyway) is 100ml so does not breach the limit even when it's full but I usually keep a tube that's less than half full so I can bend it in two to fit into the transparent bag for inspection at security.

And watch out for free transparent bags just before the security queue when in foreign airports, they cost the airport a fraction of a cent each to supply so nobody will notice or care if you grab a few of them for future trips - useful for your next trip through Dublin where you have to pay for them

coylemj

Lapin wrote: »

This nonsense piece of legislation is often unfairly attributed to Ryanair.

The OP did not attribute the 100ml liquid rule to Ryanair...

cailinoBAC wrote: »

I think there are a lot of things we just take for granted when we fly all the time (either with Ryanair or anybody else).

For example:
Check in on line and print board passes
Make sure that cabin baggage is under the limits (and handbag has to fit in to cabin bag)
Prebook any checked in luggage
Any liquids not in checked luggage need to be under 100ml
Join queue earlyish so that you get seats together.