Some Ryanair Questions

RubyK

Hi, I'm looking for some advise on travelling with Ryanair.

I booked flights for my parents, through lowcostholidays.ie - flights ex Cork to Fuerteventura. I didn't realise at the time of booking, that the flights were operated by Ryanair. I've/we've heard some horror stories about flying Ryanair, and as I've never actually travelled with them before I have a few questions.

1) Checking in. Am I right in saying you must print off your boarding passes before arriving at the airport? Do you still have to go to a check-in desk at the airport, to drop off baggage?

2) Pre-booking seats - my parents would like to sit together, in emergency aisle seats, due to needing extra leg room. Can you pre-book these? If you can't, can you pre-book other seats in order to be sitting together?

3) In Cork Airport, are is there likely to be a delay in getting through the security check? The flight is at 7.25 am.

4) Is it a long walk from security check to Ryanair gates? My Mam has walking difficulties, so just want to make sure they leave enough time to get to gate.

Any other bits of advise anyone can give me would be great

Fagashlil

1) yes you must print off the boarding card for the outgoing AND return flight, the current fee for not having your boarding card printed is €60 p/p. upon arrival at the airport, you will have to check in the baggage, make sure this has been included when booked otherwise there'll be a hefty fee at the airport.

2) yes you can book row 1ABC, 2DEF, 16&17ABCDEF all of which have extra legroom. You say your mam has walking difficulties, does she use a stick? If so, it'd be better to book row 2DEF as policy for O/W is the persons of reduced mobility cannot sit there and someone with a stick would be considered that, even if they had the seats booked. You can also book row 2ABC, 15ABCDEF, 32 ABCDEF and 33 ABCDEF

Can't answer 3 and 4, not familiar with cork airport!

Eponymous

You can seek special assistance at the airport. AFAIK, you'd need to let Ryanair know too so that they can alert staff at FUE prior to arrival.

http://www.corkairport.com/gns/at-the-airport/reduced-mobility.aspx

FWIW, I've flown to the Canaries with Ryanair and found it to be no better or worse than Aer Lingus, Iberia or any of the charter airlines (actually, maybe slightly better than the charters!). Apart from the non reclining seats, your folks should be fine. Tell them to pack food and not buy the crap on board! The coffee is okay though.

ballooba

RubyK wrote: »

4) Is it a long walk from security check to Ryanair gates? My Mam has walking difficulties, so just want to make sure they leave enough time to get to gate.

Mobility difficulties are likely to preclude her from an emergency exit seat for obvious reasons. Those in emergency exits may be required to assist in the event of an emergency.

coylemj

Doesn't the boarding card issue depend on whether the OP booked a package holiday or flights only? If he booked a package holiday then the flight is probably a charter and he will need to ask the tour company about boarding cards.

RubyK

Thanks very much for the replies

She uses a stick, due to having both her ankles replaced. I'll try to get them seats in row 2, as I didn't realise the o/w seats would be a no-no (can see now though that it could be a problem).

Thanks again.

Fagashlil

coylemj wrote: »

Doesn't the boarding card issue depend on whether the OP booked a package holiday or flights only? If he booked a package holiday then the flight is probably a charter and he will need to ask the tour company about boarding cards.

Nope, if the flight is booked through a package, airline rules still apply. FR don't do charter flights, so OP will still need to check in as if the flight was booked direct with FR, and follow FR requirements.

RubyK

coylemj wrote: »

Doesn't the boarding card issue depend on whether the OP booked a package holiday or flights only? If he booked a package holiday then the flight is probably a charter and he will need to ask the tour company about boarding cards.

Thanks coylemj, it's flight only. My Dad got an email yesterday afternoon, thanking him for his booking. That's how we found out they were Ryanair flights.

Fagashlil

RubyK wrote: »

Thanks very much for the replies

She uses a stick, due to having both her ankles replaced. I'll try to get them seats in row 2, as I didn't realise the o/w seats would be a no-no (can see now though that it could be a problem).

Thanks again.

http://www.ocsireland.ie/passengers-with-reduced-mobility

Here's a link to booking assistance if required. If your mam is able to walk up the steps to the plane, they'll just assist her to them. If she finds stairs difficult, they can use the ambulift, which means they'll have a seat reserved in row 26/27 for the assistance pax and accompanying person.

ProudDUB

Fagashlil wrote: »

2) yes you can book row 1ABC, 2DEF, 16&17ABCDEF all of which have extra legroom. You say your mam has walking difficulties, does she use a stick? If so, it'd be better to book row 2DEF as policy for O/W is the persons of reduced mobility cannot sit there and someone with a stick would be considered that, even if they had the seats booked. You can also book row 2ABC, 15ABCDEF, 32 ABCDEF and 33 ABCDEF

Agreed. Emergency row seating is for people who are willing and physically able to assist the staff in opening the emergency doors and getting people out thru them in the event of an emergency landing. There are all sorts of airlines rules about this that Ryanair must abide by. If your parents are elderly or have any sort of visible disability and/or mobility problems, they won't be allowed sit there, even if they have pre booked the seats.


Yes, your parents must check in and print off their boarding passes and & pay for checked bags before they arrive at the airport. That goes for both flights. They'll have to pay very heavy fees at the airport if they want to do any of that there. You can check in on line up to 15 days before your flight. So unless they will be away for more than 15 days, you can check them in for their return flights and print off their boarding cards before they have even left Ireland. (It's good to print off a couple of copies, so they have spares if any get lost/damaged as Ryanair will charge them for replacements if they get lost)

Each flight is treated as a one way flight, so you'll have to do everything twice for each leg of the trip. For example, if you pay to check in a bag on the outbound flight, you must pay to do so again when you check in for the return one. The checked bag payment will not carry over from Flight A to Flight B.

When you get to the airport, you go straight to the departure gates as long as you have your boarding pass and you don't have any bags to check. If you do have a bag to check, there is a bag drop off desk for them to do so. They'll just need their boarding pass & proof of having paid for the bag. There is no need to check in as such, as you have already done that.

Ryanair are very, very strict about their only one cabin bag per customer rule. Very, very strict. Make sure your mam knows that her handbag must fit into her carry on bag. She won't be allowed bring that in addition to her carry on bag. It's only one bag allowed, end of story.

The carry on bags must not be over the 55cm-40cm-20cm size restriction. The bags are frequently measured at the departure gates by a metal frame. There is no wiggle room. If your bags doesn't fit in the frame, they'll be made to check it. Each cabin bag must not weigh more than 10kg. I've had my bag measured a lot, but I have never had it weighed, but that's not to say it never happens.

The checked bags can be 15kg or 20kg. The heavier they are, the more expensive they are, so advise the parents not to pack the kitchen sink if they can without it for their hollier.

Don't let the horror stories put you off. They are usually shouted loudly from the rooftops by people who didn't do their home work ahead of time. Once you do, you know Ryanairs rules and you abide by them, they are a breeze to travel with imo.

RubyK

Thanks very much ProudDUB and Fagashlil- appreciate your reply and tips

She can get up the flight steps ok, so I don't think she will need assistance. I'll be sure to warn her about the baggage rules!

Hopefully, all will be ok for them.

munchkin_utd

RubyK,
Regarding Cork airport: its small so you have maybe 100m or so from the security (through duty free) to the actual gate.
Checkin is an escalator ride straight to the security and you can stop outside the doors with the car 20m from checkin to drop them off.
From the gate you have to get back to ground floor again which is a LOT of steps but if you ask at the gate you can get to use the lift which we used when travelling with the kids.
Its then just a few metres to the plane and up a flight of steps onto the craft itsself.

Theres a few flights heading at that time of the morning but only once did I (or the wife) ever have to queue then so you dont have to worry too much about security (but dont pull the pisch. either! )

Regarding seats and luggage and checkin online.
My folks booked a package deal last year which also turned out to be Ryanair once they had booked.
For them the travel agent sent the printed out boarding passes by post (without being asked or anything) so they didnt even have to mess with the internet or anything. Cant remember if there was a bag included but I think there was.

ProudDUB

munchkin_utd wrote: »

My folks booked a package deal last year which also turned out to be Ryanair once they had booked.
For them the travel agent sent the printed out boarding passes by post (without being asked or anything) so they didnt even have to mess with the internet or anything. Cant remember if there was a bag included but I think there was.

That's great that it all worked out for your folks. But given the sticklers that Ryanair are about their rules, I think it is a good idea for people flying with them to take responsibility for their own travel plans & to double check that anything others have arranged for them matches up with how they are actually traveling. If you rock up to the gate and say that you thought that your travel agent had taken care of XYZ, you won't get much joy from Ryanair staff if they haven't.

Lapin

The ground staff in Cork Airport are dead sound.

If your parents get to the boarding gate good and early the staff will ensure that they are looked after and get seated together.

Miaireland

Make sure to check whether check in luggage is included with your booking or is it just hand luggage. Otherwise you could get a nasty shock at turn up at the airport with cases and they are not included.

Teacher23

Hi there,

I was wondering if anyone could help me with an online check-in query!
So I'm due to travel to Berlin tomorrow night with Ryanair. My boyfriend booked the trip through the Budget Travel website. The confirmation email cites an order reference for the whole booking (flights and hotel) but while they give the flight details there is no booking reference for the actual flight, which means I cannot check in online (they also ask for the email address which was given at the time which is presumably theirs and not the one they sent the email from).

I'm planning on contacting the travel agency in the morning, but am now a bit anxious about it all. Maybe I'm missing something? Is it possible that they check in for you? Either way we have no boarding passes, and I am a little worried!

I've scoured the Ryanair and Budget Travel websites, but no luck.

Any help would be greatly appreciated