Do (Ryanair) flights come down at the last minute?

HeidiHeidi

Wondering if there's any chance flights prices (specifically Ryanair in this case) will come down at the last minute?

I have a ticket to the filming of a show in the UK next week - I was going to fly over for the day, but they didn't give me a whole pile of notice so flights are fairly dear.

I could hand the ticket back, but I could also hang onto it and book a ticket literally on the morning, if I thought the price might drop. It's not a "rush hour" flight - I'd be flying at about 11am, and home at 11pm.

I'm not inclined to mess the TV show people around (I'd like not to have my name blacklisted in future if I don't get over this time apart from anything else!) and it'd be the good thing to do to give them their ticket back and let them fill the seat..... but if I thought I might get a last minute bargain.......

Whaddye reckon???

Flippyfloppy

Nah I'd say they'll be v expensive the morning of the flight

jaykay74

I would have thought the opposite. I always find flights get crazy expensive in the last period leading up to the flight

miamee

They are more likely to get more not less expensive I'm afraid.

Amirani

Yeah, they'll be more expensive. You could try the SailRail option?

HeidiHeidi

Yeah, thought about sailing, but don't really want to get into overnighting - it'll wind up costing me as much in the end, and the times really don't suit.

Not looking good then.

Suppose I'll do the decent thing and tell them they can have their ticket back :mad:

miamee

Might be worth checking Ryanair again this evening if you haven't already, some cheap flights on it at the moment, possibly for the launch of the new-look site.

HeidiHeidi

Have done (only started looking for flights this morning!), they're still the same. Too much to justify, sadly.

Yah boo hiss.

amandaf675

Where are you flying to?

coylemj

Do NOT expect fares to drop at the last minute, the exact opposite is what happens......

HARD-pressed funeral goers are Ryanair's most profitable customers, chief executive Michael O'Leary revealed unapologetically yesterday.

http://www.independent.ie/business/irish/funeral-flights-bring-in-best-profits-says-ryanair-boss-26452014.html

A UK business colleague of mine had to fly from Manchester to Dublin a few years ago, the flight was booked at the last minute and cost £120 sterling. He didn't mind too much cause his boss was paying but he was seriously miffed when he had to pay £5 for a plastic cup of coffee!

HeidiHeidi

(Not) Flying to Manchester.

Checked again this evening. Flights still over €180, and saying 1 left at that price on the way over, 2 left coming back.

Sadly, I have to concede that you're all right, and my optimism was misplaced.

Bugger.

FunkSoulSista

Friend of mine was telling me to delete your cookies after you look up a flight as they up prices when you check again, any truth in this you think?

HeidiHeidi

FunkSoulSista wrote: »

Friend of mine was telling me to delete your cookies after you look up a flight as they up prices when you check again, any truth in this you think?

I've been doing that!

No idea if there is actually any truth in it, but just to be on the safe side......

hfallada

Have consider the eurolines bus? Its far from luxury but can be cheap at times.

CelticRambler

There's no truth in it ...

OP - what time does the show finish at? Are you sure you can't get a late train out of Manchester and overnight on the ferry at no extra charge?

HeidiHeidi

hfallada wrote: »

Have consider the eurolines bus? Its far from luxury but can be cheap at times.

10 hours one way, 11 hours back - for a one-hour filming session - no thanks!

I don't care how cheap it is!!!

(The bus is obviously tied to the ferry times, which I've already discounted as Holyhead is too far from Manchester, and Liverpool is too long by ferry (if that passenger ferry even runs any more, I'm not sure it does))

HeidiHeidi

CelticRambler wrote: »

There's no truth in it ...

OP - what time does the show finish at? Are you sure you can't get a late train out of Manchester and overnight on the ferry at no extra charge?

Turns out I could. But that route involves 8 hours-odd each way, 2 train changes on the way over, 1 on the way back, and doubtful if the route there would get me to the studios in time to be let in, it'd be awfully tight.

Absolutely not worth the risk! Plus, it'd cost nearly the same (according to tonight's online quotes anyway).

It appears flying is the only means of doing it, and I just need more notice.

Will put in a special request next time

maringo

Always delete your cookies and interesting to use another browser and compare. See link
http://www.johnnyjet.com/2013/02/why-you-should-delete-your-cookies-when-booking-travel/

HeidiHeidi

maringo wrote: »

Always delete your cookies and interesting to use another browser and compare. See link
http://www.johnnyjet.com/2013/02/why-you-should-delete-your-cookies-when-booking-travel/

Never realised using a different browser would make any difference.

It hasn't in this case, still exactly the same prices.

FairytaleGirl

Try flying from Belfast via easyjet?

HeidiHeidi

FairytaleGirl wrote: »

Try flying from Belfast via easyjet?

Haven't looked that one up, but again it's going to involve lots of hours travelling, and train fares (which don't come cheap) plus plane fares.

It's only a one-hour filming! I'm not going to spend a day getting there and another day getting back, as much as I'd love to get to it.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions, but realistically flying direct Dublin to Manchester is the only option, and that's just too expensive.

This time!

ETA - just out of pigiron, checked the fares - STG£300 :eek: And that's before the train fare to/from Belfast!!! Anyway, the EasyJet times don't suit, latest return flight too early from Manchester.

HeidiHeidi

Well, you guys really weren't joking, were you?

Just checked the flights now for tomorrow - they've been inexorably going up from their starting point of €162 - now at €285 :eek:

I had tried to book at €162 (must've been mad!) but the mobile site/site on the mobile wouldn't finish the transaction. By the time I'd got to a laptop they were €182, and I baulked at that. Seems like a bargain now!

So, despite the BBC telling me I could hang onto the ticket and take my chances, looks like I won't be in the audience this time. Boo :mad:

HeidiHeidi

€310 and counting :eek::eek:

Jaysus, I really hope I never have to depend on Ryanair at the last minute.

munchkin_utd

when was the show on anyhow?
You could have got the fast ferry leaving Dublin at 8.45 getting in at 10.45.
Then train to Manchester at 11.27 getting you to Manchester a few min before 3.
Overall travel time a few minutes over 6hours so not that much of a trudge really .

HeidiHeidi

munchkin_utd wrote: »

when was the show on anyhow?
You could have got the fast ferry leaving Dublin at 8.45 getting in at 10.45.
Then train to Manchester at 11.27 getting you to Manchester a few min before 3.
Overall travel time a few minutes over 6hours so not that much of a trudge really .

Yeah, but then I'd have had to do the same in reverse, getting the boat at 2.40am (assuming I could even get back to Holyhead for then), or else stay overnight in Manchester - plus trains are expensive in UK (I think I priced them earlier in the thread, can't remember, but they're dear). That's all going to add up to much the same as the flight by the time I'd be finished!

Like I said, not worth it for a one-hour filming. To me anyway.

All academic now anyway - the filming is at 4.45pm today. Too late by all means of travel bar magic carpet now.

Thanks to everyone for the input though - 'twas fun trying to work it out

Tabnabs

HeidiHeidi wrote: »

€310 and counting :eek::eek:

Jaysus, I really hope I never have to depend on Ryanair at the last minute.

I was flying back from London one time and due to snow, they closed London City Airport early for the weekend, the next flight was in 36 hours, minimum. I legged it out to Heathrow and got a ticket for the next Aer Lingus flight, cost me in the region of £250. Boy was I glad it was a business trip.

There are no last minute "bargains" as far as I can see.

munchkin_utd

HeidiHeidi wrote: »

Yeah, but then I'd have had to do the same in reverse, getting the boat at 2.40am (assuming I could even get back to Holyhead for then), or else stay overnight in Manchester - plus trains are expensive in UK (I think I priced them earlier in the thread, can't remember, but they're dear). That's all going to add up to much the same as the flight by the time I'd be finished!

Like I said, not worth it for a one-hour filming. To me anyway.

All academic now anyway - the filming is at 4.45pm today. Too late by all means of travel bar magic carpet now.

Thanks to everyone for the input though - 'twas fun trying to work it out

Train and ferry are together in one ticket for 40 or 50 euro each way, bookable till the day before or something. The conditions have changed slightly recently but it's still only marginally dearer than the bus.

HeidiHeidi

munchkin_utd wrote: »

Train and ferry are together in one ticket for 40 or 50 euro each way, bookable till the day before or something. The conditions have changed slightly recently but it's still only marginally dearer than the bus.

Far too long travelling though, it wasn't all about the money

cson

HeidiHeidi wrote: »

Far too long travelling though, it wasn't all about the money

Clearly it is.

You can get over there long haul via sail/rail (~€80 return) or bus (~€50 return) or else pony up what Ryanair/Aer Lingus et al charge last minute which is always going to be upwards of €100 a leg.

Not strictly directed at you OP, but the general naivety towards low cost carrier travel and travel in general astounds me sometimes.

HeidiHeidi

cson wrote: »

Clearly it is.

You can get over there long haul via sail/rail (~€80 return) or bus (~€50 return) or else pony up what Ryanair/Aer Lingus et al charge last minute which is always going to be upwards of €100 a leg.

Not strictly directed at you OP, but the general naivety towards low cost carrier travel and travel in general astounds me sometimes.

I could have got over there for 50 quid, but would have been travelling for basically 24 hours solid and arriving back in the morning of the next day. So up for 36 hours. For the sake of a 1-hour filming session, that simply wasn't worth it. To me. Obviously it was an option. So was swimming over, or sailing our boat over

Or I could have stayed overnight in Manchester, at least doubling the cost of the exercise. Plus I had/have no interest in an overnight in Manchester on my own.

I'm not in the least naive about travel, low cost or otherwise - I simply posed a question and got some answers. As I suspected, what I wanted to do turned out not to be possible - on my terms.

(The rules of the game changed halfway through the week when the BBC told me that I didn't have to give back the ticket after all, which was the bones of my original dilemma.)