Fear of flying - Ryanair?

afraidofplanes

Hey all, really looking for some solid info and perhaps some consolation here - I fly about once a year for work but next month am taking a short holiday to Milan and flying Ryanair. I've heard some really scary stuff about them lately re: them not taking enough fuel, tired pilots, intimations that if they're cutting corners here then they're probably cutting corners in plane maintenance as well. I guess what I'm wondering is if all of this is true/substantiated and if so actual cause to worry? I have a pretty rough fear of flying as it is and as you can imagine this is adding to it - finding it pretty difficult right now to even imagine getting on that plane.

Thanks all!

galwayjohn89

No, nothing to worry about at all. They have an impeccable safety record. Enjoy your trip!

mfceiling

Vuzuggu wrote: »

No, nothing to worry about at all. They have an impeccable safety record. Enjoy your trip!

+1

I've flown that route before *Bergamo?*

Lovely flight and Ryanair are good to fly with. The biggest fear i have, is stopping myself buying the crap they peddle constantly!!

Scotty15

afraidofplanes wrote: »

Hey all, really looking for some solid info and perhaps some consolation here - I fly about once a year for work but next month am taking a short holiday to Milan and flying Ryanair. I've heard some really scary stuff about them lately re: them not taking enough fuel, tired pilots, intimations that if they're cutting corners here then they're probably cutting corners in plane maintenance as well. I guess what I'm wondering is if all of this is true/substantiated and if so actual cause to worry? I have a pretty rough fear of flying as it is and as you can imagine this is adding to it - finding it pretty difficult right now to even imagine getting on that plane.

Thanks all!

Hi absolutely no reason to worry Ryanair has an impeccable safety record,They have never had a crash of any sort,The tired pilots and maintenance rumours are all made up by media,Ryanair have one of the newest Aircraft fleets in Europe with an av age of just 5 years old.They will carry nearly 110 million people this year,They are Europe's favourite low cost Airline for a reason.
So there is absolutely no reason to worry you will be fine.

Harry Angstrom

Ryanair have never had a fatal crash. They're a bit like Qantas in that respect.

thomas anderson.

Hope ye're all touching wood

debabyjesus

afraidofplanes wrote: »

Hey all, really looking for some solid info and perhaps some consolation here - I fly about once a year for work but next month am taking a short holiday to Milan and flying Ryanair. I've heard some really scary stuff about them lately re: them not taking enough fuel, tired pilots, intimations that if they're cutting corners here then they're probably cutting corners in plane maintenance as well. I guess what I'm wondering is if all of this is true/substantiated and if so actual cause to worry? I have a pretty rough fear of flying as it is and as you can imagine this is adding to it - finding it pretty difficult right now to even imagine getting on that plane.

Thanks all!

Maintenance staff are ultimately responsible for the work they sign off so you can be sure ryanair engineers are working to the letter of the law and are fully protected even if O'Leary is screaming for a servicable craft.. Whatever ryanairs image is, maintenance is one area they can't cut costs. Having said that they do have a young fleet of identical type so that does reduce maintenance costs.

I know if I was working for them I wouldn't be cutting corners or taking the slightest risk for the companies benefit or any company for that matter.

dubdaymo

afraidofplanes wrote: »

Hey all, really looking for some solid info and perhaps some consolation here - I fly about once a year for work but next month am taking a short holiday to Milan and flying Ryanair. I've heard some really scary stuff about them lately re: them not taking enough fuel, tired pilots, intimations that if they're cutting corners here then they're probably cutting corners in plane maintenance as well. I guess what I'm wondering is if all of this is true/substantiated and if so actual cause to worry? I have a pretty rough fear of flying as it is and as you can imagine this is adding to it - finding it pretty difficult right now to even imagine getting on that plane.

Thanks all!

LOL, who told you all that nonsense? Are you reading the English Daily Mail? Professional pilots are at the front end of all Ryanair planes. They won't be taking any risks to their own health. Professional maintenance personnel maintain the planes to strict standards. Enjoy your flights and holiday but be extra careful driving to and from the airport - watch out for all those drunk and drugged drivers driving dodgy cars and trucks not to mention the cretins concentrating on their mobile phones instead of the road.

folbotcar

Knowing quite a few Ryanair pilots. I can safely say are to a man and a woman some of the best I know. So you have no worries on that score.

As for cutting corners on maintenance, well I know quite few Engineers and they too are professionals and take pride in their work. They all know that if they screw up people can die.

Yes Ryanair has had a few issues lately but it isn't correct that they don't take enough fuel. That was a total distortion of a situation in which three Ryanair crews correctly followed the rules and procedures and made safe landings after they reached their minimum legal stipulated fuel.

As for cutting corners on maintenance they don't need to. Their fleet is very young with new aircraft arriving regularly. Older jets are sold on, long before they become expensive to maintain. Like the difference between a new car and a ten year old car.

As for their safety record, well it speaks for itself.

It's a cliché but really the drive to the airport is more dangerous than the flight.

b757

What you heard/read is bull****e I must say.

Ryanair are one of the safest airlines in the world.

Modern fleet, highly skilled pilots (not that other airline pilots aren't.), impeccable safety record, strict rules regarding safety, etc.

The other thing is the fuel, they take the legal minimum the same as everyone else to save weight and reduce costs overall. The only reason for the diversions a number of years ago was due to really bad weather and Atc issues. Ryanair were not the only airline to divert a number of flights that day, the media just made a mountain out of a molehill.

The only problem ryanair has are the passengers who do not seem to read and abide by their rules and T&C's. People expect to pay for dirt cheap fares and expect the same service as first class in Emirates.

I have flown with ryanair numerous times before and continue to do so for the points above in my post and others. Brilliant airline, just need to follow the rules they set in terms of boarding cards/luggage/etc.

No need to worry and enjoy the flight.

Stheno

dubdaymo wrote: »

LOL, who told you all that nonsense? Are you reading the English Daily Mail? Professional pilots are at the front end of all Ryanair planes. They won't be taking any risks to their own health. Professional maintenance personnel maintain the planes to strict standards. Enjoy your flights and holiday but be extra careful driving to and from the airport - watch out for all those drunk and drugged drivers driving dodgy cars and trucks not to mention the cretins concentrating on their mobile phones instead of the road.

This.

@ OP in the past few years, I've probably done 20-40 Ryanair flights, get on plane, go to sleep and wake up on landing.

Honestly it's not been a hassle.

murphym7

thomas anderson. wrote: »

Hope ye're all touching wood

Well it is the internet, I'd say most people on here are touching wood right now!!:D

GarIT

thomas anderson. wrote: »

Hope ye're all touching wood

Why? What will that do?

Arthur Beesley

murphym7 wrote: »

Well it is the internet, I'd say most people on here are touching wood right now!!:D

Ha ha. I see what you did there.

afraidofplanes

Thanks everyone, really appreciate it - it's particularly nice to hear from people with experience with the industry/know people involved in the industry. I had an idea that the media did skew the picture a bit as Ryanair seems to perpetually be in their bad books, but what I'd heard from mostly was second-hand info from that Dispatches program - and with some Googling just now I see that that seems to be mostly debunked.

Thanks all - will reread this thread before I head on the plane and hopefully the Xanax will do the rest

Preset No.3

Well let's hope there's no rapid decompression!

arubex

Harry Angstrom wrote: »

Ryanair have never had a fatal crash. They're a bit like Qantas in that respect.

Qantas have never had a fatal jet accident. They had plenty in the piston-era.

Technically they've never suffered a jet hull-loss, but that's partly because they paid a lot of Aussie dollars to patch-up VH-OJH after it over-ran the runway in Bangkok. Most people expected it to be a write-off, as the repair cost was nearly the same as the purchase price.

Not much help to the original poster, but that Qantas myth keeps going...

dm09

I've flown 4 Ryanair flights in the passed 8 days and I have to say I am very impressed with the new image Ryanair.
I was able to carry on my 10KG Ryanair case and a full sized backpack with my laptop and a duty free bag, I also found the cabin crew very friendly and helpful, if this is the new Ryanair I'll be flying with them a lot more in future.

To address your concerns OP, Ryanair have one of the most impeccable safety records of any airline in the world, bear in mind they carried almost 80 million passengers safely last year and they fly one of the newest aircraft fleet in the business so try to keep that in mind and relax and enjoy your flight!

dm09

Preset No.3 wrote: »

Well let's hope there's no rapid decompression!

Lets hope you don't get struck by a meteorite on your way to the shops, its a dangerous world out there:rolleyes:

Preset No.3

dm09 wrote: »

Lets hope you don't get struck by a meteorite on your way to the shops, its a dangerous world out there:rolleyes:

There is a far greater chance of a rapid decompression taking place on aircraft than a meteor hitting me. It's a very real occurrence.

Thanks for the abuse. Post reported.

afraidofplanes

Preset No.3 wrote: »

There is a far greater chance of a rapid decompression taking place on aircraft than a meteor hitting me. It's a very real occurrence.

Thanks for the abuse. Post reported.

Probability of meteorites, etc, disregarded for a second, I have to say I think it's pretty thoughtless of you to make the comment about decompression in the first place considering the fact that my original post stated that I have a pretty bad fear of flying.

Post not reported, but maybe you'd do well to consider the feelings of others in future.

ectoraige

The main difference with this flight and your previous annual trips is that you're going for a nice holiday!

Ryanair operate under the same safety requirements as all the other operators you've already flown with, and have a fantastic safety record despite a huge volume of flights.

Don't spend any more time on Google, unless it's things to do and see in Milan.

Olive8585

If you're that worried about Ryanair that you're already panicking about it and starting threads about it, why not fly with another airline?
Would it not be worth paying a bit more for peace of mind?

afraidofplanes

Olive8585 wrote: »

If you're that worried about Ryanair that you're already panicking about it and starting threads about it, why not fly with another airline?
Would it not be worth paying a bit more for peace of mind?

Honestly, that is what I should have done, but a) the flights were bought as part of a gift from another person and I had no say in which airline I flew with and b) a (deeply-buried :P) rational part of me just wants to get over this fear of flying with this airline, which I always suspected was not very well-founded. This thread has helped me see this more clearly.

shar01

If it's any help to you OP, I'd suggest reading up on the take-off / landing procedures - just to familiarise yourself with the various normal sounds you're going to hear - gear retracting etc.

I was on a flight a while back and the pilot knew they had a nervous passenger on board so one of the flight deck crew talked us through take-off. As a non-nervous flier, I found it interesting.

Would it be worthwhile mentioning it to the cabin crew to see if you could be facilitated in that way?

Enjoy your break.

Preset No.3

afraidofplanes wrote: »

Probability of meteorites, etc, disregarded for a second, I have to say I think it's pretty thoughtless of you to make the comment about decompression in the first place considering the fact that my original post stated that I have a pretty bad fear of flying.

Post not reported, but maybe you'd do well to consider the feelings of others in future.

Maybe you should seek the help of a professional!

lord lucan

I'm not sure what happened to this thread?!! It started out with some excellent reassurance that FR are very safe to fly with and a happy OP and quickly turned into an episode of Air Crash Investigates with added meteorites!!

OP,ignore the second half of this thread,the opening few posts about FR's safety record are spot on and you've no cause to worry.

Nonoperational

They would be right up there at the top of my list of airlines to fly if I wanted to be guaranteed to get somewhere safely! New planes, professional crews and operating in a highly regulated area. No worries! You might even get to like it and start taking flights with dodgy Russian airlines to experience some old Russian planes!

Harry Angstrom

arubex wrote: »

Qantas have never had a fatal jet accident. They had plenty in the piston-era.

Technically they've never suffered a jet hull-loss, but that's partly because they paid a lot of Aussie dollars to patch-up VH-OJH after it over-ran the runway in Bangkok. Most people expected it to be a write-off, as the repair cost was nearly the same as the purchase price.

Not much help to the original poster, but that Qantas myth keeps going...

I prefer to rely on this guy's aeronautical expertise:

faceman

I think the message is clear about Ryanair now but it should be also added that all European, American and Australian airlines are governed by strict regulations and one has to only read avherald.com to see how uneventful flying really is.

As a seperate note OP, Allan Carr's book "The Eazy Way to Enjoy Flying" is a great book to help with tackling your fear.

bbbaldy

Having worked for many years on Aircraft from all corners of the globe which included a few flag carrier airlines I have to say that Ryanair Aircraft are some of the newest better maintained aircraft out there. Don't think you are getting a safer flight by paying more or flying with a state airline.

Jude13

Xannax a few rums and you'll be grand. I usually pack the day before and make sure transport to the airport etc is all sorted. The less to increase the anxiety the better.

olive20

Really cant beat Ryanair, as everyone said, new aircraft, first class maintenance, professional crew cockpit and cabin.

You can even get a hot brekkie onboard now but minus the "fresh" mccambridges.
Surprising the amount of Irish people that are still afraid of flying, guess somebody must be cleaning up doing courses!

I think Captain Crangle does them??

H3llR4iser

afraidofplanes wrote: »

...I've heard some really scary stuff about them lately re: them not taking enough fuel, tired pilots, intimations that if they're cutting corners here then they're probably cutting corners in plane maintenance as well...

Long story short, all that you mention is a load of utter rubbish spread by people who know absolutely nothing about aviation but want to look cool and impress the ladies/guys in a conversation. It's in the same category as the comments about the "hard landings" from people that never even played with toy planes as kids.

I would never defend Ryanair for the sake of it; They employ some really odd commercial policies and are responsible for lowering the enjoyment factor of flying with their "people as cattle" approach, although they are trying to improve.

However, on the safety side, they are nothing short of any other European airline - as a matter of fact, they are amongst those at the very top.

bbbaldy wrote: »

Having worked for many years on Aircraft from all corners of the globe which included a few flag carrier airlines I have to say that Ryanair Aircraft are some of the newest better maintained aircraft out there. Don't think you are getting a safer flight by paying more or flying with a state airline.

Exactly. Also, it is worth saying that in some cases the contractors that carry out maintenance for FR's 738s are the very same used by many other airlines, like British Airways and Aer Lingus.

Jude13 wrote: »

Xannax a few rums and you'll be grand. I usually pack the day before and make sure transport to the airport etc is all sorted. The less to increase the anxiety the better.

Try not to fly drunk, it's a very embarrasing - and very eyebrows raising "typically Irish" thing to do

coylemj

Jude13 wrote: »

Xannax a few rums and you'll be grand.

That is seriously bad advice. Have you not seen the court cases in Dublin and Shannon involving people taken off planes after running amok on flights? It's almost always down to a cocktail of drugs and alcohol.

A couple of beers can help you relax but definitely not mixed with any kind of drugs.

afraidofplanes

Thanks everyone for your continued advice - I've gotten a copy of the Allen Carr book recommended by faceman & will definitely familiarise myself with the normal take-off & landing sounds in the weeks before the flight. I'm taking all alcohol & drugs comments as tongue in cheek however - I'll do one or the other but I don't think I'll chance a combination again, really appreciative of the advice & well-wishes in this thread, thanks a mill!

coylemj

OP, if the air pressure changes in the cabin adds to the general anxiety and/or discomfort you feel when flying, consider buying a pair of 'travel earplugs', they stop the sudden drop in pressure in your ears when taking off and relieve the (not as sudden) rise in pressure when landing. They work because there is a very narrow airway in the plugs which slows down the equalization of air pressure between the cabin air and the air in your ears so you don't have to pinch your nose and do all that stuff that's needed to pop your ears.

You can take them out about 15 minutes after take-off and put them back in about 30 minutes before landing but on a flight lasting an hour or less (e.g. UK), I'd just leave them in. I normally use a set on a round trip and then throw them in the bin when I get home. You can buy then in Boots or most chemists.

italodisco

Don't pay attention to rumours and stories.

I was stupid enough to ask for opinions before I got the gastroscope done only to be told it was horrific .

I was playing pool on my phone and checking mails durring the procedure!

Other folk have an awful habit of exaggerating facts .

Ryanair are a grand airline to travel with and I would still use them even if I won the lotto tomorrow

Enjoy you trip!!

sunnysoutheast

afraidofplanes wrote: »

Thanks everyone for your continued advice - I've gotten a copy of the Allen Carr book recommended by faceman & will definitely familiarise myself with the normal take-off & landing sounds in the weeks before the flight. I'm taking all alcohol & drugs comments as tongue in cheek however - I'll do one or the other but I don't think I'll chance a combination again, really appreciative of the advice & well-wishes in this thread, thanks a mill!

I think MOL is on record a few years back as saying that safety is the one thing that can keep him awake at night.

Ryanair's "customer experience" may not be to everyone's taste but I wouldn't question their commitment to getting you there.

In terms of the flight itself maybe try to get a window seat towards the centre of the aircraft, where the motion should be less. Any bumps -> look at the horizon.

LoonyLovegood

I took a Ryanair flight with my little brother two years ago, and he's petrified of flying. Cabin crew were so sweet to him, one of them explained exactly what would happen at each stage of the flight to him, and came down to him during the flight to make sure he was fine. It's thanks to them he's not as scared anymore.

They're one of the safest airlines in the world, OP, and you'll be fine on it.

fr336

I wonder if turning off the PC after making the post would be more dangerous than going on a flight somewhere? I'd say the odds are either very close or lands apart with the flight being far more unlikely!

Rikand

Heading to Spain with them in a couple of weeks. They are a pleasure to fly with and I've never felt safer flying with them as i have any other airline.

I'm still going to have 2 pints of Stella before i board the plane though lol ( my own ritual )

Jude13

coylemj wrote: »

That is seriously bad advice. Have you not seen the court cases in Dublin and Shannon involving people taken off planes after running amok on flights? It's almost always down to a cocktail of drugs and alcohol.

A couple of beers can help you relax but definitely not mixed with any kind of drugs.

Works a treat for me on long haul. Then again have you seen xyz court case about drinking in general my god Joe!

Grandeeod

Fly regularly with Ryanair. Never had a problem. A few bumpy landings that were weather related and can happen to any airline. Follow the rules and you won't have a problem.

I live in the Canary Islands and if you ever want to visit a place that is full of Ryanair haters from the UK, its the place for you. They actually believe all the stories. In fact the latest one I was told only a few weeks ago by UK tourists. A friend of theirs works in a certain UK airport and he told them that a Ryanair plane had to be towed off the runway after landing because it had no fuel left! When I told them they were talking ****e, they fecked off in a huff. But its still great to see all those Irish flagged 738s booming over at a far greater rate than any other airline!

jasT1981

The problem with Ryanair is you only ever hear the 'Horror' stories. I've flown with them 4 times, never had a problem. As said before, they have one of the safest records with not one hull loss/fatal crash.

christy c

jasT1981 wrote: »

with not one hull loss

One in Rome, 2008 but still not a reason not to fly with them

fr336

christy c wrote: »

One in Rome, 2008 but still not a reason not to fly with them

Due to multiple bird strike - any other airline would have had the same thing happen (possibly depending on the aircraft type, but still)..the flight crew did a superb job that day.

CelticRambler

H3llR4iser wrote: »

They employ some really odd commercial policies ...

Yes - like consistently making a profit every year! That's really odd for a European or US airline, but I can live with it! :cool:

H3llR4iser

CelticRambler wrote: »

Yes - like consistently making a profit every year! That's really odd for a European or US airline, but I can live with it! :cool:

And what does it mean? All airlines try to make profits, but not all of them resort to unfair competition, involving cleverly hidden illegal public-money funding ( https://it.finance.yahoo.com/foto/gli-aiutini-di-stato-a-ryanair-slideshow/verona-photo-1381932084424.html , in Italian ) and a some of them, amazingly, actually make profits while not treating people like cattle.

This all ends inconveniencing the final customer - as competition is driven out and they get monopoly on a route, FR often ramps up the ticket prices as travelers have no choice but pay up.

Of course they do provide a service level that is acceptable for the money and they are just as safe as any other major EU airline, but that doesn't shield them from just criticism where they fully deserve it.
Now they're going into this "new deal" phase, let's see what comes out of it.

Anyway, we're far off-topic.