Ryanair - whats the point?

SeanW · 27-03-2012 05:23PM #1

My input into this may be limited because I don't fly much but I truly am struggling to see the point of flying with Ryanair. Supposidly, it's very cheap, but a few days ago I played around with the FR and EI fare calculators and I found that if I were hypothetically planning a holiday in Amsterdam, there would be fupp all difference in the price, in fact if I were flexible on date I could save money using Aer Lingus.

The bulk of the cost of both was taxes and charges.

Every time I'm in Dublin Airport it's always crazy with Ryanair passengers madly milling around those self-check-in things and waiting for their plane or whatever, there is much less of that kind of chaos with other airlines.

Then there's the 60 mile rule that appears to apply on the continent - instead of going to a main airport, it seems you pay just as much to fly to some tip that's 60 miles away from the city you're trying to get to, and of course none of these places have rail links whereas virtually all of the main airports do.

By that I mean Paris-Beauvais, Munich-Memmingen, Brussels-Charleroi etc.

Then there's the reality that they're really sh*t on connections. This time last year I took a holiday in Finland and I had to make connections both ways. Ryanair has flights from Edinburough to Tampere (which I'm surprised they haven't called Helsinki-Tampere :rolleyes: ) and presumably also they fly from Dublin to Edinburough. But they didn't offer that option from Dublin whereas all the main airlines working in coalition did - my trip saw me use 4 different airlines, quickly, relatively cheaply and with pleasant experience throughout.

All things considered:

Do you really save any significant money flying Ryanair? and
Is really worth all the extra hassle?

Thoughts?

retalivity · 27-03-2012 05:24PM

people dont like spending money. They like to save where they can. Even if they get fecked around.

ergo, there's the point

kincsem · 27-03-2012 05:25PM

Ryanair staff will be along shortly to post the good news.

mikemac1 · 27-03-2012 05:25PM

Glasgow Prestwick is like Dublin-Arklow

Better off paying the small extra for Aer Lingus to actually land near Glasgow instead of ending up halfway down the Scottish coast

Celly Smunt · 27-03-2012 05:26PM

usually it would cost me say 60 with ryanair comparable to 80 with aer lingus.For the taxi or bus you have to get when you land and for the hassle of weighing cases to the exact weight etc etc i'd rather pay what usually comes to an extra 5 euro or so with aer lingus.

shawnee · 27-03-2012 05:26PM

Sure that's the beauty of competition. If you don't find Ryanair much cheaper and you find another airline takes you where you wanna go.... then go for it. Choice is yours .... not ours ...:p Most fly Ryanair because availability and sometimes because of price but nowadays there is not much in the difference.

ejmaztec · 27-03-2012 05:27PM

SeanW wrote: »

My input into this may be limited because I don't fly much but I truly am struggling to see the point of flying with Ryanair. Supposidly, it's very cheap, but a few days ago I played around with the FR and EI fare calculators and I found that if I were hypothetically planning a holiday in Amsterdam, there would be fupp all difference in the price, in fact if I were flexible on date I could save money using Aer Lingus.

The bulk of the cost of both was taxes and charges.

Every time I'm in Dublin Airport it's always crazy with Ryanair passengers madly milling around those self-check-in things and waiting for their plane or whatever, there is much less of that kind of chaos with other airlines.

Then there's the 60 mile rule that appears to apply on the continent - instead of going to a main airport, it seems you pay just as much to fly to some tip that's 60 miles away from the city you're trying to get to, and of course none of these places have rail links whereas virtually all of the main airports do.

By that I mean Paris-Beauvais, Munich-Memmingen, Brussels-Charleroi etc.

Then there's the reality that they're really sh*t on connections. This time last year I took a holiday in Finland and I had to make connections both ways. Ryanair has flights from Edinburough to Tampere (which I'm surprised they haven't called Helsinki-Tampere :rolleyes: ) and presumably also they fly from Dublin to Edinburough. But they didn't offer that option from Dublin whereas all the main airlines working in coalition did - my trip saw me use 4 different airlines, quickly, relatively cheaply and with pleasant experience throughout.

All things considered:
Do you really save any significant money flying Ryanair? and

Is really worth all the extra hassle?

Thoughts?

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keithclancy · 27-03-2012 05:27PM

We fly home to Ireland from the Netherlands for 40 euros return each, inc charges as we use a Mastercard Debit card.

Plus Eindhoven airport is only 15 minutes by bus from our gaff.

So in our case there is a point, I guess if you live in Chareloi is feckín awesome too.

amacachi · 27-03-2012 05:27PM

Any Ryanair flight I've taken has cost at least 50% less than it would've with any other airline. That's the point.

mikemac1 · 27-03-2012 05:28PM

I don't know what a smokeless cigarette is

I hear them trying to flog them but I don't know how it works

Away to google for me, forgot about it until this thread

Chuck Stone · 27-03-2012 05:29PM

SeanW wrote: »

I played around with the FR and EI fare calculators and I found that if I were hypothetically planning a holiday in Amsterdam, there would be fupp all difference in the price, in fact if I were flexible on date I could save money using Aer Lingus.

A couple of decades ago Aer Lingus would have wallet raped you. The reason they aren't now is because Ryanair brought competition to the island.

Ryanair brought regular flying within reach of the ordinary person. Ryanair is an Irish success story we should celebrate.

Sykk · 27-03-2012 05:29PM

Ryanair fly to places that other airlines don't.

Sometimes Aer Lingus are around the same price or slightly more expensive, then I'll use them instead.

But most of the time Ryanair are cheapest..

Also, how do they screw you around? Print out your damn boarding pass like it says on their TOS.. If you have a heavier bag, pay whatever the charge is.. I fail to see the problem?

DEFTLEFTHAND · 27-03-2012 05:29PM

You nearly always end up losing the flight savings on the coach ride to your destination. Try flying to Frankfurt with them for instance, It isn't even the nearest city to the little aerodrome they land you at.:mad:

billymitchell · 27-03-2012 05:31PM

They are cheaper than the others, is the not the point??

Mr.Biscuits · 27-03-2012 05:31PM

People would sell their souls for a few cent these days and walk over people if they are in their way while doing it.

Never before has the well known phrase about some people 'knowing the price of everything and the value of nothing' applied so much as it does today. I get that people are skint, but quality pays for itself in the long term if a product and memory of the experience if not.

Go for the bargain when you're being ripped off; no argument with that, but don't fcuk yourself and others in the pursuit of that. What something costs - is not always about the price.

syklops · 27-03-2012 05:31PM

Im going to spain for a week in May. Ryanair is going to fly me almost 2800 kilometres for 150 euros.

Thats the point.

gerbear1 · 27-03-2012 05:32PM

In my experience Ryanair are generally on-time, I can't say the same for Aer Lingus. Sometimes Aer Lingus is cheaper, like in your case, more times I would say Ryanair is cheaper.

I just book whichever works out the cheapest. If you're just travelling on your own or a small group, I don't think there's any difference between them really.

SeanW · 27-03-2012 05:33PM

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

You nearly always end up losing the flight savings on the coach ride to your destination. Try flying to Frankfurt with them for instance, It isn't even the nearest city to the little aerodrome they land you at.:mad:

See where I defined the Sixty-Mile Rule. "Frankfurt" Hahn is just one of many.

DEFTLEFTHAND · 27-03-2012 05:34PM

mikemac1 wrote: »

I don't know what a smokeless cigarette is

I hear them trying to flog them but I don't know how it works

Away to google for me, forgot about it until this thread

They don't work work Mike, they basically sell you a pack of straws to suck during the flight. Must be some sort of flawed attempt at the placebo effect.

Sunnyisland · 27-03-2012 05:34PM

After checking around ryanair always comes out cheaper for me.Fly by there rules and its grand and when they arrive on time you even get to join in the cheery tune :-)

Sykk · 27-03-2012 05:34PM

Mr.Biscuits wrote: »

People would sell their souls for a few cent these days and walk over you if you were in their way while doing it also.

Never before has the well known phrase about people 'knowing the price of everything and the value of nothing' applied to a people so much as it does today.

I get that people are skint, but quality pays for itself in the long term, long after you have spent whatever little it is that you shaved going the cheap route.

Go for the bargain when you're going to be ripped off if you were to buy the better, quality second pr third option, no question and no argument with that - but don't fcuk yourself and others in the process of that. What something costs you and others, is not always just about the price.

Wat

amacachi · 27-03-2012 05:35PM

Mr.Biscuits wrote: »

People would sell their souls for a few cent these days and walk over you if you were in their way while doing it also.

Never before has the well known phrase about people 'knowing the price of everything and the value of nothing' applied to a people so much as it does today.

I get that people are skint, but quality pays for itself in the long term, long after you have spent whatever little it is that you shaved going the cheap route.

Go for the bargain when you're going to be ripped off if you were to buy the better, quality second pr third option, no question and no argument with that - but don't fcuk yourself and others in the process of that. What something costs you and others, is not always just about the price.

Talk about hyperbole. If I were to go through all the times I've flied, first two were Aer Lingus with the return leaving the 50 of us on a school trip with a couple of hours delay due to a problem on their end. Next was a chartered flight, no problem at all. Last two trips were Ryanair, the return on the second one was delayed for an hour because they were playing catch-up because of morning fog in Dublin, same as every other airline.

No-one I know under the age of 40 has had any hassle when flying with Ryanair. Hell being a big bastard I like their non-reclining seats, means I don't have most of the person in front of me pressing down on my knees.

Dub boy · 27-03-2012 05:35PM

I refuse to fly Ryan Air for the exact reason that it is always chaotic an in my experience an uncomfortable experience. They are cheaper but not by much and I'd prefer to pay a few quid extra and enjoy the flight than experience Ryan Air and their charges at every turn, after all your on holiday and Ryan Air is not a relaxing experience.

stovelid · 27-03-2012 05:35PM

Ryanair is beloved of cheap, short stay travellers, often students and other younger travellers. They are also a group that are well represented online to argue the case for this model
People who don't mind travelling light and the "destination" airport being a contravention of the trade description act.

They will also be the people that will be losing it when they travel later in life for longer trips like family holidays and have to pay through the nose for their luggage and whatnot: basically a business model they drove the need and publicity for when it suited them.

For what its worth, I would rather pay extra to fly with another carrier unless it was a ridiculous difference. Just because of their various stunts and treatment of staff down the years.

Never had a bad experience with them though, must be said.

theteal · 27-03-2012 05:36PM

It all depends on where you're going I suppose. I'm living on the edge of London and travel back to Dublin every 4-6 weeks. Ryanair flights are generally ~€40 cheaper after the card charge is added in my experience. The flights are at much more convenient times of the day. It's easier for me to fly through Stansted as opposed to travelling across London. I tend to travel alone so I don't bother queuing, just stroll on last and grab a middle seat near the front. Simple as, really.

Mint Sauce · 27-03-2012 05:38PM

Sykk wrote: »

Ryanair fly to places that other airlines don't.

Yes. Usally 50 miles from where you actually want to go.

But they and O'Leary must be doing something right. Personally myself, whilst there is a choice I'll go with the other airline. I liken the experience of flying Ryan Air to the transport of live lifestock, which was also banned.

:pac:

Paparazzo · 27-03-2012 05:40PM

I've flown Ryanair about 100 times and haven't had a single problem except a flight time being changed once.
Also, I remember looking for tickets to London around 1997 and Air Lingus were looking for close to £300. We got the bus for £42. Thank fúck for ryanair.
Now if you pay over €70 to go to London you feel it's expensive.

NTMK · 27-03-2012 05:41PM

I can get from Dublin to Manchester and back for €20 which is less than the price of bus tickets from Limerick to Dublin so yes they are cheap

lividduck · 27-03-2012 05:42PM

Usually they are cheaper, also they fly to a lot of destinations that other airlines dont fly to eg Poznan (Flight is always packed).
Was booking a week away lately , flying to the canaries (same airport as Aer Lingus) Ryanair was 40% cheaper when you add everything up.

Mint Sauce · 27-03-2012 05:43PM

gerbear1 wrote: »

In my experience Ryanair are generally on-time, I can't say the same for Aer Lingus. Sometimes Aer Lingus is cheaper, like in your case, more times I would say Ryanair is cheaper.

I just book whichever works out the cheapest. If you're just travelling on your own or a small group, I don't think there's any difference between them really.

They're generally on time because they advertise the landing time about 5-10 minutes longer/later than the actual flight time takes.

DEFTLEFTHAND · 27-03-2012 05:44PM

syklops wrote: »

Im going to spain for a week in May. Ryanair is going to fly me almost 2800 kilometres for 150 euros.

Thats the point.

Your right, You do find value with flights further a field. I've got down to the Canaries with them on two occasions for less than 100 euro return each time.

Ryanair - whats the point?

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