Ryanair - Avoid where possible (Ryanair)

Member Name: Bandi

Product:	Ryanair
Date:	16/12/08 (132 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Price (maybe)

Disadvantages: the airports they choose, the added charges, the constant assault to the senses of being onboard

I travel between the UK and Ireland at least once a month for work. There are several airlines available - BMI, Aer Lingus, Aer Arann and Ryanair. Ryanair are by far the worst.

THE PRICE
I don't find Ryanair to be that good for price. Their offers look good, however by the time you book the flights you actually need and the additional taxes and charges are added, their competitors are usually within a few pounds if not cheaper.

When you factor in the additional cost of getting to the airport at the correct time for a Ryanair flight (often very early morning) or getting from the airport which Ryanair fly to, the savings are minimal.

The food on board is also pricey, this is to be expected. What you may not expect is that the staff rarely have change. They will promise to bring it to you later. Unless you remind them, they will forget and your already over priced drink or snack will have cost you more again.


THE AIRPORT
There are two aspects to this. First the airports they fly to and second the gates within those airports.

Ryanair seem to fly to the most awkward airports. Stansted for instance is their biggest London Hub. Unlike Gatwick and Heathrow, this has one rail connection to central London. I have only used that rail line at most ten times, and I have had problems at least three times.

Within airports, Ryanair also seem to fly from whichever gate is furthest from security and which has the least facilities nearby. At Dublin they stretch to ridiculous levels. Here I have found on more than one occasion that you must walk to the furthest terminal, pier D. Most of Pier D is the new terminal and is actually lovely, however at the furthest end of Pier D there is a flight of steps which takes you to some prefabs. These are the gates Ryanair choose to use.

THE CABIN
The on board experience is actually where my biggest gripe with Ryanair lies. I can accept the additional baggages charges, the use of the (presumably) cheaper airport areas and gates in return for the cheap price, however once on board Ryanair deliberately make the experience as uncomfortable as possible.

The front rows of seats are often "reserved". In reality these remain empty. This denies one or two passengers the opportunity to experience some comfort in flight.

Then there are the announcements. In a one hour flight they will make double the number of announcements that their competitors make on a tannoy system set several decibels higher than any other airline. With the constant sales pitch, the hot food, other food, duty free, charity donations, bus tickets, car hire and the fanfare on landing you barely get five minutes peace.

If you can tune out the noise, there is still the visual noise to contend with. The decor is bright yellow throughout and wherever you look there are advertisements and notices. The lighting is glaringly bright, much more so than with other airlines. It feels like a constant barrage of light and information.

Ryanair endeavours to make it impossible to tune out and simply relax as the flight passes.

SUMMARY
If you're choosing between Ryanair and another airline make sure to add up the total cost. Consider the time and difficulty of getting to the airport, and bring a sleep mask and ear plugs.

Summary: Avoid where possible