Cheap but not so nasty (Ryanair)

Member Name: AndrewRH

Product:	Ryanair
Date:	27/02/09 (47 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cheap fares, frequent offers, wide range of destinations.

Disadvantages: Really is no frills

I have flown with Ryanair on over 30 return flights over the last two years and one thing I have learned is that if you don't expect too much you won't be disappointed. They are a cheap, sometimes ridiculously so but I have always been taken from A to B safely and on about 95% of the time we have arrived on time (I will get on to a Ryanair problem a bit later). Their aircraft are very new, I believe that the oldest are now no more than 4-5 years old. Obviously this is good for them as newer aircraft are more fuel efficient but it's also good for the passengers in that we don't have to put up with shabby worn-out planes! The inside may be garish, you have to pay for your drinks and food and the seat doesn't recline, but for a short 1, 2, 3 hour trip within Europe you don't need all the luxuries that you need on a long-haul flight. The only time that things have gone wrong with me was on a flight back to Stansted from Granada a few years ago. There was a French air-traffic control strike which meant that a lot of flights from southern Europe to the UK were grounded. I did not know of this before arriving at the airport so was greeted with scene of chaos! I must say that Ryanair did deal with this situation very well and although we had to queue for a long time to speak to someone I was booked on the next available flight the next day free of charge. This was really the only solution that any airline could have offered and I must say that the staff were really helpful given the stressful situation they were in.

Summary: A good airline to use for a short, cheap hop in Europe