Ryanair- too many hidden extra (Ryanair)

Member Name: flobbleflop

Product:	Ryanair
Date:	26/03/09 (66 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good service onboard

Disadvantages: Too many hidden charges when booking, not enough baggage allowance

I travelled with Ryanair on their first flight from Belfast to Glasgow Prestwick. In my experience the flight was pleasant enough, it is the hassle you have before you get on the plane that bothered me

Baggage
This is a very confusing part of the booking process. At the time airlines were just starting to charge for checked baggage and so many people like myselves were caught out. Unlike most domestic airlines, Ryanair only offer 15kgs of checked luggage if you choose this option and they are quite stringent about weighing hand luggage. As a result I was charged another £11.00 for additional baggage. If you want to avoid the charges, I would suggest that you pay for extra baggage before you go if you have even a sneaking suspicion that you may be over. The £11.00 I mentioned was for just 2kgs over!

Booking
Booking is easy enough, although the hidden charges which are added on after the initial booking can soon make a bargain anything but that! I would prefer if they would set out the compulsory charges such as tax, fuel surcharge and third party taxes from the offset in a similar way to Easyjet and then add optional charges such as baggage afterwards. This would give the booker a much clearer picture much earlier on

Check-In
I found the check-in to be quite painless other than the fact that my luggage was too heavy but the staff were very helpful

Onboard
Staff again were very friendly although the decor onboard is very garish! The bright yellow is very overpowering. Also the new plans to charge passengers to use the toilet onboard has not gone down very well with me as there really is a monopoly onboard and desperate passengers will have no option but to spend a pound to spend a penny! The service for drinks and snacks was efficient and quick and the food was quite pleasant.

All in all my experience with ryanair was quite good although I would be put off flying with them again due to the hidden charges and new inititiatives they are planning to make even more money from us! Their range of destinations are also more limited and you can find yourself quite far from where you actually want to be

Summary: Good service but wouldn't rush back