RyanAir are a no frills airline. Its what they advertise as, its what they are. So why people complain about them "over-charging" and the like confuses me?? At the end of the day, you get what you pay for.

I have flown with Ryanair a couple of times, maybe five times in total. No where fancy, just across to the uk or up the country to Dublin. I chose them based essentially on their reputation for never being late. They are efficient and that's all I needed....to get from A to B. If I wanted comfort, luxury and attention on my travels I would have chosen Aer Lingus or Virgin for my travels. But that's not what I needed so I went for the pennie saving option!!

My first time travelling with them, I paid Euro50 for a return flight to Dublin. Euro50 !!! That's roughly 35 pound sterling. Roughly how much I would have paid for a train journey...one way!! So I chose to fly. This was quite a time ago now, in February 2007. So at that time, there wasn't extra charges for booking online or excessive charges for carrying on your luggage. Charges, yes of course (it was still ryanair) but not excessive charges. I was worried mainly about my luggage being over weight as I had heard through friends that you could be charged in excess of 100 euro for the extra weight. Luckily I was fine. That first journey I had no problems with them really. The flight was under an hour anyway so there was no time as such to panic. You had the option of where you wanted to sit, first come first served basis. Which I think works, to an extent. Obviously I wasn't expecting that as it was my first time flying with them so I didn't rush on to choose a seat and as a result I got stuck on an aisle seat next to two toddlers. Not exaclty the best situation but again, as it was a short flight I wasn't too bothered. There was food being sold on board as well as kids toys and lotto tickets etc. Prices were extremely crazy with sandwiches on offer for 8.50. If it was a longer flight I would have worried. As far as comfort goes, there was none!! I'm a tall person and leg room was squashed to say the least. The aisles were narrow which made it difficult to squeeze past another person en route to the bathroom and as for strolling around the plane to stretch your legs...forget about it..! However, I was in Dublin before I could blink, on time to the minute, alive, safe, with all my belongings. And at the end of the day, that is what I set out to do.

All my other trips were fairly similar. Flights to the uk, both London and Manchester were uncomfortable but again I did expect it. I know, when I book my 1p flight (I actually never got one that cheap but they are available to the lucky few who get in there first!!) that their "no frills" slogan is not exagerrated in any way. They over charge on the little things, cram seats in to make room for more customers, have food that tastes like plastic at extra ordinary prices....but they get you there on time (at least for all my experiences they do), safe and I have never had my luggage lost, nor have heard of anyone who has. Every experience I have had with Ryanair staff has been pleasant also. Reviews have stated otherwise, claiming they are rude and unhelpful and I understand that is the expereince of other passengers and no two experiences are the same, but it has always been the opposite for me. They do their job...efficiently and effectively. That has to say something for the aldi of the sky??

As a price sensitive consumer in this day and age, I would always choose the cheaper option, to an extent. So Ryanair will always be my choice as long as they continue to offer cheap short distance flights. Being honest, if they offered flights to the US or further afield, Im not sure I would choose them as comfort would come into play there,,,but who knows what the future will bring and how innovative this company can become!!!