So, I am someone who likes to check for the best deals before buying things and the same goes for buying flights. Having used Easyjet before I have heard of Ryanair as have most people but I still hadn't flown with them yet. Easyjet are not as cheap as they used to be so I looked at Ryanair, I was booking my flight to Ireland and having checked out many airlines they definitely offered the best as my flight worked out as being somewhere around £25 which for a return to me is amazing.
The website is very easy to use as you just click where you are starting from and where you are going to. I know that they don't always fly to the main airport in most towns e.g. Milan Orio al Serio is an hour away compared to Linate but in Dublin they used the main one. Living in Edinburgh Ryanair only flies there but Glasgow Prestwick has a lot of their further away flights. Once I booked I was offered travel insurance for £6 which is cheap so I booked that to. The only thing that wasn't amazing was the luggage weight but I suppose with this cheap a flight I couldn't complain it was 15kg a bag and 10kg for hand luggage. I luckily didn't go over or they would charge £5 per kilo.
So, when it came to the day of the flight I took with me my printed off flight confirmation and went to the check-in. I know that those who are not checking in any luggage such as business men they can do an automatic online check-in and this means they don't have to wait in the queue which is good for them. So when checking in I was given a boarding number this would be the order I would be boarded on in. They are like Easyjet in the sense you cannot choose a seat in advance you just get on and hope you get a good seat although their planes are big so I didn't find this too difficult.
I noticed that there were a lot of people flying with Ryanair so that doesn't show a bad thing for them. So at first they board disabled passengers and those with younger children. Then they board numbers 1 to 90 and then so on. They board at the front and back of the plane so it gets on its way quite quickly. The plane I used was three, aisle, three so it was quite big. One thing I found though the planes weren't very clean e.g. when I came home the plane was so delayed that I had to board literally after one flight had come off and there were bottles etc. in my compartment which wasn't the nicest ever.
I didn't have any time problems with them on the way there I actually arrived 5 minutes earlier which made me think they were good but on the way home my opinion soon changed. The area in Dublin airport for Ryanair flights is hollow and almost like a shed. The announcements couldn't be heard because of work being done and then people queued when no one had spoken on the microphone. Then I queued because I wasn't going to get a bad seat. I waited for 45 minutes standing in a narrow space with no information. More Ryanair flights landed but no one explained how long we'd wait or if boarding would get under way shortly. We saw everyone come off the plane then we started boarding.
I have to say being someone who likes a higher class plane I don't like their whole one off one on policy especially since we could actually see everyone get off. I felt so low at this point and like I said when the plane hadn't been cleaned that did it, cheap flight or not. Also, at that point I just wanted to get home because after all of that standing it was enough.
The Ryanair hostesses are a hit or miss really, some foreign, some British ones. On the way there they were all friendly and polite but on the way back during the safety tape they were smirking when giving it which was unprofessional. Then also I had my MP3 player on and she says aggressively NO! you can't use that. It was ridiculous to act like that, I had flown on BMI and they never acted this over the top. They barely said goodbye when getting off the flight too. Luggage coming off the plane took 30 minutes after as well which was too long.
I may sound really annoying and complaining but I just didn't like the airline much. The actual plane was fine enough the leg room was ok and wasn't uncomfortable. The in flight magazine was a bit boring. They offer in flight drinks and snacks and these were reasonably priced, that I will say. Also the seats themselves are comfortable but another couple of hours later they might not be so good. The planes are really big though so the turbulence is felt less and it seems a smooth flight.
The prices for these flights are cheap and very competitive but I don't think I would risk it to take a longer flight than the one to Ireland with them. I got the idea that my good flight to Dublin with them was just sheer luck as I think most of the time they would be delayed. If you want a cheap flight and don't mind the whole run for your seat policy then go to http://www.ryanair.com and book to one of their European destinations now.
More details
Class flown most frequently
Economy
How often do you travel with this airline
First time
Where did you book
Directly with this airline
Safety
Good
How well does it cater for disabled people
Don't know
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