canucklad flew Ryanair Economy, on a B737-800 (21/05/2013 14:51)

Apologies for the tardiness of my return Fraght review. Far too busy enjoying life last week…Anyway find below. The home straight and it’s all about timing it right.

DUB >>EDI

“Voodoo Prince“ romping home in the afternoon must be a good omen for our evening sprint across the Irish sea. As well as ensuring our trip finishes with a profitable kick into our winning purses. So feeling flush a taxi is now our chosen chariot to DUB. Allowing us time for another juice or two or three, before heading to the plane station for our 9.50 departure.

Arriving well before 8, we Hurricane Fly through security and it’s good to see the boarding pass scanners working, shame about the woman in front who didn’t seem to realise the importance of the barcode! More importantly the x-ray machines are now manned to cope with demand. It took a while, but well done the DAA.

Not so well done is transforming the X-ray machines into a space and time portal. I’m sure before I took my shoes off I was in an airport! By the time my shoes and I are re-aquatinted 10 seconds later, I find myself, face to face, smelling the breath of “The Retailosaur” as it sharpens its teeth and claws in an attempt to free me of my remaining Euro’s!

Almost get to the Sports bar on the 2nd floor, but I succumb to the “Retailosaur” and purchase some fine Irish Power whiskey for my golf trip up north last week. My Guinness awaits me, but I have to gulp up as we are getting huckled out the sports bar at 8.30. In fact I’m made to feel as welcome as Kim Jung Sin at a CND meeting. I have to ask myself if I’m still in Ireland!

Which is annoying because this is probably the best bar in T1. With Neigh chance of a 2nd pint we cantered down to the bar closest to Gate 103. Arriving just after 10 to 9 at our 2nd watering hole, a sideways glance at our departure gate, and all is well with nothing much happening. The departure board at 9, displays “GO TO GATE”.

Now, you might all be wondering why I’m being as precise with time as a Swiss watchmaker. The reason, the last time I flew with FRyanscare I missed my flight due to the massively wrong assumption that the departure boards is representative of the flight status. Not wishing this trip to turn into another £110 FRightmare surcharge I was more”MEERKATISH” than Alexsandr. That is how you spell his name.

Now at 9.10, my pal decides we have time for 1 last pint in the Emerald Isle and oddly he wants a sandwich too! ”We’ve got plenty of time he declares as the pints are being poured. Like our O/B flight, queue the boards to change to “BOARDING”.

A quick glance at the long queue and it’s as stationery as an obstinate mule!

Mate at the bar confidently declares “We’ve plenty of time, we’re not scheduled to depart till 9.50 ”. A few minutes later we reach a compromise and walk and drink the 50 yards to the gate.

Well the horses have well and truly bolted. Now at 9.15 the board is flashing “FINAL CALL” and our “Q” seem’s to have “Shergar’ed” itself. We beat the Gate Dragon's by a short nose!

BOARDING
We are literally the last 4 people to board, and not having checked luggage I’m sure we would have missed the flight if we had remained in the bar area until 9.20 (the official gate closing time). Being last to board we avoided the normal Beechers Brook chaos and quickly took our seats, managing to sit together as the flight was probably about 75% full 5 minutes later we were airborne. A FULL 20 MINUTES BEFORE OUR SCHEDULED DEPARTURE….

FLIGHT
Nothing to report, apart from the young Polish lass getting herself into a tizzy as she tried to work out the correct change for the family who paid in Euro’s but wanted Sterling back, Sounded like she was trying to work out a treble reverse each way forecast! Anyway the CC did their normal Del Boy sales routine, resulting in a pleasant glass of wine and we were soon arriving into EDI, a full 40 minutes early.

ARRIVAL
Deplaned quickly at Gate 1A (next to International arrivals). The pilot needn’t have bothered. UKBA or whatever they call themselves nowadays didn’t even bother cheerily greeting us back to UK so we were soon in the terminal. Having to reschedule our taxi to pick us up! And worse still the EDI non-airside bar was SHUT!!

IN SUMMARY
As I mentioned in my first review, if you play O’Leary at his own game, you can certainly enjoy cheap travel, with relative ease as long as you know the quirkiness of flying Ryanscare. But here is the big BUT...I would bet my bottom dollar that the O’LEARYCLOCK is designed to catch out those of us who regularly travel on airlines that play by normal sensible customer focussed rules. I’m sure one of these days a FRIGHTSCARE flight will make the news for arriving before it left.

So as I said at the start, Punchestown festival for a score each way, or £40 return, that’s almost cheaper than the taxi back to our village.

canucklad flew Ryanair Economy, on a B737-800 (01/05/2013 14:57)

Punchestown festival for a score each way… or £40 return, for those not in racing lingo land it’s a sure winner…and no apologies for the forthcoming horsey puns....

EDI –DUB….

DEPARTURE
Mate dropped me and my two pals off at the airport. Paid my pal the £1 for the pleasure of getting dropped off so I can avail myself of EDI’s facilities. Wonder why Ladbrokes or Paddy Power doesn’t charge you an admittance fee into their betting shops!

Co-incidentally I have noticed more and more people using the Hilton car park as a drop off/pick up point. How long before traffic chaos ensues & the rozzers close this loophole.

5 minutes later, we meet our Bookie mate, already enjoying his first pint, who had booked the £40 flights and had the foresight to print off our boarding passes. With a holiday thirst off we marched off to security. New at Edinburgh is the boarding pass scanners and the army of arm waving Tic Tac staff impersonating security staff to explain how they work. Fortunately it’s not the busiest I’ve seen and we’re soon at the x-ray area. Pleb mate curiously asks why there were queue jumpers.

In the short time it took me to explain the fast track format, all of us had been x-rayed, including our very own Victor Meldrew, who was humorously rebuked by our security chap. To look back and chuckle as the privileged fast track few now outnumbered the plebs.

Paid to gallop through queue, 12+ people waiting
Pleb queue -6. Hilarious as the suited and booted ponder lifting the rope and jumping out the fast track.

Triple “B” time. Starting with BEER. There is nothing finer in life then ordering 4 pints of beer at 7.25am, and watch as equal looks of envy and disgust drench you from the business traveller fraternity. Enjoy your Latte Mr. Businessman!!!

My smugness resorts to horror as we finally get our pints at 7.35 and look to the board to see if they have posted our gate. ”We’ll need to drink up rapid” I exclaim, as I notice our flight is flashing.

“BOARDING”
At a fast canter we cover the 2 furlongs to Gate 1A only to discover a queue longer than that for the loos at Glastonbury. 15 minutes later (7.55) we actually start to board. We trot on board in an orderly fashion, that a dressage horse would have been proud of.

Once on board the aircraft, I notice that Ryanscare have ingeniously devised a way to reserve their pre-book seating (rows 1 & 2, Emergency Exit rows & back 2 rows)

Simply photocopy A4 paper and tape to headrest. Ahhhhh so Ryantacky!! I also noticed that nobody actually sat in those seats which included the Emergency Exit rows.

And it’s good to see the aircraft is clean, tidy and is garishly blue and yellow welcoming. Although, my mate is confused by the lack of seat pockets, which I find actually gives you just a bit more leg room!

Before departure the crew go through their normal routine and we leave on-time at 8.10am. Hot food order from the “Getaway Café “is also taken whilst we taxi.

What a great marketing ploy is the launch of their “Getaway Café”. Less clever is the choice for our 2nd B’s BREAKFAST: Spaghetti BOLOGNAISE---Chicken Nuggets--- MeatBALL sub--- and almost forgot, emmmm a BREAKFAST BAP, although they only had a limited few of these on board.

No food for me, I’m needing a cup of caffeine riddled black coffee to see me last, what will be a long hard day of drinking and gambling and more drinking.
£2.60 for the coffee, but you do get the cup free apparently. Let’s get this bird up in the air!

IN-FLIGHT
Once airborne it’s “No thanks” to both the Scratch card run & also to the smokeless cigarette run. Now for my wakey wakey coffee.

The American women in the row in front, I assume must be suffering from jetlag as she opts for a meal from the Iceland “drunken-ping” menu. Then causes ME chaos as she attempts to pay with a US credit card.

Cart service comes to a halt in front of me as the 2 Cabin Crew deal with the un-chipped Visa card. ”Can you pay by Euro’s or Sterling?”...NO... ”Do you have another CC? ”Yes , but it’s not chipped either, American cards aren’t chipped…Our 2 intrepid Trolley Jockey’s then attempt to process card no.2 see above paragraph for result!

I can smell the coffee, it’s that close, however these particular BEANS are as well still being attached to their mother plant on the slopes of some Nicaraguan hill!

Eventually they resort to plan Z, and manually fill out an old school CC slip. 10 minutes after our cashless Yankee queen suggested this race course of action and one short head away from the male member of staff becoming a Gelding.

ARRIVAL
£2.60 lighter and with a free cup filled with black coffee, I’m all right Jack attitude to all those seated behind that didn’t get the opportunity to pleasure in the contents of the trolley, I can now, with coffee in hand, sit back, relax and enjoy the final approach.

With a bump and the William Overture Fanfare we arrive ahead of schedule just before 9.

After what seems like an eternity to taxi to the terminal we arrive, and wait for steps to arrive and wait. ”Boarding through the front and rear please.” Like blinkered horses our fellow passengers buck and bronco into position for the off. Must be a handicap race because the people at the back of the aircraft have a delayed start due to late arrival of the steps. Like any thoroughbred I choose my moment and manage to disembark from the front whilst my fellow stragglers still await the arrival of the aft stairs. See you in the “Angels Share”

SUMMARY
Set your expectations low, and you won’t be disappointed. Go back to the start of my ramblings and re-check the fare.

FormerlyDoS flew Ryanair Economy, on a B737-800 (29/03/2013 15:32)

EIN MLA 2 hours 30 mins

Returning from attending a university open day, with my son, I ran into classic FR trouble.

I had paid for a checked bag, but the handling agent's system said I had not. After some arguing (pointless really, but I wished to establish a protest, in case I have to sue them to get the money back) I paid 75€ and was on my way.

The flight was a typical non-descript Ryanair effort, two breakfast rolls and soft drinks cost 15€ (expensive, but not extortionate) and much use of the PA to sell stuff was managed by noise cancelling headphones. Despite the chattering classes view of Ryanair pax, this was another sector where people were well behaved.

The flight left on time and arrived early, baggage was out within 15 mins of touchdown (normal for Malta.)

Have just written a letter, with copies of the prima facie evidence that I paid for the bag, evidence their system had incorrect information and a demand for a refund.

I have two more FR flights over the next week or two; I don't fly them because I like them, but they do get the job done. Cost of return ticket, for 2 x adults - 317€, for a flight over 1,100 miles and booked at -3 weeks is pretty decent value. It would still be, including the 75€, but I'll get that back on a matter of principle.

FormerlyDoS flew Ryanair Economy, on a B737-800 (29/03/2013 08:31)

STN EIN 40 minutes

I had arranged to meet my son, in Eindhoven, so we could review a university in the Netherlands, which is one of his potential choices.

Check in at Stansted was chaotic, with queues back as far as the eye could see and a lack of tensa barriers to separate the lines until the last 5-6 meters, causing some aggro between people, about who was in which queue.

The airline's handling agent had proactive queue combers pulling people out for certain flights, to ensure that they made check-in in on time.

Once checked in (which took over an hour), security was reasonably fast and then I made the 'long march' to Ryanair's dedicated terminal, which reminds me of T5C at Heathrow, I don't know if the same architect designed them both.

The FR terminal works reasonably well, although queue control downstairs can be an issue and there are adequate bars/cafes and a W H Smith and duty free.

Boarding was on-time, but we had a delay of about 20 minutes, due to the need to de-ice and equipment constraints.

The flight itself was a non event, 40 from take off to arriving at stand and I didn't buy anything on board.

The cost of £74 (booked at - 2 weeks) was reasonable and all in all the experience was not very pleasant (due to the long check in), but I go there.

And that probably sums up Ryanair.

canucklad flew Ryanair Economy, on a B737-800 (09/11/2012 15:53)

Inbound…..ALC- PIK (Alicante- Rabbie Burns International)

Surviving the Fright flight a week earlier I wasn’t looking forward to my homeward bound journey, especially after a week on the lash with the lads……at least it would bring me back down to earth, heavier than the stormy landing the previous Friday. Holiday over and back to work on Monday feeling.

Only 4 of the 5 amigo’s travelling back. The 5th person flying home with the others direct to EDI a few hours later. More about his Frightmare at the end.

Tired and hung-over, we approached Alicante airport with this warning, ringing in our ears from our coach driver…...Juan Carlos……..Beware of thieves and pickpockets…….Both landslide and airside!!

AIRSIDE, I hear some of you say. As a consequence of O’Learyair’s cheap deals from ALC to MAD and other points in Spain, the criminal element now find it worthwhile to book cheap FR deal’s, elect to board or not, maybe fly to Madrid, hang about departures, where passengers are more relaxed, harvest their rich criminal pickings and return on the last flight home.

Alicante Airport
New terminal is spacious, although didn’t seem to have many amenities landside…..Security was efficient and friendly enough, they even coped with veteran ex-soldier Andy and his lack of understanding about how x-ray machines work. Once through and mobile phone removed, 2nd time through and keys enough for a Canary wharf janitor removed and 3rd time through and finally his explanation of how he got the metal plate in his knee...Think Uncle Albert… “ DOOOrin the Whar” In his case shot in Cyprus.

Pet hate ……Straight after screening you are herded through Duty Free like sacrificial cash cows
Wallet in tact after the Aladdin’s cave walk and a pleasant 15 Euro Cider and Tapas breakfast later it was time to make our way to the gate. Leaving plenty of time to allow Andy and his stick to make the short walk to gate B35.

Boarding
Board shows flight delayed by 15minutes ….waiting patiently, 15 minutes comes and goes at B35 and then we finally enter O’Learyworld, an amusement park of travel enlightenment experienced no where else in the aviation world.

Departure board changes from “Delayed” to “Final Boarding.” Not a problem until we realize that the Serengeti Stampede, is our fellow passengers Wildebeesting their way to B21. Thankfully poor Andy doesn’t have to worry about crossing crocodile invested rivers. In the end no need to rush, the new queue at B21 aren’t going anywhere soon. More confused and bewildered wildebeest queue behind us. With the arrival of 2 gun toting policemen the gate finally opens and we start to get processed.

This is taking a lot longer than the O/B journey? Mmmmm, our smiling and charming gate girls have transformed into GestapO’Leary agents. Every 2nd or 3rd passenger is stopped at the magical “If it Fits” contraption… Or as I call it “The blackmailing bag expander” Frought passengers forgetting basic geometry and physics, the sight of an old Scottish Granny trying in vain to force a square peg into a round hole SAD, or Smokey Joe trying to fit his Carton shaped Duty Free bags into his already bulging sports bag. PATHETIC, Futile exercise as ultimately they all end up scrambling about for the last of their Benidorm Euro’s, not a pretty sight.
“It fitted on the way out”
“How much, you’re joking, you thieving…” Now I understand the reason for the police doing the passport checks!!

Finally through, we head for the transfer bus, Andy struggles down the stairs (lift not working) eventually the 4 of us are sardined onto the bus.. the driver realizing that he can’t get more people on then spends the next 5 minutes comically trying to get the passengers already on the apron back into the secure area of the gate. Imagine Manuel of Fawlty Towers fame trying to herd cats into a Dobermans Kennel Genius.

Eventually we arrive at the back steps and then an American evangelical miracle of miracles, those same OAP’s I saw on mobility scooters the day before USAIN BOLT it up the stairs past us. We all manage to sit next to each other apart from Uncle Albert who will amuse a young couple on the way back to Caledonia!!

Eventually the next bus arrives with the shell-shocked £50 lighter brigade and the predicted Rugby scrum kicks off…including a mother and 5 year old boy who had paid extra for priority boarding. On other threads we’ve talked about FR’s stupid audience. Meet Mrs. Stupid, demanding the Emergency exit row as she had paid extra.

CC eventually convince another passenger to move so that mother and son can sit together. 5 year old clearly embarrassed at his mothers antics. Result, missed our slot and a 45 minute wait. St. Michael of Blarney must be breaking into a cold sweat back in FRip Off headquarters.

In-flight - This time no pre - orders for hot food, although it was on the menu to order. Drinks trolley arrives and only 2 of us partake of their Luke cold white wine, Uncle Albert driving at other end and poor Scotts liver just say’s no!! CC take our cash with a cheery smile and all is good. It would be nice if they had Ice and Magner’s as it says on the menu! No choir home, just listening to Andy regale the loving couple with his Scot’s Guards experiences… Once on a rainy night in Dusseldorf…can’t take anymore…where my ear phones….

A BBC podcast episode later and our happy crew are back with drinks service 2 , Scott recovers and has a warm Heineken… just what the Doctor ordered. Uncle Albert has Raconteured his couple into a romantic embracing sleep, so has a can of coke instead. All Euro change spent.

Again I didn’t bother with scratch cards service or smokeless cigarettes service. Before we know it, the plane is smoothly descending below the willowing clouds of Ayrshire and we make a smooth touchdown back at PIK…NO William Tell overture…but we are only 15 minutes late……Oh that’s right, with a Harp on your tail it must mean that you’re allowed to pad out an extra 30 minutes flying time into each of your schedules.

Disembarking: After a short wait, we disembark from the rear door …A “Gracias” to the crew (Not a donkey with no legs) and FRightland is over. No luggage to collect, so it’s just a walk through the terminal, past the waiting O/B passengers. All in gregarious mood, it appears that Dolly wasn’t the only creature to be cloned in Scotland all those years ago…It’s the Hens again!! Just as loud and crude as the Friday before. Within 20 minutes we where back at the long term car park, making our way east!!

In Summary
Alicante Ground Crew must be incentivized to raise revenue, their gusto at catching out people was like 3 terriers digging for their favorite bone. Once on-board and on our way, the flight was actually quite good. Peaceful enough to listen to my Blackberry, and I guess people heading to Glasgow after a week in the sun are going to be a bit more solemn!

Oh...our 5th person. Standing in the queue to board his flight asks why his boarding pass is different from the other 4.Well that’s for Ryanair, we’re on Jet2. You’re flight to EDI left 2 hours ago. £400 later and the poor lad only gets to NCL. Now that’s what I call a real Frightmare!!

AnthonyChambers flew Ryanair Economy, on a B737-800 (23/10/2012 08:23)

I booked a holiday to La Pineda for me and my wife and was a little perturbed to find the flights were with Ryanair I had heard and read a lot of bad comments but I can only say that apart from the comfort, which because I am tall and also disabled, I wont get with any airline, I cant knock Ryanair at all.

The special assistance I got both at Birmingham and especially in Reus was excellent, seats on the plane were allocated for us and also coming back I got cramp so I spent most of my return standing at the back which I didnt mind at all.

Both flights left on time and both arrived early. The crew were busy selling but were helpful and efficient and checked to see if I was ok.

As far as I am concerned it was my first flight with Ryanair but it wont be my last.

canucklad flew Ryanair Economy, on a B737-800 (10/10/2012 10:29)

Outbound…..PIK(Glasgowish-Alicante)

Having been fleeced for €110 the last time I flew with FR I have now moved from being a “they do what they say on the tin advocate” to a “every opportunity to dip your pocket cynic”

As always I started with low expectations when using O’Learyair ……mmmmm

Start with Prestwick
Small compact & 1970’s dated, saying that it’s friendly and easy to use, with it’s own rail station!! … because we had travelled from the Lothian’s we opted to use nearby long stay car park company, transfers to the terminal very easy! A round of beers pre-security and through the screening to the “Elvis bar” for a final round before boarding!

Boarding
Flight called on time and them…….ominous drum roll now in the hands of FRyanscare….random checks of carry on luggage and…. 1 of our party is asked to pay £50 for being a kilo overweight ------ Beach towel & old pair of sneakers unceremoniously dumped! Boarding felt like we were being cattle dipped, (passes not scanned).

We opted to board through the back steps; halfway up the steps I looked round in horror to see one of the hens chasing her boarding pass under the tail and across the apron, followed by her laughing pals…..surely they would be denied boarding!!

Pre-flight:
The 5 of us all managed to calmly get seats together, despite what was an absolute and dangerous rugby scrum which included people shouting at each as they fought over locker space and their demands to be together…..Despite plea’s from the CC this continued for 10 minutes….At last everybody accepted their fate.

Couldn’t hear the safety announcements----Oh they’ve allowed all the girls to board! Took off 10 minutes late…

In-flight:
Cabin crew take orders for hot food before much needed bar service!!
Although only 10 rows from the back it took an hour for the drinks trolley to arrive, with hardly any choice left (hen party sat behind us)…and thankfully I got the last round at the Elvis bar…€26 lighter the 5 of us enjoyed 3 small cans of beer and 2 warm white wines. As always with Ryanair the cabin crew are friendly and pleasant, although you could feel their irritation growing during the flight.

The drinks a perfect accompanist to full voice girls choir…although the language was definitely not Sunday school….”We’re off to sunny Alicante“ but change the vowels!!----still no action taken by the Cabin crew…oh it’s a conga to the loo!!

Didn’t bother with scratch cards service or smokeless cigarettes service (don’t smoke). Another €26 later and into final decent mode….flying through the worst storm in recent times the aircraft is being tossed about like a rag doll….I’m a good flyer but even I was becoming anxious!!

Not the booze girls (Opened their own duty free)… much to everyone else’s amusement (NOT) time for even louder singing, the old classic “The wheels on the bus, followed by the front of the plane they cannae sing” with accompanying Mexican wave…totally ignoring the fasten seat belt sign !! Still no CC warning!!

Disembarking:
After a very, very hard touchdown the aircraft safely roll...oh wait here come the first warning, as the girls decide to retrieve their luggage from the overhead bin’s…to the end of the runway. William Tell overture plays...we are on time!!

2nd warning as the plane now taxi’s to stand, give up after 3rd warning as we at now at “Doors to manual and crosscheck” ..A big sigh of relieve from me and my mates as our FRightair ends.

We now do the PIK scrum in reverse….unusual for FR, but probably because of the atrocious weather we use an airbridge…although this becomes complicated as people try to re-patriot themselves with their luggage aisles away from where they sat…More potential for some Glasgow kisses!!

Alicante airport
Very pleasant indeed…with only hand baggage a bit of a long walk to the bus was welcomed after the 3 hour nightmare.

In Summary
Cabin crew and Ground crew abdicated all responsibility to the point of endangering innocent passengers. Interior of plane was filthy….including in-flight magazine being used as a chewing gum bin. Service slow and overpriced…Sandwich bought in-edible and out of date. When will Ryanair learn that allocating seats makes sense!

here&there flew Ryanair Economy, on a B737-800 (29/05/2012 20:42)

I know its popular to knock Ryanair, but for me they are the McDonalds of European skies. Know what you're doing and you can get a cheap offering that is efficient and sufficient without ever being satisfying.

With short journey lengths (this one was N. England to S. France), if I'm really tired I can just about manage a nap that doesn't require follow up physiotherapy, but its certainly better to try to catch up with some light (as in kg) reading.

Pretty hopeless trying to be more productive though, with the unhelpful seat design meaning even a netbook is a pain to use. I've never before felt a wish to experience being ripped off with Ryanair food and drink, and this trip was no different.

So, I have to give a 1 for 'seat for sleeping' and IFE, because both are as poor as can be, a middling 5 for 'seat for sitting' because they work, without ever being comfortable due to the lack of recline adjustment and limited legroom, and another middling 5 for 'food and drink' because I haven't tried it. Also just a 7 for service as the cabin crew were efficient without ever seeming to recognise that I was actually a paying customer.

On the bits that really matter most to me though, the flight was very good to excellent. I really have no problem with Ryanair boarding if travelling alone, having long ago given up trying to aim for a particular row on Ryanairs as the stress at the gate far outweighed either the on-board or quick egress benefits.

The plane left very punctually both ways and, partly by virtue of flying to such a small airport in France, baggage delivery was as speedy as I could ask for over there. On this occasion also as quick as needed back in England.

Overall, for what I paid, I'm pleased with what I got.

Boeing_737-800 flew Ryanair Economy, on a B737-800 (25/04/2012 19:26)

I flew from Manchester Airport (EGCC) Tho Faro Airport.

The Flight was brilliant (had no turbulence) have no complaints. The cabin crew were very punctual. The food was lovely I had the ham and cheese Panini. We left on time both ways.

If you are looking for more legroom sit in the front 3 seats near the door or the emergency exits.

Sebastien flew Ryanair Economy, on a B737-800 (16/04/2012 06:36)

LTN-REU I flew to to Reus and back from Luton on two quite young 737-800s.

Luton airport was ok however boarding was awful, with a huge snaking queue, in a cramped area with no toilets or air con.

We managed to grab the last two window seats on the rather clean plane. The flight was uneventful apart from the truly disgraceful food, which was a panini with horrible cheese and ham and the fat had collected in the bottom of the plastic bag. Also, it was a really bumpy landing, which was quite scary for me who's a little bit scared of flying but there was no reassurance from the cabin crew.

On the way back, the once again awful boarding procedure led to a dirty plane that hadn't been cleaned or tidied. Tray tables were greasy and mucky and bottles and tissues were on the horribly coloured floor. You would be lucky to get a smile from the slightly patronising at times cabin crew but the Ryanair experience is exactly what you paid for.

TominScotland flew Ryanair Economy, on a B737-800 (08/11/2011 05:36)

This was the return leg of the trip reported earlier on this site and consisted of the short Dublin - Prestwick hop, leaving early in the morning from a close to deserted Dublin Terminal 1.

Security through a new facility was fast and efficient and the shops, tempting for some, were already in full pre-Christmas mode.

Good value breakfast is now available from a number of outlets in the terminal, a sign of the times, maybe, as previously I had always thought of Dublin Airport as grossly over priced.

Boarding was from Gate 104 which is a 10 minute walk from the main concourse in a bright and modern extension to the old terminal. The checking of boarding passes ("please tear half way across to speed things up") started even before the in-bound flight had arrived which is indicative of the Ryanair way and explains their fast turn round record.

Unlike Prestwick on the outbound, where every bag was weighed and sized, the ground staff showed little or no interest in luggage this time around so boarding was much quicker. We started to board within 2 or 3 minutes of the last passengers deplaning from the inbound, down stairs and then up to the aircraft, either front or rear.

Free seating on a half empty aircraft makes for reasonable comfort, even though the airline does impose some limitations on which seats can be used.

Pushback was on time and, after a short taxi, we were airborne. The cabin crew took orders for hot food before departure and served these first, followed by trolley service for drinks and snacks and a further run for inflight sales.

Landing at Prestwick was a couple of minutes early and the crew, mercifully, forgot the bugle welcome for an on-time arrival!

Disembarkation, even though confined to the front door was fast and we were in our car and away within 15 minutes of landing.

A very acceptable way to travel short-haul in a modern aircraft with efficient and, sometimes, smiling cabin crew - all at a very low price.

TominScotland flew Ryanair Economy, on a B737-800 (03/11/2011 13:51)

Flew Prestwick to Dublin on Ryanair's standard 737-800 this morning.

From Glasgow, we have choice on this route - Aer Lingus through their partner Are Arran from Glasgow and Ryanair from the Ayrshire airport. We chose Ryanair on the basis of price - just £20 all in with no checked baggage compared to £110 with Aer Lingus.

Early flights from Prestwick necessitate driving to the Airport but even the long stay car park is just 5 mins walk from the terminal.

Prestwick had a make over a few years ago but is now looking very tired and was like a morgue, with only one early flight out, compared to the last time I was there. The challenge with Ryanair is to make sure that your hand luggage weights less than 10 kg and is shaped to fit the airline's dimensions - ours just did on both counts!!

The flight was not full so boarding was fine - a check on luggage and then a walk to the gate and plane. Boarding front and rear meant that we were all aboard quite quickly and found seats (its free seating) in Row 2. Seats are tight but tolerable for a short flight. Push back was early but there was a delay before take-off. With a flying time of just 30 mins, the pilot predicted an on-time arrival.

Once seated, the cabin crew came round for hot food orders - breakfast wraps, panninis etc which are good value on this route. Uptake was not large but the food certainly smelt good. Within the 30 minute envelope, the Ryanair crew managed food and drinks service, shopping by request at the seat, magazines (Hello) for purchase and scratch cards for sale - not bad when Aer Lingus hardly manage a drinks service during a slightly longer flight. Staff were pleasant and helpful.

Arrival was bang on schedule to be greeted by Ryanair's trumpet announcement of another on-time arrival. After a short taxi we arrived at the terminal and then had a long wait because of electrical problems - no retraction of the trumpeted announcement, however. Disembarkation was via steps into the extension to the old terminal which house the "C" gates - a longish march to passport control and the exit.

All in all, a good service in terms of time-keeping and unbeatable price. Ryanair is much maligned by many users who are not familiar with its service model but once you get your head around what they do and what they do not do, the offering is exactly what they promote.

AlexanderSmithurst flew Ryanair Economy (27/08/2011 06:49)

DylanDavidson2 flew Ryanair Economy, on a B737-800 (31/07/2011 10:01)

Great flight, friendly and happy cabin crew good to have a laugh with, baggage arrived on the right flight and on time seats were comfortable for sitting, lots of leg room wasn't even sitting at the door over all GREAT FLIGHT would fly with Ryanair again

InternationalConsolidated flew Ryanair Economy, on a B737-800 (25/01/2011 13:34)

Tallinn to London Luton

This was my first time flying with Ryanair, and having heard all the various scare stories I braced myself for the reality. I think the adage that one gets what one pays for is especially true with Ryanair, and a mantra that one must hold dear and forever in one's thoughts. Those that grumble about Ryanair should remember how much they're paying, and for those that shout about all the hidden extras, a little extra savvy at booking and checking-in will avoid all this. I paid £14 for my one-way fare, hand-luggage only and including taxes. I did not expect the red carpet to be rolled out, and was under no illusions as to the level of service I would receive.

Tallinn Airport itself is tiny, so there's no need to worry too much about allotting an inordinate amount of extra time for security etc. and not a lot to say about it in general.

The aircraft décor, for anyone who hasn't flown with Ryanair, is a blue and yellow plastic nightmare. The seats don't recline, that would be far too much of a luxury, but the legroom (surprisingly) isn't all that stingy. I was quite comfortable on the 2.5hr flight.

The service was in line with the money paid, and by that I mean by no means attentive, but still civil in accordance with basic manners. In other words no rudeness, and I was glad for it. As for a meal, I was treated to a visual feast of pizzas, sandwiches, crisps, soft and hard drinks in canned and bottled form. All that was asked of me was my credit card, the keys to my house, my girlfriend's telephone number and the shirt off my back. Perhaps a little unfair - Ryanair's food/drink is pricey but we expect that. My advice is to prepare sandwiches in advance. I had salami, cheese, gherkins and mustard on olive bread.

Landing was on time, if a little bumpy (of the teeth-shattering type). I was delighted by the somewhat ironic clapping from the rear of the plane, a great accompaniment to the tannoyed bugle that heralded another on-time arrival and not a US cavalry charge circa civil war period. I joined in the clapping once I realised we weren't under attack from Native Indians.

mmolloy flew Ryanair Economy, on a B737-800 (29/07/2010 11:18)

Flew Ryanair from Dublin to Stansted at 1515. Travelled hand luggage like most people because of the exorbitant baggage fees but found the 10kg, 55cm x 40cm x 20cm limit ample for a weekend trip. Flight was delayed by 20 minutes and boarding was chaotic as people were already queueing up for the next flight and it was hard to tell where to stand. Flight status above the gate turned to 'departed' before we'd even gone anywhere.

On board the overhead lockers were quite full but I found space for my case without a problem. Was sat just over halfway down the plane in seat 18E. Seats configured ABC-DEF, dark blue leather with dark blue/bright yellow seatback. Fold-down table, no mag rack so nowhere to put any small items. Didn't think the legroom was too bad, I have travelled on tighter aircraft. Exit rows 16 and 17 offer significantly more legroom though I imagine you would have to pay for priority boarding to stand a chance of nabbing one of these - the flight was very busy. 1ABC and 2DEF also offer more room (there is no 1DEF). No recline so don't expect to be able to rest, but then this was a short sector and you wouldn't be able to rest anyway with the incessant sales pitches from the cabin crew relayed over loudspeaker. Smokeless cigarettes, scratchcards, tax-free goods and food and drink all on offer. Sandwiches from EUR3 and hot meals for EUR7, though I didn't partake.

Cabin crew were friendly. Short delay again disembarking at Stansted. All in all the flight was fine for what it is - you get what you pay for and for a short sector it does the job.

JohnDub flew Ryanair Economy, on a B737-800 (08/07/2010 21:27)

DUB - RYG - DUB. I paid a total of €25 for this flight including taxes, fees, charges and cc handling fee. Aircraft EI-DYA on return sector. Outbound was EI-EAsomething. I arrived at Dublin airport only an hour before my flight time. I had printed my boarding cards online so went straight to security avoiding the check-in queues snaking around the check in area. The flight was from Pier D (shiny glass one) gate 102. The A/C was delayed inbound from UK so boarding was delayed slightly. With priory boarding, even after showing up late enough I was the 1st person to board and sat in 1A and B. While boarding was ongoing this was a bit of a pain as FR do not have a bulkhead here so I was hit with a few bags, my own fault really, I was just being lazy and didn't want to walk to 16 or 17!! One advantage to this seat it fly on the wall view of FA's going about their business. Very impressed with their ability to multi task, making PA's while checking boarding cards while being pushed by children is no easy task! Very friendly cabin crew on both sectors, despite the completely unneeded rudeness and aggressiveness of some passengers, one woman actually hit me with her bag and stamped her feet when asked to show the FA her boarding card, FA just smiled politely and repeated the question not rising to the woman. Boarding was very quick and effortless despite having 169 on board according to the despatch lady. Once the doors closed the crew set about their duties once again. They where very thorough in their cabin checks. They twice had to ask a gentleman seated at an emergency exit row to pay attention to the demo, the FA explained to him after having to pause the demo for a third time that he is at an exit row and might be needed to assist in an emergency and because safety is their primary concern and clearly not his moved him to another seat.

Once airborne the usual Ryanair auction started selling everything from tax free gifts and snacks to scratch cards, I fancied a flutter and won €100 on my scratch card, more than twice what I paid for the flight. With my winnings I treated myself to a breakfast bap and J2O. The food was good quality for what I paid and unlike most airlines I was offered ice for my juice.

The crew where seated directly in front of my row which gave me the opportunity to chat with them, they where happy to engage me in conversation and where extremely friendly. What I really loved was the fact that the conversation was in no way forced. With other carriers I always felt the crew very much felt "I'm talking to you because its my job". Not with Ryanair, they seemed to, and I certainly did, genuinely enjoy the conversation.

Despite small delays on the ground we arrived in Rygge 35mins ahead of schedule. Allot of people think FR build this into their timetables, I checked this IAA and they have said this is not allowed, they REALLY ARE that punctual.

Allot of people criticize FR checked luggage fees but in all fairness, what other carrier allows you 10kilos of carry on free of charge! Plenty for a weekend trip.

Return flight was much the same but gale force winds on the Irish east coast made for an interesting landing. I nabbed the same seats on the return and again found the crew very good like on outbound sector. After a VERY rough landing in DUB the head FA looked at me after he was flung into the air along with his seat and simply exclaimed, that's why they call this a jump seat! This calmed my nerves and made me laugh.

All in all I found Ryanair and definitely their FA's to be extremely genuine, friendly, courteous, caring,very hard working and the most professional and friendly cabin crew I have flown with. This says allot given I normally fly EI, BA or AA.

I really cant credit the crew enough especially when I factor in all of the many horrible nasty people who they seem to come across on each flight. As the "face of Ryanair" they are a credit to the airline and make the airline what it is.

As for comfort and legroom, I'm 6ft 2 and found it more than adequate for the 2 hour journey and a dam site more comfortable then the dreary old BA interior on very old aircraft, the Ryanair 737 was very clean, seemed brand new or maintained excellently. All of of carriers seem to throw the word safety around or hide behind it for different reasons, but Ryanair seem to very safety conscious and this made me feel extremely safe and in good hands.

Would not hesitate to book Ryanair again. Well done and keep up the good work.

sander1985 flew Ryanair Economy, on a B737-800 (21/05/2010 05:26)

Flown back from Berlin Schonefeld to Dusseldorf Weeze. This time realy a perfect flight, friendly crew and a lot of legroom because we were seated at the emerency exit. Landed 10 minutes ahead of scheduel. Plane registration was : EI-DYV

sander1985 flew Ryanair Economy, on a B737-800 (21/05/2010 05:22)

Flown from Dusseldorf Weeze to Berlin Schonefeld with priority boarding. EI-EBC. We departed about half an hour late due to a malfunction of the navigation equipment. A quick reset by de technical service at Weeze, and we were ready to go. Flight itself was very steady. What wondered me was that we had a all male crew, who was young but very professional and friendly. We landed at Schonefeld just 15-20 min late, but hey.....that can happen to anyone. Seat was 17F, at the emergency exit.

sander1985 flew Ryanair Economy, on a B737-800 (18/05/2010 17:13)

EI-DHF with priority boarding, seat 17A

sander1985 flew Ryanair Economy, on a B737-800 (18/05/2010 17:12)

EI-DHF with priority boarding. Seat 22C

sander1985 flew Ryanair Economy, on a B737-800 (18/05/2010 17:06)

EI-DWI, regular flight, with priority boarding. Seat 17E. Half an hour delay one departure, but only 10 minutes later then planned on destination.

sander1985 flew Ryanair Economy, on a B737-800 (18/05/2010 17:00)

Just a good flight. No extra's. flight was at 04-08-2009 Seat 16A

ChristopherAndersen flew Ryanair Economy, on a B737-800 (24/01/2010 17:21)

It a okay airline but However, you should pay for almost everything

fizzytom flew Ryanair Economy, on a B737-800 (03/01/2010 17:34)

It often seems like you only hear the negatives when it comes to Ryanair. But surely there are some advantages to flying with Europe’s premier budget carrier? Of course there are! Does a steakhouse have a duty to cater for vegetarians? Then why do the serial complainers believe that Ryanair is somehow doing something terrible by not being suitable for all types of passenger? The truth is that Ryanair is more suited to certain kinds of passenger – if they are to enjoy the cheap prices and benefit from the differences that make Ryanair a breath of fresh air in the airline industry.

WELCOME TO THE CHEAP SEATS

Contrary to what some might say those cheap fares are not a myth but passengers who are able to be very flexible with their travel plans will find it easier to access the cheapest tickets. Having an Electron card we were able to dispense with the card booking charge when paying although from January 2010 it will be pre-paid Visa cards and not Electron that will be fee-free.

Take your time when booking: when you’re in a hurry it can be easy to miss something and end up paying extra simply because you forgot to uncheck a box.

Yes, the charge for hold luggage is scandalous but you’d be surprised what you can pack into a hold all. If you need or want to take lots of stuff with you and don’t like the charge then Ryanair isn’t the airline for you. If you’re a regular traveller you should have your own travel insurance and therefore Ryanair’s insurance deal should be of no interest to you, and anyway Ryanair’s only offers limited cover so you shouldn’t rely on it. Little by little you should be striking off some of what Ryanair’s critics like to call the hidden charges: the charges aren’t actually hidden at all, they are there for anyone to see. In fact surely Ryanair are more honest as the other airlines are just quietly charging you for those components of your ticket.

Ryanair’s prices are generally the cheapest around; it is the individual airports that are responsible for the end total and prices can differ widely from place to place. Blame your destination country and airport, not Ryanair.

FLY AWAY WITH ME

So you’ve managed to secure that great deal and you’ve pared down your packing to just one bag that meets the regulations. Just one thing left to do – print off that boarding pass. Now, Ryanair do charge you £5 per person per flight to check in on-line which seems rather silly as they’ll only let you check in online these days. However you can save yourselves a few hard earned Pence by printing out your passes in black ink. You can check in for your flight from 15 days till four hours before your flight which means that even if you are going away for two weeks you can print both legs in advance, thus saving on internet cafe printing fees. Be aware that you’ll be charged £40 if you haven’t printed out your boarding pass.

People often blame Ryanair for delays at the departure airport without really knowing whose fault the problem is. I think the problem lies in the fact that the customer service levels vary and even when the fault isn’t down to Ryanair, customers do get wound up by the lack of information and the sometimes unconcerned attitude of the staff.

On our flight from Graz passengers were invited to get on the bus to be shuttled out to the aircraft only to be standing in the bus with the doors closed and no driver in sight for almost fifteen minutes. It could have been the fault of the airport ground staff but with no information and no apology offered customers were muttering about Ryanair’s failings.

OH SIT DOWN, OH SIT DOWN, SIT DOWN NEXT TO ME

Many critics of Ryanair, usually those who’ve never flown with the airline, claim that there is a mad rush to get a seat once boarding commences. The procedure is simple, if you want to be sure of a seat in a particular part of the aircraft then pay for speedy boarding or be first in the queue for boarding. No Ryanair flights last more than a couple of hours so you should be able to cope without being next to your loved one if the worst happens. If you can’t find two seats together why not politely ask someone to move? It really need not be the ordeal some make it out to be.

As Ryanair aircraft no longer have seat back storage you’ll need to sit with everything on your knees or else keep getting up and down to get things out of the overhead locker. If you are in a window seat and don’t know your row companions this can be a slight problem but you could always put the things you might want access to into a smaller bag which you can place under the seat in front of you.

HUNGRY LIKE THE WOLF

Yes, Ryanair are the most expensive when it comes to in-flight catering but if you allow enough time you can buy drinks and snacks at the airport which will be slightly cheaper than buying them on board. Kids may shout and scream for snacks but inventive parents should be able to distract them when the trolley comes down the aisle.

GIVE ME ALL YOUR MONEY

During the course of a Ryanair flight you’ll be asked on several occasions to part with more of your cash, it doesn’t end at drinks and snacks. Phone cards, train and bus tickets from the airport to your destination city, perfumes and other gift items, lottery tickets, the Ryanair calendar featuring its cabin girls in various states of address – yes Ryanair have a hundred and one ways to make you spend more but its nothing a book or magazine and some headphones can’t block out. Better still, if you can’t sleep at least feign it. Quite simply, you are allowed to decline to buy anything on board.

MOVE OVER DARLING

Admittedly Ryanair aren’t the most generous when it comes to seat sizes and legroom but as I’ve already stressed, the flights are generally short so this shouldn’t pose too much of a problem. One problem is that as the cabin crew make so many sales trips up and down the cabin it can be difficult to get into the aisle to stretch you legs with barely a moment before you have to duck into a row to make way for the trolley. On this flight one of the toilets was out of order though it proved not to be that much of a problem as there didn’t appear to be any queues developing at the toilet that was in use.

DON’T SAY IT’S TOO LATE

On this occasion, like every other time we’ve flown Ryanair, we arrived early at our destination. Do Ryanair schedule flights to build in a cushion that means they are always punctual? Quite possibly. Even with our late departure from Graz we still made up plenty of time if Ryanair are to be believed. As we still had another flight to take from Stansted, the early arrival meant nothing to us except more time to kill at the airport but we’re always glad to arrive early on our outbound flights.

THESE BOOTS ARE MADE FOR WALKING

You may have arrived early but you still have to walk from the most distant part of the terminal to passport control if you have arrived at a large airport like Stansted. This can be a problem if you have an onward flight to catch and not much time to do it in.

WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIENDS

Ryanair’s cabin crew do come in for some heavy criticism and, while there is the occasional staff member whose accent is quite impenetrable, on the whole the staff are pleasant, helpful and friendly. Maybe because they’re pleased to see the back of stingy types like myself the cabin crew always offer a cheerful goodbye.

Ryanair isn’t for everyone. If you want complimentary refreshments, heaps of legroom and a pre-allocated seat this is not the airline for you. If, on the other hand, you just want to get to your destination with the minimum of fuss and don’t have expectations of luxury and high comfort you should be able to cope quite nicely with Ryanair’s no frills deals.

andyjames flew Ryanair Economy, on a B737-800 (15/10/2009 15:29)

Take it or leave it !! If like me, you are getting on a bit, don't bother as the check-in hassle at Stansted has to be seen to be believed.

Once on the aircraft, things improved but by then, I was stressed out.

Still, this now appears to be the norm of the (so called) cheap airlines.

UflyRight flew Ryanair Economy, on a B737-800 (13/09/2009 16:30)

The Ryanair Boeing 737-800 had big black comfy leather seats but had some drawbacks. There was no recline and the safety card tas glowed the back of the seat and alwas visible. The service was good but everything over priced and the crew good and kind. They were better than other scheduled and charter flights I have had in the past.

djeacock flew Ryanair Economy, on a B737-800 (11/07/2009 20:28)

You can’t beat the punctuality. Both embarkation and disembarkation is quick. You pay for what you get – until you get to the airport and discover the unexpected charges!! Be careful to avoid airport check-in, carrying luggage in the hold and paying for their expensive onboard food and drink. The cabin crew are the worst in the business. They are rude, moody and unhelpful. The seats onboard are small and the interiors look cheap and very yellow. You know and you feel like you are flying budget!

MichaelONeill flew Ryanair Economy, on a B737-800 (01/10/2008 15:11)

Excellent value for money on short flights. Advantages far outweigh disadvantages especially in the economic climate likely to prevail over next couple of years...Good punctuality hence why more business travellers use them than ever before.

abdullaali flew Ryanair Economy, on a B737-800 (30/09/2008 21:05)

Cheap, but not good!

jimvold flew Ryanair Economy, on a B737-800 (30/09/2008 11:37)

A cheap airline!