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Is Ryan Air Reliable Enough to Catch a Connecting Flight?

Is Ryan Air Reliable Enough to Catch a Connecting Flight?

Old Apr 20, 2011, 7:59 pm
  #1  
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Is Ryan Air Reliable Enough to Catch a Connecting Flight?

I'm not sure if this is the right forum as I'm not sure where to post about Ryan Air.

I am taking a FR flight IBZ - BCN, and after which I am planning to connect a QR flight to DOH.
The QR flight departure is 3 hours after my FR flight arrival in BCN. Is there enough time?

I've not flown with FR before, so I don't know if they have frequent delays / cancellations?


My next option would be to take another airline, but the next alternative will give me an 8 hour transit, early in the morning which would be a real pain!

And the last alternative would be flying out into BCN the day before and staying a night in the city. But that's not really the best option as I'll have to transfer from the airport and back the next day. Or unless I stay at the airport which will be such a waste for a holiday.


Thanks for the help!

Last edited by lsed; Apr 20, 2011 at 8:08 pm
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Old Apr 21, 2011, 3:17 am
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Their overall timeliness is better than most carriers iirc but only you can weigh up the financial and time impact of missing your connection.

What is your risk tolerance?
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Old Apr 21, 2011, 6:21 am
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Originally Posted by lsed
And the last alternative would be flying out into BCN the day before and staying a night in the city. But that's not really the best option as I'll have to transfer from the airport and back the next day. Or unless I stay at the airport which will be such a waste for a holiday.


Thanks for the help!
I think that's the best option. It's really easy to get to the city from the airport, and vice versa.

I certainly wouldn't be comfortable with this 3-hour window, travelling on separate tickets, regardless of the airlines involved. Even if it didn't involved checked luggage (with no interlining available, and a change of terminal is also required in BCN), I would consider it far too risky. If you miss your Qatar flight, that's your entire QR ticket down the tubes.

Oh - just by the way - Ryanair writes its name as just one word.
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Old Apr 21, 2011, 6:49 am
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I think this is possible. Ryanair has one of the best on-time-performances in Europe and 3 hours should be more than enough. Even a one hour delay would be tolerable!
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Old Apr 21, 2011, 7:12 am
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I wouldn't risk it.

It's do-able if all goes well. But what if it doesn't? Ryanair does have good on-time performance overall, but no airline is immune to technical problems, fog, etc etc.

If you are on a flexible ticket to DOH, and you don't mind spending an extra night in Spain - fine, go for it.

If your insurance covers missed connections - go for it (but check with them that they will cover you for short connections like this, I heard somewhere that some insurance companies insist on a minimum of four hours)

If, on the other hand, you HAVE TO make that connection then three hours, on any airline, is really far too tight.
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Old Apr 21, 2011, 8:36 am
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Just make sure you go to the right airport at Barcelona.. there are two, I believe, and Ryanair is notorious for lying about which airports they actually fly to.
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Old Apr 21, 2011, 8:45 am
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Originally Posted by Concerto
Just make sure you go to the right airport at Barcelona.. there are two, I believe, and Ryanair is notorious for lying about which airports they actually fly to.
Ryanair has been flying to Barcelona El Prat de Llobregat (BCN) since last September, but also flies to two other airports about 100km away that it refers to as "Barcelona Reus" and "Barcelona Girona".

But it appears that FR only flies IBZ-BCN so arriving at the wrong airport shouldn't be a problem!
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Old Apr 21, 2011, 8:47 am
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Hey guys a lot thanks for info and views.

My flight with Qatar can be changed at a small fee of $50USD but I'm not sure how much lead time I have to give them. Unfortunately the office is closed now and it's Good Friday tomorrow.

Meanwhile, I looked up my previous insurance policy and there is no clause for minimum connection timing but the payout is only a meager $200.

But thanks for the help guys, will consult with my travel partners.

If you guys have any caveats about the BCN airport or Ryanair specifically, please let me know too. Thanks!


Edit --
Ok have decided not to take the risk because turns out it is slightly less than 3 hours and Fr lands at T2 while QR departs from T1.
Plus we have to collect luggage and all.

Thanks for the help guys!

Last edited by lsed; Apr 21, 2011 at 12:56 pm
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