While I agree that it sucks to be stuck at the airport for 10 hours, and that the Ryanair crew could have done a little more to imform passengers about the delay and offer an official appology, I do not see how this is different from the US airlines. I mean, almost 50% flights in the North East cooridor that I take are delayed, and sure often times they give us bottled water and peanuts. But this happens in the US all the time. Or they are overbooked. Or we cannot get out.

The fact that they charge for everything is policy of Ryanair, and they do not break the rules. The fact of the matter is there is enough of a demand that they do not need to provide good service. You may not return for the next flight with them, but others will.

The fact that flight to Spain was full of drunken British and Irish is standard operating procedure for all Spanish bound charter, scheduled, and LCC flights.

Also, I would never pay 300 euros for a Ryanair flight. How much was the nearest competitor? 400e? Or is Ryanair the sole airline that flies to this destination. Either way, I may 50 pound return and for what I pay is what I get. If the times get real rough, there is EU Passenger Bill of Rights that can be used to get Ryanair to compensate you for a hotel.

But delays, technical problems, etc are standard operating procedure of any airline. I've flow Ryanair about a dozen times since 2001 and never had a delay more than 1 hour. Sure, boarding was chaotic and people were drunk, but that did not matter to me as I was paying 50 quid.

If time was of essence, I would fly with Lufthansa or a reputable carrier.