The RYANAIR thread
#166
Join Date: Oct 2016
Programs: BA Silver VS EI
Posts: 162
Seats Selected in a dummy booking
I was pricing up return flights and added all my extras, seats etc. I didn’t book at the time but came back a few minutes later. The seats I had selected for both flights are now gone!! Is this because I had previously selected them and they are being held. It’s unlikeky someone else has taken the exact seats I had wanted because there are still loads available. Has anyone else encountered this or know when they would become free again to select??
#168
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: London
Posts: 18,408
More interesting than that it seems: PIK-RZE is £8 on all flights until 23 February inclusive, and then from 26 February and onwards it drops to £6. It seems detached from the fares since within that period you can have higher fares on £6 and lower fares on £8. The RZE service then stops on 30 March, and switches to Bydgoszcz, and stays at £6.
There's something similar on EDI-KRK, so they get £6 from 21 March (which has a £130 fare on that particular day as it happens), hence a different date, with £8 on all fares on and before 19 March.
There's something similar on EDI-KRK, so they get £6 from 21 March (which has a £130 fare on that particular day as it happens), hence a different date, with £8 on all fares on and before 19 March.
Same flight at a higher price in late July (when kids go on holiday) the charge is £8
So this is going to trip up people who (like me) might make separate bookings. Having committed to the extra carry on in one direction find they have to pay more to bring it back.
Last edited by LapLap; Feb 20, 2019 at 4:12 am
#169
Moderator, Iberia Airlines, Airport Lounges, and Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Feb 2010
Programs: BA Lifetime Gold; Flying Blue Life Platinum; LH Sen.; Hilton Diamond; Kemal Kebabs Prized Customer
Posts: 63,857
I was pricing up return flights and added all my extras, seats etc. I didn’t book at the time but came back a few minutes later. The seats I had selected for both flights are now gone!! Is this because I had previously selected them and they are being held. It’s unlikeky someone else has taken the exact seats I had wanted because there are still loads available. Has anyone else encountered this or know when they would become free again to select??
#170
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Germany
Posts: 3,815
Does Ryanair occasionally also discount high season prices, or are their crazy low prices for low season only?
E. g. if I want to fly them to a typical summer holiday destination in the summer but am flexible about the dates - is it better to book now, or speculate on a future sale?
I understand it is usually better to book now when you have specific travel dates. But what if travel dates (or even the exact destination) are flexible?
E. g. if I want to fly them to a typical summer holiday destination in the summer but am flexible about the dates - is it better to book now, or speculate on a future sale?
I understand it is usually better to book now when you have specific travel dates. But what if travel dates (or even the exact destination) are flexible?
#171
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: London
Posts: 18,408
Does Ryanair occasionally also discount high season prices, or are their crazy low prices for low season only?
E. g. if I want to fly them to a typical summer holiday destination in the summer but am flexible about the dates - is it better to book now, or speculate on a future sale?
I understand it is usually better to book now when you have specific travel dates. But what if travel dates (or even the exact destination) are flexible?
E. g. if I want to fly them to a typical summer holiday destination in the summer but am flexible about the dates - is it better to book now, or speculate on a future sale?
I understand it is usually better to book now when you have specific travel dates. But what if travel dates (or even the exact destination) are flexible?
This is the time when you might find a half decent price for August.
There is absolutely no incentive, none at all, for Ryanair to introduce a sale.
If you are flexible in, not just dates, but destinations, it is possible that somethIng will turn up for the holidays, but it’s unlikely to be a typical summer destination.
What is more likely to turn up between now and August is a flash sale on a non LCC offering a non-direct route.
In the past my kid and me have “camped” on a rubberised playground floor at Madrid with Iberia and transitted at Oslo with SAS to save a couple of hundred pounds on the direct Ryanair price from London to Alicante. We were quite flexible with dates too.
I booked our outbound LON-ALC flights at the end of January and got them cheap (about £40 each). Unfortunately, I had to wait for confirmation from other people before being able to book our return about a week ago, £120. Prices have gone up considerably since then.
My parents booked their Ryanair STN-ALC outbound flights for the middle of June, £34 each including the hand luggage fee. They will be in ALC for the Hogueras fire festival and stay until the end of August.
#173
Moderator, Iberia Airlines, Airport Lounges, and Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Feb 2010
Programs: BA Lifetime Gold; Flying Blue Life Platinum; LH Sen.; Hilton Diamond; Kemal Kebabs Prized Customer
Posts: 63,857
Ryanair and easyJet both price competitively, but rarely compete directly against each other from the same pair of airports. Sometimes Ryanair will be cheaper, sometimes easyJet, but the context may well involve different airports and different times of the day. Both airlines use airports which vary from some of Europe's largest airports to places which aren't much more than an airstrip in the middle of nowhere. It's difficult to generalise here other than it is certainly true that some of Ryanair's airports are a bit obscure. The same could be said of easyJet. So for example Ryanair use Beauvais airport, north of Paris, which is some distance from central Paris, equally easyJet uses Southend, which is some distance from London. But if your hotel was close to Porte Maillot or Stratford, respectively, then both airports are potentially sensible choices.
#174
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: London, UK
Programs: bmi DC, BAEC
Posts: 1,108
airports
Both airlines use airports which vary from some of Europe's largest airports to places which aren't much more than an airstrip in the middle of nowhere. It's difficult to generalise here other than it is certainly true that some of Ryanair's airports are a bit obscure.
#175
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: California
Posts: 463
Ryanair used to have a reputation for using obscure airports, but they have changed a lot and often fly into the hubs as well. With both you need to check very carefully the airports used today (could be the "main" airport but could also be something 100km away), the schedule, and the baggage/seat policies that are currently in place. The rules have changed several times since the airlines began operating, and a mistake could cost a lot (relative to the price of the seat)!
#176
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Germany
Posts: 3,815
There is no general rule here - you need to look at specific airport codes you want to fly to. Don't trust airport names used by Ryanair (their "Frankfurt"-Hahn airport is closer to Luxembourg than to Frankfurt, for example), but their 3-letter airport codes are correct.
And be aware of their restrictions - e. g. their free hand luggage allowance is smaller than on most carriers, and if you travel as a couple, you will either have to pay for seat reservations, or be likely seated apart, because you cannot select seats for free, even during check-in. Have a look at their "fees" page - it gives you an idea of the stuff you would have to pay extra for.
And be aware of their restrictions - e. g. their free hand luggage allowance is smaller than on most carriers, and if you travel as a couple, you will either have to pay for seat reservations, or be likely seated apart, because you cannot select seats for free, even during check-in. Have a look at their "fees" page - it gives you an idea of the stuff you would have to pay extra for.
#177
Join Date: May 2017
Posts: 2,017
https://www.ryanair.com/gb/en/useful...lp-centre/fees
Also note that transportation to the city could be more expensive (or cheaper) as they often don't use the same airports as other airlines.
#178
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: PHX & AGP
Programs: AA Lifetime PLT, Bonvoy Lifetime Titanium, Hilton Gold
Posts: 11,463
Yes, do take a look at their fees. There are a lot of pitfalls that could cost you extra. For example, you have to pay an additional 55 pounds or euros if you don't check in online but try to do this at the airport.
https://www.ryanair.com/gb/en/useful...lp-centre/fees
Also note that transportation to the city could be more expensive (or cheaper) as they often don't use the same airports as other airlines.
https://www.ryanair.com/gb/en/useful...lp-centre/fees
Also note that transportation to the city could be more expensive (or cheaper) as they often don't use the same airports as other airlines.
#179
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: London, UK
Programs: bmi DC, BAEC
Posts: 1,108
and sometimes normal airlines can be almost as cheap as Ryanair/Easyjet - it's total pot luck.
#180
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: California
Posts: 463
Otherwise, Ryanair is perfectly fine for a short hop like that. It's also fun to board and disembark from the tarmac!