Ryanair Spain service
 

Dear experts,
I'm contemplating to take a non-stop Ryanair from Alicante to Santiago de Compostela in late May. Have no experience with this airline and thus appreciate any feedback on it service, such as chances of getting severe delays, lost/damaged luggage etc.

I'd prefer to take Iberia however it does not offer non-stop flight.

Thank you in advance.

Ryanair is the lowest of the low cost airlines. You will pay extra for almost everything you take for granted on other airlines.

But you will almost certainly arrive on time and your checked luggage will also make it with you. (most luggage gets lost when connecting at another airport or two...)

Whilst we can debate who's the lowest of the low when it comes to lo-co airlines, and I suspect there are actually worse than FR worldwide, sometimes it comes down to your own personal circumstances as to whether or not flying them works for you.

So yes, you'll be charged for a preferred seat. You'll be charged to board first (although often this is bundled with seat selection). You're not guaranteed to have your overhead carry-on next to you because once the bag limit is reached, it'll be taken from you and put in the hold, so you have to wait to collect it. If you have checked baggage anyway, you'll have to pay for it. You quite likely won't get a airbridge, but will be on a bus to a remote stand.

The upside of these policies, which is where FR diverges from the legacy carriers, is that it's much easier to despatch a plane so turnaround times and on-time performance are much, much better. Baggage delivery will be in line with the rest of the industry, certainly no worse.

Play them at their own game - no checked baggage, the very smallest bag that will go under your seat, take whatever seat you get allocated, don't spend when they start bringing the lottery cards round - and you can end up with an absolute bargain fare. Start adding in the niceties and the bill mounts, often to the extent that a legacy carrier will be as cheap (this particularly applies if you have status).

You just need to work out what you want, what you actually *need*, and make a value judgment.

If you want standard airline Y service on FR (minus the meals), get priority boarding. Then you'll be all sorted with the carry-ons. Do be aware that when it says "gate closes 30 minutes prior to departure" they mean it, especially if it's a bus gate.
Leg-room wise, their standard seat leg room is better than Iberia's.

BTW. VY also offers this route. Also a semi-LCC, but closer to a conventional airline than FR. Bookable using IB avios if it's too expensive $$-wise.

Hi Palal,

Thank you again for your advice.
Wife and I will have 2 large luggage as checkin and 2 carry-ons. No need for meal in less than 2 hours - will look for the right Y service when we book in March.
Will checkin at the airport at least 1 hour prior to departure.

cheers, dli

I'd err on the side of caution and aim for 1 1/2 hours prior to departure. Why stress the start of your vacation by running too tight.

you absolutely need to prebook your luggage and check size of carry ons.
most importantly also check in online and do bag drop at airport. Airport issued boarding passes will be €75 each extra charge

you absolutely need to prebook your luggage and check size of carry ons.
most importantly also check in online and do bag drop at airport. Airport issued boarding passes will be €75 each extra charge

Yes, the cost of doing this at the airport is CRAZY! I always use the app get my boarding card so I'll take YorkieFlyer's word for it that the charge is that high. I'm not sure that any other airline does this in such an aggressive manner. Given their low cost seat model we're talking about a doubling or more of the ticket cost if levied that amount of money.