Opinions re: Ryanair?
 

My wife and I are trying to get to Paris from Rome. Ryanair seems to have some cheap flights with nonstop service. Is there something I am missing with this carrier? Seems too good to be true to be paying so little (even with the dollar to euro conversion), especially in comparison to other European carriers. Is Ryanair Europe's Southwest? I've also heard about a strict baggage allowance. How strict are they? The planes can't be that small (I'm used to AA's not-so-Super 80s)?

From what I understand Ryanair is the lowest of the low. No seatback pockets, no windowshades, no legroom, no overhead bins etc. That's just what I have heard.

They'll get you there, it won't be in great comfort, you won't have anything but the bare legal minimum if things go wrong, customer service is miserable, delays will be greater towards the end of the day, you won't be able to connect flights, you'll have to pay for everything, you can expect to queue for ages, you'll use secondary, miles-from-anywhere airports, you'll board in a free-for-all (at most airports)... But you'll get there, for very little money.

The strict luggage allowance (by weight, not size) is pretty standard for Europe. Ryanair apply it more strictly than others because they cut their prices to the bone. If you're over, there's no argument: you pay full whack. Their planes are all 737s. They've still got some manky old 732s - take earplugs. The 738s are nicer.

Ryanair is a great value if you can book far enough in advance to get the practically free fares and are willing to put up with everything stut mentions above. It's very similar to Southwest but lacks Southwest's outstanding customer service. However, it's a very good alternative to the majors as long as you are flexible with your time and destination airport. I'd definitely use Ryanair again.

Yes , but only more so ! In fact I think it was the Southwest concept, that inspired the founders of Ryanair in the first place.
The Paris airport they use is Beauvais which is some 80 kms (50miles) north of Paris. I´ve used that airport before but not with Ryan.
Bad news is that it is a very small airport without many facilities. The good news are that you once you have picked up your luggage you only have to walk a few steps to the parking lot outside, where there are busses that will take you to Paris in about an hour or so.
See for more info:
http://www.aeroportbeauvais.com/

Have you looked at Easyjet or if Germanwings operates that route? Every time I hear the name Ryanair I get shivers up my spine...

Yes, my EasyJet flight from Toulouse to Orly was very painless. I'd definitely fly them again.

Check every other option and only if you cant get fares close to Ryanair would i use them, Weigh your luggage carefully and factor in the cost/time of using out of the way airports. Good luck!!!!!!!

They have overhead bins. The legroom is limited, but that's true on short-hop flights in the US on many carriers too. I see little point in paying hundreds of dollars more per flight to have seatback pockets and windowshades.

RyanAir is fine, and you're right there isn't a point to having seatback pockets and windowshades, but... be sure you price everything out, including transportation from where you are to the RyanAir airport. 12€ from Frankfurt, the city, to Frankfurt Hanh isn't inexpensive, particiularly when you consider that you'll probably have to take a bus at the other end that is equally expensive. By the time you add in the airport taxes and fees, plus the credit card fee, it might be less expensive to take a legacy carrier from a real airport.

I second the opinion to doublecheck easyJet--they do tend to fly to real airports for the cities they claim to serve.

If you do fly RyanAir, or easyJet, check in as early as possible--they have really strict deadlines. A colleague of mine learned this one the hard way at RyanAir. He showed up 39 minutes before the flight and was denied bording.

A guy sitting at Bar at Brussels Airport noticed a very beautiful woman sitting next to him. He thought to himself, "Wow, she's so gorgeous she must be a flight attendant. But which airline does she work for?

Hoping to pick her up, he leaned towards her and uttered the Delta
slogan:
"Love to fly and it shows?" She gave him a blank, confused stare and he immediately thought to himself, "nope, she doesn't work for Delta".

A moment later, another slogan popped into his head. He leaned towards her again, "Something special in the air?" She gave him the same confused look.
He mentally kicked himself, and scratched Singapore Airlines off the list.

Next he tried the Thai Airways slogan: "Smooth as Silk."

This time the woman turned on him "What the hell do you want?"

The man smiled, then slumped back in his chair, and said, "Ahhhhh, Ryanair!"

Book far enough in advance and take the rough with the smooth and you're laughing with Ryanair. Easyjet is far superior both in terms of seat comfort and the airports they use. I've not yet come across an Easyjet fare for 2p plus tax like Ryanair do however.

I flew on one of FR's latest 738's to Vasteras recently and one of the best initiatives I have ever seen is that they've removed the seat recline (allelujah)..every other airline should do this with their economy seats. I saw the ignorant t**t in front of me searching for the button and thought "ha, not on the this flight you don't". Maybe I'm too nice, but I always look behind to see if there's a tall guy there BEFORE I recline.

When travelling with Ryanair, the sentiment to adopt, before even getting to the airport is "this is going to be a challenge and I'm going to hate it" - then at worst it'll meet your expectations - things can only get better! If what they say is correct about punctuality, they're supposed to be better than the likes of flag carriers...but like any company they probably put their own spin on it.

Not necessarily. If they have to cancel a flight, for whatever reason, you are stuck. They will not lay on an extra flight to get stranded passengers home, they will not rebook you on other carriers. They will simply spread their 200 stranded passengers over the next available flights - which, if you're end of the queue, could be in a week's time. Make sure you have good contingency plans.

Another thing you have to be prepared for if you take an evening flight are dirty cabins. They have a 25-minute turn-round time which isn't enough to clean the cabin in between flights, so the later the hour the dirtier the cabin.

The airports are not necessarily miles from ANYWHERE - they are just miles from the city Ryanair claims to serve. LBC ("Hamburg") is a long way from Hamburg but is extremely convenient if you want to get to the lovely city of Lübeck...

And Ryanair doesn't ALWAYS get you from A to B for very little money, if you fly at peak time or book at short notice you can end up paying an awful lot (my record stands at GBP 200 return for a one-hour flight)

Ryanair's checked baggage allowance is only 15 kg, which is 5 kg less than anybody else - but they have recently increased the carry-on allowance from 7 kg to 10 kg which means that I no longer have to hide my laptop under my coat at check-in! :D

Only their newer aircraft have non-reclining seats and no seat pockets - but while seats will recline on older aircraft there is nowhere to recline them to! Make sure you bring your own sick bag if you're prone to to airsickness as no seat pockets means no sick bags.

I use Ryanair quite regularly because one of their miles-from-anywhere airport just happens to be two miles from my mother's house... but other than for visiting my mother I try to avoid them.

what do you all think of bmi? i was considering traveling with them from amsterdam to london - 44 euro of course you add an extra 33 euro fees

thanks

Took them recently from London to Cork. All in all, I was satisfied with the "service" (getting me from A to B) -- just a 1-hour flight, though. The first 8 rows of the aircraft were taped off and no one allowed to sit there . . . I don't know why, but it was a bit unnerving. No problems though. 0.49 GBP round-trip. With fees & taxes & etc., around 40 GBP.