Disagree. Backpackers have no brand loyalty - we go where we can save the $ :D And I've heard plenty of backpackers complain about Ryanair. But it's true that they've built up brand consciousness; albeit with a mixed reputation.

PS I flew Aer Lingus (arguably, budget) and Air France in the last month; cheaper fares than Ryanair for where I needed to go and booking last minute. Oh, that was as a backpacker :p

FYI they are extremely strict about time cutoffs for missing your flight. I waited in line for an hour at Stansted - by the time I got to the front, I'd missed the cutoff by 5 minutes. They refused to let me on the flight despite the fact it was being delayed by an hour. I had to pay nearly $100 to fly to another airport that was 200 miles away simply because it was the only flight left to that country that day. Miserable trip. So, be careful and be on time!

I find this strange. Ryanair at Stansted have individual queues for individual flights, rather than bulk queues, so it is quite apparent to them who is waiting for where. And they do check as closeout time approaches and get everybody processed (sometimes by halting the adjacent queue). And although they do deny those who arrive late, they do have flexibility with a queue that is not fully processed.

How many other passengers were involved ? On past form if you joined the queue 1 hour 35 minutes before departure time (FR minimum check-in time is 40 mins) there would have been many joining the queue behind you. They only open the desk for a flight 2 hours before departure.

My point was that if they are charging people for putting stuff in their pockets they should they should follow WN's lead by also charging heavier people for weighing more with or without stuff in their pockets.

As you said, its all about making money.

I didn't disagree. I think the fares can be dirt cheap and you get what you pay for, which is fine. Expectations are met.

ive had great experiences with easyjet and ryan air. flew ryanair from stansted to ciampino. no problems, just you gotta get to stansted. i had three hours from landing in lgw to get to stansted. a BIG hassle, but the ticket was 25USD so it was well worth it. and being in rome is worth any price. you get your ticket get your butt in the seat and thats about it. the other time i was flying from belfast n ireland to paris and had to get two tickets bfs-lgw then luton-cdg. when i got to bfs i saw they had a flight right to luton so i tried getting on that one to avoid the transfer from lgw to luton. they waived a bunch of fees for me. saved me time and money. i was very greatful. i also had no problem with the weight restrictions on luggage. if your not concerned about frills and just want to get there. this is a great option. i wish they had a frequent flyer program though.

Would you say the same if you had just paid GBP 200 return for a one-hour flight, which is not uncommon when you're travelling peak time?

And as for getting what you pay for: I don't mind the lack of legroom, I don't mind paying for my drinks. What I do object to are

- filthy cabins full of discarded rubbish (quite common on evening flights)

- cabin crew who, on being asked to provide first aid to a passenger, say "I'll be back in a minute" and carry on with the important task of distributing duty-free price lists (I was the person needing first aid on that occasion!)

- cabin crew who don't share a common language with their passengers (I dread to think how they would evacuate the aircraft after an accident)

- pilots who are under commercial pressure to land on the most convenient runway rather than the one that is into wind. The only time I was ever SCARED on a commercial flight was a full Ryanair 737 landing on 1800m of wet tarmac with a tailwind. We came in far too fast, landed far too long and nearly came off the end. OK, I guess we would have been in good company, with the Air France incident in Toronto and the recent BA one in Hannover...

I flew Ryanair once and it wasn't a particularly nice experience, the cabin crew was not very professional and kept laughing through the entire safety demonstration for example.
I will avoid Ryanair as long as possible

It is true you get what you pay for, you get a seat onboard and that's it, everything else will cost extra.

If it's good value for money I guess is from case to case.
Naturally the ticket price depends on how late/early you book, if you're one of the last persons to book you'll most likely get a fare equivalent to an economy class fare on one of the major full-service airlines.
One should also keep in mind you get absolutely nothing onboard, and you'll also arrive at "in the middle of nowhere airports" which are normally not even in the city there are claiming to be.
So if you add public transportation to and from these remote airports (sometimes 1-2 hours of travel time with ticket charges to follow), having to buy everything what you want to eat and drink during your trip, possible excess luggage charge etc it is not always the best option, could be quite the opposite.

One person's "in the middle of nowhere" is another person's home town. If you're trying to get to Sandefjord or Lübeck Ryanair will take you exactly where you want to be...

Very true, I'm sure there are many people benefiting from these new routes, but then they should write they're flying to Lübeck and not to Hamburg.
The same thing can be said about Stockholm, Ryanair flies to Västerås ("Stockholm north") and Nyköping ("Stockholm south").
These are two completely separate medium-sized cities with no connection whatsoever to the Swedish capital and it's a joke they're even allowed to call them Stockholm in the first place.
The travel time from the latter one to Stockholm city is about 1.5 hours by bus!!!

Well, this was back in Dec. 2001, so things may have changed since then. At the time, there was just one gigantic line for everyone. It was a mess. As you said, sounds like they've figured out that this doesn't work very well, but I imagine they're still pretty strict about checking in late.

(incidentally, I had actually allowed for several hours at the airport, but got delayed on the Tube because someone had apparently thrown themselves on the track and got run over, so I was stuck on the train. I think the RyanAir people thought I was making it up when I told them, though)

At any rate, now that I am no longer an impoverished student, I would probably pay the extra $ to fly a 'real' airline.

This is just not true, and I've lost count of the number of times I've had to correct it here on FT.

Ryanair planes leave fully loaded with carts of food and drink, and they make every effort to serve it, often twice on the trip. It's just that you have to pay for it. As this procedure seems to have spread now to even the US major domestic carriers, it cannot be seen as a gross criticism.

Look !

Yes, I distinctly remember buying a chocolate bar on board.

I don't see why people would complain about the service, or lack thereof. If you're paying $15 for a plane ticket, what do you expect? And if you're paying $300 for your ticket, why not fly another airline that does provide free drinks and snacks?

In my case, for the simple reason that nobody else flies to Lübeck. I wouldn't use Ryanair if there was a choice. Flying to HAM (the nearest alternative) would require a long journey through/around London to get to LHR, or a change of plane in AMS... and then a 90 minute journey once I get to Germany.

I certainly meant you get nothing onboard for free, I sure know you can buy all kinds of stuff from the cart.
My point was that if you add all the extras, public transportation to/from the remote airports, not getting anything for free onboard, instead you have to buy it (in contrast to BA for example where inflight service is free), excess baggage charge etc it is not necesarily the best option, especially if you book late and get a higher fare.