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Ryanair again


Llantony
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After a discussion on Ryanair earlier this year, (many negative comments!) I said I'd report back when I'd actually been on a Ryanair flight. 

We got there OK tho I hated the scrum due to them not allocating seats.  They  allow checking in online if you have hand luggage only.  We had 1 piece of hold luggage so thought we try to book one of us in online - not possible!  They try to make it a hand luggage only airline, claiming that if you book online you print a boarding pass (and therefore get a low number) you can get on the plane first - rubbish!  Everyone surges forwards and it's a free-for all. 

Return journey Sunday morning 29 October - plane did not land due to fog.  200 people tried to rearrange their flights with the one person at the desk.   When we finally got his attention we were told the next available flight to Nottingham was Friday.  Relunctantly accepted as we had no information on other ways of getting home and knew Ryanair would not compensate us in any way, except to give us a transfer to another Ryanair flight.  

Later, back in queue as people told us there were other flights. Phoned my son who checked website and said there was a flight on Wednesday and he could book 3 places - we didn't because it was expensive and we couldn't be sure of getting the money back from Ryanair and we were back at the desk by then.  The man at the desk said that flight was full even tho I had just been told it could be booked online.

Then found there was a flight from  Limoges on Tuesday, back to desk... 'Only 1 seat left'.  Later, 'There are seats but we can't transfer you to an earlier flight!'    An hour later, back to desk - 'are you SURE?'  Transferred to Tuesday from Limoges.  So 1 day spent at airport, 1 day extra in our house, most of 3rd day spent driving to Limoges.  3 days extra car hire, 3 days extra parking at Nottingham, 200 miles extra fuel and a lot of stress.  We have travel insurance but it doesn't cover lost income or a different flight, just delay.  The extra car hire and parking has not yet appeared on our credit card statement, I'm sure they'll catch up eventually (once it was over 2 years for a hire firm to tell us they had made an error and our payments had not gone through!) but we still don't know how much it's cost us.

Thank goodness we didn't have to go to a hotel.

I don't think we'll use Ryanair again even tho it's the only airline that goes from Nottingham to anywhere near our house in France.

 

 

 

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At Stansted Ryanair they now gives priority boarding to those who have checked in on line.

I will admit it is quite a scrum at times and do not really like the way they block off certain rows until later on in the boarding.

Find Easyjet a little better.

However, the past couple of times have used BA - who were the cheapest of the 3. Far more civilised, allocated seating (choose your seat when checking in online and not restricted to hand luggage) more comfortable seats that recline and no adverts played at maximum volume for scratch cards etc. I am convinced with Ryanair that the uncomfortable seats, over loud adverts etc are to keep you awake in the hope that you will buy something!

Paul

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Ah Llantony, the joys of Ryanair.... now, their champions (of which there are many) will point out that:

1) They have improved access to many obscure and attractive parts of

Europe, though perhaps not some of the major cities that people might

have hoped to have been visiting. This is true.

2) They are cheap. Agian, this is true. Mostly. In the summer they can

become very expensive and (presumably) hope that everyone will assume

that they are still the cheapest option and use them anyway. If there

is the occaisonal balls-up then the 9 times out of 10 that everything

goes smoothly more than cover the costs of these.

3) They have been good for tourist enterprises, such as ours. This was

true, but since they have become increasingly family unfriendly, most

of our guests have reverted to using the ferries. I don't think that

the loss of family trade during the summer bothers Ryanair one bit:

they are full anyway, and children get in the way of the more

profitable adult passengers.

It might seem to the casual observer that Ryanair are carrying out some

kind of test to see how far they can debase their clients by making the

experience of traveling with them as humiliating as possible. The

airports they use seem to interested in joining in too: at La Rochelle,

the terminal building is so small that the check-in queue snakes upto

100 yards outside. The airport was "redeveloped" to provide a flash new

(pay) carpark, but no cover for the outside area. Twice this year I

have collected relatives from the airport to find a long line of

shivering, soaked people waiting to find out how much they are going to

be charged for excess baggage now that the weight of water has to be counted in. Now, this is not Ryanair's fault

(obviously), but it is symptomatic of the preveiling travel philosophy.

They have their place, but just don't expect too much.

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Yes, a bus service that runs about 4 times a week, with many being fully booked in advance, so if one is cancelled....

The other moan is the PA system, I was not aware what they were flogging/telling us about as the people spoke so fast and had such strong accents (Polish, Czech?) that no-one could understand them!  Hope it was nothing important.

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Mr O'Ryan says cheap flights and all go. Complain when x y z happens, so what, x y z happens to all airlines at times. You get what you pays for. Bus tickets in the sky. Pay more via BA for the same distance with more frills. Read and understand the T&C's not difficult. Back around the circle you go 'you get what you pay for'. You book, you chose, your decision. Not comprehend?

Shrug.

Abientot.  

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[quote user="Apero"]

Mr O'Ryan says cheap flights and all go. Complain when x y z happens, so what, x y z happens to all airlines at times. You get what you pays for. Bus tickets in the sky. Pay more via BA for the same distance with more frills. Read and understand the T&C's not difficult. Back around the circle you go 'you get what you pay for'. You book, you chose, your decision. Not comprehend?

Shrug.

Abientot.  

[/quote]

What about your daughters present on the other thread.

 Jump to it!

Kind regards,

Leo

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I have to remain neutral on this one, as few or none of Ryanair's routes or airports are anywhere near where I want to go, and my idea of value for money includes good customer service, something which Ryanair does not seem prepared to offer, so I am only likely to use the service as a last resort. If Easyjet is better, then I definitely don't want to use Ryanair.

But if users really are dissatisfied then a pressure group might help - even if it only gives a chance to let off steam. I have seen internet-based pressure groups work very effectively in the past, one I was involved in turned things round totally (following a BBC Watchdog item which we instigated) from quite a vitriolic campaign to regular user group meetings with senior company staff, often involving visits to premises to see how things worked behind the scenes, very nice meals provided and excellent and frank two-way communication. I can't see Ryanair being so prepared to listen in the same way, but with enough support then something could be achieved if it looks as if, by acting legally and reasonably, group action (probably in conjunction with staff unions) could result in something that affected company profits. I found one web site here http://www.ryanaircampaign.org/; maybe there are other more militant ones too.

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[quote user="Apero"]

Mr O'Ryan says cheap flights and all go.

Complain when x y z happens, so what, x y z happens to all airlines at

times. You get what you pays for. Bus tickets in the sky. Pay more via

BA for the same distance with more frills. Read and understand the

T&C's not difficult. Back around the circle you go 'you get

what you pay for'. You book, you chose, your decision. Not comprehend?

Shrug.

[/quote]

Shrug.

I don't use Mr O'leary's product any more. I myself object to being

treated like a piece of c***. I don't suppose they miss my custom. My

choice.

I don't understand why an airline that is so obviously IT savvy is

unable to allocate seats and avoid the unseemly scrum that passes for

boarding. This is not a difficult trick for a computer to do. Perhaps

they just like reminding their customers of their place in the scheme

of things. Perhaps they just enjoy the craic. I don't know.

Adults travelling with young children were supposed to get priority

boarding on Ryanair. The last flight I took with them, travellers with

children were let through a full five seconds ahead of the rest (very

important is turnaround time). So anxious were one group of four middle

aged travellers (two couples) to get into row three or wherever that

they ran down the jetway (something their considerable bulk, sweating

& panting  suggested that they did not do too often) and

barged their way through the group with chidren. One boy of about five

years was knocked over with such force that his glasses broke. When I

got on board, his mother was having words with them. For her pains she

was told that it was her own f*****g fault for travelling with f*****g

kids, that if she were a bloke she'd be getting a f*****g kicking and

that she should f**k off. The cabin crew just stood there, and it came

down to a group of male passengers (myself among them) to extract an

apology and get them to move.

After that I rather lost my taste for the "low fares airline," though

admittedly is was about three years ago. Perhaps they're better

organised now.

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We've been using RyanAir Dinard - Stansted route now for 4 years, every other week. In that time, it has never been cancelled and late once, so I can't complain about them! The fare price has actually reduced from what it was 4 years ago, even in school holidays. As it is such a short flight and we use it often, I'm afraid that the low price and the reliability of the service are the things that matter most to me - and Ryanair deliver on that front. I flew with them last weekend and it appears that if you check in on line you get to board first, but it depends on the airport as to whether you get priority boarding with children - certainly at Dinard, I didn't get priority boarding with my five year old, there was the usual scrum.

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When I got on board, his mother was having words with them. For her pains she was told that it was her own f*****g fault for travelling with f*****g kids, that if she were a bloke she'd be getting a f*****g kicking and that she should f**k off"

You can blame O'Leary for a lot of things Jon but NOT for the attitude and upbringing of Brits going abroad.  Yes it is really annoying that Ryanair do not allow advanced booking of seats, that would really remove one of the big gripes about their system, but then again, you cannot reserve a seat on a bus or any trains in the SE of England and the elderly and young do not priority on these service at all. Also with airlines like BMI you can book your seat unless you want a particular seat near an aisle or gangway and then you pay £15 for the privilege which is more than many Ryanair flights cost.  Ryanair obviously see getting on and taking the first available seat as the quickest method of boarding and not people flapping about trying to remember or find their reserved seats.

Will, I just love those who create pressure groups to complain about companies like Ryanair and Easyjet, these companies have opened up air travel to the great unwashed and THAT is what really riles the objectors, they have to share the skies with the common people. The first question I ask any Ryanair complainers is "so who do you fly with now AND who pays your fares for you?" 

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Gay

This quote from the SE train website must be wrong then[:P]

Southeastern does not offer seat reservations. However, if you’re planning to travel on the services of another train operator who does offer them, we can arrange those reservations for you when you buy your ticket.

So as I said, you  CANNOT reserve a seat on trains in the SE of England..

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All I can tell you is that I live in the South East ( Reading counts as the South East usually though I admits it's a rather 'iffy' description of its location )and we have reserved seats on several occaisions, I think what you are saying is that the operator 'Southeastern' does not offer that service, perhaps I have just been lucky and avoided their trains!

On quite a lot of train journeys you are obliged to reserve a seat.

 

 

 

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Aargh.

This debate is near permanent on the forums (fora ?) and it seems that the positions get more entrenched and less of a debate each iteration.

YES to:

New price models in air tranport .

New local airports.

New routings

A commuter 'bus via the air' for workers and double homers and weekend partyers.

Innovative approaches to cost reduction

 

NO to:

Anti family policies

Anti-holiday maker policies

An embedded 'harsh' culture - from Leary's public mouthings to frequent, and short notice,  changes to T&C's

 

The top set were what made Ryanair. The bottom set  may be its undoing as every business needs 'sustainability' and I am not sure that there will be suffiicient market in workers and double homers and weekend partyers to sustain all routes.

So I politely suggest to those who vociferously defend R air (because it suits them and other people should read T&C's more carefully etc.) might take a bit of care. Unless the business can pay for it then their pet route will disappear. Small improvements now might make a world of difference to long term survival.

 

 Easyjet is in fact a valid comparison, though it has its differences.

 

 

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When I got on board, his mother was having

words with them. For her pains she was told that it was her own f*****g

fault for travelling with f*****g kids, that if she were a bloke she'd

be getting a f*****g kicking and that she should f**k off"

You can blame O'Leary for a lot of things Jon but NOT for the attitude and upbringing of Brits going abroad. 

No Ron, I cannot blame any company for the behaviour

of their customers. However, I can blame them for the attitude of their

staff. Nothing was done by the cabin crew. Had they not wished to

involve themselves then airports are teeming with police and security

types: certainly Stansted was. So why not call someone? Well, that

could delay the flight, I suppose, and then someone would be in trouble.

As for rapidity of boarding....well, you see, this is the bit I don't

understand. The number of commercial flights I have taken run well into

four figures (and I enjoyed none of them - I don't like flying one

bit), and I've seen all manner of boarding schemes. The Ryanair method

seems no faster to me than organised boarding. Someone must have

studied this, but that's my impression.

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"Pay more and fly BA'

That's OK if you live somewhere near an airport that gives you the choice.  Ryanair is the only one that goes from near home in UK to somewhere near 2nd home (roughly an hour and a half from Bergerac or Toulouse).

We did BA from Gatwick once as it was cheaper than the cheapo airlines, but then we had to pay 8 days' car parking and add several hours to the journery to allow for delays on the M25 (which did not disappoint!).  The stress of worrying about missing the flight doesn't help.

PS (And the 2nd - small, scruffy - home = 2nd mortgage and we don't earn anywhere near £50k per annum. We just don't go out, spend very little on clothes and household goods etc but love going to France.)

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In any discussion about cheap air fares, whether it is in relation to "green" issues or what you get on a Ryanair etc flight, defenders always state that the advent of cheap air carriers has allowed "ordinary" people to travel abroad.

Interestingly yesterday there was a newspaper article about some research commissioned by BAA which seems to counter this myth.  The research shows that the majority of people using cheap flights tended to have incomes of around £50k and they took a lot of cheap flights during the year.  People on these sorts of income were able to afford the other things associated with frequent trips abroad - hotel costs, spending money and presumably second homes abroad.

Before all the flack hits me, I am merely paraphrasing the research - not making a judgement!  [:D]

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Jon D wrote

I don't understand why an airline that is so obviously IT savvy is unable to allocate seats and avoid the unseemly scrum that passes for boarding.
After that I rather lost my taste for the "low fares airline," though admittedly is was about three years ago. Perhaps they're better organised now.

I think you might find that seats are not allocated in the hope that people will take the first ones that they come to rather than have people trying to get to their allocated seats but being held up by people standing in the aisle stowing luggan in the overhead locker etc.

Plus I do not know about other people but I find the gate areas at Stansted that Ryanair uses absolutley appaling.

Paul

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[quote user="Thibault"]

In any discussion about cheap air fares,

whether it is in relation to "green" issues or what you get on a

Ryanair etc flight, defenders always state that the advent of cheap air

carriers has allowed "ordinary" people to travel abroad.

Interestingly yesterday there was a newspaper article about some

research commissioned by BAA which seems to counter this myth. 

The research shows that the majority of people using cheap flights

tended to have incomes of around £50k and they took a lot of cheap

flights during the year.  People on these sorts of income were

able to afford the other things associated with frequent trips abroad -

hotel costs, spending money and presumably second homes abroad.

Before all the flack hits me, I am merely paraphrasing the research - not making a judgement!  [:D]

[/quote]

Interesting point. I confess that no matter how cheap the flight, I

always found that a few days away was pretty damned expensive. The car

hire costs are another item that is putting our guests back onto the

ferries - it seems that these are now generally creeping up.

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Just returned from a weekend in Farnce. Ryanair have tweaked the usual numbered priority boarding, well at least on the East Midlands/Nantes route. You can now have priority boarding for an additional cost of £2 per person.

Perhaps the sale of their on board raffle tickets and scratch cards aren't going too well..

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[quote user="Will "]

 I can't see Ryanair being so prepared to listen in the same way, but with enough support then something could be achieved if it looks as if, by acting legally and reasonably, group action (probably in conjunction with staff unions) could result in something that affected company profits. I found one web site here http://www.ryanaircampaign.org/; maybe there are other more militant ones too.

[/quote]

Though I don't know Michael O'Ryanair personally I suspect that he is only interested in whether people buy his product - not whether they love or detest him. While his business makes money he will rightly claim that he is a success.

Whatever others claim there are ALWAYS alternatives to Ryanair so contributing to his coffers is voluntary but many of his detractors choose not to see this.

John

not

 

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'there are ALWAYS alternatives to Ryanair'  - Yes but as already stated, they may involve travelling much further to other airports at both ends of the journey, taking longer and costing a lot more in petrol and car parking (which we don't need to do at our local UK airport as we can get a lift, bus or taxi). 

Ryanair have cornered the market on several routes e.g. taking over Nottingham-Toulouse from BMI Baby.

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  • 3 months later...
I travel on Ryanair on a regular basis, and find they are reliable (have only been delayed once - just lucky?) which is why I use them, and the fact they are cheap!! The car hire I use my Tesco vouchers for, so only pay 1/4 of the hire price! (using the Tesco deals,)
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