[Flightlevel]

Do they compare to other LCCs, anyone flown SW.A/L recently? Sometimes fly 5J,Cebu Pacific, and although cheap (sometimes) they are cheerful, wear very sensible uniforms and never imposing on their paid for service.
Clean and relatively new aircraft and always eat or buy before boarding ‘though they have some cute gifts and even games to win gifts!

[Charles-P]

Filthy dirty cabin and unprofessional crew. No price is low enough for me to use them again

[FaroFlyer]

[quote quote=811222]I flew with Ryanair many years ago Stanstead to Dublin return day trip for lunch, found it a terrible experience and have never considered the airline again, regardless how cheap the tickets are. But potentially some passengers find the destinations appropriate or that the fares are comfortable for their budget.

[/quote]

It is typical of so many contributors to this forum that they live in the past. It is why they constantly moan that BA is not what it was. No, it isn’t what it was. It is no longer state owned, flights are generally on time, and are a lot cheaper. 25 years ago I would pay ~ £250 round trip BHX to FAO. Yes, I had “free” drinks, but now, 25 years later, I have to pay for a drink, but I still pay £250, or less, for flights on the same route.

The same contributors also have an arrogance that people would only fly a LoCo airline because they can’t afford a “real one”.

Ryanair realised a few years ago that being nice might work. I was told this before it happened, by a Ryanair pilot who sat by me on a flight from FAO to MAD. He said that MO’L had been told, by staff, to try being nice. MO’L has tried it, and it works. The airline has improved, as has EZ. They have moved with the times. It would be nice if contributors could also move with the times.

[Charles-P]

Well now they have discovered how to be nice all they need to do is to discover how to clean a cabin, train their staff in safety procedures and fit a decent seat ?

[MartynSinclair]

OK , lets stop Ryan bashing.

Can anyone provide any positive, fresh and exciting flight reviews about Ryan… highlighting the benefits

Where is Uggyboy when you need him??

[AlanOrton1]

FaroFlyer – I too read a couple of years back the Ryanair were trying to improve their image. I’m not too sure what they have done as they still seem to have more pernicious traits then the average LoCo. See Peter Coultas and my earlier example as to things they do that I don’t believe others do, in order to extort additional funds from their pax.

In my example, I see no need why they cannot allocate 2 pax seats next to each other when there were plenty available. This isn’t ‘nice’ and something I’ve not seen before on any LoCo (inc Ryanair), so it would be appear to be a new ploy purely to generate extra revenue.

Martyn – having travelled with them last on Tuesday I can’t find anything too positive to say, but in order to try:

*Flight left on time
*They do serve a good cup of coffee
*Flight landed on time
While not down to Ryanair, other parts of the journey that went well:
Next to no waiting time to clear security at ALC
Reasonable lounge courtesy of Priority Pass
Short queue (for once) to clear passport control at STN

Finally, while not on this occasion, they tend to offer the lowest priced fares on the limited routes I use LoCo’s on.
However, they still have a way to go to offer a slightly more pleasant experience, which EZY seem to have a far better grip of.

[Alsacienne]

Sorry to hear that you had a bad experience Charles, but I am sure that you are old enough and wise enough, having told us all of happened to you, to move on.

For personal reasons I am having to commute more regularly than usual to the UK and use BSL to STN and SXB to STN regularly with Ryanair. Over the last 25 years of living in France I have yet to experience anything close to what you describe. All carriers may have ‘off’ flights with issues of skimpy cleanliness on turnarounds … but as Ryanair cabin crew (all 4 of them) have to turn the cabin round in less than 30 mins, maybe it would be a kind thought if departing passengers took their rubbish with them, and perhaps inflight, tried to eat and drink respectfully for those around them and those who follow them. And this suggestion could equally apply to all passengers regardless of their carrier.

Indeed, some of the worse mess I’ve seen on an aircraft floor is in Business Class on BA’s transatlantic routes as I walk through once those who can afford to pay higher fares than I have left the aircraft … you honestly wonder what sort of people leave such rubbish, especially as I’m sure that it is not only Economy Class where the cabin crew perform gash runs during the flight and certainly before landing.

The AGB programme that Ryanair is rolling out is certainly effective when compared to travelling with them 3 years ago before it started. If a passenger reads and understands the T&C when booking a ticket (which they do ‘click’ to do!) then there should be far less stress between service provider and client.

I may be mistaken but it would seem that certain posters on this thread typify Ryanair customers by social class and behaviour. Unwise. And quite likely untrue. Remember that it’s often true that a rich (wo)man stays rich by maximizing and protecting their income and minimizing their expenditure. Not everyone needs to flash the cash to impress.

My experience of Ryanair is that it does what it promises … gets you from A to B safely at an honest price. If you want more, then you need to put your hand in your pocket, remembering that every airline can have an off-day, and sometimes it’s due to factors (and organisations) beyond their control.

[PhilipHart]

@Charles-P, as a fellow private pilot – though much lowlier than you – I have become conditioned to following a checklist.

So, even as a very frequent flyer – like most on BT – and in spite of many odd looks from fellow PAX, I still religiously read the Safety Card and check under my seat for the lifejacket.

[sailandfly]

I used Ryanair to fly from Porto to Faro, route which no other carrier flies. It was priced the same as bus which would take much more time and would be not more comfortable. I was happy to have an option like that and I kept in mind that sometimes tram or metro ride takes longer than that flight. I had few poor flights with some well known airlines but service level, punctuality and aircraft condition on this flight was comparable to any legacy carrier. Cabin design and FAs unifroms are never going to win awards but FAs were well groomed and professional. Being avid reader of this site and forum I know many will agree that crew’s service is often deal breaker and Ryanair delivered on that front as well. Safely and on time.

[Charles-P]

PhilipHart

No such thing as a “lowlier” pilot. Flying is flying regardless of the aircraft. Like you I check as well, my wife still does not understand why it takes so long before we take off in our Pilatus while I run through the preflight checks twice (old RAF training)

[Henryp1]

[quote quote=811259]

Henryp1 wrote:

I flew with Ryanair many years ago Stanstead to Dublin return day trip for lunch, found it a terrible experience and have never considered the airline again, regardless how cheap the tickets are. But potentially some passengers find the destinations appropriate or that the fares are comfortable for their budget.

It is typical of so many contributors to this forum that they live in the past. It is why they constantly moan that BA is not what it was. No, it isn’t what it was. It is no longer state owned, flights are generally on time, and are a lot cheaper. 25 years ago I would pay ~ £250 round trip BHX to FAO. Yes, I had “free” drinks, but now, 25 years later, I have to pay for a drink, but I still pay £250, or less, for flights on the same route.

The same contributors also have an arrogance that people would only fly a LoCo airline because they can’t afford a “real one”.

Ryanair realised a few years ago that being nice might work. I was told this before it happened, by a Ryanair pilot who sat by me on a flight from FAO to MAD. He said that MO’L had been told, by staff, to try being nice. MO’L has tried it, and it works. The airline has improved, as has EZ. They have moved with the times. It would be nice if contributors could also move with the times.

[/quote]

For me I don’t live in the past, but if I’ve had poor service from a supplier I may not give them ‘another go’ regardless of the time in between, just as if I got food poisoning from a restaurant, I wouldn’t return. Or if I purchased a mechanical item which was defective, as it’s my life, time and funds which I use. Others may chose to do so, good for them if it meets their needs.

I don’t believe I’ve made comments about the old days of BA, 25 years ago I didn’t pay for my travel. If it’s relevant I’ve never paid for catering on any aircraft and today still don’t, but for those who do, that’s their concern. I make no judgements on anyone, just as we all chose where we live, what car we drive etc. So if wealthy people fly LCC thats their business, I have no specific interest in others who have no real relationship with me. So I’m not too sure where I should move onto.

It’s nice to read your insight, as so many contributors on numerous forums state, I know….., I’ve been told….., I know the senior team…. etc, but there is no ability to know if it’s accurate due to the anonymous postings.

[PeterCoultas]

Always a fan of Dos but suggest you try logging into airport wifi from the middle of the Adriatic on a functional UK mobile and se what you get….sorry the is a non starter

[PeterCoultas]

Apologies I didn’t check before posting….Always an FDOS fan …but,just try using a mobile in the middle of the Adriatic to contact an Italian airport, using a UK mobile and, as a genius, YOU might suceed….I couldn’t…

[Johnnyg]

I think it’s a case of Horses for courses, about 18 months ago there was a programme on tv about Ryanair. Michael O’Leary was interviewed and said that every time Ryanair was mentioned, good or bad the following day there was a sales spike as people went online to see what the fuss was about and realised a) how low their fares were and b) what a great breadth of destinations they served.

Customers were also interviewed, the ones who said they would not fly again with them were experienced older travellers whilst the ones who thought they were great were of the younger generation.

In the last 12 months they have been on a charm offensive, ordered more new aircraft, created more European bases and are flying to more main airports as opposed to out of area one. Frankfurt Hahn springs to mind.

You can also bet your bottom dollar that if they had suffered the outage last week instead of BA the media this week would crucify MOL, their sales would probably go up and their marketing dept would be working overtime with sales and promotions.

I will also mention that I have never flown with them but if necessary I would have no qualms at all. Each to their own.

[bluemooner]

AlanOrton1 – I am Bluemooner – being a Man City supporter. Not bluemoaner, which is what I was until the Abu Dhabi sheikhs came to my rescue.
Mrs Bluemooner does not know I write on this site, otherwise you might be reading my obituary!

[Author]

Posts