Why is Ryanair so cheap? Any surprises to expect?

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froggequene

Read the terms and conditions carefully.

The flights are sometimes cheap because they're at ridiculous hours of the morning, if you use public transport you need to make sure that the train/tube can get you to the airport for the flight. If you're not taking public transport and there's no convenient coach and you don't live in the area, you might wind up paying a fair whack for a taxi. Be aware if you need to cancel you won't get a refund - you can sell the flight on & change the name on the tickets, they will charge for the name change, about Â£30.

If you need to make any alterations to your flight they will charge you, in fact, the only thing Ryanair don't charge for, yet, is the air you breathe.

There is no allocated seating like other airlines, if you want a good seat, either go for priority boarding for which you will be charged extra or go stand at the top of the ordinary queue - there are two queues, one for priority boarding & the other for the rest of the plebs who were too cheap to pay extra for the privilege of being among the first on the aircraft : )

If you're putting a bag in the hold (you will be charged for this) make sure it is the exact weight allocated to you or under, you will be charged for the extra.

If you have opted not to take a bag and change your mind at the last minute, you will be charged to put the bag in the hold.

If you have opted for the online check in facility, make sure you do it within the time frame - if you need to check in when you get to the airport & you opted to check in online but didn't you will be charged, you also won't be able to check in online for the second leg of the journey & will have to check in again at the desk.

Ryanair have always charged for food & drink on their flights

If you choose to check in online, they will email you in advance to warn you you need to do it. They will email to let you know that are restrictions on the weight & number of bags (1 bag only) you can take on board - they are planning to enforce the one bag per person in the cabin rule, I usually go through Stansted & they haven't started there yet, I don't know about Luton but you have been warned.

I've tried to give you as much information I have based on personal experience but with Ryanair, more then any other airline you need to pay attention to the terms & conditions.

Read any updates you receive from Ryanair, they tend to move the goalposts when you least expect it.

PS they are quite good at taking off & getting to where you need to go on time but if anything goes wrong or there are delays don't expect an explanation

Edit: I agree with the other posters, they do tend to pick obscure airports but it tends to be more of a problem when you fly to Europe (East & West) then flying between the UK & Ireland. A colleague once flew to Norway with them after getting a flight for next to nothing, only to discover he was 2 or 3 hours by public transport from where he needed to be.

Regardless of who you fly with to Dublin Airport you will have the same journey to the city centre - there is public transport which has regular buses going into the city centre, you could also opt for a taxi but that can be expensive.

sarch_uk

Excellent answers so far and I would just like to add that if you buy anything in the duty free shop Ryanair will charge you to take it in the cabin if it doesn't fit into your hand luggage...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/feb/03/ryanair-hand-baggage

Edit
Apparently they are now considering charging passengers to use the toilet...
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/22/20090227/tod-oukoe-uk-ryanair-toilet-d987f7f.html

Guillaume D

well one thing you can expect from ryanair,is having to pay for EVERYTHING. a year or 2 ago,i asked for a glass of water and was told i had to pay for it.dont expect any food on the flight.cheapness comes at a price

Christine

They are not, once you add in the tax, baggage fee and booking fees, etc etc etc you will find they are the same price as everyone else, except other airlines give you the courtesy of a seat number.

Try Aerlingus website before booking with Ryanair to get the cheapest flight, they actually land in the city they say they will, not some place 29km away, where you are charged an extra â‚¬20 just to get to the nearest town.

slipstreamer

You get what you pay for, It's very bare bones and everything costs extra. But they do get you there.

I agree with all the other answers, nothing more to add. I think Aerlingus is better frankly.

WeenerMan

Better carry plenty of spare change from now on in case you need to use the toilet as they are planning to charge you for using it. Just heard that earlier today. There is no such thing as a cheap flight when you add in all the extra costs that are hidden, the taxes soon bring the cost back up again and as you are dropped off miles from your destination, you will have to pay more money for car hire or taxi to take you to your hotel.

UK sense

My German pal lives near Baden Baden / Karlsruhe

He tells me that very often Ryan air fly to airports (or rather old disused air bases) which are usually a long way from the name of the airport. Like for example Ryan airs "Frankfurt" is a VERY long way from Frankfurt.

The local government, the business associations etc etc make money from the plane loads of people coming through their obscure district, who otherwise would not be there spending money on taxes, duty, hotels, taxis trains and coaches, bars etc etc

I understand some sort of deal is going on.

But then again - all of the above could simply be a crock of sh*t. Just can't trust these Germans (only joking)...

p.s.

check how far you will travel to Dublin center

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