Ryanair - routes, schedules, incidents and issues (merged posts)

[whole diary]

[PhilWakely]

A two-together Railcard costs £30 for the year and would save £60 for that trip.

Only after 9.30am Monday to Friday.

[grahame]

Where was the car being picked up?  Manchester or Crewe?   What were their comparative first and last mile (or 30 mile) costs?

Edit - just picked up that she started from Lansallos - closer to Looe (which I presume is why the advance ticket suggestion that II^▸ (IndustryInsider - a respected member of this forum) made from one).    Begins to look like a story with missing costs.    Also puzzled at flying being quicker if there was an 8 hour layover.

[LiskeardRich]

I don’t get the negativity towards Ryanair. In fact I’ve found them to be one of the most on time airlines, and everything always very efficient. When I can fly to Krakow, Budapest or Geneva for less than £20 each way as well.

Their service is definitely superior to the very expensive British airways

[John D]

If you were to buy tickets for tomorrow, you could get an Advance Single for two for £196.80 from Looe to Crewe, with reserved seats between Liskeard and Crewe. This can be done simply by using the GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) app, without the need for split tickets, railcards, or unusual routes.

A two-together Railcard costs £30 for the year and would save £60 for that trip.

But have to jump through hoops to get it, 2 photos etc, and not exactly available if you need it in few hours from some of the small stations on Looe branch.

It's not as if the rail industry automatically discounted the fare by potential saving for an occasional traveller.  All they have achieved is (very bad) publicity which suggests rail tickets are normally expensive, thus discouraging anyone (who doesn't normally use rail) from trying a rail journey.

[JayMac]

But have to jump through hoops to get it, 2 photos etc, and not exactly available if you need it in few hours from some of the small stations on Looe branch.

A Two Together railcard can be applied for, purchased and activated in less than 10 minutes. All you need is a smartphone.

[Clan Line]

 Also puzzled at flying being quicker if there was an 8 hour layover.

I don't think the story ever claimed it to be quicker - they said they enjoyed their "eight hours in the sun............enjoying the sun, food and drinks".   I'm pretty sure they weren't talking about Manchester   

[PrestburyRoad]

For me the tedious part about flying is the airports.  Having to set off early to allow for traffic delays - because if you miss your flight it's not usually the case that  you can get another one soon after.  At the airport itself feeling herded from one pen to the next, so many times; and the waiting at each pen.  So many stages of processing.  So many things to show at the various stages - and the worry of losing them.  Searching for the one airside water point to refill a water bottle after going through security.  Having to endure the weird smells of the 'perfumes' while trekking through the duty-free area.  The expensive catering.  Repeatedly checking for the screen that eventually shows which gate to go.  I'm feeling tired just from thinking about it.  Then there's the flight - and I admit there is 10 seconds of thrill as the pilot puts their metaphorical foot down at the start of the take-off.  Then there's all the faff of the airport at the far end ...

For me flying is to be endured not enjoyed.

[Witham Bobby]

For me the tedious part about flying is the airports.  Having to set off early to allow for traffic delays - because if you miss your flight it's not usually the case that  you can get another one soon after.  At the airport itself feeling herded from one pen to the next, so many times; and the waiting at each pen.  So many stages of processing.  So many things to show at the various stages - and the worry of losing them.  Searching for the one airside water point to refill a water bottle after going through security.  Having to endure the weird smells of the 'perfumes' while trekking through the duty-free area.  The expensive catering.  Repeatedly checking for the screen that eventually shows which gate to go.  I'm feeling tired just from thinking about it.  Then there's the flight - and I admit there is 10 seconds of thrill as the pilot puts their metaphorical foot down at the start of the take-off.  Then there's all the faff of the airport at the far end ...

For me flying is to be endured not enjoyed.

100% agreed

Always it's the queues for the mandatory security checks that grip me.  It's rare for there to be sufficient staff to prevent a big backlog.  In those queues, 15 minutes can seem like forever, crushed in with so many other travellers.  Sadly, a necessity  after Lockerbie and 9/11

My first flight (aged about 12) was from Birmingham (then known as "Elmdon") to Belfast (shared with RAF^▸ (Royal Air Force) Aldergrove, now Belfast International) on a Vickers Viscount, with British European Airways (BEA).  White jacketed stewards served freshly brewed real coffee from silver jugs into china cups.  And the thing is, the flight was about 45 minutes.  These days BHX^▸ (Bank Holiday excepted (on timetables)) to Belfast George Best takes about an hour and 10 minutes.  Another case of progress being backwards, and you can't just turn up at the airport and stroll out onto your plane

[Timmer]

I don’t get the negativity towards Ryanair. In fact I’ve found them to be one of the most on time airlines, and everything always very efficient. When I can fly to Krakow, Budapest or Geneva for less than £20 each way as well.

Their service is definitely superior to the very expensive British airways

I don’t either. Always had good flights with them. They are after all Europe’s largest airline with most legacy airlines copying most of what they do, so they must be doing something right.

[grahame]

 Also puzzled at flying being quicker if there was an 8 hour layover.

I don't think the story ever claimed it to be quicker ...

From the newspaper clipping ...

On a flight you are guaranteed a seat, you don't have to stand up for hours on the train and it is quicker

[LiskeardRich]

 Also puzzled at flying being quicker if there was an 8 hour layover.

I don't think the story ever claimed it to be quicker ...

From the newspaper clipping ...

On a flight you are guaranteed a seat, you don't have to stand up for hours on the train and it is quicker

It is quicker, if you go direct. She chose to have 8 hours on the beach sunbathing.

[PrestburyRoad]

I don’t get the negativity towards Ryanair. In fact I’ve found them to be one of the most on time airlines, and everything always very efficient. When I can fly to Krakow, Budapest or Geneva for less than £20 each way as well.

Their service is definitely superior to the very expensive British airways

I don’t either. Always had good flights with them. They are after all Europe’s largest airline with most legacy airlines copying most of what they do, so they must be doing something right.

I haven't had a problem with Ryanair but that's because I've double-checked and triple-checked that I've jumped accurately through all their hoops regarding check-in, boarding passes, cabin baggage, hold baggage etc.  I have the impression that they make their profit from the expensive charges imposed on passengers who fail to pass precisely through a hoop.  And having to avoid this makes me feel more stressed when I fly with them.
All this said, once I'm in the air I've found the flying to be similar to other airlines, and I would consider flying with them again.

[Clan Line]

From the newspaper clipping ...

On a flight you are guaranteed a seat, you don't have to stand up for hours on the train and it is quicker

Yes, she did say that a flight is quicker.  However, it would have been totally silly to claim that the journey was quicker, when it patently wasn't - which was not what she said.  Was the 8 hrs on the beach really part of the flight ?  Actually, the flight WAS quicker, 5h 05m as opposed to 6h 15m on the train.

[LiskeardRich]

I don’t get the negativity towards Ryanair. In fact I’ve found them to be one of the most on time airlines, and everything always very efficient. When I can fly to Krakow, Budapest or Geneva for less than £20 each way as well.

Their service is definitely superior to the very expensive British airways

I don’t either. Always had good flights with them. They are after all Europe’s largest airline with most legacy airlines copying most of what they do, so they must be doing something right.

I haven't had a problem with Ryanair but that's because I've double-checked and triple-checked that I've jumped accurately through all their hoops regarding check-in, boarding passes, cabin baggage, hold baggage etc.  I have the impression that they make their profit from the expensive charges imposed on passengers who fail to pass precisely through a hoop.  And having to avoid this makes me feel more stressed when I fly with them.
All this said, once I'm in the air I've found the flying to be similar to other airlines, and I would consider flying with them again.

They make the hoops very clear at the booking stage in all fairness to them. I’ve recently made a booking and each stage it asks if you’re sure i only wanted an underseat bag of dimensions x y z. I’ve then got an email reiterating those hoops, trying to sell me more.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Ryanair mulls bigger bonus for spotting oversized bags

Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary has said the airline is considering increasing a bonus it pays to workers for identifying passengers with oversized bags.

Staff currently receive €1.50 (£1.30) if they intercept customers who are trying to bring bags that are too large on a Ryanair plane. "We are determined to eliminate the scourge of oversized bags which delay boarding and are clearly unfair on the over 99% of our passengers who comply with our baggage rules," Ryanair said in a statement.

Mr O'Leary told RTE^» (Raidió Teilifís Éireann, Irish Broadcaster - website)'s Morning Ireland, "we're thinking of increasing it [the bonus]," to stop people from bringing oversized bags.

Ryanair said oversized baggage fees are only paid by a small minority of passengers. "Our message to those 0.1% of passengers is simple; please comply with our generous bag rules or you will be charged at check-in or at the gate," the airline said.

Mr O'Leary said his airline was already struggling with that amount of baggage taken on planes. "That's one of the reasons we are so aggressive about eliminating the scourge of passengers with excess baggage," he added.

The chief executive said over 99.9% of passengers follow the baggage rules correctly and referred to "sizers" located within the airport that can measure bags. "We are happy to incentivise our (staff) with a share of those excess baggage fees, which we think will decline over the coming year or two," he said.

Ryanair passengers can be charged up to €75 (£65) for bringing a bag larger than the size they paid for while booking their flight. The airline currently allows a small carry-on bag – with a size capped at 40cm x 20cm x 25cm and weight of 10kg – with every ticket. However, this is set to increase to 40cm x 30cm x 20cm as a result of minimum standards being brought in by the EU^» (European Union - about).

Ryanair customers can also pay to take extra luggage on the plane and agree to specific size confirms and conditions when they book.

Mr O'Leary's comments came as Ryanair reported a jump in profits for the April to June period. It said profits after tax rose to €820m (£710.3m) for the period, up from €360m a year earlier, helped by the timing of Easter and also by a rise in fares.

Mr O'Leary said Ryanair's summer fares would be the same rate on average as 2023 but added he thought the airline could boost its profitability by "controlling costs".