Ryanair - Sweaty palms time again

[malumbu]

They are pushing you to (a) buy priority booking b) pay to specify your seat. They have already prepared the ground by only guaranteeing that less than half would get their full size cabin baggage on board. I'll happily test this next time I use them by not booking priority, and see what happens. Going out doesn't really matter as the small aerodromes that they use the luggage is already through by the time you've got through immigration. My only hurry is to get my hire car.

I'll take an old carry on bag and old clothes that are ready to rag and if I get my bag taken off me on my return to Stansted just leave it on the carousel.

It has been quite amusing as a number of us sitting on our own have shuffled around so that companions can sit next to each other.

Great post Elphin.

[Asset]

I've flown with Ryanair lots and never had any issues, flights on time and the departure and arrival slots are much better than Easyjet's which are often at god awful hours of the morning.

However, I've just booked a Ryanair flight and a few days later received an email stating they no longer allow a cabin bag apart from a small handbag/laptop size. I've had to buy 'priority boarding' which then allows a cabin bag (I rarely travel with hold size luggage and hate waiting for the bags) which has added ?24 to the cost of the tickets. Not a major sum I know but it's the little add-ons they make you buy that end up making the overall cost not so cheap as it seems.

[malumbu]

They've now gone into spam mode, book a flight and then get bombarded on a weekly (and often daily) basis with 'special offers' - car hire, hotels, prostitutes, drugs. It's always a last chance special offer before you fly. Obviously sex workers and narcotics aren't on offer yet, but Michael may be thinking about expanding the service. He'll have difficulty competing with the 'Easy' brand.

[malumbu]

Breaking news - after refusing to pay me compensation a mate who traveled on the same flight used an 'agent' (FlightCompensation.com) to chase them. Amazingly he has just got ?125 compensation (after costs) so at a minimum that is 180 passengers x ?125 = about ?20 grand they should have readily paid out under the EU compensation scheme. Full amount would be around ?220 with current exchange rate so you can make that more than ?30k

I'll be hopefully doing similar.

We were both quite surprised as expected that Michael could keep on hiding behind that "not my fault gov" or refusing to answer his mail. Courts are involved and not sure how much Ryanair contribute to legal costs, or perhaps the recovery company is so slick it is got this down to a tee.

Please don't do me any bleeding hearts stuff about what a great company they are. I use them because they are cheap and fly to places other airlines don't. Happy to pay an extra fiver if they start treating customers better and stop bombarding me with spam.

[rendelharris]

Just looking into flying down to the south of France in the summer with some mates for a crack at some of the Tour de France climbs - flights down to Toulouse a very reasonable ?65 return. Taking the bikes ?150 return per bike on top of the seat cost! Ferry for us, I think.

[malumbu]

Four e-mails today from Ryanair, three for my flight on Friday and one on a forthcoming flight to Carcassonne. Bless.

BA still free for bikes and before the summer kids hols flights look very reasonable. Planes are all a bit tatty, free food gone but....

[rendelharris]

malumbu Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Four e-mails today from Ryanair, three for my

> flight on Friday and one on a forthcoming flight

> to Carcassonne. Bless.

>

> BA still free for bikes and before the summer kids

> hols flights look very reasonable. Planes are all

> a bit tatty, free food gone but....

Are they? Thanks, I'll check 'em out - I almost wouldn't mind paying ?200 for the flight if they'd take the bike free, it's paying twice (or more) as much for the bike as the seat - doesn't make much sense when I weigh eighty kilos and the bike weighs eight!