Miserable Ryanair strike again.

Daisy M

I paid 150 sterling in the early 90s for return flights from London to Ireland. My weeks wages were less than 150 sterling before tax so it was a hefty fare.

I book the cheapest flights available for the time I am going, I have never found any other airline to be cheaper than Ryanair.

April O Neill

homerjay2005 wrote: »

so your not happy your flights are on time?

They're "on time" because they overestimate the journey time deliberately. And their determination to be on time sometimes causes them to take off for the destination airport that's not even an hour away knowing its shrouded in heavy fog, instead of waiting a while to see if it lifts. Then when the fog remains, a diversion to an airport 200 miles away happens. Talking from experience here.

I'm not trying to sound too complainy though, I like how I can get places cheaply. Just don't be fooled by the "on time" BS.

brian ireland

Flying to Europe in the next few week. Booked it in Jan, Aer lingus €350. Ryan Air €105. I will get what I paid for!!!

jonnny68

The biggest myth going is people saying Ryanair are always the cheapest, utter nonsense, i fly every other week unfortunately mostly with FR as they are the only airline that fly to my destination but i also use other airlines particularly when flying to London and the last 3 flights I've booked have been with aer lingus simply because they were cheaper than FR to Gatwick, very rarely will you come across €25 flights with FR these days, well maybe if you depart at 06.30 on Tuesday morning if you are lucky.

I grin and bear flying with this despicable airline, i concede they are relatively cheap but certainly not to the extent some people try and make out.

jsd1004

April O Neill wrote: »

They're "on time" because they overestimate the journey time deliberately. And their determination to be on time sometimes causes them to take off for the destination airport that's not even an hour away knowing its shrouded in heavy fog, instead of waiting a while to see if it lifts. Then when the fog remains, a diversion to an airport 200 miles away happens. Talking from experience here.

I'm not trying to sound too complainy though, I like how I can get places cheaply. Just don't be fooled by the "on time" BS.

What a load of bull. They give you a journey time and arrive at that time. That is not an over or underestimate of the time. The last two flights i had with AL were 2 hours late each. It is much worse to underestimate than overestimate an arrival time. And im talking from experience here..i have a flight booked shannon malaga for Tuesday. 49 euro all in and i know my departure time and arrival time. I would not even look at AL and i only booked 2 days ago.

April O Neill

jsd1004 wrote: »

What a load of bull.

Not at all. For example, the quoted travel time from Dublin to Manchester is given as one hour. It doesn't take one hour.

On the flight I was on that had to divert due to fog, other airlines going from the same airport as I to the same destination waited until notice had been given that the fog had cleared. This would have been the sensible thing to do.

Why were AL delayed? Was there a good reason? There may have been. Did you bother to find out why or just get pissed off?

Ryanair are known for their quick turnarounds, but it's not always a good idea. And it's one of the reasons they land at steeper angles. It's quicker. The crew are under serious pressure to turn around in 30 mins. As a slightly nervous flyer, that makes me a bit antsy. And even taking into account quick turnarounds, they still overestimate flight times. Those AL flights might have been delayed, but that's different to flight time. Once in the air, the flight likely took the quoted amount of time. Ryanair flights get delayed too, ya know!

stone_cutter

its a bit of a myth that they are always the cheapest but whats also a myth is that their service is rubbish , i bought ham and cheese sandwiches on board the last time i flew with them and they went down nicely

admiralofthefleet

i have flown with them loads of times and they were always excellent

JustAThought

Im the early 90's when a generation emigrated to the UK, the cheapest ticket you could buy was an Apex Aer Lingus fare - this cost two hundred and sixty old pounds - IF you could get one, and only a limited number were released, and you could only buy them two weeks before the flight. If you didn't get one then it was the standard six or more hundred punts fare.

If you never paid the Apex fare my guess is you work for Aer Lingus.

Ryan air broke the back of the monopoly and opened cheep and reliable flying.

I NEVER use Aer Lingus for connecting flights or for business's trips anymore and use Ryanair by preference. Aer Lingus will consistently book flights and then cancel one & leave you hanging around for hours waiting for the next one to " fill" it up. I've missed too many connections and spent too many hours hanging around terminals for wasted hours to ever risk an Aer Mingus flight again.

Not to mention the obvious . Read the conditions and play by the rules and you will get cheep, reliable ,dependable Ryanair service .

Note - last year when I had to fly Aer Mingus ex Boston the marching thugs that masqueraded as Aer " hostesses" spent the first five minutes of their " welcome" shouting over the PA that they were not there to serve us but to provide Air safety, and we ( customers) were not to disturb them because they were busy. Un-f'ing-believable. And they were totally oblivious to the gasps of disgust and disbelief that filled the cabin at that.

Roll on Ryanair victory over the Atlantic.
Aer Lingus - E4000 home for Christmas from Boston - that's Still Aer and yet they can still " afford" to roll their almost free and standby Flights for their staff, their stff buddy friends and their families .

Can't wait til Ryanair are running transatlantic flights. Might see some extended family and friends at actual Christmastime for a change instead of late January or February.

Yamanoto

JustAThought wrote: »

I NEVER use Aer Lingus for connecting flights or for business's trips anymore and use Ryanair by preference.

The FR model and route network appear well suited to your requirements. That wouldn't be the case for most business travellers in my experience. For those requiring direct services to the major hubs & cities across the EU and beyond, only full service carriers can provide the range of classes, ticketing flexibility, capacity, connection options and transferable member benefits which business travellers typically tend to favour.

jonnny68

jsd1004 wrote: »

What a load of bull. They give you a journey time and arrive at that time. That is not an over or underestimate of the time. The last two flights i had with AL were 2 hours late each. It is much worse to underestimate than overestimate an arrival time. And im talking from experience here..i have a flight booked shannon malaga for Tuesday. 49 euro all in and i know my departure time and arrival time. I would not even look at AL and i only booked 2 days ago.

No you are taking bull, FR vastly overestimate flight time to destinations, this is not hearsay but fact, I unfortunately travel with them every other week and have done for years, Dublin to Manchester for example takes approx 32 minutes generally but in the last 3 years I've noticed FR change flight times from 45 minutes to 90 minutes and change it again to 55 minutes, so when I seen 90 minutes I made a point of asking and got some muffled response about how that was the 'official time' I often check the departure time as well as the landing and each and every time they vastly overestimate flight times, i recently flew to Amsterdam in 75 minutes with EI who gave a flight time of 90 minutes so in effect they were well on time.

FR are not the only airline who lie through their teeth when it comes to vastly overestimating flight times but the fact they then outlandishly claim to be Europe's most on time airline defys belief but then again no surprises from them

faceman

jonnny68 wrote: »

The biggest myth going is people saying Ryanair are always the cheapest, utter nonsense, i fly every other week unfortunately mostly with FR as they are the only airline that fly to my destination but i also use other airlines particularly when flying to London and the last 3 flights I've booked have been with aer lingus simply because they were cheaper than FR to Gatwick, very rarely will you come across €25 flights with FR these days, well maybe if you depart at 06.30 on Tuesday morning if you are lucky.

I grin and bear flying with this despicable airline, i concede they are relatively cheap but certainly not to the extent some people try and make out.

I don't have a big issue with flying Ryanair. However as with this poster I don't always find them the cheapest. One particular route I fly twice a year, aer lingus has been cheaper every time bar 1 over the past 2 years. And they both fly to the same airport

awec

Great to see a set of employees behave like adults and get themselves a pay rise without union involvement. Puts paid to this myth that unions are anything other than a self-promoting irrelevance.

mfceiling

I find that the people who give out about ryanair are the ones who've been stung by not following the rules.

I got caught once by them for an overweight bag at check-in and they wanted 100 quid. My little one was sitting on the little luggage belt when the girl moved it on. She fell back on to the floor and whacked her head. Poor ryanair girl nearly had heart failure. Kept asking us did we want a doctor. The little one was fine....bag magically went through for free!! Mf 1 Ryanair 0.

To be fair though I've never had an issue with them. Every summer holiday I've found them to be at least 500-600 cheaper than aer lingus. One year they were 850 cheaper to Milan...can't argue with that.

jsd1004

jonnny68 wrote: »

No you are taking bull, FR vastly overestimate flight time to destinations, this is not hearsay but fact, I unfortunately travel with them every other week and have done for years, Dublin to Manchester for example takes approx 32 minutes generally but in the last 3 years I've noticed FR change flight times from 45 minutes to 90 minutes and change it again to 55 minutes, so when I seen 90 minutes I made a point of asking and got some muffled response about how that was the 'official time' I often check the departure time as well as the landing and each and every time they vastly overestimate flight times, i recently flew to Amsterdam in 75 minutes with EI who gave a flight time of 90 minutes so in effect they were well on time.

FR are not the only airline who lie through their teeth when it comes to vastly overestimating flight times but the fact they then outlandishly claim to be Europe's most on time airline defys belief but then again no surprises from them

The arrival time and departure times are the most important figures here. I am only concerned with arriving at the scheduled time. Then I can arrange further transport pick up etc. Ryanair tell me what time I get there and arrive at that time. It is great that they change flight durations to account for varying factors such as weather industrial action etc. There is no such thing as a set flight time in aviation. You could extend all AL flight times by an hour and they still will not get you there before that time.

GetWithIt

mfceiling wrote: »

To be fair though I've never had an issue with them. Every summer holiday I've found them to be at least 500-600 cheaper than aer lingus. One year they were 850 cheaper to Milan...can't argue with that.

Far be it for me to call shenanigans on an AH post but this does not tally with my experience.

Are you comparing a flight booked 6 months in advance to one booked 1 day in advance.

I am a frequent flier to a large variety of locations. It's rare that there's much variance in price. More often than not the timings dictate my choice.

I don't get the Aer Lingus bashing. This isn't the 80's. Nowadays they are price competitive.

Duckjob

For me, Ryanair are a breath of fresh air when you compare them to lardy taxpayer-subsidised transport companies that have no sense of the having to get more efficient because they can just get yet another state-approved handout from the taxpayer.

mfceiling

GetWithIt wrote: »

Far be it for me to call shenanigans on an AH post but this does not tally with my experience.

Are you comparing a flight booked 6 months in advance to one booked 1 day in advance.

I am a frequent flier to a large variety of locations. It's rare that there's much variance in price. More often than not the timings dictate my choice.

I don't get the Aer Lingus bashing. This isn't the 80's. Nowadays they are price competitive.

2010 familly of 2 adults and 3 children (1 under 2 at the time).

Booked about 2 months before departure - €1300 to fly to milan linate with aer lingus. €450 to fly to milan bergamo with ryanair.

Genuinely true - wife wasn't pushed with ever flying ryanair but when she saw the price difference she had no argument.

Last year we flew to barcelona and booked 5 months in advance - aer lingus were €1100 for us and ryanair came in at €780.

I always check them both but in my experience i've only ever had one cheaper flight with them and that was a flight from london to dublin also in 2010.

jonnny68

jsd1004 wrote: »

The arrival time and departure times are the most important figures here. I am only concerned with arriving at the scheduled time. Then I can arrange further transport pick up etc. Ryanair tell me what time I get there and arrive at that time. It is great that they change flight durations to reaccount for varying factors such as weather industrial action etc. There is no vsuch thing as a set flight time in aviation. You could extend all AL flight times by an hour and they still will not get you there before that time.

Well i personally am sick of them forever waffling that they are the world's favourite airline and Europe's most on time airline, nothing could be further from the truth..

I fly regularly and the flight itself generally takes anything between 30 to 45 minutes, i don't mind that giving a few minutes here and there waiting for take off, however I've been on flights which have departed over an hour late and they still had the audacity to play that ridiculous on time jingle cue laughter and a look of disbelief on pax.

Although funnily enough my flight this morning to Dublin departed 20 minutes late and whilst they didn't apologies they didn't play the ridiculous jingle.

Darkwarriorcok

I just fly with them for the landing on time tune!!

Yamanoto

jsd1004 wrote: »

You could extend all AL flight times by an hour and they still will not get you there before that time.

That's just being silly tbh.

EI were ranked #1 for punctuality among the 35 largest scheduled carriers operating in and out of LHR during 2012 (in terms of total flights during the period).Their first place was replicated at Birmingham & Belfast and their figures marginally pip Ryanair at LGW.

The latest OTP (On-Time Performance) figures available from UK reporting Airports are headed by Aer Lingus, with Ryanair in 5th position.

http://www.flightontime.info/latest/latest.html

On an anecdotal note, any delays I've experienced over the last 6 years of frequent travel have always resulted from ATC restrictions at Schipol or Heathrow - this usually involved sitting on the tarmac in Dublin in the case of travel to Amsterdam or maintaining a holding pattern somewhere over London. Fog in Schipol and congestion at LHR more often than not being the root cause.

dutopia

Aer Lingus treat you like a human being, Ryanair have nothing but contempt for you. I don't mind spending a little extra to be treated better than sell out for a slightly cheaper fare.

dutopia

dutopia wrote: »

Aer Lingus treat you like a human being, Ryanair have nothing but contempt for you. I don't mind spending a little extra to be treated better than sell out for a slightly cheaper fare.

How do they articulate their contempt?

smileyj1987

In fairness to Ryanair they might not have the best service / staff but all comapanies are the same . They are a good Airline and would fly with them any day of the week .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdnQLDcDVSc

jonnny68

...............

jonnny68

dutopia wrote: »

Aer Lingus treat you like a human being, Ryanair have nothing but contempt for you. I don't mind spending a little extra to be treated better than sell out for a slightly cheaper fare.

Not far off the truth, I wouldn't classify all FR staff as bad but in general EI staff are much more welcoming and friendly

Aglomerado

admiralofthefleet wrote: »

i have flown with them loads of times and they were always excellent

They're fine. OK, the way they constantly try to sell stuff on board is a pain in the rectum, but they get me to multiple destinations reasonably cheaply (if I play by their baggage rules), which is all I want really. Thanks to FR, I've gotten to places I never thought I would get to see.

true

Fair play and well done to Ryanair. Its great to see an Irish run company grow and compete with other airlines from around the world and grow to be one of the worlds biggest airlines, if not the biggest.

Ryanair bashers are the worst of the Irish begrudgers.

cloud493

One of the few times I've flown with air lingus, I couldn't tell the difference, the cabin crew were ruder than ryanair in fact. The big difference was the big price :mad:

syklops

Snickers Man wrote: »

I never paid 250 quid to fly to London from Dublin and I've been doing it since the early 1980s. Don't believe all the bull****.

I've seen the bullsh*t. My dad still has the receipt for the 350 pound(Punt) ticket he bought for a flight to Heathrow with Aer Lingus back when there was no alternative. I don't know what bullsh*t you're spouting.

Haters gotta hate I suppose.

hooradiation

true wrote: »

Fair play and well done to Ryanair. Its great to see an Irish run company grow and compete with other airlines from around the world and grow to be one of the worlds biggest airlines, if not the biggest.

Ryanair bashers are the worst of the Irish begrudgers.

yeah, i mean fuck you if you've had bad experiences with them and don't wish to give them any further custom, you must be a begrudger......

HandsomeJonny

Memmingen to Dublin return for 65€ end of April booked 2 days ago. Same days with Aerlingus 250€. Granted I've to pay 30€ return for the Bus from Munich HBF to Memingen Airport but who gives a ****. The only other advantage of EI in this case is they have a departure from Dublin at 16:00 which of course is better than Ryanair but in the end you just save about 4 hours of the day.

I've nothing against EI. I also fly to MUC with them. really from MUC it takes an hour to the main airport from the central station too. It's not that much different! If the price is not that different from MUC I will pay. I'd be willing to pay an extra 20 euro not to go to Memmingen.

DeanAustin

Love Ryanair, love Michael O'Leary, hate flying with them coz I'm over 6 foot.

Sergeant

I'm a huge fan of the Ryanair model, and think Michael O'Leary is one of our finest Captains of Industry. I've also made a tidy little profit oto date after buying some shares in the company last September.

That said I wouldn't fly with them unless I really had to. I'm not a fan of flying alongside a motley assortment of knackers, families with small children, hen parties and greasy studenty types. Something about being in a metal tube in the air that seems to bring out the worst in them.

A Primal Nut

FTA69 wrote: »

They managed to get a pay rise due to collective organising and bargaining, not because Ryanair are nice people. Ryanair has consistantly attempted to prevent the people that work for them engaging in legitimate trade union activity and at one stage even fired people for disseminating leaflets. They embody everything that is wrong with corporate greed.

The fact they sell cheap flights is immaterial; Chiquita sell cheap bananas but it doesn't justify the fact they treat their staff abysmally. It always bemuses me when people fawn over multinational companies.

I've worked for Multinational Companies and small independant companies and for me the Multinationals have always had much better conditions, pay health insurance and better money.

Customers like them because they are often a lot cheaper.

newcavanman

krudler wrote: »

People who hate on Ryanair make me laugh, go back to paying 250 quid to fly to London so like it was years ago.

250 quid, when wages were a hell of a lot smaller than they are now. In reality a return flight to london would cost a miminum of 2-3 weeks wages for an average joe back then . Daylight robbery. Bring on Ryanair !!!!

A Primal Nut

dutopia wrote: »

Aer Lingus treat you like a human being, Ryanair have nothing but contempt for you. I don't mind spending a little extra to be treated better than sell out for a slightly cheaper fare.

If you get on a bus, do you expect a conversation with the bus driver? Must be annoying when he tells ya to leave him alone to do his job.

Yamanoto

A Primal Nut wrote: »

If you get on a bus, do you expect a conversation with the bus driver? Must be annoying when he tells ya to leave him alone to do his job.

Watertight analogy right there.

DEFTLEFTHAND

I heard on the news there that O'Leary has donated his Cheltenham winnings (200,000) to jockey JT McNamara who was paralysed in a fall at the festival. Nice thing to do.

DDC1990

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

I heard on the news there that O'Leary has donated his Cheltenham winnings (200,000) to jockey JT McNamara who was paralysed in a fall at the festival. Nice thing to do.

Wasn't Cheltenham winnings.

He had a competition with the Irish Racing Post, that the winner of the Point-to-Point Flat race in Fairyhouse yesterday, would be offered €200,000 for their horse.

However, his own horse won the race. So he would have been offering himself 200 grand to buy his own horse :P

So instead he donated the 200,000 to JT McNamara's fund. An exceptionally kind thing to do.

fishy fishy

jonnny68 wrote: »

Not far off the truth, I wouldn't classify all FR staff as bad but in general EI staff are much more welcoming and friendly

I couldn't care less about being pampered on a flight if I got it at the right price. You get on, you sit down, bring your sandwich, and fly from A to B. Somebody being friendly to me doesn't come into it - I don't really care if the staff are not friendly, as I don't have much dealings with them. What's with all this stuff about being made to feel welcome - it's a mode of transport for goodness sake. Do you be made to feel welcome on a bus??

Mr Benevolent

fishy fishy wrote: »

I couldn't care less about being pampered on a flight if I got it at the right price. You get on, you sit down, bring your sandwich, and fly from A to B. Somebody being friendly to me doesn't come into it - I don't really care if the staff are not friendly, as I don't have much dealings with them. What's with all this stuff about being made to feel welcome - it's a mode of transport for goodness sake. Do you be made to feel welcome on a bus??

Some people seem to think that airline flying is special. It's really not. It requires lots of manpower, training and maintenance, but for the passenger it's unremarkable. At least it is for most people. It's the equivalent of sitting on the bus for 4 hours but with better views and more toilets.

realitykeeper

It has been suggested that Ryanair should agree to arbitration. Well, I disagree with that notion. The problem with arbitration boards is that they are infested with trade union people who have no grasp of the economic realities of running a business. For this reason, arbitration boards are not fit for purpose and unless the trade unionists are removed and replaced with people like Michael O`Leary, they will remain unfit for purpose and worse, they will remain a scandalous waste of taxpayers money.