Ryanair - Grrrrrr.

The_Conductor

Definitively not to the same extent.
Just booked two tickets to Lisbon on Aerlingus 5 minutes ago- they came to 220 + 32.53 taxes and charges each.
Earlier booked two flights to London Heathrow with Aerlingus again- weekend flights and all- it came to Euro 120 + 11.34 Euro taxes and charges for each ticket. (Same tickets would actually have been more expensive with Ryanair when travel by coach by discounted return ticket was considered, versus taking the tube from Heathrow- at 288 Euro (roughly))

The levels of hidden charges are not too significant with Aerlingus- while in the case of Ryanair they can be up to several thousand percent the original advertised cost of the ticket. Also- while its the case that last minute bookings cost more everywhere- a flight that originally was sold at 9.99 is suddenly 149.99 at the last minute on Ryanair- a 1500% hike.........

RuggieBear

smccarrick wrote:

Ok- my bitch about Ryanair- is that they quote ridiculous flight times for their flights, so that they can delibertly have amazing statistics for flights arriving on time (note: early is considered ontime). In a sample of 25 consecutive flights between London Stansted and Carcassonne (south of France) the average flight time was 47 minutes shorter than advertised, and the flights landed on average 22 minutes before schedulded (the difference being flights taking off late). Thats an extremely dupliticious manner of having brilliant flight statistics......

Actually something that always amused me too. I fly to Liverpool at least once a month to see my girlfriend. It only takes 25mins once the cabin doors are locked. Yet when i started on this route a couple of years ago Ryanair quoted an hour for travel length. Recently they have reduced this 45mins.....so even if the plane takes off 20mins late (which is quite regular) the chief air steward/ess annonuces on landing something along the lines of "Ryanair are delighted to welcome you to liverpool 15 minutes ahead of schedule...."

Suprised they haven't been done for false advertising or sumting

p

therecklessone

smccarrick wrote:

Earlier booked two flights to London Heathrow with Aerlingus again- weekend flights and all- it came to Euro 120 + 11.34 Euro taxes and charges for each ticket.

I'd love to know how you managed that. I've just checked DUB-LHR with Aer Lingus, on two seperate dates.

2 Oct (Sat), returning 3 Oct (Sun) - Taxes&charges = €44.27

4 Oct (Mon), returning 6 Oct (Wed) - Taxes&charges = €44.27

British Midland want €38.92 plus stg£3 credit card charge for the same flights.

FlyBe from Dublin to Exeter will cost me €57.78 in taxes and charges for the weekend of 2/3 October.

Cityjet DUB-LCY would cost €55.43 for the weekend.

smccarrick wrote:

The levels of hidden charges are not too significant with Aerlingus- while in the case of Ryanair they can be up to several thousand percent the original advertised cost of the ticket.

Agreed. The percentage increase in cost is huge with Ryanair, as you said often in the thousands. But you're still paying the same taxes, and usually the same charges, whichever airline you use.

Marq

I've been fúcked by Ryanair in the past, but to be honest, you get what you pay for. flying easyjet stansted to Rome last week, we were delayed both ways for 2 and a half hours each time. to fly with aer lingus direct from dublin (we flew ryanair to stansted and on from there) would have cost us an extra 60 euro (230 as opposed to 170). that's including taxes etc. I've made up my mind that I'm never flying with budget airlines again, it's just now worth the hassle. 60 euro extra is the price i'll pay for the slightest of Ryanair's whims (extra baggage, one minute late for check-in, name change). I won't bitch about them cos they're cheap, and that's what one should expect from a cheap airline, but I don't think I'll be flying with them again.

Or easyjet for that matter, worst airline i've ever flown on, and I've flown on a few. utter fúcking cowboys.

BlitzKrieg

impr0v wrote:

in other words, the 60 euro you saved by not going over weight cost you a packet more in damage repair.

i would never bring a comp on as baggage, have you seen the way they treat the bags? and if they scan the bag and see that it's basically just this big hunk of electronics wrapped in minimal disguise of course they are going to open it up to make sure it isn't something more suspicious.

you should have either taken it across on the ferry, couriered it or just brought the drive back and forth and had the shell of a computer in both places, would have saved you a lot of hassle.

at the time the ferry, shell of computer (couldnt just be hard drive, the entire computer is pumped up for spec. video editing, needed everything out of it) and courier where not options to me.

also Ryanair at stansted were told it was a computer and they put it through the *fragile* duct. If you ever been stansted you'd know that you have to put it through a different check in point when its marked fragile.

and if the computer got damaged in transport then it was my loss. But what got me was that the computer was removed from a secure baggage and then damaged...thats what got me. If my computer arrived still in bag and broken...its my fault. If it arrives without bag with the front missing...hmmmmmmmm

Victor

BlitzKrieg wrote:

I arrive in dublin. After laughing at 3 americans who couldnt figure out if there EU or not (true story) i arrived at baggage claim to find my bag has not arrived. I waited 40 minutes until finally the PC arrived without the bag! It seems someone in Ryanair dublin airport felt that the PC needed to be taken out of the bag. The computer arrived with only a towel hanging off it and the entire front of it smashed in...

Maybe they though there was a bomb in the case and security blew it up?

smccarrick wrote:

Earlier booked two flights to London Heathrow with Aerlingus again- weekend flights and all- it came to Euro 120 + 11.34 Euro taxes and charges for each ticket.

therecklessone wrote:

I'd love to know how you managed that. I've just checked DUB-LHR with Aer Lingus, on two seperate dates.
2 Oct (Sat), returning 3 Oct (Sun) - Taxes&charges = €44.27
4 Oct (Mon), returning 6 Oct (Wed) - Taxes&charges = €44.27.

Are smccarrick's figures one way? There are no taxes flying from Dublin, there are on the way back.

Imposter wrote:

Last week both my case and hand luggage were weighed in Stanstaed going to Dublin but coming back to Linz from stanstaed they didn't check as thoroughly and even let through my case which was over the 15kg. Dublin and Linz were also fine with me.

There is a definite pattern of them checking more in Stansted - where fewer people have the option of culling their luggage.

tovalee

Slightly off topic, but i found this amusing. In Ryanair's terms and conditions page, they list prohibited items. Guess I wont be taking my cattle prod on holiday after all..

Some of the other prohibited items:

catapults, harpoon and spear guns, Animal humane killers, stun or shocking devices, e.g. cattle prods, ballistic conducted energy weapons (laser),

infectious or biological hazardous material - e.g. infected blood, bacteria and viruses

chainsaws, model aircraft, lawnmowers,

Do people really try to take lawnmowers on board? :eek:

The_Conductor

tovalee wrote:

Slightly off topic, but i found this amusing. In Ryanair's terms and conditions page, they list prohibited items. Guess I wont be taking my cattle prod on holiday after all..

Some of the other prohibited items:

catapults, harpoon and spear guns, Animal humane killers, stun or shocking devices, e.g. cattle prods, ballistic conducted energy weapons (laser),

infectious or biological hazardous material - e.g. infected blood, bacteria and viruses

chainsaws, model aircraft, lawnmowers,

Do people really try to take lawnmowers on board? :eek:

Ok- Maybe people don't take lawnmowers on board- but I did witness a certain individual (who is a list member) attempt to bring a smallish fridge onboard as portable luggage (Aerlingus to London) and being gutted when made place it in the hold because it contains Freon gas. I also witnessed an Indian lady attempting to transport an entire marble fireplace with her as carry-on luggage on a Ryanair flight from London (to Dublin) - you can imagine the fun that ensued.....

Re: your list of prohibited items above- last time I checked Laser devices they were not ballistic. Ballistic relates to the motion of items under their own momentum and the force of gravity- i.e. it definitively does not apply to "light".......

Ye gods- its too early in the morning......

Shane

BuffyBot

catapults, harpoon and spear guns, Animal humane killers, stun or shocking devices, e.g. cattle prods, ballistic conducted energy weapons (laser),

infectious or biological hazardous material - e.g. infected blood, bacteria and viruses

chainsaws, model aircraft, lawnmowers

You would be very surprised what people try to bring aboard aircraft!

gobby

Imposter wrote:

Last week both my case and hand luggage were weighed in Stanstaed going to Dublin but coming back to Linz from stanstaed they didn't check as thoroughly and even let through my case which was over the 15kg. Dublin and Linz were also fine with me.

I can only hope for the same thing!

I was thinking though, whats to stop someone from taking some of the heavier things out of hand luggage bag, stashing the stuff somewhere, getting the bag weighed and then just go back and put your things back into the bag!?

I have a quite a few cd's with me and a hdd. Together they weigh a couple of kilos. I was thining of even just putting them in my pockets at the check in desk and then when I'm past it just put the cd's and hdd back into my bag.

Anyone ever tried this? I'm not sure if they would be looking out for people that do this and I really cant afford to lose a flight!

The_Conductor

gobby wrote:

Anyone ever tried this? I'm not sure if they would be looking out for people that do this and I really cant afford to lose a flight!

I brought 2 10litre kegs of beer from a private brewery in Freiberg on an Aerlingus flight from Frankfurt in hand luggage (in a regular sized but unusually bulky shaped backpack). It was put through the x-ray machine and I was quized a little, but let go. I did not have the hmmm zapfanlage with me- the thingy for siphoning off the beer- so it was obvious I wasn't going to drink it. My hand luggage weighed in excess of 25Kg. It did still fit in the baggage test thing- with a bit of force, which is why I was let away with it I think.

parsi

smccarrick wrote:

Ok- my bitch about Ryanair- is that they quote ridiculous flight times for their flights, so that they can delibertly have amazing statistics for flights arriving on time (note: early is considered ontime). In a sample of 25 consecutive flights between London Stansted and Carcassonne (south of France) the average flight time was 47 minutes shorter than advertised, and the flights landed on average 22 minutes before schedulded (the difference being flights taking off late). Thats an extremely dupliticious manner of having brilliant flight statistics......

Probably - but it does have the advantage of there being a great chance that the plane will arrive at the scheduled time which is what you use when making arrangements to be met or get a train or whatever...

The_Conductor

parsi wrote:

Probably - but it does have the advantage of there being a great chance that the plane will arrive at the scheduled time which is what you use when making arrangements to be met or get a train or whatever...

One way of looking at it- another is waiting for 40 minutes in 38 degrees centigrade heat in a converted hanger without airconditioning in the middle of the Mediterranean while your friends take their sweet time arriving to collect you.......

Victor

gobby wrote:

I was thinking though, whats to stop someone from taking some of the heavier things out of hand luggage bag, stashing the stuff somewhere, getting the bag weighed and then just go back and put your things back into the bag!? I have a quite a few cd's with me and a hdd. Together they weigh a couple of kilos. I was thining of even just putting them in my pockets at the check in desk and then when I'm past it just put the cd's and hdd back into my bag.

Ryanair are covered for this, everthing has to be included in the weight, including the boxers you are wearing at time of check-in.

parsi wrote:

Probably - but it does have the advantage of there being a great chance that the plane will arrive at the scheduled time which is what you use when making arrangements to be met or get a train or whatever...

Or alternatively, they loose customers because the scheduled arrival is too late.

simu

What can I say - they're annoying but they're cheap(ish). It's good that they're there as an option but in many instances and especially if you're booking well ahead of time, I find it's less hassle to use Aer Lingus/Air France or other more traditional airlines.

The_Conductor

simu wrote:

What can I say - they're annoying but they're cheap(ish). It's good that they're there as an option but in many instances and especially if you're booking well ahead of time, I find it's less hassle to use Aer Lingus/Air France or other more traditional airlines.

You said it Simu- I agree 100%
Now that Aerlingus have mostly gotten their act together, and we have Cityjet for France etc- we do have options- something that was in serious constraint previously.

Btw- a tiny little press release winged its way across my desk earlier- Air Luxor are pulling out of both Ireland and the UK on competition grounds. They are claiming they are unable to fairly compete on specified routes and are closing all their UK operations as of 30/09/04 and all their Irish operations as of 31/10/04, with no plans to reinstate their services in the new year. All passengers with bookings are to be accomodated on schedulded flights from other carriers.......

Why do I get a sense of deja vu?

Shane

Trojan

gobby wrote:

I've flown in and out of Frankfurt Main with AerLingus for about €200 return. My final destination was also Darmstadt. I have also visited Darmstadt but flying with Ryanair. Trust me, Aer Lingus bring you way closer. Ryanair's idea of Frankfurt isnt even Frankfurt! Its a 3 hour bus journey away from Frankfurt Hbf. Which is the last thing you could want after having to make a stopover in London.

Actually, I have taken this route once the AerLingus way but maybe three or four times with Ryanair. Baxtards are just so goddamn cheap.

Curious, what were ye at in Darmstadt? (I lived there for a while)

I used to work for Software AG (in Dublin).

tovalee

smccarrick wrote:

Re: your list of prohibited items above- last time I checked Laser devices they were not ballistic. Ballistic relates to the motion of items under their own momentum and the force of gravity- i.e. it definitively does not apply to "light".......
Shane

I dunno, I copied and pasted right out of the list, that particular item was listed under Guns Firearms and Weapons.. here

gobby

Trojan wrote:

I used to work for Software AG (in Dublin).

Hmmm... Haven't heard of them. Are they anything to do with Continental AG?

Did ye spend much time in An Sibin? Great spot...

The_Conductor

tovalee wrote:

I dunno, I copied and pasted right out of the list, that particular item was listed under Guns Firearms and Weapons.. here

Hmmm- paranoia on the part of Ryanair.....
Lasers are definitively not firearms- and I'd love to see someone manage to lift a laser device of sufficient strength to be used as a weapon...... Unless you threw it at someone......

Then again- reading their terms and conditions they make a massive hullabullooo about "laser controlled devices"..... What are these guys- in the stone age?

Imposter

Victor wrote:

Ryanair are covered for this, everthing has to be included in the weight, including the boxers you are wearing at time of check-in.

How exactly can they do this? Unless of course they way every single person before getting on the flight and only allow people under a certain weight on. Now that would be funny.

The_Conductor

Imposter wrote:

How exactly can they do this? Unless of course they way every single person before getting on the flight and only allow people under a certain weight on. Now that would be funny.

What you're suggesting is a little too close to the truth.....
Northeastern- one of the Airlines on which Ryanair bases its low fares model, has introduced a new fare structure whereby anyone over a certain bmi is charged a surcharge- as they effectively take up two seats......
Highly popular move with any of the population who have come to hate being wedged into their seats by their obese neighbours, but a highly contentious move, given the massive increase in obesity.......

Like to see Ryanair try that here!

gobby

Victor wrote:

Ryanair are covered for this, everthing has to be included in the weight, including the boxers you are wearing at time of check-in.

I dont think that they are gonna be putting me up on the scales tbh. I'm not exactly huge or anything.

But still, lets say someone just stashed some small but heavy things, checked in and then went back, found the small but heavy things and then just popped them back into the hand luggage.

Is this a possibility. I mean they only weigh your bags once right?

RuggieBear

gobby wrote:

I dont think that they are gonna be putting me up on the scales tbh. I'm not exactly huge or anything.

But still, lets say someone just stashed some small but heavy things, checked in and then went back, found the small but heavy things and then just popped them back into the hand luggage.

Is this a possibility. I mean they only weigh your bags once right?

Depends on the airport as each have their own rules. I know Gatwick are very strict on the weight of each individual piece of hand luggage but will let you take on 2 pieces as long as each piece is under the weight limit. There is another security checkpoint towards the boarding lounges in Gatwick where i have seen people get spot checked....

At Liverpool, I had to put my normal (Schoolbag sized) backpack thru the excess luggage check in because it was 1.75kg over the weight limit and it had straps...basically the check in girl was being a biatch.

As for the weighing of passengers...i'd be screwed. I'm 5'11'' and 18.5 stone, altho i am a relatively thin 18.5 stone

What i can't stand is halotosis from my seat mates....

p

Victor

gobby wrote:

I dont think that they are gonna be putting me up on the scales tbh. I'm not exactly huge or anything. But still, lets say someone just stashed some small but heavy things, checked in and then went back, found the small but heavy things and then just popped them back into the hand luggage. Is this a possibility. I mean they only weigh your bags once right?

The idea is if you start screwing around, they can screw you back. Of course, you would only be able to add your heavy object to your hand baggage, not any checked baggage.

gobby

Victor wrote:

The idea is if you start screwing around, they can screw you back. Of course, you would only be able to add your heavy object to your hand baggage, not any checked baggage.

Well I'm talking about a hdd and some cd's. Perhaps. I dont know if I will bother. I'm definitly gonna be overweight either way. The case that I'm using is heavy enough on its own.

When I came out I was charged €60, €30 in Dublin and equivalent in London. But now they have changed their pricing etc.. I reckon I could end up paying an extra €100.

The_Conductor

gobby wrote:

Well I'm talking about a hdd and some cd's. Perhaps. I dont know if I will bother. I'm definitly gonna be overweight either way. The case that I'm using is heavy enough on its own.

When I came out I was charged €60, €30 in Dublin and equivalent in London. But now they have changed their pricing etc.. I reckon I could end up paying an extra €100.

Gobby- if you're really worried about it- its only about 30 Euro /Sterling £20 for up to 20kg with TNT from the UK to Ireland. Have used them before in cases like this (also for getting bulky stuff delivered to Portugal/South Africa etc.

Once its marked as personal possessions, a valid contents listing is filed and a proper customs declaration is attached- you're home and dry. If you're seriously worried- as it appears you are, I think getting it couriered over might be a realistic proposition for you (and its a hell of a lot cheaper than you might imagine!).
The postshops have a business discount with TNT- they are your best bet (and they're registered as collection points).

Shane

gobby

Cheers for the suggestions Shane. Problem is I dont have enough time to sort anything like this out. I'm in work at the mo and will be tomorrow. Then I fly on Saturday morning.

I think I will just end up paying ryanair. Its my own fault really, I should have looked into this a lot earlier. Did I metion that I'm returning early as I have to sit a repeat exam? Just another reason as to why I dont have a lot of time at the moment.

Sttrrrreeesssss......

eth0_

gobby wrote:

But still, lets say someone just stashed some small but heavy things, checked in and then went back, found the small but heavy things and then just popped them back into the hand luggage.

Is this a possibility. I mean they only weigh your bags once right?

That's what I usually end up doing, stashing heavier things in my hand baggage. I don't remember the last time an airline asked to weigh my hand baggage - in fact, it was an Easyjet employee who gave me that tip when I was checking into a flight with them at Gatwick

gobby

eth0_ wrote:

That's what I usually end up doing, stashing heavier things in my hand baggage. I don't remember the last time an airline asked to weigh my hand baggage - in fact, it was an Easyjet employee who gave me that tip when I was checking into a flight with them at Gatwick

Ryanair do weigh hand luggage.

(unfortunatly)

Sleepy

smccarrick wrote:

What you're suggesting is a little too close to the truth.....
Northeastern- one of the Airlines on which Ryanair bases its low fares model, has introduced a new fare structure whereby anyone over a certain bmi is charged a surcharge- as they effectively take up two seats......
Highly popular move with any of the population who have come to hate being wedged into their seats by their obese neighbours, but a highly contentious move, given the massive increase in obesity.......

Like to see Ryanair try that here!

To be honest, I think it's a perfectly fair measure, why should I pay more because some fat basta*d can't resist that third Big Mac?

RuggieBear

Sleepy wrote:

To be honest, I think it's a perfectly fair measure, why should I pay more because some fat basta*d can't resist that third Big Mac?

Mate it's not just obese people.....Look at atheletes and rugby players....I'll admit i've gone a bit soft now but when i was playing rugby i was 17stone...

luckat

If they really want to cut down weight, they should refuse to allow people to buy stuff in the duty-free.

I believe bottles of alcohol whizzing around and smashing on tall guys' heads are the main cause of injuries in turbulence and crashes.

eth0_

gobby wrote:

Ryanair do weigh hand luggage.

(unfortunatly)

Well they've never weighed mine the last couple of journeys i've taken with them, honestly. WHy would I lie about baggage being weighed or not being weighed?

I never check bags in when i'm just going to the UK, and the last 3 or 4 trips i've taken to the UK (all with Ryanair), I have NEVER been asked to weigh my bags.

BuffyBot

Northeastern- one of the Airlines on which Ryanair bases its low fares model, has introduced a new fare structure whereby anyone over a certain bmi is charged a surcharge- as they effectively take up two seats......

That's actually slightly innaccurate.

First of all, I presume you mean Southwest Airlines? If so, it's not a new policy. They've had it for some time. A person is charged for a second seat if they are big enough to require an extra seat. If they are able to fit in a normal seat, no matter what their size is, they only pay for one seat.

The full policy is here http://www.southwest.com/travel_center/additional_seat.html

gobby

eth0_ wrote:

Well they've never weighed mine the last couple of journeys i've taken with them, honestly. WHy would I lie about baggage being weighed or not being weighed?

I never check bags in when i'm just going to the UK, and the last 3 or 4 trips i've taken to the UK (all with Ryanair), I have NEVER been asked to weigh my bags.

Hold on, I'm not saying that you are lying. You didnt mention that it was ryanair you were flying with.

eth0_ wrote:

That's what I usually end up doing, stashing heavier things in my hand baggage. I don't remember the last time an airline asked to weigh my hand baggage - in fact, it was an Easyjet employee who gave me that tip when I was checking into a flight with them at Gatwick

This gave me the impression that it was easyjet and not ryanair you were talking about.

I flew to Germany 6 months ago. In Dublin - All bags weighed, In Stansted - All bags weighed. In Dublin and Stansted - Charged for being overweight.

Sorry if it seems that I was calling you a lier, I wasnt...

eth0_

gobby wrote:

I flew to Germany 6 months ago. In Dublin - All bags weighed, In Stansted - All bags weighed. In Dublin and Stansted - Charged for being overweight.

Sorry if it seems that I was calling you a lier, I wasnt...

Ok, fair enough, just a misunderstanding.
Perhaps they don't bother weighing hand luggage on UK and Ireland domestic flights? I've never flown further than the UK with ryanair.

Sleepy

pekelly wrote:

Mate it's not just obese people.....Look at atheletes and rugby players....I'll admit i've gone a bit soft now but when i was playing rugby i was 17stone...

Ok here's a first for boards, I'm about to admit I was wrong, kind of.

There is no way this could be fairly implemented as some perfectly healthy people are larger than they could be down to no fault of their own. That said, they did suggest doing so off bmi (which is admittedly a rather arguable standard), but were you to suggest running this off of some form of measurement to identify lard arses I'd be all for it.

RuggieBear

Sleepy wrote:

Ok here's a first for boards, I'm about to admit I was wrong, kind of.

There is no way this could be fairly implemented as some perfectly healthy people are larger than they could be down to no fault of their own. That said, they did suggest doing so off bmi (which is admittedly a rather arguable standard), but were you to suggest running this off of some form of measurement to identify lard arses I'd be all for it.

Most international rugby players are classed obese by the BMI...admitedly i'm using a very elite sample there!!! But i get where your coming from, i hust think it's to difficult to be fair to charge people by weight. (But then i'm a fat bastard!!!! )

p

The_Conductor

Wahooo!
One of us should call Ryanairs marketing department with suggestions :-)

Personally I'm 5'8"- not particularly overweight (about 11.5 stone) with a BMI of 22 and I certainly feel uncomfortable sitting in Ryanair's seats at present (although to be totally honest its more the elbow and legroom I personally have issues with). Stuck between a rather large gentleman and a woman who insisted on reading a broadsheet in the aisle seat was absolutely no picnic on the last flight from Stansted to here...... If I wanted to be treated like a goat I'd go to Turkent- and travel with everyone else in the hold....... Pile them up and sell them cheap- Ben Dunne's philosophy- doesn't translate too well in airlines.

In future- I'll happily bite the bullet and pay my extra few pence. There is sweet damn all difference in the price these days anyway.

S.

Sleepy

I can't believe I got negative Karma for a post I retracted. :rolleyes:

Monty - the one and only

agent smith wrote:

never had a problum with ryanair, flew from berlin to dublin Via London for the pricely sum of 44€, which really cant be beat....

A word of warning, dont drag up 2 year old posts just to say something like that.

gobby

eth0_ wrote:

Ok, fair enough, just a misunderstanding.
Perhaps they don't bother weighing hand luggage on UK and Ireland domestic flights? I've never flown further than the UK with ryanair.

Dunno cos as I mentioned, I flew to the UK first, then onto Germany and my bags were weighed in Dublin. They didnt know I was flying further than the UK but still weighed my bags.

gobby

Okay, heres what happened on my return. I ended up posting 10kg's of my stuff through deutsche post for a measly sum of €20. So the first flight to Stansted from Freidrichshafen they asked me to throw my hand luggage up on the scales as well as my normal bag. It was 3kg's overweight. That cost me €21. If I didnt post the other 10kg's it would have cost me an extra €70! Then I arrived in Stansted. Flying out from here I threw my normal bag up on the scales. When the lady asked me was that the only bags I had I said something like "well, I have this fella here but Im taking him on the plane", she didnt weigh it. Sweet! So I didnt get charged in Stansted.

Overall a good experience. What should have cost me €182 (13kg's overweight, in 2 airports) ended up costing €41.

I'd call that a result! Plus, I met a nice Spanish girl on the plane! Haha...

vibe666

i always put the heavy crap in my hand luggage, and always make sure it's out of sight when checking in. i've also been known to leave my foot under the case as I put it on the scales if it's really heavy, and I've only paid excess once.

it doesn't hurt to chat to the people at the checkout before you get there (the ones that are usually floating around the queues), and tell them how you're visiting family/friends in xxxxxxx and that they got you to bring out some extra stuff cos they've been there ages, and you didn't realise the allowances were so tight and do they think you'll have to pay extra if it's over. more often than not they will give you a little bit of leeway[sp].

Victor

vibe666 wrote:

it doesn't hurt to chat to the people at the checkout before you get there (the ones that are usually floating around the queues), and tell them how you're visiting family/friends in xxxxxxx and that they got you to bring out some extra stuff cos they've been there ages, and you didn't realise the allowances were so tight and do they think you'll have to pay extra if it's over. more often than not they will give you a little bit of leeway[sp].

That sooooo sounds like a plan to smuggle cocaine.

gobby

Victor wrote:

That sooooo sounds like a plan to smuggle cocaine.

lol...

Lump

BA STRIKES, EASYJET DELAYS - RYANAIR WILL GET YOU THERE ON TIME!
Ryanair, Europe's No.1 low fares airline, today (20th August 04) advised passengers intending to travel this Bank Holiday weekend to forget BA, who have stopped taking bookings with yet another strike planned for the holiday weekend, and forget Easyjet with their awful punctuality and frequent delays.

Ryanair's Head of Communications, Paul Fitzsimmons said:

"For Europe's lowest fares and Europe's No.1 on-time performance, Ryanair is unbeatable. BA are again set to cause chaos and disruption for countless thousands of holidaymakers this Bank Holiday weekend, and as the Bank holiday only last 4 days nobody wants to spend their holiday time stuck in an airport enduring Easyjet's delays.

For a real hassle free Bank Holiday break, fly Ryanair! - We're cheaper and you be flying with Europe's No.1 on-time airline!"

PUNCTUALITY PERFORMANCE - JUNE 2004
BA EASYJET RYANAIR
% FLIGHTS ON TIME 77.7% 84.6% 91.5%

(source: Ryanair published monthly stats, Easyjet published stats, AEA punctuality report - June 04)

HE HE, great I'm flying at the weekend, I thought flights might be affected across all airlines. Ah according to that report ryanair is nearly always on time.


John