Ryanair-Questions, comments, bouquets & brickbats (Merged) II
 

OK, 1st to kick off this thread.....

Due to a family illness in Spain, I find myself needing to fly from Bristol to Ibiza, but with limited time off work, I find the following the only viable option:

Bristol - Ibiza Wednesday 06/10/10
Ibiza - UK Friday 08/10/10

So, Bristol - Ibiza, Thomson, booked 1 day in advance £50.00 ish. Website easy to navigate, flight booked with zero stress. OK, ticket to be collected at airport, but no problem.

Ibiza - UK. Only option available was the Ryanair Bournemouth flight. My first encounter of the Ryanair website. Accept it is designed to be "cheap", but after booking the flight, it is selling me car hire, Bournemouth hotels, insurance, £10.00 off my next booking if "I click continue"..... where is the print boarding pass option? Not there! So, leave the site, look at the email confirmation, enter loads of details again, get my printed boarding pass. Cost if I did not do this £40.00. Not an issue, but, here is the rub, I work in I.T. and I found it user unfriendly. Are they purposely doing this for the extra cash? (that was a rhetorical question). But the cost? £80.00ish (started at £50, but booking fees, online check-in , etc - you know the score).......

I fly EasyJet regularly for business, ok the site tries to cross sell, but you just "click through" the hard sell and get a boarding pass. Simple and acceptable.

Thomson - you get my vote for a late booking made easy.

Ryanair - if you were not the only viable option for me (yes, I know people will say this is the crux of the moan) I would bypass the "cheapest airline" option and find a company who are not so obviously trying to milk the SLF for every penny!!! Come on you can do better, you have the routes, you have a new fleet, you have dedicated staff, you can do better!!! You are not always the cheapest option, but you are often the most convenient option. Stop selling youself short - I will take a more inconvenient route if it means I am treated correctly.

Rant mode off.

TVDH

Ryanair charges sick passenger for tea and biscuits

10.10.10
Ryanair – the airline that plans to charge passengers to use the onboard toilet – charged a man for tea and biscuits shortly after he fell unconscious and had to be attended by doctors on a flight. The doctors feared he was having a heart attack, but the plane had no medical equipment onboard, not even a blanket, the Herald reports.
Eye-witnesses on the plane told the Sunday Herald that the man, in his fifties, took ill an hour before the Ryanair flight from Marseille was due to land at Edinburgh Airport. Two doctors on board responded to a distress call from cabin staff, but were to the told the only medical equipment on board was anti-sickness drugs and bandages.
After regaining consciousness, the passenger – whose condition was then found to be not as grave as had been feared – was advised to have some sweet tea and biscuits. His wife was then charged for the refreshments by Ryanair's cabin crew.

Do they charge for anti-sickness drugs and bandages as well?

Why does this not surprise me .... if it's not another sick publicity stunt by Michael O'Sneary. I am aware that CC have to account for all their 'stock', which means they can't give someone water for tablets etc without having to charge for the bottle, and that they can't have a free glass of water themselves ....

What does surprise me is that they only had
aboard. Surely it's a legal requirement that an emergency first aid kit is carried, even if there's no specific drugs, defibrillator, stretcher or emergency passenger oxygen ............ complete the list yourself ........................

Just completed a round trip with Ryanair, Alicante/Stansted. Having read the cabin luggage rules I made sure my cabin luggage complied with the dimensions and weight restrictions. I was therefore somewhat surprised that many passengers, who ignored these restrictions and had, obviously, oversize luggage went through boarding, at both airports, with no trouble at all. The upshot of this was that the overhead stowage compartments were full to the brim and the last boarding passengers were compelled to stow their luggage under the seats, as best they could. So, after all the threats of oversize luggage having a payment penalty etc. why do Ryanair staff apparently choose to ignore it? Other than that the flights were excellent value for the money.

It must vary depending on the mood/apethy of the airport staff and thier targets.

Although It's been a few months since I last used them, every time I've flown from EDI with Ryanair for the past year or so they have had a small cardboard device which has the exact dimensions of the allowed cabin baggage and they have gone right down the line checking every single bag that looks like it won't fit in. On a flight to Stockholm in March they caught out at least 3 people at the gate with this!

Same can be said for my return journey from Stockholm Skavsta where they also weighed cabin baggage in addition to the measurement device. Again, several people were caught out, by having a bag that was well within the allowed size...but too heavy!

I also returned from Billund to EDI with Ryanair in late May and they were again checking the dimensions of the cabin baggage. Never had this when flying from PIK, DUB, STN or any mainland European airports!

boarding passes
 

Hello excuse my ignorance, flying to Spain this coming week booked with Ryanair printed my boarding passes off, only taking hand luggage, I assume we do not bother going to check in desk just straight through security

kind regards

correct, just go straight to security.

hi thanks for that

Wish Classic FM had not given MOL first billing on the news about his concerns about security after the recent cargo incidents. It's just giving prominence to FR, with MOL's frequently-used tactic of commenting on anything and everything to get his name mentioned.

It's fine to be security conscious, but why choose HIM as one's mouthpiece?!

Rant over. I'll get my coat.

He who shouts loudest? MoL makes good headlines, written or audible.

Goodbye, Mr. O
 

When will you all learn?

No point in complaining at all. It only serves to give MO'L a warm happy feeling. He's gotten your money, you're fecked off 'cos the service was ****e or something didn't go according to your plans. But, ho, ho, ho - does he care? Not a jot. And, pound to penny, you'll be lining up again in three weeks time for another five yoyo flight ( Not including taxes, coffee, service etc. ).

Either grin and bear it - Millions do! or,shut up and vote with your feet.

Even if something goes wrong and you end up paying a full fare to sort it, the average price for all FR flights you have taken will be a fraction of what you may have spend with a "better quality" airline - whatever that is. (One without lurid yellow interiors, window blinds and some sense of employee relations?)

Fact is that MO'L has made and continues to make shed loads of money by filling aircraft with reasonably content SLF who don't apparently give a toss about comfort or service during a relatively short flight. Well done Mr O.

In fact he's done so bloody well some other well known airlines seem to be trying to emulate his business model.

By the way, I never have nor will I ever Fly Ryanair. I'd rather walk - it's cheaper, often quicker and less likely to cause stress.

I have to wonder what gives you the right to judge then! Obviously not experience.

Quite agree but don't then come on to a forum and criticise something for no apparent reason.

As has been said before, Ryanair does exactly what's said on the tin and for many people - including me - Ryanair and easyjet are the only choices available. To use a 'better quality' airline would mean three flights to get back to where I want to be in the UK rather than one.

I flew with Ryanair twice last month. MAN-DUB return.I was really impressed for the price I paid (just ten pounds return including taxes). The crew were all very friendly and both flights arrived earlier than scheduled.

I read Munnyspinner's words as a statement of fact, not a judgement. And as such, perfectly accurate.

I work for the big orange machine, however for the last eight weeks i've been working somewhere that easy don't fly to and had to fly Ryanair. I've now done 15 departures and apart from one all have left dead on time, the worse one was only 15 minutes late. I'm not a Ryanair lover as i work for the opposition, however the planes are clean and tidy and as comfortable as any others, also the 737-800 is a nice quiet a/c. The only criticism i have is the constant hard sell onboard, just wish they'd leave the PA alone. Still i'm sure if easy flew to the same place i would rather fly them.

I took return flights with Ryanair from Stansted to Berlin this weekend so thought I'd humbly offer my two pence worth.

Someone posted a very insightful comment recently and I thought it was on this thread. It appears not and I can't for the life of me find it. Anyway, the general gist was that FR flights are generally very punctual, the 737-800 is a nice quiet aircraft and the only criticism the poster had was the incessant use of the PA system for advertising purposes.

I agree entirely.

Both my flights were punctual. The return flight actually arrived 15 minutes early. But I do agree the constant PAs are too much. There were so many! Try to sell: (1) the cabin crew calendar; (2) scratch cards; (3); food and drink (the menus were distributed before push-back and the safety demonstration?!); (d) duty free and gifts; (e) other sales-related PAs that I tried to ignore by turning up the volume on my iPod. The point is that on a 1.5 hour trip, these sales PAs make it very difficult to sit quietly and read or listen to music or a podcast without being constantly interrupted. And I know the response: "you paid less for your ticket, so be prepared for the hard sell on board". Fair enough, but in my experience easyJet and Wizzair do less promotional stuff.

The only other thing is that the CC are often quite under-confident with their English, which isn't especially reassuring. For example, the introduction along the lines: "The commander is "Captain Robert" and the First Officer is "First Officer James" sounds weird if you don't say "Captain Robert [Surname]! Have noticed this on other FR flights. Is it simply that the CC do not know the flight crew's full names?

Also, do all the FR 737s now have the plastic yellow seat-backs? I have previously flown on FR 737s which had navy blue upholstery rather than the dark blue "leather" seats and yellow seat-backs. IMHO, they were less garish, especially on night flights when the cabin is incredibly bright.

http://www.jethros.eu/fun/fun_pages/...afety_card.htm

This is of interest, maybe true???????

No Ryanair Flights From Gro After March 27th 2011
 

"Ryanair is refusing to accept any bookings to/from Girona from March 27th 2011 onward, advising passengers instead to fly via Reus or Barcelona. An unnamed Ryanair spokesman said there is nothing sinister about this: it is just that the spring/summer plan has not yet been produced. The reality (says the article) is that the new operating contract between the airline and Girona has not yet been agreed, with Ryanair demanding a further €12,000,000 subsidy from Girona to continue to operate from the airport." Quote, El Punt, 02-12-2010.

He who sups with the devil should use a long spoon (my own opinion).

Say what you will but he made it to second place (tied with the bearded one) in this industry poll asking "Who is the most influential airline leader of the past 25 years?"

You will also see (thread drift alert) that the "little big mouth" from IATA scored an overwhelming 3%. Good thing he's been given the boot and will be leaving in June.

bjh123,

I can say with 100% absolute certainty that this is utter horsesh1t. Don't believe everything you read on ihateryanair.com or whatever that stupid website is called.

Moderators,

In these dark economic times permit me to post an amusing link which even Leo would laugh at.

YouTube - Hitler Ryanair Rant

Sober Lark

Apparently Tony Tyler (CX) has been chosen to replace him, a breath of fresh air, peut être.

I must say I have seen a few of these Downfall parodies, this has to be one of the funniest.

That said, I have no beef with Ryanair, the occasional times I fly it in or out of Tours or Limoges, it does what it says on the tin. I can live without being fed or watered for the hour or so the flight takes, or buy a cup of tea if I feel like it.

STN on the other hand...

I have no beef with Ryanair either, flew with them once but despite this won't fly with them again, too inconvenient/umcomfortable. But here's a fresh brickbat for y'all:
Ryanair flyers trapped on Gothenburg plane


Ryanair flyers trapped on Gothenburg plane - The Local

Favourite quote: "There are babies here."

All over the local radio today. 5 hours in a Ryan plane, cc hiding below blankets according to actual passenger statement on the radio, "It was quite an achievement to hide themselves on a plane". Since GSE is a very small airport I can understand the captain for wanting to go home, but in my mind wishing to take of on the final leg of the day 5 hours delayed would seem stretching it a bit.

The company did issue sort of an excuse, still blabbing on about the "can not sell on the landside" and "wanted to be prepared for a speedy takeoff". 5 hours for god sakes, how much could it cost them to give away some stinking pizza slices and "delightful sandwhiches". Or even just a cup of coffee. I can see cc not doing this at their own risk, but it would seem such a simple business policy to spend some small change to keep the people reasonably happy. Not rocket science really.

Said by a really big Ryan supporter :-) (actually). We fly with them at least 6-10 legs a year, and have personally never had a problem that other ailines have done worse. But I guess when the **** hits the fan, it sticks when you travel Ryan Air.

Flight Cancellation
 

copeland1957 They will make you wait as long as possible - if possible until you give up. It's just their way. So keep track of all your communications and keep pushing. Make sure you have details of the obligations they are subject to and YOU follow the rules! If you are in the right you will, eventually, get your money back.

I was on a ryanair flight from Knock to stansted on the 18th Dec,
take off delayed for over 2 hours , orbited in the hold for an hour waiting for stansted to clear runway........they could'nt, next try Luton...closed, captain announces we are off to East Midlands, 5 mins later captain announces in broken english we are off to liverpool! we had to ask the cabin crew had he made a mistake ???? we made a fast transit to Liverpool and as we started decent over the Mersea I started to think about how much fuel we might have left after 2 hours, hoping we had enough for a couple of go arounds etc
We landed at Liverpool and were bussed off to the terminal.

Now none of the above was anything to do with Ryanair , The crew up front had to make a lot of decisions at very short notice fair play to them,
but the back up plan was a disaster we were told a coach would take us to Stansted and we would have to wait 3 hours for the coach to arrive
fair enough .... coaches are not lurking for diverts at every airport but when this coach arrived 5 hours after we landed all the pax were shocked at the sight of the 1970's style coach , we got onboard it was damp ... some of the seats were wet , and it was about -5 , the driver said the heater would warm up eventually .......it did'nt but we just wanted to get home .....meanwhile one of the pax who enjoyed the 5 hour wait in the bar started to kick off annoying fellow passengers, shouting abuse at every one etc , he was arrested at the motoway services , that cheered every one up and we drove out of the services (after scraping across a raised kerb which sounded like it ripped the front off the coach ) feeling happy that we could try and get to sleep but sad that he was in a warm police car on its way to a warm police station while we were in our hats and gloves , shivering away.
We got to stansted after between 5 and 6 hours on the road in artic conditions,
The Captain and co-pilot did their best to remain under cover while sitting in the coach and they did not get much stick from the pax who had rumbled them , again fair play to them for actually getting on the coach The cabin crew had vanished at Liverpool.
ETD 13:30 ATD 16:15 ETA to Stan 17:30 ATA Stan 06:30
A bitter sweet experience of ryanair, the pilots and crew worked hard to look after us , and they couldnt land anywhere but the coach was in such a bad state that even asylum seekers wouldnt have got onboard at Calais.
Mr O'leary would probably say you pay for what you get ,which in my case was symtoms of mild hypothermia .

Blankets??? On FR aircraft? Are you taking the Michael?

Folks, air travel is not such a "taboo subject" these days. Yes, delays, for whatever reason are a (massive to some) inconvenience, but they DO happen. The crew will always try to help and advise, but there's only so much they can do (taking into account the information they get, weather, the rules on opening bars on the ground and so on).
I can't believe for one moment that crew will just disappear and leave pax on their own, with no information. For example, this summer, thanks to the "great" French and their strike(s), we were setting off from the UK, on an afternoon departure time, to MJV - Spain. The info we had was that the French were going to go on strike, but at midnight, after our ETA back in the UK. Little did we know...

Got to MJV ahead of schedule, pax off, get the a/c ready for the next 180+, boarded, all fine and dandy then BANG! ATC slot for 2 hours due to French ATC strike (this was at 21:00L and we were told they will start the strike at 00:00L?)
Bare in mind MJV is a military airport and they only allow commercial flying up to 22:00L. Never mind, explain to pax what's going on, Captain goes into detail, keeps pax informed, the works. But we are now worrying, we know what time the airport is closing, some expats know it too, they come to us, asking questions, what's going to happen next?
We haven't a clue, but hold on one sec, i'll try and find out for you. Goes in the F/D, has a chat with the CPT. OPS have negotiated with the military people to keep the apt open. But only for one more hour. Now it's close to the closing time and the French don't seem to change their minds.

Meanwhile, in the cabin, trying to be there for everyone and do our best to answer people's questions, this is what happened:
1. A very young family (mother - pregnant, father, child just over 2yo ) were on the "top of my list". Mother because she was pregnant, child because she was hungry/bored/didn't understand what's happening and dad; dad was verbally aggressive, threatening, and swearing at the crew. I could have asked for him to be removed from the aircraft because of his threatening behavior but i chose not to. I took it in the chin, thinking that if I don't manage to calm him down in the next few minutes, he's getting off. But thankfully, the wife (a real nice person, so sweet and understanding, i'd have her in my flight any day) managed to calm him down.
2. A lady traveling on her own to her father's funeral. One of the most heartbreaking things i've ever experienced in my life. The look on her face, the silent tears, and i couldn't do anything about it. Nothing!
3. Another expat, nice enough lady but with the "this is not good enough, do something about it" attitude. I kindly explained that unfortunately, we don't have any control over airspace, the French, weather, the French, ATC, the French...

The only reason why the CPT and OPS decided to try and keep pax on board (off course, anyone who wanted to get off could have done so, they would not have been stopped) was because of the uncertainty of the situation; get them off and as soon we had clearance board them again in a hurry to not miss the slot or keep them on board, if the slot would have been brought forward we could just close up and go. These are hard decisions that any Captain faces, and he/she is doomed if he/she does something about it and doomed if he/she doesn't do anything about it.

Meanwhile, myself and the rest of the crew, tried to do everything in our power to reassure/help pax the best we could. We also gave them our own water (we were not provided with crew meals or water so we fill in bottles of water in the crew room). This does not make us heroes, but human beings caring for other human beings in need.

It's now close to midnight and low and behold, the flight is canceled. Pax informed, us apologising, knowing that some of these people cannot afford a hotel and they'll spend the night in the terminal.
By the time we got to our hotel (before anyone jumps and starts shouting "at least you had a hotel", i believe the company is required by law to do so due to "rest period" issues and being fit to fly), it was 02:00L. Well the company was "kind enough" to put us down on what they call "split duty" (where you only need 6 hours rest when you've been flying X hours, in order to be fit to fly the next leg); back to the airport at 09:00, be prepared to board and fly back. Well, the nice Frenchmen didn't go off strike until noon, so there we were, hanging about MJV airport. Noon comes, we board, get a slot (there were many other a/c stranded there) and finally, we set off.
24hrs later after my report time the previous day, i am finally home. Not forgetting those tired pax, the lady who missed her father's funeral, the gobby expat lady or the aggressive trying to be sarcastic husband of that really nice, down to earth and pleasant lady. Still, i had to carry on selling stuff on board, do the smokeless, the scratchcards, basically my job. Because that's what was in my job description; it is, after all, a job, and i had to follow the procedures they (the employer) had set.

The moral of this story is (if there is any) that crew have it as bad as you pax/SLF. We do try, we REALLY do, to make it more bearable for you.
I hate it when the media blows the situation(s) out of proportions. I'm not defending the management, but sometimes there is nothing even THEY can do to fix a weather/ strike/ restrictions problem.

And i know the inconvenience of being delayed might cost you a lot of money, but please note that, when you're traveling with a LoCo carrier (don't know about long haul), the crew are NOT being paid overtime for the delay; they are as unhappy as you are about the delay, but they get on with it. So please, don't blame them; they work bloody hard!

There are a lot of delays about these days, lots of cancellations, mainly because of weather. Airlines don't make the weather, they deal with it. Trust me, an airline would NEVER cancel a flight unless it was the last resort. Some of you seem to think that they might be making some profit if they just cancel the flight. Completely untrue. Put it this way, if the ticket was let's say, 50 Euros return and the flight was canceled, the EU laws state that the airline has to refund each pax with,say, 300 Euros, then the company is at a loss. They do not cancel flights lightly. It costs more money to have the aircraft on the ground (parking fees, deicing and then deicing again these days, ground staff and so on)

If any journo is reading this, please note that all of the above experience happened AFTER the pilots nearly hit the school and the nunnery.

:ugh::ugh::ugh:

And i do apologise, i got a wee bit carried away :}

I forgot to mention that when it comes to coaches to transport pax from an airport to their original (airport) destination, the company (not just FR, most airlines) will go with the quickest that can get there. They have no clue if the seats are damp, or if there are pax who upset other pax with their behavior; all the airline cares about is getting those pax who unfortunately had to land at another airport than their choice of airport, to their original destination as quick as possible. They have a list of coach hire companies, phone up, whoever is available and can get there quick, they get the contract and are delegated to ensure the pax get to their destination. Not a pro in OPS side of an airline but from experience, this is how it works.

Ryanair Pilot Reports UFO...
 

News : Ryanair reports UFO to Aviation Authorities

Given past form, I'm surprised that this story hasn't been quoted word for word and reported as fact by the British Press... :E

Merry Christmas all!:ok:

Ryanair Issues
 

This is from the front page of todays Evening Herald 28/12/2010

A Nine month old baby was hospitalised after being stuck on a Ryanair plane for over 5 hours.

The child and its 3 year old sibling ended up in Temple Street Childrens hospital suffering from dehydration

Their ordeal began after a Christmas flight from Dublin to Eindhoven in HOlland was cancelled because of heavy snow, but passengers were kept waiting on baord.

After 3 hours their father asked if he could buy a sandwich for his 3 year old was was 'shaking from hunger' he told the Herald.

However, he was informed it is 'not comppany policy to sell food while the plance was grounded'

The children were so tired, hungry and deyhdrated following the mammoth delay that they had to be taken by ambulance from Dublin airport.

______________________________________________________

Now, my question is:

Are Ryanair cabin crew that scared for their jobs that they wont aid a baby?
Are Ryanair managment that strict that they would rather a baby be removed to hospital that give them water?
Is the Captain not informed of anything anymore.

I know that even bad press is good press, but how long can these types of stories continue before they actually affect the bottom line?

Parental Duties
 

Yes a shame altogether. Nothing to do with Ryanair.

But really the parents are responsible and in any common sense judgement shud have purchased water, sma gold to go packs and sandwiches in the terminal prior to travel, as everyone knows the crew cant open the bars prior to departure. Sure Aer Fungus is the same even with the work to rule! as I experienced to my hunger.

A quick look out the window at the conditions DOH!! Teach them a lesson really.

And the award for parent of the year goes to....................

Hindsight is a great thing, should have this or that and bought water etc etc. The bottom line is they didnt. Maybe they only had hand luggage and with transporting a baby with nappies and all that associated stuff, maybe the father with a small child and a baby actually forgot something! Shame on him, maybe ryanair should call child services and have the kid taken away from the parents for neglect???

They probably didnt expect to be sat on the ground for 5 hours and not be offered anything at all! :ugh:

Wheelbarrow
 

Given that it is the Season of Goodwill to all men (and children) i will take it that your comments were tongue in cheek?

The fact remains that irrespective of Ryanairs management directives and how little they trust the judgement of their staff, the Captain is responsible for the safety and welfare of all on board including the cabin crew but especially the passengers.

It is well know that Ryanair discourage people in wheel chairs because it slows the turn round time down, it does, but there is still a duty of care.

Ryanair have little or no regard for its staff or passengers and sooner or later it will bite them on the bum, even the luck of the Irish will fade.

Consider this: the child in question here could have been an undiagnosed diabetic and could have died! Had this occurred who do you think Ryanairs PR team would have blamed? the parent? think not, the blame would have been laid squarely on the crew and in particular the Captain.

Once a delay goes beyond an hour with passengers on board with little sign of an improvement the Commanders remit must include the welfare of passengers.

Banning BALPA,employing CC who can barely grunt English, treating employee's like an inconvenient expense is one thing, but this is nothing short of a disgrace and will only serve to further empower Brussels to action against this outfits practices, you reap what you sow

Very well said.:ok:

As a poster previously mentioned, there is no need for parents to buy excessive supplies of baby products 'just incase' they are delayed for a number of hours. It's not their fault their trip was delayed for such an extended period of time and i'm sure had the so-called airline told them that they were to be sat around on the ground for so long after the aircraft had been boarded, they would have taken appropriate measures to ensure that both themselves and their children could comfortably survive the wait.

As for the CC, I can only presume that none of them are parents themselves as this treatment of Children, especially over Christmas time really does make my blood run cold. Besides, why is it RYRs policy not to sell food while the plane is grounded? With the Irish oaf, MOL you would think policies like this are the last thing on his mind in periods of bad weather and the likely grounding of several aircraft.

Stories like this really do make me think twice about flying with Ryanair!

I've always been told the bars are to be closed on the ground due to customs. But ive known crew to sell water/j2o only on long delays at the cews own risk, if the pax to the front. But i have also known crew get the sack for opening the bars on the ground and for not sealing them on turn arounds.
The crew only followed the fr rules, but i would of melted some ice in a cup.

not enough facts to judge
 

About babygate, did the parents bring the condition of the child to the attention of the crew and were they denied help ?