Last week, Ryanair celebrated it’s 30th anniversary. How? By offering an enormous number of seats for only 20,- euro. A real treat for their customers, or too good to be true?
I took my first ever Ryanair flight years ago, when I was still young, innocent and new to flying….
It was a short flight from Eindhoven to Dublin, and as it was for a long holiday, I booked it including extra luggage. As such, the flight wasn’t that much different from any other flight I’d been on: I had to check in online, drop off my luggage on time, and get to the gate like always.
As I’m only 5 feet tall, I didn’t notice how small the plane was, and most of my stuff was stowed in my suitcase, so the cabin baggage was well within limits. No problems there. Not then, and not on any flight with Ryanair since then (and I’ve had a fair few).
Yes I know it’s a drag that you can only take a limited amount of cabin luggage with you. And it’s annoying that you don’t get any free beverages but have to buy them instead. And whoever came up with that horrible trumpeted announcement celebrating ‘another on-time flight’ should really get himself checked out. But honestly, what do you expect?
You’re paying less than it would cost to drive there.
Seriously, I just booked a return flight to London for 74 euro, while riding there on my (very cost efficient) motorcycle would’ve already cost me 90 euros in gasoline only. And I’m not even talking about the nuisance of motorcycle gear that you have to take with you, or trying to fit a suitcase on the back of your saddle… And with small airlines flying into small airports, the added time for customs and check in isn’t all that bad either. I’ll take flying over any other option any day!
If you want to go somewhere for a fair price, Ryanair offers it. Granted, the anniversary deals were a bit of a scam, because they only counted for single flights and the return flight would cost you more, but even then it’s still relatively cheap. And Ryanair even expanded it’s terms and conditions to allow 2 items of hand luggage to accommodate passengers (what a treat) They even changed their online booking system so all the extra options are not automatically checked. I bet a lot of people in the past didn’t see the fine print about added services.. But again: what do you expect? If you book a cheap flight, you have to realize that a company needs to make money. In this case Ryanair can offer cheap flights, because they make money on other parts of their offering, such as added extras. It’s just a matter of paying attention to what you’re buying..
I’ve witnessed several occasions where Ryanair passengers were having a heated debate with the airline about their cabin luggage: either too heavy, too big or too many. These people seamed offended by the fact that the rules were enforced and mostly felt that an exception should be made to accommodate their needs. I can’t help but wonder: did they really not read the terms and conditions, or did they think the rules didn’t apply to them? Or is this just the way people try to get their money’s worth by paying a little and expecting a lot? (and then complaining afterwards that they didn’t get a high quality)
If you want higher quality: pay more money! In my case: I’ll settle for minimal leg space and luggage, to keep me flying everywhere. Ryanair, count me in!
