ryan air

Also, Ryan Air does not fly out of Paris. They actually fly out of Beauvais. RA does list the airport as Paris-Beauvais but the Beauvais airport is 80kM (50 miles) out of Paris. I do see that Ryan Air flies also flies out of Paris-Vatry (Disney) but I have no experience with that airport. As an alternative, you might look into the very nice Spanish budget airline Vueling. Vueling flies out of Paris-Orly and they have fares as low as 59Eu. You might also look into EasyJet which flies out of Charles de Gaulle to Barcelona. Fares are as low as 34.99Eu. All of these budget airlines are going to have fees of all kinds on your luggage. Please carefully read their websites.

"...I do see that Ryan Air flies also flies out of Paris-Vatry (Disney) but I have no experience with that airport...." Yet another white lie courtesy of Ryanair:) Vatry is near Reims...Disneyland Paris is nowhere near it. In fact the amusement park was intentionally built near CDG.

Ryan air is as reliable as any airlines. The problem with any discount airline, especially Ryan Air, is the extra fees that get tacked on for everything and sometimes is more than the base airfare. So be sure you understand the check in procedures and the fees. When considering the airfare be sure to add in the costs and time of getting to and from the airports used by Ryan Air. Ryan Air will be the cheapest way if you avoid the fees. If lockers are available, there is generally a 24 hr time limit on storage so that would not work for you. If coming back to Paris, ask the hotel to storage you extra luggage. And, of course, the other advice is not to have the extra luggage.

If you can get through the obfuscation which is Ryan Air's website, you will find that "Paris"-Vatry airport is 20 km from Châlons-en-Champagne, which, according to Google is 187 km from Paris. At that point they could just as well call it London Vatry, or Peking Vatry.

helen, As the others have mentioned, RyanAir typically uses airports that are quite a distance from city centres, so it's important to also factor in the time and cost of getting to and from those airports. RyanAir tends to be quite "inflexible" with baggage limits and if a bag is even a bit over the limit, they'll tack on a large fee (I know, as that happened on my last flight with them). On a trip from Paris to Barcelona, I'd consider EasyJet or one of the other airlines. I've flow with EasyJet a number of times, and it's always been a very pleasant experience. They also have baggage limits, but I've never had any problems with them. One point to note is that many European airlines have very strict limits on carry-on bags. In most cases, travellers are allowed ONE carry-on item only (and that DOESN'T mean one plus a "personal item" such as a Purse - it means ONE ONLY). Whichever airline you decide to use, be sure to read their Terms & Conditions very carefully so there are no "surprises". Happy travels!

I have flown with RyanAir twice. Once to Rome a few years ago and last year I went to Edinburgh. We flew from Hahn, which is 120 km. ride on the bus from Frankfurt. Cost was 12 euro each way. Plane fare was 11 euro round trip. Our flight left on time, we knew to just have one carry on as it clearly states on the website. We knew that Hahn was an hour and half away, as it shows clearly on the map provided on the website. Honestly, I have no problem with Ryan Air and kind of wish people who have NEVER flown with them would stop bashing them all the time. I like having cheap flights for 10 euro. I don't mind riding a bus for a while either and when I look at their website, it states everything very clearly, nothing is hidden. Just read the website well, follow the directions and enjoy your cheap flights.

I agree with Jo. I have no problem with Ryanair. I, too, knew the baggage limits and the costs involved in checking a bag, and how to go about it to do it at lower cost. Everything is there. And the fact that they use outlying airports to major cities isn't always an issue. For example, when I flew from London to northern Spain, they landed in Santander, which is exactly where I wanted to be. And if I had chosen to do so, I could have flown directly into Dublin (the main airport, not an outlying one). Sometimes the outlying airports are closer to where you want to be anyway. But there is no excuse for not checking the map before booking if you have a question. I can live with a few restrictions to get super low fares.

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU ALL!!! All of your answers are much appreciated and very informative!!! I will take all of this into consideration. RyanAir was the only cheap airline I found that flew within Europe... but now I will check out the ones you guys mentioned. ps. thanks to those that converted km to miles...

I've also flown with Ryanair many times, and as long as you READ what they tell you on the website, you will be OK. But be aware that they weigh everything. Everything is charged for, including your boarding pass, if you fail tp print it yourself. On the website, they tell you how to get from the airport to the city that is your destination.
Other than that, they have a good record on punctuality.

Speaking of Ryanair, according to news reports, they're newest cost saving measure is to repair their planes using duct tape! http://tinyurl.com/3suhdso

Isn't that what duct tape is for? In Alaska we called it "Super Cub tape" cuz it was used to repair the planes' fabric skin. I have seen an SAS pilot use it to tape a loose ceiling panel back up to keep it from rattling.. I wouldn't like to see it used on the windscreen or anywhere on the outside of the jet plane, though. What were they thinking?

That's the alarming part of the story:) If I were to place duct tape around the windshield of my car to secure it, the police would pull me over and issue a ticket (and possibly impound the car)....and I certainly wouldn't pass the yearly inspection.

I've flown RyanAir once and thought it was a very good airline. We actually found it humorous though how bare bones they are - we joked about how nice they were to actually have seats on the plane instead of everyone standing up and holding onto a strap.

I've flown Ryanair and EasyJet a number of times. It's been a hit or miss on the luggage situation. In Croatia and Portugal, they could care less how much luggage you have. In Spain, France, and Italy they wouldn't let me on the plane until all my pieces were in my backpack. Very embarrassing. It's definitely made for Europeans who do their summer vacation trips to the beach with just a few items in their tiny carry-on.

Well, Ryanair have been discussing standing only tickets! But who knows, a lot of the things they come out with are for publicity (like the pay toilet). As for putting everything in your backpack- well, you can use hold (checked) baggage, but you do have to pay for it.

Helen, Ryanair is cheap, safe, with no frills. It's ok. It also depends too on when you are flying. In looking on the search engine Momondo, I see early morning flights in November on Vueling, Barcelona to Orly airport direct/one way for 41.00 dollars. In December, early flights on Vueling for 14.00 dollars, Barcelona to Orly, and on Easyjet, Barcelona to De Gaulle, direct 29.00 dollars. Momondo is a great search engine because you can hover over the bar graph and see exactly when someone bought a ticket for such and such a price, and on what date. Also, their open jaws flight selection is up in beta mode now.
Have a great time!

Helen, a good resource to find the lo-cost inter EU airlines is Whichbudget.com. We also have used Ryan Air, with good results. all lo-cost airlines deserve considerable scutiney before you book, but most have pretty good websites that explain all of their costs and limitations.

Another site to help you find the cheapest flights is skyscanner.net. If even allows you to search from Rome to Anywhere, or from Italy to Anywhere. Very nice if you are flexible on your airports. I have flown Ryanair 8 times in the last few months, and have had no problems. Stick to their rules and you'll be fine. One of the best things to do is to pack lightly in a backpack. If it is a normal sized backpack, I have never seen them check the weight or size of the bag.

I've flown Ryanair several times and never had a problem. This was several years ago, however, before they had a lot of their more stringent rules. I've also flown a few other discount airlines, and have found Vueling to be my favorite, with Germanwings a close second. If given the opportunity, I'd pay more to fly those airlines than Ryanair ( or Easyjet ). Just my two cents worth...

I have also used Ryan Air several times. Actually I have purchased MANY tickets on Ryan Air. It has served our family well. I will NOT be using them this summer when we make our next trip to Europe, as before. I was made aware that Ryan Air is in the process of providing pornography on its flights for passengers to access on their hand held devices. I checked this out with several news stories and it is indeed reported to be valid. Now I am not making moral judgments for any traveler, just providing information that may benefit families who wish to make a different decision. So please do not start a discussion on "When in Rome....." and "Things are done differently in other places..." Our job takes us to all parts of the world on a frequent basis.... monthly. But as a women I do not want to be sitting on a flight with the man next to me enjoying porn on his i phone, and I certainly DO NOT want my daughter to sit next to a gentleman who is viewing porn... DO YOU? I can't think of a situation in which I think this is OK in a public place. So my money will be buying transportation somewhere else. And I will be letting RYAN AIR know this is not an acceptable idea. http://travel.usatoday.com/flights/post/2011/11/ryanair-porn/563809/1 http://articles.nydailynews.com/2011-11-08/news/30375433_1_ryanair-michael-o-leary-passenger-traffic http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/business/2011/11/ryan-air-says-porn-may-go-sky-high/

Cynthia, I also would feel uncomfortable if this actually happened, but keep in mind it is not something that has been approved or implemented yet. It is merely an idea. Ryanair has had a lot of (often crazy) money making ideas, and this just seems to be the latest. And I want to point out, that while I think the airline directly providing passengers with this pornography is of ill-taste, passengers can freely buy pornographic magazines in the airport and read them on board. This happened next to me on Southwest Airlines in the US last year (uncomfortable of course, but nothing I could do to stop it). And for the case of a man sitting next to your daughter seeing it--if you are sitting next to your daughter she could be on an aisle or a window seat. It doesn't excuse that Ryanair is considering this, but seeing as it is not something they have yet decided on or implemented, I will still fly with them.

Well, you better stop going to church if you are Catholic then, because they own a publishing house that sells porn too. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/revealed-publisher-owned-by-the-catholic-church-sells-pornography-6257572.html If someone is looking at something like porn and they are sitting next to you, what is wrong with opening your mouth and asking them to please not do so. I find it hard to believe that an adult would sit next to a child and look at porn anyway. Asking people to stop offensive behaviour is the easiest method of getting them to stop. People have all kinds of stuff on their computers to watch, magazines to look at, how will you stop them?

We flew Ryan Air a couple of years ago and it was fine, so long, as all say, you read their rules carefully before buying a ticket and know where the aiports are. My only surprise was that once I wanted to buy the ticket they charged me for using a credit card - how else COULD I pay from the US?! that annoyed me - they did not tell me till the very end of a long reservation web input. But it was all well worth the saved dollars. Julia