Ryanair digging for gold again

Tami,

I've been called many things in my life, but dirty banker is not one of them.... :-) jk!

To tell the truth, I only work during tax time nowadays!

Here's the full article:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8438837.stm

I never realized they levied the credit card surcharge on every passenger for tickets on charged on a single card. How slimey, I hate them even more now!

I know Ryanair attract a lot of bad press, but I've travelled with them quite a bit from the UK to various places in Europe, and have had some great deals from them.

For example, the last trip I made cost me 1p each way for the ticket, taxes included, £20 for a suitcase and £10 to use my credit card. So for £22.02, I went to Spain and back to the UK.

They are upfront about their charges, and if the price doesn't work out what I want to pay, then I don't book, simple as that.

In the meantime, they are more punctual than many airlines.

I've made some great trips that were still cheaper with Ryanair than anyone else.

Maggie, I feel the same way. There is nothing hidden in Ryanair's charges. You can avoid some of them, and others are unavoidable, but if it's still cheaper, I'm taking Ryanair. I have had absolutely no problems with them. The vast majority of people who do tend to incur extra charges because they ignored the limits on carryons or checked bags and they got caught. That's not the fault of the airline.

As far as now charging a fee for use of Visa Electron card, I thought that was only available outside the US, anyway (I could be wrong about that).

I agree completely with Maggie and Nancy. Ryanair is still almost always cheaper than any other airline. And I've read that Ryanair has the best safety record in the airline industry. That's a big plus for me.

I have a feeling that Gonzy here works for Mastercard pre-paid card division.

I guess I am of the same sentiment as most, I always look at my total cost, including not only the fees and adders, but also what it cost me to get to the airport and into my destination. If it is a good deal, then fine, if not, I make other arrangements. Probably the only issue I have with Ryanairs baggage limits and fees is that you need to make that decision well ahead of time. As a result, my first flight I usually rely on carry-on and the return or later flights I spring for the checked bag as well, usually cheap insurance.

Reminds me, I thought I had read that they were doing away with "checked" bags as well, maybe going to gateside check only? I'll have to look around. It would be a bummer not to be able to bring back a bottle of wine or two.

There are a lot of hidden expenses with Ryan Air. I'm not sure everyone can ferret them all out.

One thing often overlooked is the added TIME and EXPENSE to get to/from RyanAir airports. Of the fifteen most popular airports on the continent, Ryan flies to exactly one, Madrid Barajas. In every other case, instead of the close-in, popular airport, with quick, inexpensive rail connections, they use some remote former military runway, often with only bus access.

For instance, most airlines use Frankfurt's Rhein-Main airport. It's less than fifteen minutes by S-Bahn from downtown Frankfurt; the fare is €3,80. Most high speed trains through Frankfurt also stop at the airport, so you don't even have to go into the Hbf. Ryan uses Hahn Airport, which they misrepresent as Frankfurt; it's actually closes to Trier. There is only buses from there to Frankfurt, 1h45m hrs and €12.

Paris is actually Beauvais, over an hour from Paris without rail connection. Flying to Treviso takes an hour and a half to get to Venice by special bus after the flight lands.

Many times, the flights in and out of Ryan airports are outside of the normal transportation times, meaning an expensive night's stay at a local hotel.

I've always had to pay the 5E booking fee anyway, so this doesn't change anything for me. And as others have already mentioned, the charge is clearly stated on the website. The airport location info is right on the ryanair site too.

I mean, any airline that can get me from Venice/Treviso to Stockholm for under 50 euros is a winner for me. At that price, a 7 euro shuttle ride in to town is no big deal. (I prefer flying from Treviso over Venice Marco Polo anyway.)

In the great scheme of things you just have to decide if your time is worth it. I've saved hundreds of euros and have been able to see a great many more destinations than I would have been able to otherwise; a few bus rides here and there are worth it, for me.

Sometimes the expense to get to/from a Ryanair airport doesn't even apply. Not everyone wants to fly to a major airport. For example, I took Ryanair from London to Santander, Spain, which is exactly where I wanted to go. I didn't want to fly into Madrid or Barcelona. Flying into smaller airports can be a lot easier and more convenient, in some cases, so the fact that they don't fly into major airports isn't always a concern.

Nancy...The complaint isn't that they fly into airports in smaller cities like Santander...it's that they fly into airports they claim are near major cities when they are not. Frankfurt 'Hahn' is nowhere near Frankfurt....Venice 'Treviso' is nowhere near Venice....Paris 'Beauvais' is nowhere near Paris. I've yet to hear from anyone flying Ryanair to Paris that their actual destination was Beauvais.

I understand that. I'm just saying that in some cases that isn't a problem. If they go where I want to go (and I can read a map, so I know that Beauvais isn't in the same place as CDG) I'm OK with it. Again, failure to read the rules (and the destinations) isn't the fault of the airline. Perhaps you haven't heard from anyone who actually wanted to go to Beauvais because they weren't complaining about it.

Nancy...obviously you don't understand, if you're trying to compare flying to Santander to flying to Paris or Venice. When I see an airline flying to New York-JFK, I shouldn't have to look at a map to figure out whether it's close to NYC or not.
Maybe one day "Paris-Beauvais" and other similarly named airports will enter the lexicon, just as "London-Stansted" and others have done. But they aren't right now. And it's only fair to warn novice travellers about the extra time, expense, and inconvenience they may encounter by taking Ryanair flights....making these "1 Euro" flights not the bargain they may think it is.\
BTW....I've never seen a passenger getting off a Ryanair flight at Beauvais and head for the taxi stand (usually one taxi waiting, but not always)....they've all headed for the buses into Paris.

The reason Ryanair flies to such obscure, out-of-the way airports is probably that the landing fees at these airports are much less than at the big airports. That's how they can offer such low fares.

Of course. Many are former US air bases abandoned after the wall fell. Locals bent over backwards, happy to have any business to replace the departed GIs. Also, Ryan tends to fly at ridiculous times, which often precludes the best price for transportation or accommodations.

Also, as for calling Hahn, Frankfurt, or Beauvais, Paris, or Chaleroi, Brussels, or Eindhoven, Amsterdam, or Memmingen, Munich East, etc, if Ryan didn't intend to mislead the map challenged, they would just say Hahn, Beauvais, Chaleroi, Eindhoven, and Memmingen, but they don't.

And from where did the flight to Strasbourg leave? Heathrow, Gatwick? How much longer, and how much more expensive was it to get to Luton to fly to Karlsruhe? You also have to take those into account.

In the last year, I advised someone who had booked into Karlsruhe without checking first about public transportation into Baden-Baden. The RyanAir flight arrived after all transportation into Baden-Baden had shut down. She was left with having to take a taxi from the airport. There are so many "traps" you have to consider when using RyanAir.

Yes, I am sure there are cases where people save with RyanAir, but there are just sooo many things people need to be warned about to prevent getting burned.

That's exactly my point, Steve. It depends on the circumstances and the individual traveler. Norm, I DO understand your complaint - all I was saying was that it doesn't always apply so it shouldn't be used as a blanket condemnation of Ryanair. Yes, novice travelers should be warned. But some people just don't bother to read the website carefully.

Of course it depends on the circumstances of the individual traveller....no one has denied that. And no one has denied the fact that if you read the website in depth (or have previous experience with Ryanair), you can find some great bargains. But we aren't dealing, generally speaking, with people travelling to Santander, where there is only one airport to arrive at, and where Ryanair is the only discount option anyway...indeed, the only one coming from outside Spain. And I would suggest to Steve that the vast majority of North American travellers attempting to use Ryanair from southern England are either travelling from London or coming into London from overseas...not driving in from the Cotswolds.

When someone on this board asks if a particular Ryanair fight is a good deal, it's only fair to point out the particular pitfalls. Those people who have never travelled on Ryanair will make certain assumptions based on their local experiences...that, for example, they're flying into New York City, not landing somewhere near Philadelphia, but told it's really "New York City West." If these people know all the tricks like we do, then they wouldn't ask in the first place. The fact that they're asking means they're unsure, and it would be negligent to point out the extra time and costs involved....credit card charges, transportation, and the like. If they're given that information, then they can make an informed decision...rather than just taking it on "a wing and a prayer."