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So after seeking your input, I chose RyanAir over Vueling and here's why

Posted by (Pacific Northwest) on

I thought some of you might be interested to know that I picked RyanAir over Vueling for our Barcelona to Venice flight in April. I received cautions about both airlines from many of you so I spent some time looking around at recent reviews and, more importantly, trends of reviews. And I could not believe the recent stuff that was showing up around Vueling. I used a few review sites...there's tons of them and there are dozens and dozens of recent reviews (July through October) about cancelled flights, 24 hour delays, and epic lost luggage stories, including lots of flights where Vueling didn't bring along ANYONE's luggage somehow.

I'm used to mediocre airline service. I don't expect much, but I do want to actually fly the route on the date I am ticketed for. So I went to RyanAir, who, by the way, has upped their much-hated carryon limit to one small suitcase AND one small purse-type item. In addition, they're allowing check-in 30 days prior to boarding now, so as long as you show up with a boarding pass you printed before you leave on your trip, there should be no surprise charges at the airport.

Posted by
7544 posts

I have used Ryan Air a number of times, with no issues, and overall good service. I have to add though, even though they have relaxed the carry on requirements by allowing a small item in addition to a bag, do not underestimate exactly what they are allowing. 10 kilos is likely less than what the typical traveler fits in a carry on for a week to two week trip and the additional item can only be about 8" x 8" x 14", much smaller than the day bags many carry. My advice for people has always been, and continues to be, since the ticket is generally cheap, spring for the cost of a checked bag and avoid any issues of oversize carryons, checking your main bag and carrying on your day bag.

Posted by
32202 posts

Valerie,

Although I've had good experience with Vueling, I've also been reading some of the recent reviews and their service seems to be slipping. It's encouraging to see that RyanAir is trying to improve their customer service. Perhaps I'll try them again?

The only slight disadvantage in using RyanAir on that particular route is that you'll be arriving at Treviso, so getting into Venice will take a bit longer.

Posted by
2622 posts

@Ken -

I took your RyanAir warning seriously when I did my research but boy did Vueling scare me off! Treviso didn't seem too bad when I looked it up (vs. RyanAir using Frankfurt Hahn airport instead of Main, which is really far away). The same ATVO bus I use from the Venice airport goes to the P. Roma and it takes about 15 minutes longer from Treviso so it seemed like a reasonable decision to make. I hope other readers will take the time to read the recent Vueling reviews. I've never seen anything quite like them in the world of airline reviews.

Posted by
3594 posts

Too bad about Vueling. We had an excellent experience with them, but that was 10 or more years ago. Thanks, Valerie, for your posting, which is a reminder to me not to rely on outdated information.

Posted by
32202 posts

Valerie,

I had a brief look at the Skytrax airline reviews this morning, and Vueling is currently at 4/10 and RyanAir at 5/10. Not stellar ratings but the recent ratings on RyanAir do look more favourable.

I normally use easyJet for flights in Europe (they're currently rated at 6/10), but unfortunately they don't operate on the Barcelona - Venice route. If I wanted to use them on that route, the only option would be to fly to Milan and take the train to Venice.

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