First Time Flying Ryanair

Today we took our “free” flight to Madrid and now we can see how Ryanair manages to make a profit while charging such outstandingly low fares.  If you read the first related blog about our $0.00 fare (http://www.monkeyandrooster.com/2009/02/12/000-airfare), you might recall there was no charge for the flight itself, but 10 euros each for taxes and fees, and another 5 euros each for a passenger fee.

When we arrived at the airport, we had to check-in at the counter (non-European citizens are not permitted to check-in online) and pay another 20 euro check in fee!  They also weigh your carry-on baggage and if you are overweight or over the size restriction, you must pay a minimum of 30 euro to check your bag.  There is also an option to pay 3 euros/person for priority boarding, which it seems some people are willing to do. When you add up all the little fees and consider how many people fly these Ryanair flights, it’s easy to see how they can still turn a profit with an average ticket charge of only £28.

Once we got down to the boarding gates, we found that everyone just waits in line at the appropriate gate until it is time to board – unlike Canadian airlines, they don’t board you by row number and you only get priority boarding if you pay for it.  Including ours, there were three Ryanair flights waiting to board when we arrived and each had a queue of 60 people or more.  It seems like every flight is sold out, and when they put promotions like $0.00 fares, it’s no wonder why!  While watching other flights board before ours, I noticed that they do make people put their carry-on baggage into the size-checker and if your bag doesn’t fit you have to take stuff out.  The interesting thing was they allowed people to carry items such as purses and books  in their hands, but we had read online that they are very strict about ONE piece of carry on per person.  I guess there is a little bit of flexibility – too bad I left behind the guidebook we picked up at the last hostel after packing our bags and being afraid of being overweight!

To board the flight, everyone walks out in the open to the plane and they board quickly and efficiently from the front and back.  There are no assigned seat numbers (so it makes sense that you don’t board by row number) – you simply get on the plane and choose any available seat, except the emergency exit rows.

Unlike on Canadian budget airlines such as WestJet, no frills on Ryanair really means NO frills – not even a beverage served for free, although they are offered for purchase along with some food items. The seats are small and they seem to have crammed many more seats into each flight than I am used to seeing on a Boeing 747.

All in all, the flight was relatively on time, the flight attendants were helpful and efficient, and we would probably fly Ryanair again if we found another great deal