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OneRedArmy
05/10/2007, 4:17 PM
I need to get this off my chest. I absolutely positively HATE Ryanair.

I really admire their business model and if I was a shareholder I'd be happy as a pig in **** but as a frequent traveller who can't avoid them I detest the very premise of their existance.

I haven't had a bad experience recently with them (within the context of every flight being an ordeal) so its not a rant but what I REALLY hate is how Michael O'Leary gets to define standards for the whole airline travelling experience nowadays, even when you don't fly Ryanair.

For instance,
1) the new Pier D at Dublin that is being built doesn't have airbridges so O'Leary can save a few bob. We live in a very wet country yet a new terminal is being built where we have to walk down 4 flights of stairs, then queue in the rain to climb another set of stairs. 10 years ago we used to walk from an airconditioned lounge straight into an airconditioned plane. Thats progress...

2) seats at the departure gate. You used to be able to sit until your row was called when you got on the plane and sat down. Now you arrive at the gate 50mins before the flight and stand in a long queue so you can be first on to fight for a seat. Seats have been removed at departure gates to make space for the winding queues of 200 people.

We have to listen to O'Leary complaining that the Terminal 2 proposals are a waste of money. Presumably because they include "luxuries" such as seats and airbridges. Places like Liverpool, Beauvais and the like are what O'Leary views as state-of-the-art-terminals. Basically large cattle pens with no facilities.

3) space onboard is ridiculuous. People are getting bigger, yet O'Leary reduced the seat pitch on the new planes :eek:

In an ideal world those of us who wish to pay more to avoid Ryanair, like me, could. However, their agressive pricing tends to drive the competition off routes and as said above, they are now defining how airports are designed. And the worst thing is, if you travel in peak business hours, and don't book in advance, you are paying as much as you ever paid for a business class fare with Cityjet or Aer Lingus back in the good old days.

I suppose this is democracy/capitalism :mad:

Bring on carbon penalties and other taxes that will hopefully scupper their business model :D

Please tell me there are other people that agree?

jebus
05/10/2007, 4:19 PM
That's capitalism for you, you don't like it get the Irish to do something about it :D

pete
05/10/2007, 6:16 PM
For instance,
1) the new Pier D at Dublin that is being built doesn't have airbridges so O'Leary can save a few bob. We live in a very wet country yet a new terminal is being built where we have to walk down 4 flights of stairs, then queue in the rain to climb another set of stairs. 10 years ago we used to walk from an airconditioned lounge straight into an airconditioned plane. Thats progress...


Airbridges costs money for every 15 minutes you rent it so many airlines choose not to pay for it. Ryanair are not alone in this. Many full fair airlines don't use the air bridges.



2) seats at the departure gate. You used to be able to sit until your row was called when you got on the plane and sat down. Now you arrive at the gate 50mins before the flight and stand in a long queue so you can be first on to fight for a seat. Seats have been removed at departure gates to make space for the winding queues of 200 people.


I have to strongly disagree with that. I have never been to an airport where no seat at departure. The fact is people are idiots. I have seen people queue for 45 minutes in Cork just so they can have choice of seat on flight that lasts less than 1 hour. Cork has nice new terminal with nice new seats.



We have to listen to O'Leary complaining that the Terminal 2 proposals are a waste of money. Presumably because they include "luxuries" such as seats and airbridges. Places like Liverpool, Beauvais and the like are what O'Leary views as state-of-the-art-terminals. Basically large cattle pens with no facilities.


He does make some good points. Do the airlines that will use this section want luxuries? If they don't want luxuries why will they have to pay extra for them? i.e. higher passenger fares. Besides the DAA are proven incompetents & what is really required is new independent terminal or airport to remove their monopoly.




3) space onboard is ridiculuous. People are getting bigger, yet O'Leary reduced the seat pitch on the new planes :eek:


I would have agreed until recently when flew Cityjet (full fare, owned by Air France) & they use smaller jets & no legroom, narrow seats & almost no space in overhead luggage. Even the business class seats smaller than Ryanair 737s

Ryanair have their faults but in my limited experience they are probably the the most punctual airlines I have flown on. Flew Air France long haul recently & minimum of 1 hour delay both directions for no real reason. On the outward flight they started boarding 300+ person flight less than 30 minutes before takeoff. :rolleyes:

Even if you always fly full fare airlines you are undoubtedly paying a fraction of the price you would pay if Ryanair never existed.

onceahoop
05/10/2007, 7:08 PM
Priority boarding is another joke. When it started a lot of people thought it was compulsory to book it. Personally I don't care where I sit. It's all the add ons he has that get me. Some people feel their missing something if they don't take up all the options. Now I believe he's charging you more if you check in at the airport rather than on line. Presumably because few people paid the extra for the online check in when it was introduced.

When I'm sitting down elaxing having a chat with friends I hate being interupted by people trying to sell me things be it in the pub, in my home or flying Ryanair. Lotto tickets, bus tickets, it drives me mad.

Funnily enough, despite all his badmouthing, he seldom fights a battle he can't win. He'll push the boat out to the limit, causing a load of aggravation along the way and then walk away.

dahamsta
05/10/2007, 7:58 PM
Ryanair is for skinflints and students, leave them at it. It's only a matter of time before one of their flights drops out of the sky anyway. Natural selection in the technology age.

As for O'Leary, his fans'll stop laughing with him when the joke is at their expense. He'll get round to everybody in time. Man's a weasel.

adam

pete
05/10/2007, 8:10 PM
Still the most successful Irish business. I can't think of a more successful one anyway. At least O'Leary lives in Ireland & pays his taxes unlike Smurfit, Sir Tony & the other richest Irish.

If there was no Ryanair would cost 1000 euro to fly to London on the Aer Lingus - British Airways cartel.

BTW I think Ryanair too powerful in Ireland which makes it almost impossible to compete with them.

Superhoops
05/10/2007, 11:51 PM
Still the most successful Irish business. I can't think of a more successful one anyway. At least O'Leary lives in Ireland & pays his taxes unlike Smurfit, Sir Tony & the other richest Irish.

If there was no Ryanair would cost 1000 euro to fly to London on the Aer Lingus - British Airways cartel.

BTW I think Ryanair too powerful in Ireland which makes it almost impossible to compete with them.

I remember in the 80's when flying to London cost about a weeks wages, now it costs less than a round of drinks.

On a journey that takes only an hour or two, I dont care where I sit. If I am travelling light, I love being able to check in on line. If I have to bring luggage then I make it my business to ensure I understand the charges.

I take about 20 flights a year with Ryanair and 90% (or more?) of the time, flights are on time and the fares are good value. I avoid the add-ons, I dont use Ryan for travel insurance, for car hire or for hotels and I tend to avoid the on-board hard sell.

Not sure if they make money from the likes of me, but if they continue to be profitable and continue what they are doing now, then long may it roll-on.

dfx-
06/10/2007, 3:35 AM
There's a pleasant feeling knowing you're not the only one ORA.:)

I simply refuse to fly Ryanair. I will and have flown out of my way to avoid using them and their 'services'. I will put up with eternal delays with other airlines happily rather than fly with them given my previous experiences at their hands.

If I wanted to be on a flying advertisement, I'll attach some wings to a JC Decaux billboard and see where it gets me. Probably closer to my ultimate destination.

It's a probably futile stance, but I'm happy :cool:

Lionel Ritchie
06/10/2007, 9:57 AM
Ryanair is for skinflints and students, leave them at it. It's only a matter of time before one of their flights drops out of the sky anyway. Natural selection in the technology age.

As for O'Leary, his fans'll stop laughing with him when the joke is at their expense. He'll get round to everybody in time. Man's a weasel.

adam

Wow you beat me to the cryptic prediction. But I'll go a little further. I dunno if it'll be next year or the year after but am certain it'll be within the next five years ....Ryanair will lose two planes in quick succession and when it happens Ryanair, as we currently know and ..erm ..love it, will be finished.

Cosmo
06/10/2007, 9:24 PM
I simply refuse to fly Ryanair. I will and have flown out of my way to avoid using them and their 'services'.

Have to take my hate off to ye, fair play!

I cant stand these people that whinge about ryanair but still always end up flying with them!

If ye dont like them, dont fly with them ffs :rolleyes:

i personally love ryanair being an option - cheap flights, no bullsh!t with them either, thrown on and off the planes :D

I tend to fly ryanair alot more than any other airline tbh!

pineapple stu
06/10/2007, 9:27 PM
Yeah, never had a problem with them really. Plus, for a couple of recent trips, their phony airports have actually come in handy (Forli for San Marino and Bratislava for Vienna). I'd be the same as Superhoops - often no luggage, don't buy food or add ons, and I get to my destination just the same.

Wouldn't fly into somewhere like Frankfurt Hahn if someone else was flying direct to Frankfurt though.

bennocelt
07/10/2007, 10:34 AM
I remember in the 80's when flying to London cost about a weeks wages, now it costs less than a round of drinks.

On a journey that takes only an hour or two, I dont care where I sit. If I am travelling light, I love being able to check in on line. If I have to bring luggage then I make it my business to ensure I understand the charges.

.


yeah exactly

jesus those days you would have to safe for a few months to go to the UK..............little scallywags today dont know what hardship is all about!

thank god for ryanair......... for making flights cheap, and opening up europe, and for M O leary and his rants against Bertie and mary or rourke

onceahoop
07/10/2007, 7:38 PM
Yeah, never had a problem with them really. Plus, for a couple of recent trips, their phony airports have actually come in handy (Forli for San Marino and Bratislava for Vienna). I'd be the same as Superhoops - often no luggage, don't buy food or add ons, and I get to my destination just the same.

Wouldn't fly into somewhere like Frankfurt Hahn if someone else was flying direct to Frankfurt though.

Can't understand them selling things on short haul flights. Even on shorter hops from Bristol. I know the cabin crew get commission but it's ridiculous.

I'd rather Barcelona than Reus and Gerona or Charles De Gaule to Beauvais.

stiofain
07/10/2007, 9:01 PM
Wow you beat me to the cryptic prediction. But I'll go a little further. I dunno if it'll be next year or the year after but am certain it'll be within the next five years ....Ryanair will lose two planes in quick succession and when it happens Ryanair, as we currently know and ..erm ..love it, will be finished.

Ah Jesus. I'm petrified of flying at the best of times. Wish i'd never read that, I'll never be able to use Ryanair again now! (having said that, i do all in my power to avoid using them anyway).

Macy
08/10/2007, 7:57 AM
I obviously have a problem with Ryanair, or more particularly their attitude to workers, but attempting to put my consumer hat on...

I don't see why it's that hard to allocate seats as Aer Lingus do - either book them on line, or you get allocated (with no choice) at check in. Save's the ridiculousness at check in.

The charging for loaded bags is pure opportunism in a security environment that restricts what you can bring on board with you. Speaking of security, it fills me with confidence that one check on the baggage and passport is removed by all this online booking. Total shift of responsibility from themselves. I've no problem with them creaming it in on the on flight food and drink and whatever else that are genuine extras - booking in and bringing bags aren't extra's. It worked out cheaper for my sister in law to post her and the nephew's clothes back and forth than pay the charges!

My experience of Ryanair punctuality is appauling, especially if there's a weather issue (they couldn't give a fook about the first flights due out). For convenience as much as price it used to suit me to get the latter flights. Hand on heart, I've never got a Ryanair flight that hasn't been late departing/ arriving even allowing for shorter than scheduled flight times.

20 minutes isn't long enough to turn around, hence the planes often look like a bus with the rubbish, just to complete the whole "like getting a bus" experience. It's a saftey/ security issue waiting to happen.

Admittedly it's about 10 months since I've flown, so I've no idea how low Mannion's brought Aer Lingus in terms of quality, but for the 4 years before that Aer Lingus has been cheaper or thereabouts for price compared to Ryanair. Too many people believe the hype, and Ryanair often isn't much cheaper.

The way flying is going is driving me back to the ferry for my trips to the UK. If I'm not going on my own it's not much more expensive when you take into account parking, baggage charges, check in charges etc. You can bring whatever you can fit in the car. Plus for me to Manch it's quicker anyway (going out, if not coming back) by the time you allow for M50, security at the airport, check in times....

Dodge
08/10/2007, 9:02 AM
Still the most successful Irish business. I can't think of a more successful one anyway
I'm fairly certain the big banks are more profitable.

Lionel Ritchie
08/10/2007, 9:05 AM
Ah Jesus. I'm petrified of flying at the best of times. Wish i'd never read that, I'll never be able to use Ryanair again now! (having said that, i do all in my power to avoid using them anyway).

As a general rule there's no need to be scared of flying at all much less petrified. It's undoubtedly the safest way to travel due to the amount of back up systems, time to react in an emergency, general maintainance and standards being quite high.

Where I think Ryanair and a couple of more like them are going to run into a serious problem is that it is quite proabable that those who travel on those planes are unwitting guinea pigs in an experiment. The (unsought and undesirable of course) outcome of which may be tragic. Basically while the planes onboard computers, navigation systems, engines etc...are all quite up to date -the airframe itself and in particular the cabin is at most recent a 1960's piece of design.

It was scarcely envisaged when they were designed that these craft would be pressurised and de-compressed at the frequency they now operate at. It is probable that the life-span of these planes, which is generally only calculated in air-miles, is going to have be revised downwards considerably to take the new and still emerging situation with fast turn-around short haul flights into account.

If we're all lucky that'll just mean an increase in fares to pay for more expensive lesser lifespan aircraft. Sadly I don't think we're all going to be lucky.

stiofain
08/10/2007, 10:44 AM
Very interesting post Lionel.

anto1208
08/10/2007, 11:17 AM
Ive never had a problem im over and back to the UK quite a lot and i have to admit i wouldnt be able to do it with out them i simpley couldnt afford to fly Aerlingus all though there prices have fallen a lot , but they dont fly from and to the airports that i need .

I like the way they dont allocate seats, getting onto the plane is much quicker as you dont have some idiot that is three rows down deciding he has to stand in the aile to put his bags in the over head Part.

They have some of the newest planes and ive never come across one that is any less tidy than any other airline, I dont understand why people dont clean up afterthemselves anyway

I've only ever been on one flight that was late taking off that was 40mins and most land early.

They charge to check in ? then dont check in at the airport, do it online
They charge for bags ? so just bring hand luggage, if you really have to bring liquids just buy empty 100ml bottles and fill them thats what i did .You can easily fit 2 weeks worth of clothes into your hand luggage , I dont see why i should have to pay because some one else wants to bring a massive suitcase with them .

But even with all the extra charges they are still cheaper than most .

Still i think BMI baby was the best short haul airline ive ever flown with

Dodge
08/10/2007, 11:33 AM
I like the way they dont allocate seats, getting onto the plane is much quicker as you dont have some idiot that is three rows down deciding he has to stand in the aile to put his bags in the over head Part.
It may be quicker but you're still sitting down for 10-15 minutes before it moves so why the rush


They have some of the newest planes and ive never come across one that is any less tidy than any other airline
The last Ryanair flight I was on was filthy with wrappers all over the place. Generally its not bad but honestly shocked at how dirty it was.


I've only ever been on one flight that was late taking off that was 40mins and most land early.
I'd say its about 50/50 for me. Last flight was delayed an hour...



You can easily fit 2 weeks worth of clothes into your hand luggage
Thats patently untrue.

If 2 people book a flight and pay for 2 bags, they are charge extras galore. €6 credit card fee (they don't accept any other payment) per passenger, €12 per bag, and then another €6 per passenger to check in (as you can't check in online if you have a bag...)

Flying to Britain with them for a weekend is fine. Anything else doesn't end up eing that much cheaper...

ifk101
08/10/2007, 12:07 PM
I've just booked a flight home for the Christmas with SAS - 140 euros return. And that's why I like Ryanair - they've pushed everyone elses prices down.

Newryrep
08/10/2007, 12:38 PM
I like the way they dont allocate seats, getting onto the plane is much quicker as you dont have some idiot that is three rows down deciding he has to stand in the aile to put his bags in the over head .

I hate this to be honest, cant see why they dont load the planes row 10-20 1-10 with allocated seating, i would of thought it would be quicker


I dont understand why people dont clean up after themselves anyway

Because people on the whole have damn all consideration for others and think the whole world revolves around them


You can easily fit 2 weeks worth of clothes into your hand luggage ,.

Men could, women can barely fit a weekends worth of clothes into hand luggage, got stung for an extra £16 by Ryanair returning from Bratislava because of weight of luggage (OK for Aer Lingus and Sky Europe)



Still i think BMI baby was the best short haul airline ive ever flown with


I find Easy jet arent too bad

To sum up Ryanair wouldnt use them if I could help it /afford it but as has been mentioned before they are one of the reasons why flying is so cheap.

However if they are going to allow inflights calls i would try and avoid them like the plague. It is bad enough that the non entities switch their phones on as soon as the planes land and take an inane call. What the hell is wrong with 'I will call you back'

Also why do people insist in getting up as soon as the plane stops even if there is no room to stand in the ailse, so they stand there hunched, waiting for the door to open?

Dodge
08/10/2007, 12:50 PM
Also why do people insist in getting up as soon as the plane stops even if there is no room to stand in the ailse, so they stand there hunched, waiting for the door to open?

Because I'm 6 foot tall and haven't moved in 2 hours, being stuck in not very comfortable seats...

endabob1
08/10/2007, 1:04 PM
I use Ryan Air quite a bit, I go over and back to Ireland probably every other month and more for a couple of years when I was working for an Irish owned company.
Once in all that time have I been stranded, Luton was closed for the return flight and I ended up flying to LHR with Aer Lingus & typically Ryan Air refunded me the cost of my original flight and not the €100 that my new flight cost me. Generally the flights are bang on time leaving and landing.
O'Leary is probably not a nice guy, he's brobably not very pleasant to work for but there's not doubt that in terms of affordability his busniess has played a huge part in making airline travel accessible for more people. I personally think the service is great, you know what you're getting I wouldn't fly more than 1/2 hours max but I did a charter flight to the canaries recently and I've never been on a Ryan Air plane that was as old or uncomfortable.
On the topic of their planes, I thought they had bought a whole pile of new planes in recent years, I have also heard (but don't know how much truth there is in) the urban myth about MOL calling Boeing & Airbus after 9/11 looking to pick up cheap planes after some other airlines had cancelled their orders.

Macy
08/10/2007, 1:07 PM
I like the way they dont allocate seats, getting onto the plane is much quicker as you dont have some idiot that is three rows down deciding he has to stand in the aile to put his bags in the over head Part.
The plane doesn't take off any quicker though, and you haven't factored in the people having to get into the middle seats, after everyone who's on their own has taken either an aisle or window seat.


I dont see why i should have to pay because some one else wants to bring a massive suitcase with them .
Have charges actually come down? I see little or no difference, bar in Ryanairs profits. Even with the charge they don't give you the same bloody weight limit as the rest of the airlines.

teckno
08/10/2007, 1:15 PM
Has anybody any idea where in Ireland in would be possible to but hand luggage that is suitable for Ryanair. Would be very nady to have as I have been stung a few times with them and at least if i knew that I had a bag that could take the exact Ryanair limit it would be ideal.

Any ideas

Lionel Ritchie
08/10/2007, 1:27 PM
On the topic of their planes, I thought they had bought a whole pile of new planes in recent years, I have also heard (but don't know how much truth there is in) the urban myth about MOL calling Boeing & Airbus after 9/11 looking to pick up cheap planes after some other airlines had cancelled their orders.

It's not that the planes are old. It's that the design is. This means they're pushing the envelope (or poking the dog with a stick would be a better metaphor) in terms of how much stress the airframe can take. We simply don't know. Multiple daily compressions and decompressions were not likely to have been anticipated when these planes were on the drawing board -that flies head on into the Ryanair philosophy that a plane is losing you money every minute it spends on the ground.

Newryrep
08/10/2007, 1:39 PM
Because I'm 6 foot tall and haven't moved in 2 hours, being stuck in not very comfortable seats...

so standing crounched beneath the overhead lockers as the aisle is full is more comfortable ?:)

pete
08/10/2007, 1:40 PM
I have flown short haul with SAS, BMI, Cityjet & Ryanair in the past year & there is little difference between the lot. Its unfair to compare Ryanair with business or 1st class seats.

SAS are very good but not so punctual. They charge for food in economy & no cheap tickets.
BMI also charge for food & but use large Airbus so lots of leg room on half emoty plane.
Only Cityjet (aka Air France) give you "free food" in economy but no room for onboard luggage & abismal leg room because of small jets.
Ryanair Dublin-Cork are great. Half the price of the train & half the journey time as well as good schedule if want to come back to Dublin early on Monday morning. Web check means can make flight arriving 30 minutes before takeoff. Even in Dublin you can skip most of the security as its an internal flight. Aer Lingus have no internal Irish flights except Shannon-Dublin.

I suspect the Boeing 737 is the most common aircraft in the world & probably the safest due to so many in the air? I am no aviation expert but I think all the Boeing electrics are new. The frame of airplane design has changed little in over 50 years anyway.

I don't think any one likes Ryanair selling crap onboard but put on the headphones & ignore them. The Boarding Gate A for Ryanair is a dump but I think the DAA have to take a lot of responsibility for that pre-frabricated structure. Its difficult to understate how much of a kip Dublin Airport is - cannot think of one redeeming feature.

Newryrep
08/10/2007, 1:41 PM
Has anybody any idea where in Ireland in would be possible to but hand luggage that is suitable for Ryanair. Would be very nady to have as I have been stung a few times with them and at least if i knew that I had a bag that could take the exact Ryanair limit it would be ideal.

Any ideas

think 15Kg is their limit, easyjet is 20kg, check the small print

Dodge
08/10/2007, 1:44 PM
I suspect the Boeing 737 is the most common aircraft in the world & probably the safest due to so many in the air?
Thats some nice logic you got there pete...

Ryanair's checked luggage limit is 15kgs, most others have 20kg. I know for a fact my hand luggage weighed more than this last time out

OneRedArmy
08/10/2007, 1:45 PM
It's not that the planes are old. It's that the design is. This means they're pushing the envelope (or poking the dog with a stick would be a better metaphor) in terms of how much stress the airframe can take. We simply don't know. Multiple daily compressions and decompressions were not likely to have been anticipated when these planes were on the drawing board -that flies head on into the Ryanair philosophy that a plane is losing you money every minute it spends on the ground.Southwest has been using that business model for over 30 years.

Also, fuselages are pressurised and re-pressurised and stressed and de-stressed until they break as part of certification. The limits of airframes are well known.

pete
08/10/2007, 1:48 PM
Thats some nice logic you got there pete...


I don't know the stats but safety is surely judged by number of planes/flights versus accidents...?

:confused:

Most airline accidents seems to occur in the 3rd world on old planes with presumably less than perfect maintenance?

Dodge
08/10/2007, 1:51 PM
saying accidents are more likely to happen on old planes is a world away from saying that the most popular planes MUST be the safest...

Bald Student
08/10/2007, 1:57 PM
saying accidents are more likely to happen on old planes is a world away from saying that the most popular planes MUST be the safest...But if there's a lot of them and little history of accidents you can draw a conclusion.

dublinred
08/10/2007, 2:13 PM
think 15Kg is their limit, easyjet is 20kg, check the small print

If flying Ryanair be very very careful with your luggage allowances and make sure you weigh your bags before going to the airport , you are allowed

15k checked in baggage per person
10k hand luggage per person
everything elses is at 8euro a kilo, infants get no allowance but free buggy or travel cot.

If you pay for 3 bags you are still only allowed 15k ie 5k a bag.

If you have more than one person on the booking you are still only allowed the luggage allowances above each , if one person checked in a 20k bag and the other person checks in a 10k bag you will be charged 5k excess luggage.

Macy
08/10/2007, 2:28 PM
If you have more than one person on the booking you are still only allowed the luggage allowances above each , if one person checked in a 20k bag and the other person checks in a 10k bag you will be charged 5k excess luggage.
I'd actually forgotten that scam - hence why you see panic repacking at the front of the que at the airport. Other airlines take the booking as a whole.

NY Hoop
08/10/2007, 2:40 PM
Ryanair is for skinflints and students, leave them at it. It's only a matter of time before one of their flights drops out of the sky anyway. Natural selection in the technology age.

As for O'Leary, his fans'll stop laughing with him when the joke is at their expense. He'll get round to everybody in time. Man's a weasel.

adam

You know him then? IMO he should be running the country but he wouldnt do it for fear of ending up in a bureaucratic blender.

Rest of your post is rubbish. As already pointed out Ryanair have lowered prices all round. In 1987 it was £200 return to London.

Everyone has a Ryanair story but you get what you pay for. Had to smile coming back from Denmark when they were selling copies of the Indo for €2.

Try flying Aer Lingus to the states and there's not a lot of difference customer service wise.


KOH

Dodge
08/10/2007, 2:50 PM
Try flying Aer Lingus to the states and there's not a lot of difference customer service wise.

In all fairness Aer Lingus service is top quality. And I've flown a fair few times to the US with them

NY Hoop
08/10/2007, 2:53 PM
In all fairness Aer Lingus service is top quality. And I've flown a fair few times to the US with them

You must have been drunk then. It's rubbish. Thankfully Delta next time.

KOH

osarusan
08/10/2007, 2:58 PM
I flew with Aer Lingus 3 and 4 years ago. I had to laugh. After taking a Korean Air flight from Seoul, which arrived 15 minutes early for an 11 hour flight, I transferred to Aer Lingus in Heathrow. We took off 35 minutes late, and during the flight the pilot explained we would arrive 30 minutes late due to a "headwind"! (Pretty strong headwind that affects the plane while still on the ground) To top it off, I got gum stuck to the back of my pants, from the seat.

With RyanAir, I pay cheap prices, the service is poor enough, they try (and fail) to flog stuff to me. I'm happy with the balance of cost and service.

With Air Lingus, I was not. If I pay more, I expect better, which I didnt get.

I can understand some of the negativity here, but some people are posting like a Ryan Air crash would make their day, just so they could say "I told you so".

Dodge
08/10/2007, 3:06 PM
Opinions, eh...

osarusan
08/10/2007, 3:10 PM
Opinions, eh...

every arsehole's got'em.

Just as well I'm here to provide facts.

Lionel Ritchie
08/10/2007, 3:11 PM
Southwest has been using that business model for over 30 years.

Also, fuselages are pressurised and re-pressurised and stressed and de-stressed until they break as part of certification. The limits of airframes are well known.

Given -by and large.

Though just because they haven't lost a plane yet doesn't neccessarily mean that their operating model is best practice.

Also just as a general rule for air travel ...pretty much any "first world" airline is safer than the alternatives. This is usually down to more stringent safety and mantainance checks. An area it is mercifully beyond the gift of the Ryanairs to "cut costs" on.

Dodge
08/10/2007, 3:24 PM
Just as well I'm here to provide facts.
About one flilght 3 or 4 years ago.

I've had nothing but good experiences with them. Sorry to hear about the chewing gum incident...

Agree with your comment re the doomsayers

osarusan
08/10/2007, 3:30 PM
About one flilght 3 or 4 years ago.

I've had nothing but good experiences with them. Sorry to hear about the chewing gum incident...

Agree with your comment re the doomsayers

It was a joke Dodge. I thought you hated the use of smilies?

To be fair, I've never flown long-haul, and I've heard its better.

NY Hoop
08/10/2007, 3:43 PM
It was a joke Dodge. I thought you hated the use of smilies?

To be fair, I've never flown long-haul, and I've heard its better.

Still **** long haul or not. Flown at least a dozen times with them to the states. At best average.

KOH

Dodge
08/10/2007, 4:00 PM
It was a joke Dodge. I thought you hated the use of smilies?
Nicely played...

osarusan
08/10/2007, 4:04 PM
Nicely played...

Thanks!:cool:

progress
08/10/2007, 4:20 PM
ryanair have now hiked up all the prices too which is going to hit there customers.they continually add little extras which is very annoying.why should it cost u to check in at the airport.surely u should be given a discount if u check in on line and not penalised if u go to the airport.they try and trick u into paying travel insurance.i will still travel with them because they are the cheapest but they are low fare only by name now