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This is a full review of the service provided by Ryanair. Some aspects of Ryanair's service are similar on any budget airline, but many are unique to Ryanair.
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Ryanair's Destinations in Spain
Ryanair flies to 16 destinations in mainland Spain, as well as two destinations in the Canary Islands, one in the Balearics and two in Portugal, making Ryanair one of the best airlines in terms of number of destinations in Spain.
They are: Madrid, Valencia, Alicante, Murcia, Almeria, Granada, Seville, Jerez, Malaga, Santiago de Compostela, Valladolid, Santander, Vitoria, Zaragoza, Barcelona (Reus), Barcelona (Girona), Palma Mallorca, Tenerife North, Tenerife South and Fuerteventura.
However, the way Ryanair advertises some of their destinations can be confusing for those not familiar with the geography of Spain. Ryanair describes its flights to Reus and Girona as 'Barcelona (Reus)' and 'Barcelona (Girona)' respectively, despite these airports being 100km from Barcelona.
According to a report on the BBC in August 2007, Ryanair got in trouble for being 'misleading in their claims' in an advertisement about costs and travel times for travel between London and Brussels as they 'hadn't flagged up' the distance between the airports and the city centers and the costs incurred traveling between the two. Watch this BBC video on Ryanair complaints upheld.
How do Ryanair compare to easyJet? Read Ryanair & easyJet Destination Comparison.
Ryanair's Prices
Ryanair's advertised prices start from 1¢. Even with the many taxes and charges that Ryanair add, you can get a flight for 15€.
Ryanair have come a long way recently in improving the transparency of their prices. Now special offers on their homepage include taxes and charges and they no longer boast about 'free' flights (where you still page taxes and charges). Unfortunately, when buying tickets, the prices still don't include the extra charges.
In addition to your basic flight price you must pay the following fees and charges:
- Airport Taxes
- Insurance (mandatory insurance that covers Ryanair's own insurance costs and is NOT a personal travel insurance policy for your own belongings).*
- Fee for each item of checked luggage.
- Credit/debit card handling fee (see below).
- A fee for taking sports equipment or musical instruments onto the plane.
These are just the fees you pay when you book your ticket. In this list of Ryanair Fees, six of the ten fees are charged to you at the airport (and one on the plane)!
Note on Ryanair Credit Card Fee When paying for a Ryanair flight with a credit card, Ryanair charges you 5€ for each journey, in each direction. This means that if paying for a return flight for a family of four, you will be charged eight times for the use of your credit card - that's 40€!
Ryanair's Checked Baggage & Hand Luggage Policy
Ryanair has the lowest checked baggage allowance in Europe. Your baggage allowance is as follows:
- 15kg (33lbs) of checked baggage.
- 10kg (22lbs) of hand luggage (one piece, only).
Ryanair also make no provisions for fragile items that you wish to carry onto the aircraft with you. Musical instruments and sporting equipment can be taken with you, but at a fee.
Punctuality & Reliability
Ryanair claim to have the best reliability record in Europe, with 89% of their flights coming in on time, citing a study by Ryanair, easyJet & Association of European Airlines statistics. According to an independent study by flightontime.com, Ryanair is the most punctual budget airline in the United Kingdom.
Can't argue with those figures, can you? Well, actually, you can. Look at how Ryanair achieved this record: Ryanair Punctuality
It is also not unheard of for Ryanair to move your flight time by a number of hours. I had a flight moved from 3pm to 10am, necessitating a hotel stay the night before to guarantee that I could get to the airport on time. To Ryanair's credit, they did offer me a refund, but with three weeks to go until my flight, how am I going to get another flight at the price I was looking for? Read about another similar passenger complaint about Ryanair.
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