Ryanair - first time users, advice needed

[Osem]

The wife and my eldest are flying off fron Stansted on Ryanair in a few weeks. None of us have ever travelled with them before and due to their reputation for being quite user unfriendly I'm just looking for any tips/advice/do's and don'ts from more seasoned customers of theirs. We found the booking process quite awkward and are very conscious of all the various stipulations they impose concerning things like online check-in, boarding passes, checked luggage, hand luggage, prohibited items etc.

Any advice/feedback would be very much appreciated.

[LondonRoad]

Just stay within their rules. Check all names are exactly as on passports etc,

Measure your hand luggage to ensure it complies but most importantly don't go one gram over the weight allowance for any checked luggage. They'll hammer you for it. If in doubt pay for another case to be checked in.

Like all airlines, on board snacks and drinks are overpriced so take your own.

If you want to sit together then pay for priority boarding otherwise it's in the lap of the gods.

Enjoy your break.

[alferret]

Originally Posted by LondonRoad

Just stay within their rules. Check all names are exactly as on passports etc,

Measure your hand luggage to ensure it complies but most importantly don't go one gram over the weight allowance for any checked luggage. They'll hammer you for it. If in doubt pay for another case to be checked in.

Like all airlines, on board snacks and drinks are overpriced so take your own.

If you want to sit together then pay for priority boarding otherwise it's in the lap of the gods.

Enjoy your break.

Flown a few times with Ryanair. Never had an issue, always been ontime & good service even when we got stuck in Spain last year with cancelled flight due to strike.

You get what you pay for, no frills getting from A to B.

[progers]

First, Don't ever book Ryanair!
Second, if you already have, follow LondonRoad's advice

I personally wouldn't pay for priority boarding, just get there a bit earlier and you should be sitting together

[Dai]

Make sure you are at the gate well before official close time. They're merciless with late arrivals.

[denphone]

Originally Posted by progers

First, Don't ever book Ryanair!
Second, if you already have, follow LondonRoad's advice

I personally wouldn't pay for priority boarding, just get there a bit earlier and you should be sitting together

l would never go with Ryanair because of previous experience so l would pay extra to get a better service.

[Halcyon]

I dont know why people have so many issues with Ryanair, I have never had a problem with them.

A few tips for you:

- If taking liquids, make sure they are only up to 100ml and put them in a sealable clearp lastic bag. Freezer bags work well.
Dont bring a massive bottle of water from home as it will only have to be thrown away.

- If you are only going for a week or less then there is no point paying upto £40 extra for hold luggage. I find you can fit most things in carry on cabin luggage that oes in the overhead lockers.

I use a small wheel suitcase that is within the 55cm x 40cm x 20cm.

- When doing the booking process, unless you really need it, untick the insurance.

- Dont forget to check in online otherwise you pay £40 for a sheet of printed A4 paper at the airport.
You will need to provide the printed sheet and make sure it is on an A4 printout as well as inputting your passport details.

- Don't bother with priority boarding as so many people do these days it doesnt really become a priority anymore. Just make sure you arrive at the gate early.

- Bring your own food or eat before as airports and airlines charge ridiculous prices.

- Keep within the weight limit for your bags.

- Keep a copy of your travel boarding pass and details in a hotmail / gmail account you can access from anywhere in case you need to retrieve any details at a later date.

[Osem]

Excellent tips everyone. They're only using Ryanair because they have no other option from Stansted.

The bit about boarding passes is one area of concern. Presumably you download and print the boarding passes for the outbound and return flights at the same time and take both copies with you? Halcyon - what did you mean about entering passport details?

As regards the hand luggage sizing, does the bag itslef have to be within those sizes or it is just the case that the bag and its contents has to be able to fit into a container of that size? They're both wanting to take soft holdall type bags for their hand luggage as opposed to more rigid bags which are heavier.

[SnoopZ]

Originally Posted by Osem

Excellent tips everyone. They're only using Ryanair because they have no other option from Stansted.

The bit about boarding passes is one area of concern. Presumably you download and print the boarding passes for the outbound and return flights at the same time and take both copies with you? Halcyon - what did you mean about entering passport details?

As regards the hand luggage sizing, does the bag itslef have to be within those sizes or it is just the case that the bag and its contents has to be able to fit into a container of that size? They're both wanting to take soft holdall type bags for their hand luggage as opposed to more rigid bags which are heavier.

It's the size of the bag, you should read these, if the soft holdall squashes into the maximum dimensions and the weight is under 10kg then should be ok.

I've flown with them twice without any problems.

http://www.ryanair.com/en/questions/...gage-allowance
http://www.ryanair.com/en/questions/...gage-allowance
http://www.ryanair.com/en/questions/...nline-check-in
http://www.ryanair.com/en/questions/...gage-allowance

[LondonRoad]

They're very strict about dimensions so as long as your soft bags are within their range you'll be fine. Remember any handbags count so if your good lady wants one that counts. What my wife does is stick her hand bag inside the case and then retrieve once you're on the plane.

I wouldn't worry too much about the weight you're carrying on. The allowance is 10Kg. For the dimension of case you're allowed that's generous.... unless you're carrying gold ingots

As part of the online boarding process, you have to enter your passport numbers and name - EXACTLY as it is on the passport.

You can print your boarding cards off up to 15 days in advance so you should be able to print off both outbound and inbound boarding cards if it's a standard length holiday.

[Halcyon]

You have to check in online prior to your departure as without doing this you will be charged £40 at the airport for them to do it for you.

By checking in online you save time and can proceed straight through to the security gate.

You can check in online up to 15 days before your trip right up to 4 hours before.
So if you are going for less than 15 days then you can check in both your outbound and inbound flights.

You can check in online here:
http://www.ryanair.com/en/questions/...heck-in-online

You will be asked to enter your full name, passport number located on back page of your passport, and a few more bits and pieces.
Make sure you enter everything correctly.

Once this is done for each passenger you will get your boarding ticket.
You need to print this out on an A4 sheet of paper and show it to security together with your travel documents (passport) as well as when boarding the plane.

Repeat this process for checking in for the return flight.

So you will have two A4 pieces of paper. Do not lose these as you will be charged if you need them reprinting at the airport.
I normally forward the passes to my email so if I did lose them I could reprint them from a cyber cafe somewhere.

If you are away for longer than 15 days you will need to find somewhere with a printer to print your return boarding pass.
If less than 15 days you are fine to print them both at the same time.

As regards to hand baggage, as long as the dimensions of the bag do not exceed 55cm x 40cm x 20cm and no more than 10kg, then you are fine.

[Pog66]

Originally Posted by LondonRoad

Like all airlines, on board snacks and drinks are overpriced so take your own.

From memory I don't think you're allowed to consume your own alcohol on board ...or at least not in large quantities.

They are very stringent on luggage weight & dimensions but as mentioned elsewhere 10Kg for hand lugagge is very generous so split your load between hand & hold luggage.

I was dreading a 3 hour plus flight with Ryanair to Morocco last year but was actually pleasantly surprised (although we had booked into a lounge with free drinks before boarding to help soften the pain

[LondonRoad]

Originally Posted by Pog66

From memory I don't think you're allowed to consume your own alcohol on board ...or at least not in large quantities.

Not all drinks contain alcohol I'm sure nobody had ever thought of lacing their innocent looking bottle of Pepsi with another substance.

IIRC ryanair actually sell sachets of spirits. That doesn't appeal to me at all.

[Pog66]

Originally Posted by LondonRoad

Not all drinks contain alcohol I'm sure nobody had ever thought of lacing their innocent looking bottle of Pepsi with another substance.

IIRC ryanair actually sell sachets of spirits. That doesn't appeal to me at all.

indeed - of course I would never thing of doing such a thing ~ although all such lacing would have to happen airside of course!!

Spirits & wine were in miniature bottles last year

[Osem]

Thanks everyone.

A couple more questions regarding baggage. My wife and son are each intending to carry rucksacks on board which are obviously irregular, soft and tend to bulge with the contents. Are these things actually measured or do they just have to fit inside a frame of the airline's predetermined dimensions? I know the answer to this ought to be common sense but, after what I've read about Ryanair, nothing would surprise me and I have visions of some jobsworth with a measuring tape trying to find a dimnension which exceeds the limit and thereby extort money.....

Also, if it's all self check in etc., how and where do they label/tag and drop their checked in luggage bags for the flight?