As a frequent flyer and constant traveller, I have flown across the globe with around 7 different airlines (inc. British Airways, EasyJet, Emirates and Wizz Air) but my airline of choice is always Ryanair. In the past 24 months, I have caught 18 flights, 15 of which were with Ryanair. Below are my top reasons why I love Ryanair and believe that they don’t deserve all the bad press they get.
Booking tickets – Route map & Fare Finder
Firstly, their flight booking system is amazing! Personally, I love that there are two options for searching flights, the Route map and the Fare Finder. Both great options to use depending on whether price or destination is your priority search criteria.
Cheap prices
As students, we can’t ignore the cheap prices that Ryanair consistently offer. Granted the seats may not be as luxurious when compared to the likes of British Airways, but when you’re only paying £8 one way do you really care?
Hand luggage allowance
Despite all the constant complaints about the luggage allowances, they are actually one of the most generous airlines in terms of carry on sizes. With Ryanair you are permitted a case weighing up to 10kgs whereas most other airlines only allow 7kgs. Every passenger is allowed a small bag which fits under the seat in front and then you’re allowed a second bag of up to 10kgs with the purchase of a priority boarding ticket (prices can be as low as £2 so not much to complain about really?).
Great customer service
In October 2016 when boarding a flight from Valencia to Milan I suffered a Grand Mal seizure. The Ryanair staff were fast to act and wasted no time in getting me the support I needed. Following the seizure Ryanair phoned me to ensure that I was okay and assured me when I was ready, they would rebook my flight at no extra cost and sort out anything I needed. They entirely went above and beyond what I would ordinarily expect an airline to do and could not have cared for me any better. For this reason, I always advocate flying Ryanair to those with disabilities.
Although there are ways in which you can be caught out with paying add-on fees, we all know that these fees exist but if you’re organised then you won’t get caught out and can instead enjoy the many plus points Europe’s top budget airline.
* In our print edition, this article’s original title was ‘RYANAIR: do they deserve all the bad press?’ It has been modified for online publication to avoid confusion with current issues in the media regarding Ryanair.
by Meryl Hanmer
