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Save/ShareIrish budget carrier Ryanair operates over 500 routes, offering a cheap way to hop around Europe. You have to be careful how you book your ticket, though, because this airline is notorious for nickel-and-diming passengers, such as by charging a fee of about $8 for checking in at the airport instead of online.
Here are some booking tips, drawn from my experience of buying a one-way flight next month between Rome (Ciampino) (CIA) and Brussels (Charleroi) (CRL). The advertised flight was €50. But, after taxes, fees, and surcharges, I paid €87.84 (or about $137). The final cost could have been even higher, probably €45 more, had I not avoided some pernicious fees.
I reviewed the advice in American, Irish, and British publications on how to book tickets on Ryanair. The general consensus is that Americans looking for plane tickets for travel between European cities should begin their hunt on the travel search engine Mobissimo.
I used Mobissimo and decided that Ryanair offered the best times, connection, and price for my route. The general consensus of British and Irish media is that you should book your flight directly on Ryanair.com. The temptation here is to instead book the flight through a third-party, such as Opodo or WeGoLo, which may be offering a lower "come-on" price. Too often, after the third-party company lures you into buying, it slaps on surprise fees that exceed Ryanair's own fees (a truly amazing feat). Plus, Ryanair is less likely to provide its best customer service—to the extent that it offers much customer service at all—to passengers who book through third parties. Ultimately, it's a case of the Devil you know is better than the one you don't.
Ryanair.com's worst fees are for luggage. Its free weight allowance on checked bags is about 33 pounds collectively. Whether you check one, two, or three bags, if their collective weight exceeds 33 pounds, you'll pay about $10.40 for each pound over the limit!) (about €15 per kilo, or the local currency equivalent; full fees listed here.)
And don't try to pool or share luggage within the same traveling party. That's a no-no. But you can try this Budget Travel tip, instead: Stick an empty duffel bag in your suitcase; if Ryanair tries to charge you extra, shift some of the weight to the duffel and use it as your carry-on bag (which Ryanair allows, given that it's a reasonable size carry-on).
Ryanair.com is tricky in baggage rules in another way. Oddly, the site asks you to specify in advance how many bags you're planning to take with you. My trip is a month off. I have no idea whether I'll be checking one, two, or three bags. But as I study the fee chart, I see that if I say I'm going to bring at least one bag, it costs only €8,—half the fee I would pay if I instead told the site I'd bring zero bags and then showed up at the airport with one bag. So, when you're not absolutely sure how many bags you plan to bring, it saves the most money to tell Ryanair.com that you plan to bring at least one bag.
True, if I do what I say above, and then show up at the airport with more than one bag, I'll have to pay a €20 fee per bag. But this charge is unavoidable, and Ryanair.com charges the same fee whether you tell it in advance that you'll bring 2 to 3 bags or whether you tell a gate agent at the last minute. In short, follow my boldfaced rule above.
Another cost-cutting move is to pay by Visa debit card. Ryanair.com charges a €1.20 fee for paying by debit card (online) but more than twice that (4 euro) if you pay with a major credit card. And note, if you get to the airport and are hit with more fees, you'll be hit with a second processing charge as you pay them. So if you have a Visa debit card, bring that with you to the airport, too! The processing charge will only be €1.50 (versus €4 for a credit card at the airport).
During booking, Ryanair.com asks: Would you like to be one of the first passengers to board to the aircraft? Say yes. The advice of the folks at Eurocheapo.com, whose staff often flies Ryanair, is that you should say yes and swallow the €5 fee per person—unless you're traveling solo. The Priority Boarding voucher allows you to board the aircraft as part of the first boarding group.
Skip the insurance. Irritatingly, Ryanair.com automatically signs up you for travel insurance at €14.50. Simply choose "No Travel Insurance Required" in the drop down menu. Ryanair's insurance offerings don't cover U.S. residents.
Ryanair will request an email address from you to send your itinerary. Be sure you provide your primary email address, and one that you will have access to while traveling overseas. Ryanair does nearly all of its contacting of customers by email, not by phone, so if there is a last minute change to your plane schedule, you will only get an email, not a phone call.
Ryanair slaps on a €5 airport check-in desk fee if you opt to check-in at the airport. As an American, you must opt for checking in at the airport--even though Ryanair's website doesn't make that clear. No check-in fee is applied to passengers who check-in online, though. But as an American, you have to check in at the airport.You could get a refund on a $7.80 fee for being required to check in at the airport: Details here:
UPDATE 11:20 a.m. Hilary at Less Than a Shoestring caught a bit of fine print on Ryanair's website that I had missed! I originally blogged that you might want to consider checking in online to avoid a nearly $8 fee for requesting airport check-in. But Hilary points out that American citizens can't do that, a point she discovered and blogged about last November. However, she and Student Scooge have come up with a way for Americans to apply for a refund of this fee. Details here. Thanks guys!
Feel free to share your own tips of booking Ryanair tickets below.
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Sean, since I believe you are focusing on an American audience (your note in the insurance section leads me to believe this anyway), you will want to make sure to correct the information above about online check-in. NO NON-EU PASSPORT HOLDER SHOULD AVAIL THEMSELVES OF THE ONLINE CHECK-IN FUNCTION AS THEY WILL BE DENIED BOARDING AT THE GATE. I spell out the details of who, why and how to get your money back in my post "WARNING: RyanAir Online Check-in." If you don't have an EU passport, you should ALWAYS check in at the airport.
Also, it is possible to amend your booking online before the flight to include luggage at the same "discounted" rate as you will pay when booking the ticket. So no need to book luggage beforehand if you're not sure what you'll have.
Another thing to note: if you check luggage, you pay the fee for the bag (9 euros) as well as the airport check-in fee (4 euros). As soon as you book checked luggage (whether you use it or not), you forfeit your right to the refund of the airport check-in fee for non-EU passport holders.
Now onto opinions rather than facts :)
I can't believe the EuroCheapos recommended priority boarding! Unless you are a regular flier and KNOW that your flight will have every seat full (or, say, it is a flight from the UK to a warm Mediterranean isle that only goes twice/week), it does not pay to play. Read your book at the gate while everyone else tires standing in a panicked queue for 45 minutes. Wait till most of them have cleared out before leisurely strolling through the boarding gate and across the tarmac. Head for the rear of the plane, where there are always more seats free. I have never in all my many flights on RyanAir ever been stuck in a middle seat. Generally, the middle seats in every row are free and I have even had entire rows to myself. They never overbook the flights so there is no reason to worry that you'll be stuck without a seat. The stress of boarding is largely one the passengers make for themselves! Calm down, treat everyone nicely, and stop pushing.
I would recommend Which Budget for an overview of which low-cost carriers fly where. You have to do the searching yourself, but you'll get a better sense of what your options are for switching airports and airlines.
Finally, the cheapest way to fly on RyanAir is to book when they're paying the taxes and fees. I describe the method for doing this in my post "Why I Love/Hate RyanAir." I've spent less than 60 euros on my last 24 flights, with RyanAir footing the rest (an estimated 480 euros). That includes the four flights I just booked (Berlin-Frankfurt Hahn-Sevilla and Granada-Frankfurt Hahn-Berlin) for mid-June for 17 euros all-in. Seriously, they are practically paying *me* to fly!
Posted By poetloverrebelspy on May 28, 2008, 10:53 AM
P.S. If anyone not resident in Europe inadvertently books the travel insurance -- or if you are a UK or Irish resident and have changed your mind within 14 days of purchase but prior to travel -- you can request a refund. Details here.
Posted By poetloverrebelspy on May 28, 2008, 12:00 PM
On priority boarding:
I agree with the previous comment, there is no need as more often than not that will give you priority boarding to the bus that takes you to the plane, not to the plane itself. Hence, you get to sit in the bus but that's about it, you are likely to be one of the last to get off (airport ground handling staff always make sure that the busses are pack-jammed before they leave).
You may want to book priority boarding though if you walk through to the plane and if you have a family with young children (but how do you know?). Ryanair does not give priority to families with young children (less than 2 years), in contrast to most civilised airlines, including Ryanair's low-cost competitor EasyJet.
Posted By ALPHAHUNTER on May 28, 2008, 12:32 PM
Hi Sean and Hilary,
As you both point out, hunting down the final price of a Ryanair flight takes some serious investigative skills. Nice job on finding all the small print.
At EuroCheapo, we have also known the shock of paying an unexpected, steep surcharge for overweight luggage and extra bags on Ryanair flights. These charges can sometimes wipe out the relative savings promised by the carrier in the first place.
In our guide to European low-cost carriers, we profile 42 airlines and include baggage information and check in procedures.
For Ryanair, we recommend taking advantage of free priority boarding for those EU passport holders checking in online. (As online check in isn't available to Americans, the extra €5 charge for priority boarding may not be worth it, as Hilary points out. But some will find the cost for early boarding a small price to pay for some peace of mind, especially if your flight is really inexpensive in the first place. Of course, hard-core Cheapos -- Hilary -- will always scoff at any extra charge :)
As for the cheapest way to book your flight, we always recommend booking directly with the carrier (whether it's Ryanair, easyJet, Air Berlin, or any of the others). On our flight search, for instance, we show which carriers fly between cities, but the user needs to search each airline's website to find the lowest ticket price.
An interesting note: On certain non-official airline websites that offer low-cost airline booking, the ticket price will sometimes be much higher than on Ryanair.com. This is because certain agencies include the airline's hidden charges in their result price (including the price for one bag).
In any case, great post! And one thing is certain, as soon as we really think we've nailed down all of Ryanair's small print, they'll change it again!
Posted By Tom Meyers on May 28, 2008, 1:01 PM
The main issue with Ryanair is their total lack of help when things go wrong. For that, you will need good travel insurance that covers you for missed departure and accommodation costs. Despite European law stipulating levels of compensation and assistance, Ryanair simply doesn't provide it. They will rebook you on the next available flight, but that is often days away. The biggest horror stories about Ryanair involve people being stranded at remote airports (and it's worth remembering that what Ryanair calls "Frankfurt", "Paris", "Barcelona" and "Milan" for example are nowhere near those cities).
When all the nickel and diming is taken into account, I usually find it's a cheaper and better experience to fly with another airline.
Posted By Harry on May 29, 2008, 4:40 AM
BTW, as you note, you are flying to Charleroi, NOT Brussels Airport. Charleroi is a long way from Brussels, and you will need to factor in the time and expense of the transfer.
Posted By Harry on May 29, 2008, 5:26 AM
Hi Sean,
I agree with the consensus that you should book directly on airline's website. Forget online travel agents, they'll just slap a booking fee, which beats the point of booking budget flights in the first place.
Forget price-comparison sites like Mobissimo too. When it comes to flights, it is almost impossible to do proper price comparison these days. You can compare base price, but some airlines add baggage charge, airport checkin, credit card payment, etc. to the basic price, while others include this as standard.
Martino Matijevic
CEO, WhichBudget
www.whichbudget.com
Posted By Martino Matijevic on May 29, 2008, 5:47 AM
A couple of suggestions- I've probably flown Ryanair close to 30 times over the last few years.
Priority booking and web check in board the plane together, which now means more than half the passengers on the plane are "priority". Sometimes most of them. Seems silly to pay to board with everyone else, and if your party won't be too upset by not sitting together it can save you cash for something more fun on your trip. They're short flights anyways. Also be aware that in countries where people aren't so good at lining up in an orderly fashion (for example Italy, where I lived for 13 years) the staff will often give up and not even check the priority cards.
The cheapest way to fly is to learn how to pack a carry on bag and live off of that during your trip. Carry on and web check in are the no-charge option and, believe it or not, with a special offer of free flight, including taxes and fees, with only a carry on bag and a web check in I flew from London to Rome in December for €0.02 and from London to Dublin in January for £0.02! Really! I had 4 cents charged on my credit card. You just have to be patient, check out all the offers and be very, very flexible about when you can fly.
Posted By Karla on May 29, 2008, 12:57 PM
From everything I have heard about Ryanair, I plan to take surface travel--trains, ferries even coaches if no alternative--on my upcoming trip to UK, Eire & Scandinavia. It'll be slow but I've got lots of time and hopefully it'll be pleasant and relaxing. Of course, I plan to save a bundle by staying at youth hostels (I'm a life member) and eating in cafes, etc. instead of Scandinavia's horrendous food prices abd generally pricey hotels.
Posted By Roger A.C. Williams on May 29, 2008, 12:58 PM
The worst airline in the world. Extremely poor service and very in humane employees. Will never ever fly Ryanair. And would recommend others not to either.
Posted By sundar on May 29, 2008, 10:36 PM
It is said that when alcoholics go dry, they become as tight as the bark on a tree. The more affluent we become, the meaner we are. Just think back when we had to contend with Aer Lingus ( Cunnilingus ) and we were paying 150 pounds to go home from London for christmas and lucky to get a flight.
Ryan Air has liberated us all and Michael O' Leary is a true champion of the poor. He is a philantrophist and stop whinging about him and his airline.
Posted By finbar Owens on May 30, 2008, 4:54 AM
Ryan Air more than nickel and dimes you!
Last fall my wife & I took a 6-week vacation to the UK and Austria to visit family & friends. We found, on line, a flight on Ryan Air from London to Klagenfurt, Austria for a total of $0.08 round trip for the 2 of us. I knew we would have more luggage than usual, given the 6-week trip, the unpredictable autumn weather, and dressing for a variety of events, from 5-star hotels to a week on a farm. We had 3 suitcases between us to check.
With the overweight baggage fees, credit card fees, departure taxes, priority boarding fees and astronomical prices for a snack, the roundtrip cost of the flight for us went from $.08 to $845.00!.
Ryan Air may be worthwhile if you take a 2 day trip and have just a briefcase or a small backpack, but not if you are on an extended vacation.
Posted By Howard Devine on May 30, 2008, 12:49 PM
In regards to the extra 5 euro for the "Priority" boarding, I respectfully disagree with the author of this article. Say NO! I flew Ryanair from Rome Ciampino (terrible airport by the way) to London. Those who had paid extra to be first in line certainly did get to stand in a special line at the gate, but everyone, regardless of whether they had paid the extra fee or not, got on the bus at the same time (that's right, they bus you to the plane), and got off at the same time. Then, as a mob, you walk up the stairs to the plane and you find your own seat; first come, first serve. Nothing is assigned and those who had paid to be labeled as a "Priority" were pushed out of the way by those who hadn't. Everyone had the same chances of getting whatever seat they wanted. So don't bother paying the extra, it won't matter. All that matters with Ryanair seating is that you're fast and don't mind pushing over (and being pushed by) little old ladies.
Posted By Megan on May 31, 2008, 1:43 PM
I agree with the comments - don't pay for priority boarding especially if you are using an airport with bus shuttle service to the plane. Another tip for after you have booked your travel, don't automatically take Ryanair's travel into the city. Many times Ryanair flys into an airport outside the city. To make it more convenient, they will offer bus service into the city, but oftentimes by using public transportation, you can get there cheaper and sometimes faster. For instance, in Rome, the Ryanair bus costs 8€, but public transportation costs €2.20.
Posted By Beth on June 2, 2008, 2:34 AM
My wife and I flew Ryanair last year in May. We flew London to Roma. The only thing we had trouble with was the overweight bags but were allowed to transfer and repack our bags. We got out of line and transfer the weight. The lady at the gate told us to hurry or we would miss the flight. I didn't pay to board early but didn't have any problems.
Posted By Markus Ledergerber on June 4, 2008, 9:08 AM
Ryanair are practicing racist check in policies which discriminate against travellers because of their nationality.
The airlines forces these 'non eu' customers to use a check in desk, for no good reason. Lots of 'non eu' nationals do not need visas to travel between EU countries or domestic flights but are still required by ryanair to check in and pay for the use of desk check in. They are not 'eligable' for internet check in because of their nationality. This is racist and in breach of various EU and national laws. It's a money making scam, something that ryanair seems to be good at.
Posted By Peter Chaundry on June 12, 2008, 9:22 AM
I have dual citizenship: Irish/US I'm flying from the US to London in July and then plan to travel to France. I'm in the process of booking a Ryanair flight to France. (it's taking forever btw) anyway, can I use my EU passport to travel from London to Nantes or is that frowned upon??
Posted By Ciara on June 18, 2008, 2:57 PM
Hi, there,
Exciting trip plan ahead for you. Thanks for posting a comment.
I face the same problem. I have dual-citizenship, and it could be faster if I waved my EU (Irish) passport. But given how rigorous and careful US border officials are, I am too reluctant to do it. While your planned use of your passport sounds legal, it might make US officials nervous and they might stop you and ask you questions when you re-enter the United States, which may delay your departure from the U.S. re-entry airport.
If you try it, let us know ( post a blog comment) about how it goes.
Either way, have a great trip,
Sean
Blog editor
Posted By Sean on June 18, 2008, 3:59 PM
biggest ripoff airline in world! got to gate 1hr 20 min early. AGENT SAID YOU MUST BE 2 HOURS EARLY AND PROCEEDED TO PUT ON SAME FLIGHT BUT CHARGE EACH MEMBER OF MY PARTY 50PDS MORE (600$).WE ALL SAID THIS WOULD BE THE LAST MONEY RYAN WOULD EVER PICK OUR POCKET FOR. MY WISHES ARE FOR RYANAIR TO BE OUT OF BUSINESS.
Posted By jerry howard on June 19, 2008, 10:28 PM
Never had a problem with Ryanair before but now I need some help. I have book 4 return tickets to Pisa for July but now have to cancel. I know they don't do refunds as their refunds for tax are usually eaten up with their charges. My problem is I have also booked and paid for 4 hold bags and of course then had to pay for check-in as if you are taking bags you can't check in on-line. This cost me an additional £96. I phoned customer service to ask for a refund. They said we don't do refunds and I told her I had paid for baggage and check in, so surely they should refund them but again was told no. I am planning to write to them now and again ask for a refund. Just wanted to know if they can keep my money for something that I paid for as extras. Thanks
Posted By Karen on June 27, 2008, 12:40 PM
Can someone tell me what this means?
Ryanair are required to collect the passport or EEA issued National Identity card details of all passengers departing from the UK, Ireland, Morocco and Switzerland to Spain or th eCanary Island/Balearic Island. FAILURE TO PROVIDE THIS IMPORTANT INFORMATION PRIOR TO ARRIVAL AT THE DEPARTURE AIRPORT WILL RESULT IN YOU BEING DENIED BOARDING WITHOUT REFUND.
Now, my question is for the caps. Do you need to go to the airport days in advance to show your British passport because it says prior to arrival at the departure airport. How can you get there prior to your arrival if you need to arrive to show it before you arrive? Sounds like a new way of charging fees.
Posted By Dee on July 2, 2008, 10:49 AM
Hi there,
Being a new budget traveler, I have not done my duty to really read the small print.
I booked a RyanAir flight MAD-CIA and inadvertently checked the "will provide EU national identity" because it kept asking me to check "yes". At that time, I did not know that it might be because I checked "yes" for "online check-in".
I am a non-EU national, and deeply worried that I would be denied boarding, especially after reading the information here.
Is there anyone that can suggest anything please?
Posted By raizamn on July 7, 2008, 9:16 AM
I booked a r/t to London from US with the plan of flying RyanAir from London to Biarritz France, but also got the screen that I needed to be a EU national so I didn't proceed with the ticket and have been unable to contact Ryanair to get clarification. How have US citizens been accessing Ryanair? Do you say yes to EU documents and then show up with US passport?? THANKS
Posted By Ladykale on July 11, 2008, 7:49 PM
For the most recent commenters -- asking questions rather than responding to the original post -- let me refer you again to my post on this subject, where all your concerns are addressed:
WARNING: RyanAir Online Check-in
Posted By poetloverrebelspy on July 18, 2008, 5:41 AM
Ryanair flight policies aren't the only problem. I strongly recommend you don't book a hotel or guest house via the Ryanair Hotels link. We did that for a February 2008 trip. A filthy van picked us up at Stansted airport and took us to a hotel we'd never heard of. When we stated that our reservation was for XYZ guest house, the driver said it was being remodeled and was no longer available. The description online at Ryanair.com// hostelworld.com states airport transfers just 1 pound per transfer (we were charged 8 pounds total for 2 people/2 transfers each); reservation site
said breakfast included(we were told there was a charge so did not eat breakfast there); hair dryers in room (there was none); coffee and tea
making facilities (there was an empty coffee jar and tea bags but no spoon and cups were dirty); iron and ironing board (none there). The driver the
next morning said the XYZ Manor was being sold and was no longer available as a B&B yet months later it was still on the web site with all this incorrect information. The hotel they substituted was a horrible place! I was afraid to step on the worn carpeting with my bare feet. The furniture was
shabby and the lobby looked as if the place was abandoned. Since we arrived late in the evening,
it was not convenient to call around to find other lodging so we had to stay there. When I returned home, I emailed multiple points of contact on the Ryanair site, plus hostelworld. Each one pointed the finger to someone else and kept asking for additional information and never came through with any kind of explanation or refund even after I provided all the original confirmation numbers, etc. We eventually had an email from the hotel/guest house saying they would refund us 50% and asked for our address. After sending it to them twice, they never sent us anything. We definitely plan NEVER to have anything to do with anything related to Ryanair.
Posted By Sue Powell on August 2, 2008, 5:56 PM
I booked a flight for me and my family ( 5 of us )back in January and paid the web baggage fee which was £5.00 each bag checked in each way. as we got a good flight price I checked in 5 suitcases.
Ryan air sent us a travel itenary and as i read through it I saw the baggage fees to be paid at the airport are £16 per bag checked in each way.I am assuming that this change has come in recently and we paid for our at time of booking ( £50.00 ). Surely we do not have to pay again? looked on FAQs, totally unhelpful and when I tried to call the £1 per minute customer service centre the phone was hung up twice. ( This happened on a previous occasion for my husband too ). Does anyone agree this must have been a change since my booking in january and we shouldn't have to pay again? ( At that time we paid £2 check in and £2 priority boarding etc. So that has gone up too!!)
Posted By Rachel Street on August 10, 2008, 1:45 PM