Is Ryanair worth it/suggestions for other cheap flights.

Hey all!
I'm starting to look into where my adventuring will lead me, and I just noticed that Ryanair is having a 1 pound ticket sale this weekend. I did some research and it seems that a lot of people have had tons of problems with them (delays, fees, poor service, etc). I'm willing to put up with a b*tchy flight attendant for a 1 pound flight, but I don't know how I feel about 200 bucks in suprize fees or spending 3 days in an airport instead of traveling.
Have you had any luck with any other airlines? I'm new to this whole "I'm in europe so I can, you know, take a weekend trip to Paris for some shopping" deal. It still blows my mind a little bit every time i think about it.
So. Ryanair yay or nay, and other airlines to look at is basically what I'm getting at here .

My hubby and I use Ryanair every time we go to Ireland.  We have never had a problem.  No late or cancelled flights, no lost luggage, no grumpy or rude flight attendants.  It's always been fine.

Just make sure you "un-check" things like getting their travel insurance, etc which they will automatically add to the price of your ticket.  There will be fees, etc--like charging you for each piece of luggage--but even so when it all adds up it is still a cheap flight--and sometimes cheaper than the "cheap" train from Philly to NYC which amazes me no end!

Easyjet are pretty good; we have used them to go to Nice (about 15 times) Paris (twice) and Barcelona (4 times) and also we went to Perpignan (twice) and Toulouse (once) with Flybe.

They are all worth it - EasyJet, Flybe, RyanAir, etc. - as long as you figure in the cost of getting to where the airports are.  For instance, I would fly EasyJet into London next month but the cheap fare is in to Stansted.  It will cost me more to do that plus travel in to London from Stansted than it would for me to just take Air France into London City. 

I flew RyanAir once to Ireland and it was fine: no delay, no bad attitude from staff. However, I found the constant advertising by the flight staff very annoying as the entire flight was taken up with them telling us about such-and-such offer (raffle tickets, perfume, etc). Yes, EasyJet does the same thing but not literally for the whole flight.

The other irritating thing about Ryan Air, while cheap, wasn't nearly as cheap as you initially think. I decided on them over Aer Lingus because the advertised price was cheaper but in the end it was exactly the same price as Aer Lingus. The price you see advertised on page 1 will be very different from the price you pay on page 8 payment processing page, even if you uncheck all the extras. For example, they will charge you to check in at the airport (something you must do if you are not an EU citizen), they charge you to book online, they charge you to use a bank card, credit card for payment, etc, etc. At least with EasyJet, you pretty much know what you'll pay from the get-go.

Also, while RyanAir to Dublin is fine, in other parts of Europe, RyanAir flies to secondary airports so be careful when you book your trips that you are actually saving money. For example RyanAir advertises flying to Barcelona, but it actually flies to Girona, an airport well away from Barcelona proper. It will cost you much more to get to Barcelona (and time) from there than it would if you flew EasyJet direct to Barcelona airport.

RyanAir advertises flying to Barcelona, but it actually flies to Girona, an airport well away from Barcelona proper. It will cost you much more to get to Barcelona (and time) from there than it would if you flew EasyJet direct to Barcelona airport.

Easyjet flies into El Prat de Llobregat, and even there you can pay a lot or a little to get between there and the city. The bus is cheap (4.05 euros one way, 7 euros round trip), the train is a bit more expensive, but beware the taxis unless you like blowing money. 40 euros possibly.

The high speed train from Girona to Barcelona takes a little over 1 hour and costs around 6 euros (!) one way, and there is a shuttle bus from the airport to the station at Girona.

My BF and I fly RyanAir all the time because he lives in Dublin and it's the only airline that flies between Dublin and Bristol. Maybe because I fly them so much I get annoyed? I don't know. The one thing I will say about them is they're almost always on time and they can flip a flight VERY quickly. Once I was in Dublin and pretty much all other flights were delayed, but RyanAir was still flying on time. You do have to watch their fares because they aren't always the cheapest. They have so many hidden costs it's unreal. I don't mind them for the 45 minute flight to Dublin, but I may hesitate booking them for a 3 or 4 hour flight. You definitely get what you pay for when it comes to comfort and free services.

I flew EasyJet for the first time last month and was pleased with them.  I'd definitely fly with them again.

You do have to watch their fares because they aren't always the cheapest. They have so many hidden costs it's unreal.

That is pretty much true of all these 'low cost' airlines.  And the OFT gave them all a smack on the hands about a year ago, telling them to clean up their acts, but unfortunately I don't think the OFT has done much since to enforce their ruling.  I believe there is an EC group of some sort also looking into these dodgy practices as well.

Jet2 is the one local to us, and after a horrible experience flying them to Cyprus in May...I hope to avoid all 'low cost' airline carriers, on principle, in the future.  By the time they finished tacking on all the extra fees, it really wasn't any cheaper than the alternative was and the service was abysmal.

Plus, I've gone off flying in general.  Where possible, we now prefer to travel by rail here in Europe anyway - less hassle, more civilised, better for the environment.

Ryan air are fine really, well, they're rubbish, but if you're not fussy it's fine. Bring your own snacks/water if you're that way inclined, don't pay to get on first (no point really unless you have kids) and don't check a bag, remove their insurance thing as well, BUT they are really only the cheapest carrier when they have a sale on.

I've flown all over Europe with them on their £1 sales and literally only paid £1 and had some great cheap breaks in milan, brussels, dublin etc

Ryan air are fine really, well, they're rubbish, but if you're not fussy it's fine.

Nail on the head.   

I flew them 4 or 5 times this summer all over. Some places were convenient (Madrid and Dublin use the main airports, as well as East Midlands), and others not- Pisa, "Barcelona" (my friends went to the wrong airport, too, and I had to hitch a ride with strangers at midnight.. long story!), Paris....

The fees were a pain, but if you are going for a weekend and can get away with just a carry on, you will be fine. Paris airport is way out of the way, though- and it's 13 euros for the bus to the city. Not inconvenient exactly, but it is a bit of a trip during traffic. The main airports are just as far, really, so don't let that stop you.

I found the planes to be comfy and staff were polite. Just be aware that everything is orange! LOL Otherwise, no major problems.

Jet2 is the one local to us, and after a horrible experience flying them to Cyprus in May...I hope to avoid all 'low cost' airline carriers, on principle, in the future.  By the time they finished tacking on all the extra fees, it really wasn't any cheaper than the alternative was and the service was abysmal.

I've not been pleased with Jet2--no hugely horrible experiences, but definitely not happy. Going to the Netherlands, I was the only one who booked with KLM instead of Jet2, and I am so glad I did. Pleasant, civilised, and pretty much on time. And free drinks and snacks! Whereas my colleagues on Jet2 had significant delays both going and coming. 

Just back from Bergamo, Northern Italy, with Ryan Air.  No problems other than a slight delay on the return flight.

Vicky

My fiance was on a Ryanair flight a few years ago when smoke filled the cabin, and, despite being still on the ground, cabin crew refused to let anyone leave the aircraft. He and a bunch of others were screaming and had a bit of a breakdown. They then just proceeded with the flight as if nothing happened, not even stopping to check out the mechanisms.

As a result of this, he won't allow anyone he cares about to ever, ever fly Ryanair again. And even on nice airlines he's still a very nervous flier, when he was absolutely fine before that incident.