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Ryanair |
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Author: wikipedia Ryanair are Europe's largest budget airline with Ryanair 33.4 million passenger in 2005 making them Europe's 5th largest airline and 14th in the world. Fares are priced as single segment one way trips. If you wish to change planes in a hub then you must book the two segments separately, and there is no transfer of baggage. You can book a return at the same time as the outbound but you get no discount for doing so. Paying for return and outbound trips at the same time will however save you from paying the credit/debit card fee twice, which can cost up to €10 with Ryanair. If you miss a second flight due to a delay in the earlier Ryanair flight, you will not get a refund for the missed flight and will be forced to buy a new ticket.
Ryanair operate a huge network in Europe, and are generally (but not always) the cheapest airline on the routes where they compete with another airline. They have hubs in Shannon, Dublin, Glasgow (Prestwick), Liverpool, London, Brussels (Charleroi), Frankfurt (Hahn), Stockholm (Skavsta), Milan Bergamo, Rome, Barcelona and add more practically monthly. They serve 82 other European destinations as well as Morocco, with over 209 routes. In order to lower travel costs, Ryanair uses small airports that can be quite far from the the city they purport to serve so check carefully your travel time and costs estimates.
Ryanair keeps extremely low prices by setting a standard customer behaviour (typically an airport to airport travel without on flight meal and hand luggage only) and placing additional fares for every addition you need. So you'll be able to catch a €20fare for a London - Milan flight, but you'll be heavily charged for on flight meal, excessive luggage weight and so on. If you need a basic and cheap transport service, Ryanair is definitely a good choice.
In order to allow passengers with hand luggage only a faster check-in, starting from March 2006 Ryanair introduced the possibility for them to check-in in advance via their website and a fixed fare €7.00 return per checked suitcase, if booked in advance (else doubled at the airport). Luggage weight limits are 10kg for hand luggage and checked luggage is sold in 20 kg increments.
Compared to most other budget airlines, Ryanair provides very limited compensation in the event of flight cancellations, despite the EU regulations. Typically, Ryanair will only provide a replacement seat on a later Ryanair flight (which can depart up to 3 days later than the original flight), or a full refund of the single journey price. Alternative travel arrangements and accomodation is not normally provided by Ryanair. Passengers wishing to return on the same day are normally forced purchase a new non-advance ticket with a different airline, which can easily exceed the price of the original ticket by a factor of ten. Therefore, it is not advisable to travel with Ryanair if you're not insured against flight cancellation or if you have important work commitments the day after the return flight.
Also bear in mind that Ryanair is very stict about checking in no later than 40 min prior to the scheduled departure time. Passengers arriving at the check-in desk even one minute late have been known to be refused boarding, even if they only carried hand-luggage and despite the flight being delayed. When flying with Ryanair it is advisable to get to the airport early.
Travel insurance is optional and but is encouraged at the time of booking.
Tickets start from €10 all inclusive one-way, however always check the full final cost of the fare including all "taxes" and "fees" before booking.
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