Would you buy a ticket?

[naomi24]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/5 753477/Ryanair-to-make-passengers-stand.html

[jno]

no, sounds massively unsafe, and I do not fancy standing all the way to Sydney.

[paraffin]

Do Ryanair fly as far a Sydney? I'm probably wrong but I thought they only flew to European destinations, which, if that was the case, then standing for an hour or two would be no different to having to stand on a train which many thousands of commuters do in this country every day of the week.

[LegendStPete]

4 1/2 hours to tenerife by ryan air.

fancy standing?

[ludwig]

I'd never fly Ryanair, even before this.
Imagine if a book shop advertised any book for 10p, but then when you came to buy it they charged �2 admission fee to get in the shop, �5 for a paper bag to put the book in (compulsory), a �2 service charge for someone to serve you, an extra 30% for paying by card or 15% for paying by cash, and then another �2 to get out of the shop again.

That's basically what Ryanair do - all low cost airlines do it to some extent but Ryanair are the worst. They seem to have a contempt for their customers.

[ludwig]

...what next ? stick your feet out the bottom of the plane and run flintstones style to take off, while those in the cheaper seats sit on the wings and flap like bu66ery?
(Shouldn't give them ideas really should I)

[ELVIS68]

lol @ ludwig

[Buenchico]

(2-part post):

Michael O'Leary has a great sense of humour (as have his advertising staff) and it looks like the media have been taken in yet again.

Ryanair recently ran a competition (with their tongues wedged firmly in their cheeks) which invited customers to suggest new money-making ideas. To show the type of ideas they were seeking, Ryanair produced a new emergency information card (of the type that's attached to the rear of each headrest) which gave instructions on, for example, handing your credit card to a member of cabin staff so that they could swipe it before permitting you to use the emergency chute. (There were also instructions about how to pay for the oxygen from the drop-down masks). That emergency information card was placed online but it was so obviously a 'spoof' that the media didn't 'bite'.

However, Michael O'Leary further 'pushed the envelope' by the more subtle suggestion of charging to use the toilets. A large number of journalists (who seemed to be totally unaware of the widely publicised competition) were taken in.

[Buenchico]

The winner of the competition was a customer who suggested a 'fat tax'. Amazingly, the Telegraph seems to have fallen into the trap of taking that suggestion seriously!

Less surprisingly, the Sun has been taken in by the latest 'bar stool' suggestion, which anyone who's got the slightest knowledge of airline safety rules would know is preposterous. It's just another example of Ryanair getting publicity for their brand name.

I've flown with many of the full cost airlines (BA, Qantas, Lufthansa, Air France, TransAustralia, etc, etc) but I still regard Ryanair as the best airline in the world. Even with the 'extras' (most of which can be avoided) their prices are generally vastly lower than those of their rivals. (For example, I'm flying to Germany with them on Saturday for �20 return, including taxes, charges and card handling fees. That's expensive; when I travelled to Germany a month ago, they only charged me �12!).

Chris

[naomi24]

At first I thought it was a publicity stunt too, but having seen the link below, and knowing Ryanair's greedy tactics, I'm not so sure - although from a safety point of view, I can't see how it could work.

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Business/Stan ding-Only-Plane-Seats-Chinese-Spring-Airline-T o-Ask-Regulator-For-Standing-Only-Passengers/A rticle/200906415323147?lpos=Business_First_Bui sness_Article_Teaser_Region_4&lid=ARTICLE_1532 3147_Standing_Only_Plane_Seats%3A_Chinese_Spri ng_Airline_To_Ask_Regulator_For_Standing_Only_ Passengers

[naomi24]

I have travelled with Ryanair, only because their flight timings have suited me, but I've never been fortunate enough to pay the ridiculously cheap prices others tell me they pay. It always looks cheap, but by the time all the extras are added, it isn't. In fact on one occasion our flight times were changed by 12 hours so we went with BA instead, and it didn't cost us any more. The last time we travelled with Ryanair we paid for priority boarding only to find on the return journey that priority boarding wasn't being offered - and never was offered at that particular airport. Ryanair hadn't mentioned that when we booked and had happily accepted our money. When I questioned the ground staff they made feeble excuses, and at the end of it all said 'tough' (and they really did say 'tough'!) - and there was no refund. On that particular journey passengers who already had one carry on bag were also forced to comply rigidly with the 'one bag only' rule, by dumping the carrier bags containing anything bought in the departure lounge before boarding. I've travelled the world with all sorts of airlines, but I've never seen anything quite like that. It really was appalling. I'd have to be absolutely desperate before I'd fly Ryanair again.

[flip_flop]

If you use Ryanair with your eyes wide open I think they are fine, and I've used them dozens of times without a problem.

IF the standing-up thing wasn't a hoax, I'd be happy to stand for the hour or so it takes to get to Dublin or Holland or any other European country with and hour or so's flight.

Shame the charging extra for fat people isn't true though as I've always felt they should pay a premium.

[jno]

Chris, don't be too sure that a fat tax is a spoof

http://www.aviation.com/travel/080806-airlines -and-customers-of-size.html

[NoMercy]

Ryanair exhibit contempt for all their customers. Last time I flew with them, they charged me �30 for being 2 kilos over, and then made me wait in front of a seperate desk for 28 mins for the privilege of paying the fine. The young man on the desk wasn't doing anything, but flatly refused to take my money until 4am.

Just as I was about to board the plane, I was literally manhandled by a member of staff who flung her arm in front of me to block my path. She actually shouted at me that I was allowed only 1 piece of hand luggage. I would have loved to have torn a strip off her for her rudeness, but then I daresay I would have been refused entry onto the plane.

It'll get to the stage where we are all standing up, holding onto the metal rail above our heads, and the pilot will be doing some crop-spraying enroute to make the journey more cost effective.

[ludwig]

There's another money saving suggestion for them - customers can pay a �20 premium to be treated with common courtesy.

Anyone on the standard fare gets the standard 'We hate you because you are a cheapskate who wants to fly for �5' service.

[naomi24]

Oh, don't give them any more ideas, Ludwig. Chances are they'll take you up on it, then take your money without telling you that the Polite Policy isn't in operation at certain airports!