Panorama last night - The Ryanair Effect

Here is a clasic example of why they are not a low cost airline anymore.
I have just tried to book for a weeks skiing in Feb so 4 and half months in advance. Flight out £0.00 flight back £16.99 with taxes around £60 sounds ok but as im going skiing i need to take bags suddenly that £60 becomes £170.

BA for the same dates and an Airport nearer to where i want to go £128.

BA took half the time to look up and book better flight times and a lot less stress all round.

jonah690 wrote:Here is a clasic example of why they are not a low cost airline anymore.
I have just tried to book for a weeks skiing in Feb so 4 and half months in advance. Flight out £0.00 flight back £16.99 with taxes around £60 sounds ok but as im going skiing i need to take bags suddenly that £60 becomes £170.

BA for the same dates and an Airport nearer to where i want to go £128.

BA took half the time to look up and book better flight times and a lot less stress all round.

Thats fine, you win all ends up. If this is the case when I am looking, I will fly BA, and I think most people would given the choice. However, BA often dont go to the places Ryanair do, or on the days they do.
Glad you got sorted though.

Tony, your report was spot on, neither fear nor favour. I thought MOL came out the winner by a street. Panorama had egg on face.
Do you think that your view of Ryanair has changed, from previous postings?

I am entering this at probably the wrong time, having not really contributed yet but I have a question that I hope wont make Wickers blow his top completely!!

Im looking at flights to Bergamo in Dec for my season and Ryanair are the best option (unfortunatly) as am looking at £35 for the flight, £40 for skis and inc all other **** probably about £100.
My question is because I may be taking 3 pairs of skis do we think they will be THAT anal at the desk with my ski carriage? I have read that it is £20 per kg-yes that is right, £20 per KG!!!! It is 20kg limit for sports equipment i think.
Have got the Head Monster ski bag so hoping they wont weigh it-esp that early in season-I have never had skis weighed but also never flown with Ryanair when skiing.

Any thoughts?

rossyhead wrote:do we think they will be THAT anal at the desk with my ski carriage?

Yes, they will.

It will very likely be cheaper to courier your skis to Italy separately rather than try and get them all on.

yeah that is what a guy in glasgow said to me

cheers

Dave Mac wrote:Tony, your report was spot on, neither fear nor favour. I thought MOL came out the winner by a street. Panorama had egg on face.
Do you think that your view of Ryanair has changed, from previous postings?

The way i have always viewed Ryanair is thus:
They are a cheap airline for getting to certain places I want to go. I tend to use them for trips away which do not involve skiing, and as such my preference would be to use BA on a DIY trip, before they brought in their ski carriage prices.
However, I notmally travel with a TO for a ski trip, and therefore the issue of Ryanair for a ski trip is not particularly relevant for me.
In terms of what they offer for a break to a city or beach destination, they do the job. They get me there efficiently and cheaply. If the price is above a certain level, I simply dont go. I am happy to go somewhere where their prices are cheap at that time and not be too fussy about where it is, or not bother. I dont know how many other people look at trips away like that?
However, if I were given a destination to go to, and the carriers were Ryanair, BA and Easyjet and I had to make a choice, my choice would depend on price mainly. If the prices were not too far apart, BA would get my vote every time, followed by Easyjet, with Ryanair in last place.
They do a job, if you know what I mean.

What I still find bizarre is people who have a prejudice against them because they didnt adhere to the rules when flying with them and ended up out of pocket. As I said before, you cant book without having had to agree to their T&Cs. BBC keep trying to show MOL up for so called hidden charges. They are not hidden, they are clear as day.

I cant respect people choosing not to use them because they feel cheated. But sometimes you have to accept that by trying to bend the rules, you sometimes get caught out.

Admin wrote:

rossyhead wrote:do we think they will be THAT anal at the desk with my ski carriage?

Yes, they will.

It will very likely be cheaper to courier your skis to Italy separately rather than try and get them all on.

Any ideas of companies that would do this? Just someone liek DHL or is there a specific ski carriage company that anyone knows of?