FLYING RYAN AIR

Ryan Air is Ireland's airline. They have cheap flights. Lots of people fly Ryan Air to other countries around Europe because the flights are so cheap. You have to watch their website (or have them email you) to get their cheap flight deals. One time we got a deal to fly to Liverpool for only 1 Euro per seat. Now you think, "Wow! 1 Euro for a flight to England!" But see, what they don't tell you until you check further is that yes, the seat is only 1 Euro, but then you have to pay taxes, which bring it up to $51 per seat. Still a good deal. But then if you want Priority boarding (Be one of the first 50 people on the plane) you have to pay
5 Euro extra for that. There is no reserved seating. There is also no free drink or refreshment service on the plane either. They serve nothing free - not even water. I also heard a rumor but haven't checked it out that if you have to go to the bathroom on the plane it cost 1 Euro. Getting the picture?
We flew Ryan Air to Wales last weekend to go to the World Rally Championship Races in Cardiff. Since we were going for 4 days and 4 nights, we needed more than just a small carry on. Ryan Air has strict carry-on restrictions and you have to have a carry-on bag smaller than most airline carry-ons. Since we didn't have a bag that small other than a backpack, we decided we would have to check a bag. To check a bag, you have to get on their website and let them know you are going to check a bag either when you buy your ticket, or sometime before you check-in online. (And yes, they have required online check-in.) My husband didn't put down that we would be checking a bag because he naively thought we could maybe buy some carry-on bags. So when we decided to just check one big bag, he got online to let them know we would be checking it, but the website wouldn't let him. He tried several times. I don't know, maybe he wasn't doing it right, but regardless he finally gave up and just checked in thinking he could call them and check the bag over the phone. You see, to check the bag it costs you $50 a bag. See, now you see why their flights are so cheap. Well, when I called them to check the bag the said it would be $70 to check it because my husband had already checked in online and if you check in online first, then it costs $70. I told them that the website wouldn't work right, but too bad. So $70 to check our bag going over.
Coming home we knew we were going to be overweight with our bag. Sure enough when they weighed it, it was 2 kilos overweight. I knew it was because my husband had bought a Ford jacket and had put his other coat inside the suitcase. How much could it cost to be overweight just a little? We found out - 40 Euro more. I told my husband we should have just opened up the suitcase and taken out the coat (which was actually a coat with a jacket liner) and he could have worn one and I could have worn the other over the coats we had. All you have to do is wear it onto the plane and then you can take it off.
I forgot to mention that Ryan Air planes are usually the last ones at the far end of the airport. In Dublin you walk FOREVER to the Ryan Air terminal, then walk outside on the tarmac and up the steps into the plane. In Bristol, we had to wait for a bus - where you just get on and stand up and they cram as many bodies as they can (all standing up) into the bus and drive WAY OUT to the last plane on the tarmac, then walk across the tarmac and up the steps to the plane.
I know lots of peopole who fly Ryan Air. I guess they don't mind the many restrictions and cheapness of the airline. I have several friends here who will not fly Ryan Air anymore. I guess it's time to check out Air France and some of the other airlines.