Airline Profile: Ryanair
Featured Image: A Ryanair Boeing 737-800 at Dublin Airport
The Facts:
| Founded | 1984 |
| Alliance | N/A |
| Largest Focus Cities | Barcelona El Prat Airport Berlin Schoenefeld Airport Brussels South Charleroi Airport Dublin Krakow Airport London Luton Airport London Stansted (Largest) Madrid Barajas Airport Malaga Airport Manchester Airport Orio al Serio International Airport (Milan/Bergamo) Palma de Mallorca Airport Paris Beauvais Airport Pisa Airport Rome Ciampino Airport Rome Ciampino Airport Seville Airport Valencia Airport Warsaw Modlin Airport |
| Headquarters | Dublin, Ireland |
| Fleet Count | Around 446 |
| Skytrax Rating | 3 (out of 5) |
| Parent Company | Ryanair Holdings |
| Travel Classes | Economy |
| Frequent Flyer Program | myRyanair |
| Website | ryanair.com |
| Type of Airline | Ultra Low Cost |
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| Logo |  |
Analysis:
- – The Basics of Ryanair: Ryanair operates an all Boeing 737-800 fleet (except one 737-700 in a corporate configuration) which are in an all-economy class configuration. They are the largest 737-800 operator with over 400 of them! Ryanair is also the largest low-cost airline in Europe and is the second largest low-cost carrier in the world (behind Southwest). Ryanair is based out of more than 80 bases and flies to over 200 destinations solely within Europe except for a few cities in the Middle East and Africa. The airline also has 135 Boeing 737 MAXs on order which will begin to be delivered in 2019. Ryanair offers extremely low prices (more on that later), although also does not have much included with the lowest fare prices.
- – Ticket Prices (Overview): Ryanair is an ultra-low-cost carrier – you can expect that they will offer extremely low fares (their specialty), however, you can also assume that the service won’t be that good (more on that later). The best (and possibly only good) part about Ryanair is that they offer unbelievably good fares. By good, I mean flight tickets that are less than 10 pounds or euros. For example, on many flights (even longer flights within Europe) such as from London Stansted to pretty much anywhere in Europe (such as Berlin, Oslo, Luxembourg, Barcelona, etc…), prices are almost never over 25 pounds ($45/27 Euros; one way), with the majority of tickets being 9 pounds ($12 or 10 Euros). For a full list of cheap deals out of the UK on Ryanair, see the link here.
Ryanair Fares:
- – Best For Budget Travellers – Standard Fare: This is the fare class that I was talking about above which has the extremely low prices which can be as little as 8 British Pounds/10 USD. However, with that ticket price, one only gets one cabin bag included with the ticket such as a backpack or purse. That means with that fare, you don’t get a checked bag, and you aren’t even able to select seats before the flight, so there is a very slim chance that you will be able to sit together without paying extra. While the prices are incomparable, there are no perks that come with it!
- – Best For Families – Plus Fare: Plus fares can cost up to around 3 times the amount of money that standard fare tickets cost. With the ticket, you are allowed to take two cabin bags on board, get priority boarding, you have the ability to select your own seats, and you are allowed to check one 20 kg (45 lbs) bag at the airport. However, with the ticket, as is with standard fares, you do have to pay to have the perk of checking in at the airport. For families, I would recommend booking the plus fare. Why? With the ticket, you get a checked bag (which is needed for most vacations). Also, you can select your seats so that you can sit together on board.
- – Best For Business Travellers – Flexi Plus: With flexi plus fares, you get two carry on bags, get priority boarding, can reserve any seat on board, get airport security fast track, and get flexible ticket options (you can cancel your ticket and get a refund). It can cost up to 4x the amount of standard tickets, and always does cost more than plus fares do. However, you may have noticed that checked bags do not come with the flexi plus fares like they do with the plus fare – if you want to check a bag, you will have to pay for that later in the booking process. I would recommend this fare for business travelers mostly because it comes with fast-track security which can severely cut down the time that you need to be at the airport (which is probably one of or the most important things for business travelers).
Onboard:
- – Seats: Onboard the Boeing 737-800, Southwest (which also is in an all economy class configuration) fits 175 seats while Ryanair fits 189 seats on board. So how do they add over four rows to their 737s? By reducing seat comfort. Ryanair has a seat pitch of only 30 inches (although Premium seats which are available to Flexi Plus passengers have 32-34 inches of pitch), and while some airlines do have less legroom, 30 inches still is pretty brutal. Also, Ryanair has slimline seats on board most aircraft (which are extremely thin) which reduce the amount of space of which seats take up. Finally, no seats onboard any Ryanair aircraft recline, so expect being uncomfortable for the duration of the flight.
- – Amenities: In terms of entertainment, Ryanair offers no form of in-flight entertainment besides its magazine which is mostly filled with ads about duty-free. Make sure that you bring entertainment of some sorts (such as a book) or that you download a movie before your flight. As an ultra-low-cost carrier, nothing comes for free on board. Not even water! On board, Ryanair has meals for purchase (that can cost more than your ticket price!) such as sandwiches, pizza, and snack boxes. While the food won’t be gourmet, it most likely will be edible. Please note that meals are not available on some flights, and with no fare class can you buy food on board.
Conclusion:
Ryanair is an ultra-low-cost carrier. It’s as simple as that. The tickets don’t cost much so you won’t get much, besides getting from Point A to Point B. While the seats are uncomfortable, you don’t get any perks without charge, and you probably won’t be able to sit with whoever you are traveling with, people fly Ryanair for two reasons. First, with so many aircraft, they can operate on tons of routes that a legacy carrier such as British Airways wouldn’t fly on (example: from Leeds to Malaga). Second, the prices really are so cheap, that it allows most people of any budget to get from point to point within Europe.
Have you ever flown on Ryanair? Share your experience below in the comments section!
