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I'll be straight up. Until a few weeks ago, I had never flown with Ryanair, and to be fair, none of the other budget airlines either. So this was my first ever experience of using a budget airline to get me to/from Europe from the UK. Within 4 flights, I'm a convert.
Our first flight was to Marco Polo airport for a long weekend in Venice. The journey time was only a couple of hours. Being our first ever budget flight and Ryanair too, I opted for the priority boarding which was ok at Stansted but not so much the smaller airports around Europe, like the ones I visited...Venice was a classic. I had to wait in a queue for around half an hour, while my partner had free reign of the bar and the toilets while I waited. We were then shuffled onto a bus for a further 5 mins, crammed in like sardines...while we waited for clearance to travel near the plane, let alone board it.
There are no aerobridges in use by Ryanair so every passenger has to enter and leave the plane from the tarmac but using both the front and the rear of the plane, often using the stairs that are built into that specific aircraft, so no aerobridge is needed. Buses are often used to transport passengers to planes and vice versa, especially if the the aircraft is parked a distance away from the terminal, as was the case in Venice. One downside is the weather. When I stepped off the plane in Standsted, after my trip to Salzburg, I was hit with heavy rain and had to run towards the terminal building as I didn't want to get drenched. But that's part of what makes Ryanair so cheap. There are no bells and whistles unless you request them and then you simply pay for them.
Honestly, I think their model is great. They have an impeccable safety record, and they're really efficient doing what they do. If you follow their rules, which, really aren't hard to follow, then you'll have a pleasant journey. I never mind paying extra for an upfront window seat with more legroom. I like taking photographs of the outside world during the flight as well as chatting with the flight crew.
My Ryanair Bag
My Ryanair Bag
I listen to and watch a lot of travel vlogs on YouTube. One of my new pursuits is luggage. So I can could fly on Ryanair as cheap as possible,i I bought a bag that fits under my seat. I actually call it my Ryanair bag. But for such a small bag, it fits a lot of stuff. I can squeeze multiple changes of underwear in there, fresh socks, toiletries, my Chromebook, spare travel battery, a small bottle of water. That little black bag fits perfectly in the Ryanair bag sizer. The one beneath is the largest size if you pay for priority to get an extra 10kg of carry-on included in your fare. I paid an extra £20 each way for that extra bag, but we only paid for 1 extra, not 2 extra bags. I bought Priority just to try out the process of flying with Ryanair with Priority.
Flying from the UK without a UK or EU Passport
Flying from the UK without a UK or EU Passport
For those of us who are residing in the UK but not yet citizens of the UK. ie we're still citizens of our own respective countries, Australia and New Zealand respectively, and we therefore have passports from those 2 countries travelling on them but we're permanent residents of the UK.
When flying with Ryanair, as yet, as we are unable to obtain our boarding passes on our smartphones. We have to have our passports checked manually by Ryanair, at the airport, who then issues our boarding passes. But that's fine. I get to speak to a human service agent which is always a nice start to my trip. They're friendly and efficient.
Fast Track Security
I did this once through Heahtrow as I was leaving for a flight to Budapest. There was no need as I was quite literally the first passenger there at the airport at that time. But I've not paid for it at any other airport like Standsted. I can only comment on Stansted and Heathrow at the moment.
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