First time Ryanair..

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Soldato
Joined
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Had to book a last min work trip to a Sicily next week and the only direct flights were Ryanair from Stansted. Neither of which I’ve used before.

Err, anything I need to know about flying Ryanair that’s wholly different from your standard short haul? The only thing I’ve paid attention to is the jokes about paying to use the toilet etc :p I have a ticket with two cabin bags and “priority” boarding and won’t be checking anything in. I’ll be ok with taking a rucksack and a hold-all on, right?

Cue jokey jokes ;) Oh if anyone can tell me what decent takeaway breakfast/sandwich options there are through security at Stansted that’d be helpful. It’s an early morning special :o
 
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With what you have you can take a small suitcase or equivalent for the over head locker and a smaller pack that fits under the seat in front. You can get refreshments but they are all chargeable when they bring the trolley down the aisle, so grab a drink or snack in the terminal first.

Stansted is pretty decent now, you have numerous options for food - https://www.stanstedairport.com/at-the-airport/restaurants/

I travelled a fortnight ago and security took about 10 mins to get through, not sure I've ever taken more than 20-30 mins to get through.
 
Check your cabin bag is the correct size... You might get away with one a teeny bit too big, but if the gate staff are eagle eyed...
I got hit with a 70€ charge because my bag was about 2 inches too tall.. And most of that was the strap on top/wheels on the bottom rather than the size of the cabin bag itself.
 
Thanks both. @mattyfez are their sizes different? I haven’t had a chance to investigate.

In assuming the food options onboard are relatively rubbish ala BA etc? Tbh I’m aiming to sleep as much as possible anyhoo. Something quite nice about having a breakfast sandwich and a cuppa, then snoozing for the duration :p

On the subject of Stansted.. anything worth detouring to for dinner the night before, as opposed to my hotel?
 
Scam said:
Thanks both. @mattyfez are their sizes different? I haven’t had a chance to investigate.

In assuming the food options onboard are relatively rubbish ala BA etc? Tbh I’m aiming to sleep as much as possible anyhoo. Something quite nice about having a breakfast sandwich and a cuppa, then snoozing for the duration :p

On the subject of Stansted.. anything worth detouring to for dinner the night before, as opposed to my hotel?
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You'd have to check the website/ticket conditions.. I belive they might be slightly smaller than some other airlines, but best to check directly.

I use them regular in winter, as they are one of the very few airlines that fly from where i need to go, and to where I need to go.. I've seen people pulled aside a few times for oversized cabin bags, SO i wouldnt just 'hope' you get away with it.

The chicken and stuffing sandwich isn't bad, if you ignore the price! Maybe get a 'meal deal' where you get a sandwich, a mini pringles and a drink.
I'd avoid the hot ham and cheese pannini - they can be nice but they can equally be 'over done a bit' where the bread is rock solid!

Boarding one flight I felt terrible, as I got busted on the previous flight, I bought a really cheap one, and as i was going through the gate, they pulled some old dear aside and hit her with a fine - she was protesting a bit and then the staff member pointed to my bag and said- that one is ok, your's is not! So I think some of the staff can tell quite quickly just by eyeballing the bag that it's oversize by even a tiny bit.
 
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hornetstinger said:
I heard Ryan air has a duct tape fee on your ticket, to secure the wings to the aircraft. You can opt out, but the wings will fall off.
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To be fair RyanAir have very robust safety protocols, they will ground planes at the drop of a hat...it's one of the few good things about them! That and the ticket price - they are usually a fair bit cheaper than the equivelents, but of course you pay extra for everything else, so it's swings and roundabouts. If you travel light and don't buy any food and drink on the plane, they are hard, if not impossible to beat on price.
 
We have already had pretty good flights with Ryanair and although they nearly always show as being delayed little I don't think we have ever been more than 5-10 minutes late arriving. I think they build in quite a generous flight time onto the schedule and also really push the fast turn around. I flew to Sicily with them last June and the only thing I would say is after 3 hours on their flights I find I get very uncomfortable in the seats, usually this is just as we are descending so all strapped in and no moving around either. I was late in age to travelling by air and my first trip was on Ryanair and looking through the amount of flights they have they have never had a fatal accident which is really good and shows they must be doing something right. We often end up with them because they fly to so many places as well as being cheap giving us a different trip flying from London or just going to other capital cities. The Sicily flight was to Trapani but we have enjoyed going to lots of the smaller airports / locations for holidays - Carcassone, Turin, Pisa, Verona, Gdansk etc - maybe some of these were easyJet!
 
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@mattyfez sounds like you’re quite the expert in their food offerings haha :D

Thanks. Just trying to make sure I’m not hit with anything totally unexpected like being charged to.. I dunno print my boarding pass, go to the toilet etc !
 
Scam said:
@mattyfez sounds like you’re quite the expert in their food offerings haha :D

Thanks. Just trying to make sure I’m not hit with anything totally unexpected like being charged to.. I dunno print my boarding pass, go to the toilet etc !
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I Usualy just use the Ryan air app on my phone for the boarding pass.. But I also screen shot it incase I've got a dodgy Internet signal.
They will charge you if you can't produce a pre printed boarding pass or show it on your phone.
 
They're fine but their planes can be quite old and you can notice. Most people complain about the extra charges for bags and seat selection etc but if you know what these are in advance and accept them that's not a big issue. Apart from that I've never had a problem with them at all.
 
Scam said:
@mattyfez sounds like you’re quite the expert in their food offerings haha :D

Thanks. Just trying to make sure I’m not hit with anything totally unexpected like being charged to.. I dunno print my boarding pass, go to the toilet etc !
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Hahah.. Yeh the food is a bit of a rip off as to be expected... I usually only buy it as it helps keep me occupied & give me something to do to break up the time.. There's only so much candy crush you can play on a 3 hour flight before you lose your mind! Hahah
 
mattyfez said:
Hahah.. Yeh the food is a bit of a rip off as to be expected... I usually only buy it as it helps keep me occupied & give me something to do to break up the time.. There's only so much candy crush you can play on a 3 hour flight before you lose your mind! Hahah
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Oh and on that note...make sure you have some decent earphones and some music on your phone, as Ryan air tends to attract the 'type of person' who has 3 screamings kids, and will give them a tablet to play games on...at full volume with no headphones.

So do yourself a favour and bring your own headphones, and have some music/tv/films on your phone - makes for a far more pleasent trip.
 
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Terminal_Boy said:
Flew Ryanair in November.

My 18 litre Maxpedetion backpack is 9.5"(L) x 8"(W) x 17.5"(H) and only just fit under the seat in front.
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Yeah the space for a carry on under the seat is very limited, very small backpacks only - I think the op said he's purchased that and one 'proper' carry on that can go in the overhead locker, also.

But for sure, check the sizes/weights on both.
 
Although a while ago now, I worked at Stansted for nearly a decade - and lived locally until recently.

Small, pleasant terminal that was remodelled a few years ago. If you are flying early morning, leave extra time for security - their busiest time is between 4.30-7am. Make sure you print your boarding pass in advance, you definitely don't want to be messing around with that at Stansted. For a full English, the Windmill (Wetherspoon) is your best option - it gets busy though. Plenty of choices for sandwiches etc, and there is a coffee shop up at the Ryanair gates which was usually quiet.

Bishops Stortford, Stansted Mountfitchet and Great Dunmow are all within 15min drive of the airport. Assuming you aren't wanting Michelin stars, Pircio in Stortford is well regarded. Lots of country-style gastropubs in the area too.

Enjoy your 'priority' boarding - alongside about 75% of the passengers :D
 
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