Ryanair

I wish they would fly more of my routes. £25 Manchester to Stuttgart - how can you not love this airline? The train to and from the airport is often more expensive. Hand baggage allowance is now very generous and leg room is much the same as you would get in any economy class seat. You might get asked to put it in the hold if its a very busy flight but I don't see how this is a problem. This has happened to me more than once and the staff were very good about it. Aircraft modern and staff are efficient. They know how to get you from A to B as quick as possible and they get the job done well indeed.

I have flown Ryanair before and knew what to expect, however they seem to have undergone a change. Gone are the hard sell, pay for everything tactics, which have been replaced by a soft sell approach which seems to be working. The flight was uneventful, and pleasant, like always a 20 minute early arrival at Stansted meant we missed the wait at passport control and baggage reclaim. I was out of the airport within 20 minutes of landing.

Even, despite following all the rules, the air stewards insisted on putting our hand baggage in the hold, 'the flight is busy' was their excuse. Arrived in Palma and waited for ages to get our cabin baggage from the aircraft hold. The return flight was a bigger nightmare. Again rude cabin crew and the flight was delayed for around 1.5 hrs whilst seated inside the plane. Drinks were offered as it was quite stuffy and to the amazement of passengers, they were charging for this. The captain announced that we would be taxiing in 8 minutes and to go to the lavatories if one needs to. I went to the loo and was told to get back to my seat by a rude air hostess. I decided to order some food and the same surly air hostess unfortunately took my order. I know the airline is cheap but we are paying customers and deserve to be treated humanely.

Booked very late so paid a fortune but I had to travel. Other than this everything was good. Easy purchase and online check-in, boarding fine though a long wait in the warm sun which would have been grim in rain and cold. Flight on time, great UK flight deck and Italian cabin crew. Seats and legroom are ok for a 2.5 hour flight. Coffee pretty good. Arrived 20 mins early.

When I arrived at the airport I got into the check-in line although I had my printed boarding pass. Seeing other passengers approach a separate window that appeared to be there to sell tickets or collect overcharges, I approached, showed my passport and boarding pass and asked if I needed to remain in the check in queue. That is when she told me that because the flight was full, I would be allowed to check in my one rolling bag free of charge. After security, boarding of the flight was impressive in terms of smoothness and professionalism. There were two lines: priority for those who prepaid their seat and general for those who chose not to spend a few extra euros for excellent service and benefits. The priority line has seats for passengers but the general boarding did not. I was the first to board. I quickly found my aisle exit row seat and sat. The flight attendant walked by and asked that I store the hand bag I had with me in the overhead as it was an exit row. Priority boarding was relaxed and more civilized. Print boarding pass before you get to the airport. If you printed your boarding pass, you can go directly to the gate. I was able to check in my rolling bag for free because the flight was nearly full and there was need for overhead space. Weigh your hand luggae and ensure it is within the rules. Spend the money and reserve a priority seat. It makes a huge difference.

Second round trip with Ryanair this year and all went fairly smoothly. Had booked early for a good price and managed to check in for return flight at home before leaving for Liverpool airport early in the morning, so avoided any extra charges. Did have a 30 minutes delay on the outward journey which was attributed to Belgian ATC because of the "very busy skies over Europe this morning", but since boarding (for an early morning flight) did not start till about 20 minutes before scheduled departure time I suspect we simply missed our designated slot. Also there was a puzzling request from the cabin manager that passengers should make sure they sat in their allocated seats because of the carefully arranged weight distribution. Given that the plane was completely full, how and where was weight distribution arranged? Plenty of sales pitches on both legs, but my impression was that many of the passengers just switched off and sales were actually fewer than on flights I've had with easyJet. None of the past quibbling over cabin baggage and even on the full outward flight everyone seemed to get their bags stowed in the lockers with crew members' assistance. Ryanair certainly seems to be more passenger-friendly these days but it is still advisable to be aware of the rules to avoid any possible pitfalls.

Terrible experience by check-in. In both flights we had to wait more than 1 hour because all passengers who came too late for other flights had priority. Very unfriendly staff, especially in Brussels (Zaventem). Passengers are humiliated by the staff and bad organisation of Ryanair. The ticket was not cheap at all!

I have previously travelled with Ryanair many years ago and always hated the experience. However, recently decided to give it a shot as they fly direct to Marrakech. I was impressed with their website and ease of use. I managed to prebook seats, luggage, check in online etc. It's a no frills airline but you are paying such great prices so you cannot complain. The cabin crew were friendly and did a good job on board. The only negative comment I can say is that they had ran out of Prosecco (except for 1 bottle) on both flights and we were sitting in Row 3! The bar seemed poorly stocked and on the return flight I heard that there was no hot food available. I am not surprised as the passengers were only getting off our aircraft 5 minutes before we boarded it to return home. I never saw an aircraft turned around so quickly in all my years of travel. A big plus was no lost baggage and everything arrived home in one piece, including delicate pottery souvenirs etc.

Ryanair chartered an Air Explore aircraft for both flights and on both legs we were on a filthy aircraft. The overhead lockers were caked in dust and chewing gum stuck to the seats. The cabin crew were pleasant enough, however we did not hear a peep out of the flight deck - a welcome would have been good customer service.

No frills airline so did not expect free food/entertainment, beverage service fast and ok. Seats width ok but not enough legroom for me (191 cm tall), also backrests not adjustable but was a short flight. Very smooth check-in at FMM (4 counters open), fast boarding.