Ryanair

I have flown Ryanair many times over the last few years and never really had a bad experience though it was clear they were pushing the low cost model to extremes. My most recent trip was the first since their change of direction and things have improved: best is reserved seats which makes boarding much more civilised the selling of food and other items seems lower key and the 'another on-time arrival' jingle is less irritating than it was - though I could still live without it. It is still a fairly basic service but not too dissimilar from that offered by other carriers on intra-European routes. Ryanair finally seems to be aware of what attracts customers apart from low fares and is addressing some of the issues I hope it continues.

FR5579 21 July returned 28 July on FR5578. My family and I travelled to Benidorm for 7 days. Our travel with Ryanair was less than perfect. On the flight over I ordered a small bottle of Prosecco the flight attendant went for ice and when she returned she knocked over the ice and in an attempt to catch it she knocked the bottle over which spilled over me. She did not apologise until about 15 minutes later and at the time she just picked up the bottle and said it is only a little amount. I had to get up and go to the bathroom to try and soak up some of the wine. Thankfully it was white wine. On our return flight I badly needed to go to the toilet the flight attendant was talking for a while with the co-pilot and finally I had to stand up. I was told from the toilet to sit down I was again told to sit as the co-pilot had to use the bathroom which he did however when he came out they again continued talking. I again stood up to be told sit again but this time she then indicated I use the rear toilet as the captain was to use the front facility also. (I was in row 9). As I approached the rear toilet the flight attendant there told me to go back to my seat I had to sit down the fasten your seatbelt sign was on I tried to explain and eventually stressed I had to use the toilet “now”. Then the attendant from the front called the rear and said to let me use the toilet which I did. The was very stressful especially in front of all the other people on board I do understand the need for safety on board a plane however the f act the staff have extended conversations amongst themselves as opposed to taking care of their paying clients speaks volumes. I will avoid using this airline again if at all possible I am extremely disappointed.

My experience of Ryanair was negative. The only saving grace for the company was the onboard staff particularly the chief steward who was polite friendly and helpful. The online booking I found absolutely puzzling. I travelled with Monarch on my outward journey which was straightforward and cheaper. As I was travelling around for a month beforehand the policy of having to print off the return boarding pass the week before you travel is ridiculous! The fact that if you can't do it you're charged is appalling! When I arrived to check in I was informed I had no baggage therefore I had to pay £35 more! The way I was told was very abrupt. My family with 2 young children had no seat allocation so had to wait for it to be sorted out. This despite having paid for the flight. Our checking in took in total over an hour! I travel around the world on a regular basis but will never use Ryanair again!

Flew with Ryanir EDI to POZ KRK to RYG and RYG to EDI. All flights were on time with clean aircraft and attentive crew. I know you only get what you pay for but my family and I fly Ryanair regularly to visit family in Poland and I have never had cause to moan grumble or complain in over 30 flights. Make sure your bag is the right size and weight print your boarding passes or use the new app and turn up on time.

My journey from Stansted to Ibiza was ruined by drunken stag party members whose behaviour was completely disregarded by the air crew. It was evident from the beginning when the crew did a half-hearted safety demonstration that no-one had authority to run this flight. Passengers became increasingly distressed as the stag party shouted and swore aggressively ran up and down the aisles and openly drank from bottles of vodka while standing behind Ryanair staff. The crew evidently avoided eye contact no public announcements were made to warn them of the consequences and when I complained that the situation wasn't being managed staff simply ignored me. Although they did drag their feet bringing the trolley down the aisle they eventually served these men even more alcohol. This was a potentially very dangerous situation. On landing all of the men (aside from one who was incoherent and staggering) behaved perfectly properly as they exited through security to avoid arrest which suggests that they would have responded to warnings about their conduct during the flight.

We flew from Edinburgh and got there in plenty time. Queue was not at all bad. Service was excellent. On the way home from Lanzarote the queue was again not bad service was good. I also have to say that the cabin crew on the flight from Lanzarote to Edinburgh on 18th August were brilliant they were attentive cheerful and very helpful.

Travelled 24/8/14 FR8747. The return to Stansted on Ryanair from La Rochelle was ok. The experience at La Rochelle was ok and the inbound flight arrived 15 mins early. Boarding began at 10 for our 10.30 flight. The doors where shut at 10.30 and the safety demonstration was played in English and then French. We were off around 10.35 just 5 mins behind schedule. The inflight service began with drinks and snacks. I had a pepsi which was in a small can. Then the duty free service before rubbish during our decent over London. We landed just before 10.45 10 mins early. Yet again no fanfare but a little announcement about there low fares and the fact they have a 90% punctuality record. Overall they just get you there on time which is really all that travel is so I would recommend them if you are on a budget or Stansted is your local airport.

I would never fly with them again. We were left on a plane in the heat of the Italian summer (with no air con on) whilst they fixed a 'technical issue'. We were left for 3.5 hours and we're refused a glass of water. In the end my cousin had to argue with the staff to be allowed off the plane and she went and bought bottles water for all the passengers out of her own money. No apology has ever been given!

We have flown Ryanair many times without problems. If you know what to expect then you wont get disappointed. However upon arriving at East Midlands airport for our flight to Tenerife South recently with plenty of time to spare we found that there were 12 flights departing at roughly the same time. 12 flights of people that needed to check in and clear security before boarding. It seems that Ryanair just bung everyone together regardless of which flight you are on Some people were panicking as their flight was taking off soon and were stuck at check in when asked to jump the queue were told they would have to wait like everyone else! It took us 2 hours to get through check in and clear security. Queues were snaked round the airport (although admittedly this is not Ryanair's fault!) but a better system needs put in place for Ryanair check in. We managed to get to the boarding gates just in time albeit at the end of the queue. There we were kept waiting for 20 minutes as staff now needed hand luggage to put on the hold. The staff member was very aggressive and rude to us trying to grab our bags to put in the hold we told her that we needed the bags for inflight and one contained valuables that we wanted to keep with us. She tried to snatch my husbands backpack from his back and took my daughters small suitcase from her before I took it back. We eventually offered one bag but I had to remove everything that was needed and carry it in my hands she wouldn't even give us a carrier bag. She went up and down the last remaining passengers trying to grab peoples hand luggage but as nobody else would offer a bag she came back to us telling us she needed our bags we refused but She wasn't having any of it and barked at us we didn't have a choice as we were at the end of the queue and if we didn't put our hand luggage in the hold we would be fined £60. Her attitude was appalling and if she'd have asked politely we may have tried our best to accommodate her request. She wouldn't let the last people through the departure gate thus holding up the flight until she had the bags But no way were we giving up our remaining (small) bags. We eventually got on the bus to the plane and on the flight there we sat for another 20 minutes before actually taking off! It was never made clear that only the first 60 passengers were guaranteed to take their hand luggage. Yet on our return flight home everything was smooth queues moved quickly and staff were very pleasant helpful and polite. We packed our bags accordingly and offered our hand luggage for the hold. We fly Ryanair because it is cheap but cheap doesn't mean but I expect to be spoken to like dirt from someone's shoe!

Just flew from Faro to Londonderry and I have to say that I was extremely surprised at the standard of flight and service provided having never flown with Ryanair before I was more than dubious about the flight but having taken priority boarding and allocated seating I could not find fault with any of the procedures. My husband and I definitely rated it much higher than are outward journey with Easyjet so my advice is give Ryanair a chance and like me you may be totally surprised with the quality.