V-Flyer

I don't know if Michael O'Leary is full of bluster, or really believes it, but flying to New York or Boston for a tenner ?
He would probably fly into LaGuardia.

No mention of any the taxes that are added to any ticket such as APD.
No chance of those 737-800's flying that distance, one would assume he would have to buy bigger variants in the Boeing fleet.
He makes it clear that people would have to pay for meals and check in baggage ii)
I am sure there are people who would lap it up, but I have had my bad Ryanair experience and will stick with Virgin.

Couldn't agree more ,would rather not fly than set foot on one of their planes again

Blacky1 wrote:Couldn't agree more ,would rather not fly than set foot on one of their planes again

Just think, you would be charged for food and drinks, most likely films.

O'Leary says his airline is based on Southwest. Not sure where he got that from but his airline is much worse.

Taking a £514 VS return ticket to JFK, the actual fare element is only £157.

The rest is taxes and fees (the fuel surcharge alone is over £200).

So if Ryanair ever do launch Transatlantic routes, it'll be interesting to see what the very lowest you could pay would be - even without food, baggage etc.

It wouldn't be a tenner, that's for sure.

I would assume Virgin's fare element of £157 is near enough good as you can get.

It's not news. He's been talking about it for some time now.

Blacky1 wrote:Couldn't agree more ,would rather not fly than set foot on one of their planes again

Have you ever flown on one of them? On occasion I have had no option but to fly them and it does what it says on the tin - gets me from A to B. I've had worse flights on BA in CE between LHR and AMS xx(

747heaven wrote:O'Leary says his airline is based on Southwest. Not sure where he got that from but his airline is much worse.

Because it's true. He has used the model of one aircraft type and many of the facets of the Southwest model.

Apart from the fact that it's a well known fact, as I type this I am watching an excellent programme on RTE called "Pioneers and Aviators - A Century of Irish Aviation". As part of that (and indeed it is not the main part) the introduction of Ryanair was discussed. Many of what we see now was not brought about by Michael O'Leary, but his predecessor. Nonetheless Michael O'Leary did go over to Southwest and became friendly with the CEO Herb Kelleher and did adopt aspects of the Southwest model.

What many people fail to realise is that Ryanair was one of the motivating forces behind deregulation which was brought about by the then Irish EU Commissioner, Peter Sutherland. In the late 1970s/early 1980s if I wished to fly between London and Cork it would cost me £200 (at a time when the Irish pound was linked with the British pound) Today it costs me less than €200/£165 to travel between those two airports.

So before you start knocking Ryanair, think of the benefits it has brought you. And before you start, no, I don't like Michael O'Leary. I think he is arrogant and he works on the principle that bad publicity is better than no publicity. At least you are aware of Ryanair. After all what did Oscar Wilde say - "There is only one thing in life worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about."

Fly to the US for £10...But will cost you £435 for the return leg..

northernhenry wrote:Fly to the US for £10...But will cost you £435 for the return leg..

£6 actually. Allegedly.

honey lamb wrote:It's not news. He's been talking about it for some time now.

Blacky1 wrote:Couldn't agree more ,would rather not fly than set foot on one of their planes again

Have you ever flown on one of them? On occasion I have had no option but to fly them and it does what it says on the tin - gets me from A to B. I've had worse flights on BA in CE between LHR and AMS xx(

Yes a few times and each flight got gradually worse to the point I vowed never to fly with them again n(

Blacky1 wrote:Couldn't agree more ,would rather not fly than set foot on one of their planes again

I'm with you on that. Terrible airline that treats its customers with utter contempt.

honey lamb wrote:

747heaven wrote:O'Leary says his airline is based on Southwest. Not sure where he got that from but his airline is much worse.

Because it's true. He has used the model of one aircraft type and many of the facets of the Southwest model.

Apart from the fact that it's a well known fact, as I type this I am watching an excellent programme on RTE called "Pioneers and Aviators - A Century of Irish Aviation". As part of that (and indeed it is not the main part) the introduction of Ryanair was discussed. Many of what we see now was not brought about by Michael O'Leary, but his predecessor. Nonetheless Michael O'Leary did go over to Southwest and became friendly with the CEO Herb Kelleher and did adopt aspects of the Southwest model.

What many people fail to realise is that Ryanair was one of the motivating forces behind deregulation which was brought about by the then Irish EU Commissioner, Peter Sutherland. In the late 1970s/early 1980s if I wished to fly between London and Cork it would cost me £200 (at a time when the Irish pound was linked with the British pound) Today it costs me less than €200/£165 to travel between those two airports.

So before you start knocking Ryanair, think of the benefits it has brought you. And before you start, no, I don't like Michael O'Leary. I think he is arrogant and he works on the principle that bad publicity is better than no publicity. At least you are aware of Ryanair. After all what did Oscar Wilde say - "There is only one thing in life worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about."

The benefits ? I will concede the cheaper fares are good for all, cant knock that, who wouldnt want tofly for less if the option was available. But after that, cant see a lot of benefits personally. I choose not to fly with them for various reasons, and one of the main ones being they dont fly to the main city airports, which is where a lot of people get caught out.

But I can tell you now that I have travelled with both Ryanair and Southwest, and in my opinion, of the lowcost airlines Southwest is much better. Never had an issue therem, but to be fair I am sure there are those who say they have.

Cant knock O'Leary for being a successful businessman, but he seems to have utter contempt for his passengers.

If this does take off, as I said before there are people who will take up his offer, but I will stick to a model that works for me and that is Virgin

Last time I used them, SouthWest offered complimentary checked baggage (1 x 50lb) and soft drinks onboard, even at their lowest fares. So "based on" is arguably a loose concept.

I have never been treated with contempt by Ryanair, and have had some great trips with them.

Given that cheapest USA tickets on BA etc. are arguably 'low cost' fares, I wonder if this is simply a spoiler tactic to stop the rise of Norwegian?

Sealink wrote:I have never been treated with contempt by Ryanair, and have had some great trips with them.

And MrsPJH would agree.

I don't understand why people get so upset about Ryanair. Comments about being treated with contempt, flights getting worse and fighting EU passenger regs appear on the fora related to just about every airline. Agreed that "low cost" doesn't mean what it used to, and that his headlines are intended to be just that, but ultimately you pay your money and you take your choice. Surely by now there is no one in christendom that doesn't understand the devil's bargain with Ryanair in terms of real price, the actual location of airports and the likely treatment when things go wrong.

Sealink wrote:I have never been treated with contempt by Ryanair, and have had some great trips with them.

Given that cheapest USA tickets on BA etc. are arguably 'low cost' fares, I wonder if this is simply a spoiler tactic to stop the rise of Norwegian?

That is very possinle. Norwegian start flying from 3rd of July, and apart from US Airways to Minnesota and Detroit, are there any options to the Northeast of the States ? Correct me if I am wrong but Delta do they still fly to Gatwick ?

There are benefits to cheap travel but there is a sting in the tail usually.

pjh wrote:

Sealink wrote:I have never been treated with contempt by Ryanair, and have had some great trips with them.

And MrsPJH would agree.

I don't understand why people get so upset about Ryanair. Comments about being treated with contempt, flights getting worse and fighting EU passenger regs appear on the fora related to just about every airline. Agreed that "low cost" doesn't mean what it used to, and that his headlines are intended to be just that, but ultimately you pay your money and you take your choice. Surely by now there is no one in christendom that doesn't understand the devil's bargain with Ryanair in terms of real price, the actual location of airports and the likely treatment when things go wrong.

All anyone can do pjh is relay their own personal experiences and mine are anything but positive , my last flight with them resulted in myself and most of my family suffering the after effects of the most rapid descent I've ever experienced in my life . I don't and never have expected bells and whistles from an airline like Ryanair but what I do expect is a certain level of care shown to customers .
I've spent a fair bit of time studying ryanairs final approach into Paphos in Cyprus over the years and it's quite clear that they are trying to get the plane on the ground to the discomfort of their passengers a lot quicker than every other airline n(

I think most people who knock Ryan air have never actually flown them, but having had the delight to fly them to Dublin from Bristol many times- from £1 each way- all in I really cant say anything but thanks to them.

The people who knock them are those who take overweight baggage, forget to print their boarding pass etc, then you do get stung, long may they continue as you subside those that know how to play the ryan air game!

If they can manage Transatlantic then everyone will be quids inn, as it will drive everyone fairs down.

You only got to look at the Demise of Travelcity to see the result on flights to Orlando- Up over 70% since they went bust.

Harpers Tate wrote:Last time I used them, SouthWest offered complimentary checked baggage (1 x 50lb) and soft drinks onboard, even at their lowest fares. So "based on" is arguably a loose concept.

The last time we flew with them, the departure from LAX was delayed by around 20 minutes and, by way of 'compensation', they offered a free bar service to everybody.

Great staff, great service and leather seats.

A big thumbs up to Southwest Airlines. y)

NV43 wrote:

Harpers Tate wrote:Last time I used them, SouthWest offered complimentary checked baggage (1 x 50lb) and soft drinks onboard, even at their lowest fares. So "based on" is arguably a loose concept.

The last time we flew with them, the departure from LAX was delayed by around 20 minutes and, by way of 'compensation', they offered a free bar service to everybody.

Great staff, great service and leather seats.

A big thumbs up to Southwest Airlines. y)

However SouthWest are in danger.

The rise of the super low cost carrier in the US, JetBlue, and post Chapter-11 legacy carriers with new found fleet of foot through lower cost bases, and worryingly, that the public have accepted paying for baggage (SouthWest's trump card) leaves SouthWest in the cold and with fares and a cost base that are anything but low cost.

Gavin wrote:I think most people who knock Ryan air have never actually flown them, but having had the delight to fly them to Dublin from Bristol many times- from £1 each way- all in I really cant say anything but thanks to them.

The people who knock them are those who take overweight baggage, forget to print their boarding pass etc, then you do get stung, long may they continue as you subside those that know how to play the ryan air game!

If they can manage Transatlantic then everyone will be quids inn, as it will drive everyone fairs down.

You only got to look at the Demise of Travelcity to see the result on flights to Orlando- Up over 70% since they went bust.

I think it is incredibly patronising to think that those who criticise are those who have never flown with them, or too stupid to work out how to do it.

I also find that there's a myth about 1 pound fares. With my luggage checked in (no, I'm not trying to squeeze that bag overhead with the rest of the skinflints), a 15 quid fare becomes 130 quid easily, and the idea that they are "low cost" is really blown away. Thats when you get those, you don't see those to the likes of Alicante very much, they're priced exactly as expensive as the rest of the airways, and what BA etc used to charge before they pulled out on the back of the occasional times they did that flights near that price (I did get a 51 quid return to budapest once in 2007).

I refused to fly them again when they upped the price of luggage in the hold, and dropped it quietly to 15kg, making it barely worth it anyway. I didn't find them particularly awful apart from the fact their fares were rarely that much of a bargain, often flew out at 7am which doesn't suit me, and didn't fly to airports I actually wanted.

The idea that you'll get a fare to the likes of the US significantly cheaper than the current airlines, will usually turn out, like Norweigan, who claimed similar cheap fares, but when the like for like comparison was done (luggage in the hold), turned out be 20 quid cheaper than virgin flying the route (and I doubt you'd get cheap IFE on Norweigan, as well as food, alcohol and the likes, so will probably turn out to be cheaper to fly with virgin).

I asked around the office today about Ryanair- instantly 3 people said they were Cr*p and would never fly with them, all then admitted they have never flown with them, so how do they know they are rubbish? They don't its a perception based on those who have been stung by not playing by the rules.

If I can follow the rules get cheap fairs at the cost of the people who can't be bothered then TBH thats their problem.

If you don't play by the rules you will get charged simple- I see nothing wrong with that, I've only ever flown with them with hand luggage and follow all the rules, and really have had many flights in the past to Dublin for £1 - admittedly they don't exist now but I still managed to find flights for £40 still a bargain when Aer Arran/Lingus want £120 return for same dates from a Airport a bit closer to me.

I flew out of Prestwick to Stansted, and Dublin weekly since literally they commenced service till 2011, they were cheap used to use ex Britannia 737/200's before expanding with the 800's and were cheap until the government insisted in milking it for all it was worth.

I would NOT go so far as to say I enjoyed it, but I met a great number of people I now class as friends over the years, we saw it as cheap mass transit travel and it allowed us to continue to live in Scotland, but work out of London cheaper than buying down there!

Ryanair is a great short haul service for essential travel, no doubt, however many who demand the frills of a cup of coffee on-board or a small dried out breakfast tray, will never accept Ryanair or Easyjet as a good quality service provider.

If they were to go transatlantic, I would consider the potential saving versus the known inconvenience of the reduced inflight entertainment etc, however, NO WAY will he introduce the service with 737's!!!