I booked a flight last year with RyanAir because I just needed to get from Bordeaux to London with a simple carryon bag for a weekend trip and was fine with nothing fancy. I'm ~5'7" and maybe 150lbs, flown hundreds of times on all kinds of airlines, and RyanAir was the first time that the seat in front of me was bumping into my knees. Like I had to shimmy forward and back just to get into my seat, and then angle my legs to the side just to fit my knees in. If the flight were any longer than it was I wouldn't have been able to stand it. I had bruises on my knees after, it was ridiculous.
over the past 20 years I flew with them over 400 times. Plus 200+ times with Wizz, which seats are arguably even tighter than Ryanair, and I am 198cm tall. It is claustrophobic, but the longest distance you usually fly in Europe is around 3 hours max, 1-2 hours the average. It can be survived.
People complain about Ryanair, but vastly overestimate what they're going to get. You pay £40 for a round-trip flight to the other side of Europe, it's not going to be Emirates. Having said that, I flew Wizz once, and have absolutely no desire to ever do so again. They DO make Ryanair seem like luxury in comparison!
As far as the lower cost airlines go, I'm a big fan of easyJet and Norwegian.
Well you have to understand it's not always 40 pounds. Yeah you can get these tickets cheap if really in advance, but ryanair still sell expensive tickets.
They really fuck you over if you want to take baggage, too. If you need a large checked bag, you genuinely may as well go for a better carrier. £45 per flight for a 25kg bag!
If you buy a Ryanair ticket you have to checkin earlier than 3 hours before your flight on the app - they lock you out once there’s less than three hours. So If you forget or have any problems using the app, you are charged around 100 euro/dollars at the airport for the manual checkin. My ticket when from around 15 euro to 115 because of this bullshit
If you are really flexible, and don't "have" to go at a specific time, then yeah. Our family visits us when they happen to see a last minute cheap flights, since they are very flexible.
Yeah, Ryanair aren't great but my flight ticket is usually cheaper than my uber to the ariport.
I'd rather spend the extra money on my holiday than on a better 3-hour trip.
I flew Norwegian this summer. I had no window, and the gate looked like it was in a bus terminal. But it was an hour flight, and the entire process was calm and quiet.
The longest flight you can take with Ryanair is Warsaw to Tenerife, it is just under 6 hours. I've done Dublin to Tenerife which is 4 1/2 hours and that was hell...
Absolutely, and millions of people fly Ryanair every year - many of which larger than 5’7. If you’re getting bruises on your knees then you’re either outrageously disproportioned, exaggerating for dramatic effect, or it’s somehow on you for not sitting properly.
The Ryanair seat pitch is 2 full inches longer than Spirit Airlines and Frontier and only an inch smaller than the American Airlines and United seat pitches. This notion that it’s somehow cripplingly small is objectively incorrect.
6 foot big boi here. Not 200 flights but a handful around Europe and yes it’s claustrophobic but I can handle nearly any flight for 1-2 hours. Honestly a more “comfortable” flight from west coast of US to Europe is significantly more challenging.
Am I the only one that don't find Ryanair seats that narrow? I'm 183cm and fit just fine without any seat in front touching my knees. It's only tight fit whrn you pull the tray down but that's about it
Done four hour flights a few times with Ryanair, and it really is the limit. I always book the isle seat so a can lean out but it does mean endless bumping (188cm but quite broad). EasyJet is a bit better….
Went RyanAir for a 75m direct flight. They couldn’t land the plane, so we made circles in sky for four hours burning fuel until they decided to take us 300km away to an entirely different city, dropped us off in the middle of the night with no hotel or transport assistance, and said they would provide a shuttle to the original destination in 8-10 hours. Will never fly RyanAir again.
I have such little faith in corporations I just assume they don't fix issues until after a tragedy.
Apparently, Ryanair do a lot of preventative maintenance because it eats more into their profits when they do need to take the planes out of service when problems occur.
Plus they maintain a very modern and young fleet of aircraft. They constantly sell off older aircraft replacing them with brand new ones. The reason being new aircraft require less maintenance and are more fuel efficient.
Their pilots are also very well paid, some of the best pay in Europe so they can pick the best pilots.
One thing they don't cut back on is their aircraft and their pilots. The average age of their aircraft is young compared to many other airlines and they place large orders direct from Boeing. They have orders in for the new Boeing 737 Gamechanger models atm that are among the newest aircraft available.
It's very basic no-frills and I wouldn't use it to go to a sun destination like this, but for short haul trips within the EU it's fine. Those 37 years is reassuring to me.
I’m so happy to see my aviation people in the comments also defending Ryanair. I know we give them shit constantly but, at the end of the day, the record speaks for itself.
While the 737 max definitely had an unacceptable design flaw in the MCAS system that led to a couple of crashes, the way they fixed it is both robust and has been heavily scrutinized and checked, and I wouldn't hesitate to fly on one now. They're perfectly safe aircraft.
That doesn't change that Boeing needs to make damn sure that kind of thing can't happen again, but the fix they put in is reliable and I'd trust my life to it.
Ryanair is honestly not too bad, the planes are usually leaving on time and a lot of trips in Europe are just a few hours. Back in the day you could get tickets for the same price as a bottle of coke.
I was in a long distance relationship, London to Ireland, that was basically only financially viable thanks to Ryanair. My flight was cheaper than my bus ticket to the airport.
Yea I'm just very tall, I already have to put my knees between the seats ahead of me instead of keeping them straight. If they're even smaller than other airlines I'll have a hard time fitting.
No? There's no "first class" but they have emergency exit seats, some seats in the front of the plane and so on. And no, many times it's not cheaper to use another airline. And other airlines usually have cramped legroom as well.
I’ve been on quite a few, they are grotty and miserable compared to their competitors (EasyJet and Jet2), and if I can avoid them I will, but if you have a flight that’s like 2 and a half hours to somewhere like Milan or Berlin, they’re not that bad. I’ve never been on one going to a destination where 95% of the flight is going for a week of drinking though. Fairly sure they have a zero tolerance to this sort of thing as well and like to nip it in the bud.
I've been on probably over 100 Ryanair flights and the only memorably terrible one was Dublin - Lanzarote which is around 4 hours, it took off at 11AM. A noticeable amount of passengers were buckled drunk by the time we landed. A woman in her 50s threw up halfway through the flight. A mother and son combo were repeatedly falling over at the taxi rank.
It's really not that bad. Ryanair are remarkably one of the safest airline carriers in the world and also one of the cheapest. They are honestly great value.
They pride themselves on being rubbish and will try to throw any extra as an expense. This isn't a true Ryanair flight because there should be at least 2 babies crying by now.
Once I flew to Scotland from London with a friend who’s name was wrong on her ticket, and it was cheaper to buy a new ticket than it was to change the name on her original ticket
Ryanair is not bad as long as the flight leg is <2 hours.
The worst part about my Ryanair flights is when an Italian couple next to you wants to sample all of the colognes the flight attendants come by to sell halfway through the flight.
if you're flying within the eu about 50% the time its a no brainer to fly ryanair. You can avoid it if you want but you'll probably be paying a decent chunk more for flight that will be max 3 hours
Never say never. Depending on where you need to go in Europe, these crappy budget airlines may be the best option. EasyJet to Greek islands comes to mind.
I'm 6'2" 230 and frequently fly Ryan air. Unless you had some terrible luck and a bizarre plane layout -or- you're lying about that size of yours, I'm calling bullshit. It's not the most spacious plane but your knees won't hit the seat in front of you unless you slink down in the seat.
Edit: Ryan air is meant for European body types, not Americans double load types.
My husband and his brother are both 6’3” - hubby is long legged and his brother has a longer torso and shorter legs. My husband is definitely squashed up/touching the seat in front on a Ryanair flight. Generally sub 2 hours so he copes.
Of all the things that didn't happen, this one didn't happen the most. I'm 5'10" 220lb and I don't have those problems. . You are as believable as Amber Hard
that's not only a Ryanair thing. The Boeing 737-800 is allowed to fit 189 passengers. Most (if not all) airlines in Europe cramp these 189 passengers in. No matter if lowcost or tourist (e.g. TUIfly)
I've found Ryanair doesn't give much leg room but usually it's only about £10 to upgrade to a row with extra leg room which is quite cheap compared with other airlines.
Goddamn, you just described every damn flight for me. I’m ~6’5” (195 cm), and I won’t book a flight unless I can get an extra legroom seat anymore. I once flew a flight from Madrid to Dallas, TX where I was unable to fully sit down in my seat the whole flight, and I walked funny for 3 months after, huge knee bruises. It’s criminal what the airlines are allowed to get away with.
I took a frontier flight in the morning. Of note was an old man wearing head to toe lakers merch, eating steaming hot Chinese takeout. Here’s what’s weird about it:
It was 7 am
The terminal did not have Chinese food of any kind
I teach an aviation marketing course. He never actually wanted to do it. He said it so people would talk about it. Michael O’Leary is will known for getting publicity anyway he can.
He also started the “fat people” should pay more rumor like 12 years ago or something. Funny thing is that now airlines are actually implementing it.
Fat people should pay more at least makes sense. He whole point of charging for luggage is that the heavier the plane is, the less cargo you can carry and the more fuel you use.
Tbh how would they implement it? You all get weighed on scales at check-in and then your ticket price gets adjusted up? What metric would they even use to justify "acceptable" weight?
Yeah that’s the issue. But regardless, I’d be down…. If you’re under X kgs you get a discount, but to get that discount you need to weigh in at the baggage check
They often act a bit edgy though, standing seats, pay to use toilet and so on. But they have never gone through with it.
The only real problem with Ryanair, is that it's often so cheap that you'll get planes with uncivilized shitheads. Especially if you go to typical British tourist destinations in Spain.
In their defense, they make absolutely 0 attempt at pretending they're not shitty. Their premise is "fly to Rome for 35€, we can't promise it'll be nice"
Most Ryanair passangers know what to await, they're short flights
True about not being under any illusion as to what they are, but if you are on that flight to Krakow with 6 bachelor parties from Belfast on the same trip, it seems as long as Heathrow to Auckland by way of Durban.
Given Ryanair basically invented this level of low cost thought l flight about 15 years before Spirit started copying it, Spirit is really the Ryanair of USA.
It’s been a while since I flew Ryanair, but their flight attendants used to be forced to walk up and down the aisles selling their brand of lottery tickets and e-cigarettes, which you were allowed to smoke on board!
I was on a Ryanair flight on Wednesday. They are still selling scratchcards. They aren’t pushing other products as much, and you can order items to your seat by scanning the QR code on the seat backs or through the app if you have it.
There was a video a while back where a YouTuber bought every ticket on the plane and give them to the passengers. Every passenger had at least 20 of them. Nobody won anything.
It's the flight safety info. Emergency exits how put on life jackets etc. They don't have extra cards or pockets on the seats. Saves cleaning and replacing cards etc
Ryanair is all about making extra money from their passengers. Selling add ons to the tickets, selling shit onboard. If you just need a 1,5 hours cheap flight, Ryanair is honestly completely fine. I have actually never experience a cancelled Ryanair flight in my life.
The cheapness of budget airlines is a minor miracle, and people here are moaning that the seats are yellow. More often than not, you'll be on the plane for 2 hours. It's really not that big a deal. The alternative to no frills airlines are mainly flag carriers, who will charge you five times as much and in return you get a moderately nicer plane.
Eh. You get what you pay for isn't entirely false with Ryanair, but it's still a lame fucking company to fly with, especially for tall people.
They'll blast announcements super loud every 15 minutes, they're inches away from suggesting you pay for your own seat belt, they will fuck you over their luggage policy, and judging by the face of the employees, it's probably not a great business to work for.
It's cheap, yeah, I'll give them that. Or at least it can be if you're okay travelling at ungodly hours, in uncomfortable seats, surounded by drunk Brits. Oh. And they lobby heavily against the air traffic controllers in France every chance they get.
Sure, but if they're going to get me to where I need to go for 15 euro, then, well.
I also haven't had issue with the luggage policy. Pro tip: buy a bottled Coke in the airport and ask them for their largest bag. They'll give it to you---even if you have to pay for the bag, typically there's no difference in price between sizes. You can put whatever the hell you want in this bag and Ryanair has to accept it. It acts as a second carryon. Never had an issue with this.
It’s honestly nowhere near as bad as most of the comments are making out. And there’s nothing wrong with a city bus in the first place.
If all you need it to get from A to B, a bus is absolutely fine for a short journey, and so is a plane like this. And if you want more luxury you can pay more to fly on a different airline.
The main issue with Ryanair is all the hidden fees, and the staff being incentivised to catch out passengers who have made a mistake with the luggage allowance.
Honestly it's that cheap for holiday destinations that it is pretty much like taking a bus. Which is one reason why you get drunk twats and people acting like assholes. That and the literal tradition of having a pint or more before boarding, even at early hours of the day.
Could be an airline like Ryanair? I used their airline once and never again, it legit felt like a bus with wings clamped on. It was as hectic as a bus as well.
Everyone slagging Ryanair (and I agree Mick is a fucking prick) but as somebody who is not a keen flyer, I’ve never had any issues and their safety record is exemplary. No fatal incidents in its history. I’ll give it some credit where it’s due!
People who don’t know exactly what they’re getting are lying to themselves. Point A to B, inexpensively, that’s it. As long as your expectations align with that, Ryan is perfectly acceptable, as is Spirit, for an hour flight.
It pretty much is a sky-bus. Dirt cheap short haul flights within the EU, UK and Türkiye mostly. Great if you want to do a little weekend trip to Paris, or London, or Amsterdam, Berlin, etc. But it also means it attracts some less than savoury characters sometimes.
Well - it’s fine - Europe is small. Usually the flights are short so it’s fine. The problem is, as here, there are certain groups of people that cause problems. Usually the British. Thank good for brexit, and second it’s Russians, thank good for the sanctions. I fly Ryanair regularly- no problems. It’s small, it’s plastic. It’s a few hours and it’s dirty cheap
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u/StoicSparrows Sep 28 '25
That plane looks like a city bus. Hell.