RyanAir Survival Tips

In about five hours we're waking up to drive to the airport and fly to Ireland for the Thanksgiving weekend! This is your warning that the posts for the rest of the month will be travel related. This evening has all been about packing and preparing for our adventure in the Emerald Isle.

We're flying with RyanAir, which we usually do when traveling around Europe. In 2003, the first time we flew with RyanAir, we were also going to Ireland! For those who don't know, flying with this low-cost airline is a major hassle.  Every little thing costs extra, you're packed into seats with zero legroom, the landings are often rough, and the flight attendants spend the flight going up and down the aisles selling drinks, snacks, duty-free stuff, and even raffle tickets. In May Jared and I flew from London to Frankfurt on Lufthansa and the experience was a million times better than RyanAir.  But you just can't beat five round trip tickets from London to Cork for $150.

Because we've done the RyanAir thing a few times before, we've learned what works and what doesn't so we're kind of used to the experience now. Here are our best tips for making it as stress-free as possible.

• Check-in online and print your boarding pass ahead of time. If you don't you'll end up paying between 15 and 70 euros (each!) for them to print it at the airport. Generally speaking, that's more than you've paid for the actual flight!
• This one only applies to people with non-EU passports, but when you get to the airport, make sure you get the visa check stamp on your boarding pass. You won't need it to get through security but you will need it to board and they won't do it at the gate. So get it done where everyone else is checking luggage before you go through security.
• Maybe invest in some noise-canceling headphones if you don't want to spend the entire flight being bombarded by announcements for all the things they're coming down the aisle selling. 
• Even if you've paid for priority boarding and "guaranteed" overhead bin space for your bag, if you don't get in line early there will be nowhere for your bag and you'll have to gate check it. Even if it's full of Italian pottery and you are in tears because you know they're not going to be careful with your bag. 
• The bag size and weight requirements do matter - except when they don't? There is no consistency with this one but I tend to err on the better safe than sorry side of things and try to make sure our bags aren't too big. They rarely weigh a bag to make sure it's under the 10 kg limit, but they will put it in the sizer if it looks larger than average. 
• Don't expect a smooth take-off or landing. Just brace yourself, hum your favorite hymn, go to your happy place, and it will be fine. I think that safety-wise they're okay, it's just a little rough sometimes. 
• The seats do not recline and are much more narrow and closer together than on any other airline we've flown. There are also no seatback pockets and I'm pretty sure no cleaning crew between flights. There's just no way they can turn a plane around as quickly as they do and clean the cabin. So maybe pack some hand sanitizer? 
• After you've found your cheap flight, be prepared to be hit with some extra fees. You pay to choose your seat, you pay to be able to bring more than a bag that will fit under the seat, you pay to check in early, you pay for priority boarding, you pay to get through security or passport control faster. Anything that can make your travel experience more convenient or comfortable will cost you. 

With all that, we still choose RyanAir (or similarly priced airline Easy Jet) because it saves us hundreds of dollars over other airlines and those savings go right toward other expenses when we travel. When your plane tickets only cost a little bit, your vacation budget goes further and we'll deal with a bit of discomfort for extra Irish fun!