When it comes to budget airlines, Ireland-based Ryanair is the European torchbearer. The largest airline by passenger numbers in Europe, and the third largest globally (after American Airlines and Delta), it carried 182 million passengers in 2023. Its network is almost entirely European, barring a few routes it runs to Morocco, and covers more than 250 airports across 37 countries.
Ryanair’s size and scale is not what it’s most famous for, however. It has a reputation among many as one of the worst customer and flying experiences – many people I know simply refuse to fly with them. As an example, on a recent trip from London Stansted to Cologne, I heard a Ryanair gate crew member call a passenger a liar when she argued that she’d already paid to take her guitar on board with her! The airline is infamous for trying to sneak in surplus charges at every turn, for unforgiving customer service and for the bare bones approach to passenger comfort.
But if you need to fly in Europe, there is no other carrier that can compare with Ryanair’s reach or prices. I fly with it monthly at a minimum and have learnt that if you know what to expect and how to navigate its sneaky pricing and quirks, there are few airlines anywhere that offer such incredible value.
Fares and classes
Ryanair is 100% budget and as such there are no classes other than economy. Its fleet consists almost entirely of Boeing 737 airplanes (in various models but with much the same configuration) and is purely a short to medium haul operation. Its longest flight runs from Warsaw to Tenerife on the periphery of Europe – a 2,209-mile journey that takes a shade under six hours. But most routes are around one to three hours. A popular bit of funny (and some say fitting) trivia highlights that the average length of Ryanair flights is 666 miles, the Devil’s number!
Fares are a more complex issue. On first look, Ryanair offers four fare classes, although there are actually five.
A word of warning when choosing your fare. Ryanair is renowned for its laser focus on cabin baggage dimensions. It’s always a lottery whether you’ll get singled out at the gate to have your bag unceremoniously wedged into one of its bag size checkers. If there’s any question mark, expect to have your bag sent to the hold and pay an unreasonably large fee for the privilege. Your best bet is of course to stick rigidly to the dimensions stated. On the other hand, I’ve never seen anyone’s large carry-on bags weighed to see if they conform to the 10kg limit.
Basic fare
The cheapest fare is also the only one that’s shown when you search for a flight with Ryanair – a common trick to lure you in and tempt you into spending more on upgrades. It includes one small 40cm x 20cm x 25cm cabin bag, like a briefcase or small rucksack, that must be stowed under the seat where your feet will also need to go, and nothing else.
Standard seats are randomly allocated when check-in opens 24 hours before your flight. You must check in online or you’ll have to pay a fee to check in at the airport. You have the option to add a raft of upgrades during booking, each with its own fee. I’ve never minded this approach though, as it allows you to tailor your experience and only pay for the things you want.
Regular fare
The next fare up adds to the basic offering with one large cabin bag up to 10kg in weight and measuring up to 55cm x 40cm x 20cm, plus the option to choose your standard seat. It also throws in priority boarding, which means you get first access to the airplane. Beware – priority boarding is perhaps the biggest trap of all Ryanair’s paid-for services.
The minimum-service Ryanair approach isn’t exclusive to the plane and flight – it extends to boarding too. Priority boarding means you get to go through the gate first. Invariably, however, Ryanair is keen to clear the gate as early as possible to avoid airport late fees, even if the plane isn’t ready for boarding. Instead, gate crew happily shuffle passengers past the gate and into the gangway (or more often stairwell) to wait there instead. Usually cramped, with no seating and no air con or heating, all your priority pass gets you is a longer wait in these less than ideal conditions.
And as seats are now allocated rather than a first-come first-served free-for-all as it used to be, there’s no real benefit to boarding first. In fact, I always make a point of boarding as close to last as possible – you spend less time on board and it gives you the chance to peruse potential unbooked seating options should you have the dreaded middle seat.
Plus fare
Plus is a bit of a mish-mash of Basic and Regular fares. You get the small cabin bag allowance and option to choose your standard seat, but no priority boarding (which is no bad thing). In place of a second 10kg cabin bag, you can instead check in a 20kg bag – useful if you’re not a light packer. Extraordinarily, it’s the only traveller fare that includes checked luggage in its price. A Plus fare also lets you check in at the airport, but I see zero benefit in that if you own a smartphone.
Flexi Plus fare
The premium fare comes at an eye-watering premium. In my experience, it often costs well over double the price of a basic or even regular fare. It includes a small and big cabin bag, priority boarding, seat reservation (including the extra leg room first row and emergency exit seats), airport check in, flight changes without the admin costs, and fast track through airport security. I’ve never seen the need to book a Flexi Plus ticket as most of these benefits don’t feel worth the extra cost.
Family Plus fare
Family Plus is available for up to six passengers in one booking, as long as one of them is a child or teen. Typically it replaces the Flexi Plus option when your booking meets this criteria. It includes one small and one big cabin bag for each passenger, a 20kg check-in ‘family’ bag, and free seat reservations for children under 12 – although you’ll have to pay for adult seats.
Which fare is best?
In my experience, the Basic Ryanair fare is best. As I don’t see any value in priority boarding or airport check-in, I don’t think it’s worth paying for these features by default. I also never check bags with Ryanair any more, as the wait to collect them at the destination airport is often torturous depending on how many ground staff they have. Instead, you can book a Basic fare and add a big cabin bag for less than the price of a Regular fare.
As flights are typically only a couple of hours, I seldom think it’s worth paying extra for an aisle, window or extra legroom seat. If you do book a window seat, make sure it’s not the dreaded 11A. The subject of a million memes and long a provoker of great amusement or fury depending on the passenger’s sense of humour, 11A is the window seat without a window. A quirk of design, this section of the Boeing 737 fuselage houses part of the aircon system and Ryanair’s layout ignores that in favor of more seats, view or not. Note that some of its modern fleet also have this problem on the window seats at either end of rows 12 and 14 too. To be on the safe side, avoid these seats when reserving.
On board – seats, legroom and facilities
Economy class is exactly that – the bare minimum. Everything is pared down to the basics to keep prices low so there’s no in-flight entertainment, Wi-Fi, seat charging points, magazine (except in the app), blankets or cushions, and absolutely nothing complimentary. The speed of turnaround between flights often means the cabin doesn’t look or feel very clean either.
Seats are narrow at 16 inches and offer 30 inches (40 cm) of legroom, which is pretty standard for most budget European airlines. They’re also thin, hard and don’t recline, but are entirely bearable for a few hours.
In-flight service is a light meal, snack and drinks service. Prices are at a premium but typically the food is from established brands and so quality is fine. There’s no menu on board so you’ll need to check the app in advance (where you can also preorder) or just ask the cabin crew what’s available. It’s not uncommon to find many things have sold out and are unavailable. And don’t expect ice for your drinks!
Despite having heard some horror stories, my experiences of Ryanair cabin crew have been entirely positive (not so much the ground crew though). Multinational and mostly young, they’re typically efficient, friendly and very adept at handling less than satisfied passengers and rowdy groups, two mainstays of the typical Ryanair clientele!
This KAYAK-commissioned article is presented as-is, for general informational purposes only, and may not be up to date. The opinions contained in the article are original to the author and reflect their authentic experience, which may vary significantly from the experience of others. Find more perspectives in our user reviews below.