| Im off my head to Ibiza |
Lots of things can be said about Ryanair, but the bottom line is that they offer the cheapest fares on time and handled in an efficient manner. If a person knows their way around the Ryanair stealth charges, then they can pay a very basic amount for an air ticket.
I had to rub my eyes in disbelief, when I saw a return fare to Ibiza from Dublin for €30 all charges included! When you consider that a return rail ticket, from my home town about 40 miles west of Dublin costs €20, then I had no hesitation in grabbing my bag (hand luggage and under 10kg) and taking a Sunday-Wednesday early Easter break in Ibiza. Before Ryanair and Aer Lingus started the Dublin Ibiza route, a return fare would cost in the region of €250 on charter flights.
The flight departure time of 06.20 was not nice, and meant an early morning wake up call of 03.30. When booking the flight a month earlier, the time of departure was 15.20 but this was changed to 06.20 two weeks before departure. On arrival at Dublin Airport we parked in the Long Term Blue carpark which cost us €38 for four days. If we had booked online with Dublin Airport carparks, we could have saved up to €12 on our parking. Note to self……….. Book online in future!
| Ryanair Boeing 737 |
The new bar code readers at security were very smart and they opened an automatic barrier once the boarding pass cleared. Ryanair had decided to park the Ibiza flight at the furthest terminal they could find and it took us 20mins to walk there as it was the final gate in the terminal. I was expecting about 50-80 passengers on board but a long Q soon started to form and it was soon evident that the flight would be busy enough, not bad for a 6am dark, Sunday morning in early April. We boarded, and after a slight delay on the ground, we took off heading for Ibiza.
For the first time in my experience, Ibiza Airport was closed due to fog as we made our approach for landing. The Captain advised us that we would be kept in a holding pattern just west of the Airport for about 30 mins. The good news was, that the fog was starting to clear and that we were second in line for approach.
Twenty minutes later we were cleared for landing and the cockpit crew quickly descended into Ibiza, slamming the Boeing 737 onto the tarmac with a thud, a noticeable feature of many Ryanair flights. Ryanair pilots seem to treat Mr O Learys fleet with contempt I wonder why?
The return flight was on time and had over 130 passengers on board compared to the 102 inbound. Once again we were fortunate to sit in the Ryanair first Class section….the extra leg room of the emergency exit seats. A very pleasant and smiling blond stewardess happily greeted us and even managed to sell me a Ryanair Ham and Cheese panini as a hot meal.
The €5 panini must have been heated in a nuclear reactor, as it was cremated to a crisp, tasteless, cardboard consistency brick. I did seriously contemplate returning the remains for a refund, but Ryanair now had my cash and I was aware of their reputation with regard to refunds, so I didnt bother. I passively passed comment to the blond stewardess that served me, that I would really like another one as it was so delicious. For a second she mistook my sarcasim for sincerity, before explaining that the oven heating the paninis was too hot and staff could not regulate the temperature. Pity she didnt inform me of this before I purchased. Note to self….Never buy airline food again.
The flight to Dublin landed on time along with the now trademark thud on the tarmac. All things considered, the whole experience was above average, due mainly to the cheap fare and on time flights, both on the outbound and inbound legs. Would I fly to Ibiza with Ryanair again?
If I got return flights for less than €50 ………I would strap myself onto the wing! Note to Mr O Leary….Only joking.