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Ryan Air/Easy Jet question

post #1 of 12
1/31/06 at 10:12am
Thread Starter 
I will be travelling with my family to europe in spring. I notice that Ryan air and Easy Jet have extremely low fares compared to BA and others. How reliable (safety and on time?) are these airlines?

secondly I notice that they fly to smaller airports like Stansted, gatwick and Luton.

How far are these from Heathrow and more importantly how much time should I allocate to travel between these smaller airports and Heathrow.

any help from our friends acroos the pond would be appreciated.
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post #2 of 12
2/13/06 at 1:52am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Marty
I will be travelling with my family to europe in spring. I notice that Ryan air and Easy Jet have extremely low fares compared to BA and others. How reliable (safety and on time?) are these airlines?

secondly I notice that they fly to smaller airports like Stansted, gatwick and Luton.

How far are these from Heathrow and more importantly how much time should I allocate to travel between these smaller airports and Heathrow.

any help from our friends acroos the pond would be appreciated.
There are lots of bus services from Heathrow to Gatwick (closer)and Stansted. Luton is less frequent. Easyjet and Ryan air are very safe, but if you are taking skis they charge extra (and that can add up quickly and ryanairs baggage allowance is a mean 15kg and excess charges are expensive) Usually on time, however checking in and getting on the plane can be er interesting (no seat allocation, its like a bus) You can get good deals with BA by booking early on their website. If you have lots of heavy luggage from a transatlantic flight go ba.
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post #3 of 12
2/13/06 at 4:31am
I agree with what Carroz says, but would add that there is a good train service from Luton to Gatwick
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post #4 of 12
2/13/06 at 8:56am
EasyJet and RyanAir can be a lot more expensive than BA - it depends how flexible you can be on your dates. If I were you I'd go with BA - you might be able to add-on a short 'stopover' flight for a little extra money.

If you booked your flights with Air France or others to London (for example via Paris) then I think you could probably get a free stopover.
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post #5 of 12
2/13/06 at 1:57pm
Easyjet and Ryanair are cheaper because they're 'no frills' airlines, i.e. no food/drink served on board and the abovementioned scramble to get on! In terms of safety, you'll be fine: Easyjet, I believe, has one of the newest fleets of any airline, but also has a reputation for delays.

Heathrow Airport's website has a useful section on travel between the airports. www.heathrowairport.com Stansted is a nightmare to get to from Heathrow as they're on opposite sides of London. Try to avoid making a bus journey between airports during the rush hour as traffic on the motorway around London (called the M25) can be truly awful. Allow at least 3 hours. There are express trains from central London stations to H'row, G'wick and Stansted which are expensive but are fast and reliable, and a good regular train service which links Luton and G'wick, called the Thameslink.

Check out British Midland as well, they often offer cheap fares. www.flybmi.com Also, be careful to check which airports Easyjet or Ryanair fly to in Europe, as they often use smaller, more remote airports and you could end up with a long transfer. You'll probably get some great advice from the brits on the Snowheads forum at http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/
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post #6 of 12
2/14/06 at 2:52pm
Easyjet and Ryanair are reliable, cheap, and timely. They can put Southwest to shame from an effeciency point of view. Fares can really be 1 Euro + tax (15 Euros or so) for a one way trip -- especially on Ryanair. Easyjet is more prone to delays than Ryanair because they use major airports. Ryanair will use minor airports so know exactly where you are landing.
HOWEVER, BE VERY CAREFUL ABOUT THE SKI POLICY FOR ANY EUROPEAN AIRLINE!!! THEY ARE NOT USUALLY INCLUDED!!

They charge for skis transort in the EU. It is not like the US. Also, they charge for excess baggage over strict weight limits.

Easyjet -- 22.50 Euros/flight for a pair of skis (That is $50 roundtrip to bring skis).
Ryanair -- need to pre-book skis, charges unclear - but they are more than Easyjet. If you have more 15 kilos on you, get prepared to pay and pay.

However, airlines like BMI, British Air, Air France can have similar issues. They will weigh your bags too and charge.

One possibility is you can rent top skis (Legends, Rossi Scratch, Atomic Sweet Daddy, etc) for about 20-24 Euros/day. Negotiate and shop around.

Some flight suggestions for UK to Alps
The London airports are all well linked by train. Just allow adequate transfer time and money for tranfers.
Geneva flights seem to always be expensive. However, you can get a bus to anywhere (Chamonix, 3 Valleys, Val d'Isere). Lyon is a great destination too (no Chamonix, but everything else)
Grenoble - La Grave, Alp d'Huez

Austria has the best snow this year - specifically St. Anton. So flight to Zurich and train to the Tyrol may be the best bet. However, a big storm for France is scheduled, so watch....
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post #7 of 12
2/15/06 at 3:32pm

Ryanair

You may want to look at the customer comments on www.airlinequality.com.

This is an excellent website recording flier comments on hundreds of airlines......the comments on Ryanair are generally not complimentary.

Good luck.
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post #8 of 12
2/17/06 at 9:54am

Great Thread! My $.02

1) Check www.skyscanner.net to compare all of the low cost Euro airlines - GREAT site!

Great thread with some good websites.

Usually, flying out of the smaller airports (Luton) is a hassle and certainly not worth whatever money you save. Fly out of Gatwick, which isn't a great transfer between it and Heathrow, but doable, considering there's the Gatwick Express that runs out of (I think) King's Cross/St. Pancreas.

I have never seen BA flights below that of EasyJet/Ryannair, but maybe they are when closer to flight time?

YOU TAKE SOME RISK FLYING NO-FRILLS WITHIN EUROPE. I had someone get on an intercom MID FLIGHT and say they had to drop off a mechanic, so we touched and went at a random airport in Switzerland. THAT was interesting. If you're willing to risk some delays, associated problems with no-frills flying, and a questionable ski policy, go for it. There's lots of money to be saved and often, you can fly just for the tax!

Good luck.

Just don't fly out of Luton. NOT worth it.
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post #9 of 12
2/19/06 at 10:04am
Quote:
Originally Posted by LAXtoDartmouth
there's the Gatwick Express that runs out of (I think) King's Cross/St. Pancreas.
Gatwick express departs from Victoria station. Heathrow express departs from Paddington. The Luton express does depart from King's cross. Stansted express leaves from Liverpool St.

Taking the train to each airport is not bad at all. I landed at Stansted and was in Liverpool St in no time. However, that time I was staying in London and didn't have much luggage.

Going from Gatwick/Heathrow to Luton/Stansted with luggage+ski equipment will be a pain. If you land during rush hour (quite possible if it's an overnight flight from the US), the tube is going to suck for you. Sardines are more comfortable in a can.

A/
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post #10 of 12
2/19/06 at 11:53am
You can go Gatwick-Luton direct by train, but you're right, the others are not easy to get to/from.
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post #11 of 12
2/19/06 at 12:52pm
I've used them both. They are unreliable, are subject to the most frequent cancellations and delays, give crap service and charge a fortune in extras for things like golf clubs so I would assume it's the same for skis.

As for safety if you saw the TV program last week with an undercover reporter who joined RyanAir cabin crew you would go no where near them. They ignore all safety and security rules, dont clean the palnes between flights and on one occasion caught on film they didnt even bother to clean vomit from a seat or close the seat, the No1 steward sprinkled a little perfume over the vomit soaked seat and let the next flight passengers sit in it. Ryan air denied all knowledge despite it being filmed.

They are the airline equivalent of the rouge who turns up offering to tarmac your drive for a bargain price, lays 2mm of ashphalt charges you 3 times what they quoted in the headline price and then wants nothing more to do with you once your drive falls apart!

Pay a proper fair which after all the extras will probably be about the same anyway and book a scheduled flight with BA or other proper airline.
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post #12 of 12
2/19/06 at 4:24pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wear The Fox Hat
You can go Gatwick-Luton direct by train, but you're right, the others are not easy to get to/from.
I did not know that. Thanks for that.
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