Greetings, Europeans. I’ve heard of your low cost airlines like Ryanair and Wizz. How bad are they really? Are they known to change/cancel flights on a whim? Asking for a friend with a poor exchange rate (moi). - ThreadSky

thalamsutu.bsky.social • 6 hours ago

Greetings, Europeans.

I’ve heard of your low cost airlines like Ryanair and Wizz. How bad are they really? Are they known to change/cancel flights on a whim?

Asking for a friend with a poor exchange rate (moi).

Comments

mickado.bsky.social•2 hours ago

I've used Wizz a few times. Found them to be much the same as Ryanair. I certainly wouldn't avoid them out of fear that they'd change or cancel.

jackc101.bsky.social•5 hours ago

Ryanair generally good, know exactly what you are bringing luggage wise & book appropriately. Extras like seat selection & luggage are how the price catches up. No free food, drinks or water either. Never had a flight cancelled yet 🤞

briangberry.bsky.social•5 hours ago

I've used Wizz a couple of times and they have been fine - modern aircraft, cheap product, places in Central/Eastern Europe you've never heard of...

sammy438.bsky.social•5 hours ago

WIZZ an RyanAir are perfectly decent if you are on a budget. However they charge for everything. So if they say just one piece of hand luggage, they mean one piece. And for the love of God, check in online.

thalamsutu.bsky.social•4 hours ago

I’ve heard many horror stories about the checking in process especially 😂

keith-85.bsky.social•5 hours ago

Both are fine, cheap and cheerful....it's not possible to change flights without penalties.

cianormo.bsky.social•6 hours ago

Ryanair are mostly fine, nothing fancy and they get you to where you're going, but it can be miles away from the destination city. They do occasionally cancel a morning flight and amalgamate it with one laster that day; other Leinster fans who visited Northampton in Dec 2013 can vouch for this!

thalamsutu.bsky.social•6 hours ago

Oh my goodness what a horrible experience 😬. I might fly in the day before anyway to tour the cities I’m going to. Basically also looking for football and rugby matches.

cianormo.bsky.social•5 hours ago

Ah it wasn't too bad, I got some compensation but it barely paid for a plate of chips. 🤣 But do take note of the exact location of the airport. Taking Paris as an example, Beauvais (which Ryanair uses) is much further out than Orly or Charles de Gaule. That'll add to costs and travel times

philvb.bsky.social•5 hours ago

Don’t forget to brush up on your Afrikaans 😉

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/jun/06/ryanair-south-africans-afrikaans-test-nationality-passports?CMP=share_btn_url

thalamsutu.bsky.social•4 hours ago

I thought I was done with Afrikaans tests in matric 😭

hugogordon.bsky.social•6 hours ago

They're fine, Ryanair in particular I've actually found to be more reliable than most. Absolutely zero frills and don't expect a comfy seat but imo considerably better value than, say, British Airways.

hugogordon.bsky.social•6 hours ago

Not to say they WON'T cancel/delay flights but they're not noticeably worse offenders than anyone else.

dasneilpferd.bsky.social•6 hours ago

Mostly here to second this. The probability of something going wrong is, probably, as low (if not lower) than any other airline. If something does go wrong, it can be a more frustrating experience than you might expect. But, overall, I'd take that risk over much larger fares every time.

thalamsutu.bsky.social•6 hours ago

Fair enough, thank you so much. It’s hilarious how extreme low cost airlines are in Europe - no overhead bags at all (without paying a huge cost)??

hugogordon.bsky.social•6 hours ago

Yup that's where they get you, if you want to bring an actual suitcase it can actually get fairly expensive at which point you might as well go with another airline. On the other hand most trips I use them for are short and it encourages you to pack light!

hugogordon.bsky.social•6 hours ago

Oh the other thing I'd say is just be careful which airport you're flying into. The low cost ones will often fly into airports further from the city, meaning (a) it takes ages to get into town and (b) the increased cost of transport to the city reduces the benefit of the lower fares.

hugogordon.bsky.social•6 hours ago

Wizz are fine as well. Again not likely to be a particularly comfy ride but they'll get you there, I've never had any real issues.

thalamsutu.bsky.social•5 hours ago

Ohhh very good point. We will definitely do our research on that too.

Thanks so much Hugo. Enjoy Rome this week!

thalamsutu.bsky.social•6 hours ago

If anyone has used Wizz in particular I’d love to hear their experiences.

dwyfor16.bsky.social•6 hours ago

Ryanair better than Wizz but I would charitably call both experiences "sparse"

Just watch out for hidden charges with both gotta be on your game

thalamsutu.bsky.social•6 hours ago

Have you flown Wizz? If it passes the “gets you to your destination safely” test then at least I can consider it.

dwyfor16.bsky.social•6 hours ago

I had a bad experience with them but I got there (in the end). They're absolutely fine for what you pay.

The hierarchy is

Very budget (Ryanair, Wizz Air)
Budget (easyJet)
Nice (British airways, Lufthansa et al.)

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