I admit it. I avoid Low Cost Carriers like the plague normally (but then, what airline doesn’t play the low cost carrier game these days by offering optional “extras” and creature comforts these days), but there are times when you have to bite the bullet and say “what the heck”.
I need to get to Dublin in early January for a reason that will come clear (If you were at FTU Amsterdam, you’ll know why), and I’m wanting to make my journey semi-easy as opposed to hiking to London or somewhere silly.
So yes, I want to depart from my local airport – Birmingham Airport.
Birmingham Airport at Night. Image, Economy Class and Beyond
So, support local airport, convenience, etc etc etc. All well and good.
Then we come to actually booking connecting flights – and lets just say this is where things turned for the worse. My go-to choice between Birmingham and Dublin is the venerable Aer Lingus. Alas, fares were what I consider rather high (My normal price-point on the DUB-BHX run is £30 as a reference price).
For Birmingham to Dublin, that’s expensive.
But on the trip I’m going on for I had a few things to think about:
- I should only have the laptop, clothes and camera.
- My other bag will be inside when I go further
- I am actually travelling rather light on the outbound segment.
So.. I looked at the competitor on the route. No, not Lufthansa, going around the houses (and I think another transit via Frankfurt would push me over the edge). I’m referring the airline the is trying to “unnecessarily piss people off”.
Yes. It’s Ryanair.
Ryanair 737-800 taxing at Birmingham Airport – Image GhettoIFE.com.
How did Ryanair do on the day I wanted to travel? Rather well…
So that’s £9.99 to fly the same day, or £10.19 if I wanted to pay be credit card or PayPal. And that’s one heck of a saving there, considering the flight is departing and arriving near enough the same time.
And thus it came to pass…
It’s not ideal, but I don’t feel as bad as I did – remembering, it’s just a method to get from A to B, and that I have to play the Ryanair game and try and cut back on many of the charges (Although I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was considering paying £7 for a seat and priority boarding)
I think I’ll invest in some sunglasses so I don’t have to look hard at the interior though….
It’ll be an experience. However, the experience that will follow this I suspect will be a lot more interesting…
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My first flight on Ryanair was not as bad as I thought it would be…
http://thegate.boardingarea.com/ryanair-first-flight/
…and — like you — I looked at Aer Lingus; and their airfares were significantly more expensive enough for me to consider Ryanair; and the departure and arrival times were not that far apart.
In the dim and distant past, I have flown Ryanair (2005 I think). Back then, it was a very different airline.
This time, it’s sheer convenience – as well as providing some minor entertainment 😉