It looks tempting. It really does. Fly from London to Rome — for 0.01 pounds? Not possible. Or is it? The price is right there, in bold blue, white, and yellow, enticing you … teasing you … thrilling you …
And so, filled with visions of rigatoni and fettuccini, you click on the link on the Ryanair website, and … oh, the humanity!
Many study abroad students (and well-seasoned travelers, and natives alike) have been seduced while overseas by the call of low-fare, no-frills, awesomely-advertised-bottom-barrel-price airlines. For someone who’s attempting a European tour on a budget, it seems idiotic to not travel that way.
But just remember the old adage about a thing looking too good to be true.
In Europe, the champion in this arena is Ryanair, the first and most (in)famous low-fare airline. Since 1985, the company has been shuttling passengers cross-continent in the airline equivalent of a sardine tin.
But back to those cheap airfares. It’s not until you actually get deeper into the site that you realize, hey — even if you happen to land on that price at the exact minute and second that they’re actually selling those tickets for at that price, you’ll be traveling on the wrong day, or from the wrong airport.
They also neglect to mention that Ryanair only flies into the God-forsaken airports that are little more than oversized Quonset huts. London Stansted airport? It’s, like, fifty miles away from London (that’s close to five million kilometers, if you’re measuring European-style). In order to get into the city, you have to buy a one-way, $15 Euro ticket. And then sit on a train for an hour-and-a-half.
All this might possibly be forgiven. But then you have to add in Ryanair’s distinctive customer service and reliability.
One of my friends flew a direct flight from Montpellier to London. When she arrived in London, she discovered that her bag had been lost. On a direct flight. Her bag was sent to London to Montpellier back to London and back again … until, finally, she was able to retrieve it. After her two-week vacation.
As the King of Siam would say, “Et cetera, et cetera … et cetera.” It’s not just my friends and I. In October 2006, Ryanair was voted the world’s most disliked airline in a survey by the TripAdvisor website, and in November 2006, it was revealed as the subject of more complaints than any other airline in the EU.
It just goes to show that, often, what you pay for is what you get. Just like Durty Nelly’s.
(Author’s final note: Don’t believe me? Feel like I’m being too harsh? Google Ryanair and start reading articles that appear after the corporate sites.)
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