Flying: Ryanair B737-800 Dublin to Basel 2015

From yesterday's experience, we knew that Dublin's airport is just a 20 minute to half an hour drive from the city centre. So that gave us plenty of time to pack up, have breakfast, and do some last minute souvenir shopping before hailing a cab for the airport.

I was a little puzzled by the taxi fare of EUR29.70, which was significantly higher than the EUR20 we paid for the taxi from the airport to the city. I sincerely hoped it's because of the morning traffic (though I did not recall seeing any traffic jams) rather than a dishonest driver.

Nevertheless, we arrived safely at 11:08AM, with more than sufficient time to obtain visa stamps from the Ryanair counter and send out some postcards.

Ryanair 7356
Dublin (DUB) – Basel (BSL)
Wednesday, Feb 11 2015
Depart: 1:00PM
Arrive: 4:10PM
Flight time: 2hr10min
Aircraft: Boeing 738-800
Seat: 15E

After clearing security it was a long walk down the terminal building to gate 113. Thankfully, unlike the airport in Manchester and Basel, Dublin airport has free wifi.

Boarding was quickly announced a few minutes after we arrived at the gate, though the gate did not open until 10 minutes later.

As we descended the stair to the tarmac, it appeared that boarding had yet to commence, and we were again left in the cold wind waiting, although I took the chance to do some plane spotting.

Thankfully, this time round, we only had to stand in the cold wind for a few minutes.

I managed to catch an Aer Lingus ATR before boarding. Somehow I wondered if the variety of aircraft appearing at European airport is much more diverse in Asia. For instance, plane spotting in Changi would probably see me catching the usual Boeing and Airbus jets, but seldom an Embraer, or an ATR, or a Bombardier.

The engines were powered up soon after the passengers settled down. The captain welcomed us onboard and the cabin doors were closed shortly after. We pushed off from the gate at 1:05PM, and took off at 1:15PM after a quick taxi to the runway.

While waiting for the restroom to be vacated, I had a short chat with the flight stewardess, who was friendly and quite chatty. Sensing my foreign accent, she asked where I was from, and I was impressed that she did not assume Singapore to be part of China.

On the way back, I realised that there were a few empty seats at the emergency exit row, and moved over for more leg room.

I met a Swiss living in Edinburgh heading home to Switzerland, and to my surprise, he introduced himself in Mandarin Chinese! We had a small chat and he was extremely friendly and humorous, something I have learnt not to take for granted in Europe. He also cheerfully shared with me some information on an upcoming carnival in Lucerne, known as the Fasnacht.

A row in front of me, my friends had also struck up a conversation with an Irish gentleman heading towards Switzerland.

As the saying goes, time flies when you are having fun. Soon we were in the final descent, and I was told by another straight faced flight stewardess to return to my original seat. I was not sure why she would deprive my of last few minutes of comfort (perhaps because I did not pay for the extra legroom haha) but nonetheless complied.

We landed ahead of schedule at 4:03PM and had a short taxi to the terminal. Clearing immigration took a while, since there was only one officer each for the French and Swiss side, after which we headed straight for the train back to St Gallen.

Conclusion
I felt that among the three flights with Ryanair, this is by far the one that I enjoyed the most. 

Firstly, this was a flight "home", after a week in the gloomy Isles, so naturally I was happy.

Secondly, I managed to get some additional leg space. Well, at least for part of the flight.

Thirdly, I was fortunate to have such an entertaining seat mate.

Fourthly, and most importantly, the flight was on time.

So, will I fly Ryanair again. Likely, since the fares are really competitive. However, I will a lot more mindful to consider when the money saved is worth the inconvenience and discomfort.

I guess they do have a clear audience in mind, and it's a really feat to manage costs to the extend that they can generate profits despite such low fares.