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.

Flying: Ryanair B737-800 Manchester to Dublin 2015

Thanks to Uber, our journey to the airport costed £25, which worked out to be slightly more than £6 per person. Although slightly more expensive than the £4.20 train fare departing from Manchester Piccadily, it was well worth it since we do not have to drag our luggage all the way to the train station.

We pulled up in front of terminal 3, where our flight was departing from. This time round we learned our lesson and printed the boarding passes beforehand.

Ryanair 555
Manchester (MAN) – Dublin (DUB)
Tuesday, Feb 10 2015
Depart: 1:00PM
Arrive: 2:00PM
Flight time: 1hrmin
Aircraft: Boeing 738-800
Seat: 21F

Clearing security has always been a hassle, and particularly so in winter.The situation was only exacerbated by the security officer stopping us halfway and instructing us to go back to the Ryanair counter to get a visa stamp.

After all the unloading and loading at the security checks, I just realised I had forgotten to claim my VAT refunds! While I didn't really shop a lot in the UK, considering the exorbitant VAT rate of 20%, I still lost about £6 in forfeited VAT refunds. 

The boarding gate was made known at 12:15PM, and the gate was scheduled to close at 12:30PM leaving us with only 15 minutes to make a dash for the gate. Thankfully, gate 51 was not that far from the lounge.

While waiting to board the aircraft, a gate agent approached me demanding my bag to be gate checked, presumably because they foresee a shortage of space in the overhead baggage compartments. Now, I understand that gate checking can be a common practice and a potential shortage of space in the overhead baggage compartments is a real concern. However, as far as my encounters with airlines go, gate checking is usually an offer, not a demand (unless it's a last resort). 

Furthermore, I made it clear to the agent that I have fragile items in the bag (cookies, which will definitely be crushed by the handling and heavier bags on top of it), and requested that she at least tag it with a "Fragile" label, which she shrugged apathetically, saying that's not possible and suggested I remove those items.

Thankfully, my friend offered to check in her bag of clothes instead, saving me the heartbreaking moment to see all my cookies crushed upon arrival.

Boarding was again conducted in open air, without aerobridge as expected. When I am not dragged down by a lot of carry on bags, I actually prefer to board from the ramp since it allows me to take pictures of aircraft without the reflection from the glass wall of terminal buildings.

Flybe E175 parked beside us

The doors closed at 12:49PM and we pushed off from the gate at 12:56PM. Following a short taxi, we took off on time at 1:02PM.

This time round, the flight was fairly smooth, with minimal turbulence. Despite the short flight time of less than an hour, I was probably asleep for at least 20 minutes.

We landed at 1:37PM, well ahead of schedule (which also goes to show how much airline schedules are padded) and had a short taxi to the terminal, stopping at the gate at 1:42PM.

Clearing Irish immigration took a while, and by the time we get to the baggage carousel my friend's bag was the lone one still lying on it.

Conclusion
Generally, this flight had significantly improved my impression of Ryanair, albeit with some qualifying disclaimers.

The boarding gate could have been made known earlier. Given the relatively small size of Manchester airport and we are four young adults, it had not been a problem to us. However, it could have a major challenge for elder folks or those carrying children. Furthermore, considering that budget airlines rely heavily on fast turnaround time to increase aircraft utilisation, it would be in Ryanair's interest to inform passengers of the gate as early as possible, so that passengers can reach the gate with ample time to board.

The gate checking, however, was a real PITA. For the record, while it was a fairly full load, there were sufficient space in the overhead baggage compartments. Probably because I am so used to the standards of service in Asia, I was taken aback by the agent's apathy. 

Understandably she was just doing her job, but a reasonable person would have tried asking if other passengers could gate check their bags instead, or if that was not possible, at least offer to inform the handlers to handle it with care. Instead, the message delivered was "No, there is nothing I can do, but you must check in the luggage, and I don't give a damn if anything breaks. Go take it out if you want, but that's your business."

I really hope it was an one-off experience, and the gate agent's attitude is a personal issue instead of a corporate culture.

Flying: Ryanair B737-800 Basel to London Stansted 2015

Generally 10:25AM would have been an pretty ideal departure timing, allowing time for a normal morning routine before leaving to catch the flight.

However, since the flight leaves from Basel, we departed St Gallen on the 6:11AM Intercity train, changing to a TGV at Zurich and arrived at the Basel SBB at 8:37AM. So that means we had to wake up in the ealy morning. The train to Basel costed CHF28.50, with the half-fare card, which is more expensive than the plane ticket.

We arrived at the Basel airport at 8:55AM, well on time. 

As we had found out earlier, you need to check in for Ryanair flights online, since they place a surcharge for airport check-ins.

Ryanair 7974
Basel (BSL) – London Stansted (STN)
Friday, Feb 6 2015
Depart: 10:25AM
Arrive: 10:55AM
Flight time: 1hr30min
Aircraft: Boeing 738-800
Seat: 28F

Since we had no check-in luggage, we streamed through security and immigration and arrived at gate 25 in about 15 minutes. 

We had a little trouble at the gate since we did not print out the board pass after checking in online. However, the gate agents were very understanding that this is the first time we are flying with them and may not understand the rules clearly. Hence they printed our boarding passes at the gate free of charge, which we really appreciated.

The gate opened at 9.45AM. However, the incoming aircraft arriving from London was behind schedule. We were standing in the cold wind for more than half an hour waiting for the aircraft, with no information on why the aircraft was late and when it will arrive.

Thankfully, we found a Singaporean studying in Freiburg. We had a small chat on the tarmac. It almost felt like an episode of "Find Me A Singaporean".

Boarding was finally called at 10:33AM, and passengers boarded through both the front and back doors. The boarding was completed in about twenty minutes. 

Seat selection comes at a surcharge, so we went without it. The seat was extremely constricted. As we have already known earlier, the seat back does not recline. Since I boarded from the tail of the aircraft, I was surprised to find out that the last row is row 33. I consider myself pretty well acquainted with aircraft and I would say most of the 737-800s I have seen have 30 rows.

The captain gave a welcome address at 10:50AM, informing us the flight time of 1 hr 20 minutes and the ground weather in London. The engines we powered up at 10:58AM and we pushed off from the gate a 11:03AM. It was a slight long taxi of 15 minutes before taking off from runway 33L at 11:18AM.

Apart from a slight turbulence 15 minutes into the flight, the flight was smooth and I quickly dozed off. Perhaps it's just me, but I do have the gift of being able to fall asleep easily, even when flying in economy class.

I woke up about 20 minutes before landing, as we were approaching the English coast.

As the plane descended we approached some really thick clouds and I happened to snap a photo of our plane's shadow being cast on the clouds.

After cutting through the clouds the airport was in sight and we landed at 12:35PM, 45 minutes late. The crew welcomed us to Stansted, and apologised for the delay, wishing "it wasn't too much of an inconvenience". We had a short taxi and arrived at the gate at 12:40PM.

We got off the aircraft and took the transit system to the main terminal, where we cleared British immigration and boarded the Stansted Express to Tottemham Hale. This time round the train ticket costed GBP17.90, again more expensive than the plane ticket.

Conclusion
Ryanair is a budget airline, and we knew that. So we did not expect any onboard service. The flight was a smooth one, and we are satisfied that we are flown from point A to point B safely. The flight departed from Basel, a secondary airport in Switzerland, and landed in Stansted, a secondary airport in London, presumably to cut down on landing and handling fees. Again we understood this. 

The seat is constricted, and despite the fact that I'm tall by Asian standards, I still believe the seat is too small for the market Ryanair operates in, considering that Europeans are generally taller than Asians. Nevertheless, considering the low fare charged by Ryanair (lower than train tickets for a comparable, if not shorter distance), and that most of its flights are short haul, it is not unbearable to the budget traveller.

What I really hated (and hate is a strong word) is the fact that we were left to wait in the cold for nearly 45 minutes at Basel. I understand that London airspace is congested, I also understand that flight delays can be due to many reasons and will certainly not jump to conclusions, blaming the airline for the delay.

However, given the delay and the cold temperature in Basel (2°C), it would be common sense to not leave the passengers in the cold wind for 45 minutes while the plane has not even landed! I mean, yes I understand that one of key points in managing a budget airline is to shorten the turnaround time and maximise aircraft utilisation, so it is in the airline's interest to get the passengers ready to board

Furthermore, the apology was insincere at best and infuriating at worst. I seriously hope it's because I had misunderstood the British sense of humour, however to claim that "we hope it wasn't too much of an inconvenience" after leaving passengers for 45 minutes in the cold wind is plainly inappropriate.

To be fair, this is my first encounter with Ryanair and I will not be too quick to pass judgments. I still have two more flights booked on them and hopefully the remaining two will be better.