One of the things I love about living in Europe is the access to low cost airlines. Affordable flights for weekend getaways are a luxury when you come from New Zealand, a place where the closest country is a 3 hour flight away.
Ryanair is the leading low-cost airline in Europe, with 730,000 flights per year to over 200 destinations.
Despite being the market leader, they are horrible to travel with.
In return for a rock-bottom fare, you get safely from Point A to Point B.
And that’s about it. Everything else is painful.
- You must check-in online or face a £50 fee
- You can only take a small backpack the size of a laptop, or face a £50 fee
- You must pay £20 to be able to sit next to others in your travel party
- You must pay £20 to be able to take a carry-on bag on the flight
But despite the above, at least Ryanair are clear on where they stand. There are no illusions. They aren’t kidding themselves.
They don’t act like they offer both a great price and a great experience, but fail to deliver on both; like so many other airlines and companies do.
Through their product offering, they’ve communicated to travellers, “If you want a better experience, pay more to fly with British Airways.”
They’re like the movie villain we end up liking. Despite their faults, we still root for them. Because they’re real. Because their story is true. Because they’re not kidding themselves.