219 Ryanair and "free flights" with Hertz membership

If you have a choice I would always recommend using any other airline other than Ryanair. As you noted, their prices are always on the increase, and you can often get good deals on 'seat sales' on rival airlines.

Ryanair also has no grasp or concept of customer service. From what I have seen in news reports on the company, they really consider customers as beneath them, and the only time they ever do the right thing is after they have been dragged through a court or two.

ciao a tutti
i have to say that i have been travelling with ryan air for 3/4 years at least and i have never been disappointed i have always managed to get cheap or reasonably priced flights as long as i have booked them 3 months or more in advance they have always been on time, this is not an advert for them but i speak from personal experience, if i have any gripe it is the fact i have to travel 200 miles to get to the airport which serves the south east of italy, yes the services are bare and the inflight snacks expensive but we take our own so no prob there, so all in all i am happy with the cheap flights ciao marco

I have to agree. I have flown Ryanair several times in the last couple of years with no complaints at all.

Just to put this in perspective, when I went to Venice in 1988, the return flight on BA cost about 175 pounds. October 2003 I took my wife, four children and nanny (total 7) to Venice on Ryanair for 400 pounds (would have been 300 if I had booked the day before).

Cheap air travel really is an amazing new thing, and though the greenies jump up and down about pollution etc etc., just ask the good folk around previously unheard of places like Pescara what they think of lots of tourists arriving to spend their money. Adriatica, are you out there????

I am not knocking Ryanair in general. My point is that they made an offer to the public stating that to get a free flight all you had to do was to join the Hertz Gold Club.This is a quote:
"Simply book a Hertz car at Ryanair.com and then enrol in #1 Club before the
end of April and we’ll give you a BONUS Ryanair flight".
You expect terms and conditions (say one free flight per person and you expect taxes to be payable) but you don't expect that you won't be able to fly where you want. Usually when Ryanair issue an offer limited to specific destinations they make that very clear.
This offer was misleading.

Have to say that I fly Ryanair at least 8 times per year and have done for the last 5-6 years. Before booking I always check competitors and go the cheapest route I can - it's always cheaper with Ryan.

In total I have been delayed once {albiet and 10 hour delay} , 95% of flights have arrived either on time or early, Ok customer service is poor and the in flight menu is basic and expencive - but Ryan let you bring your food and drink along with the exception of alchol and for £30 what are people really expecting !!!!!!!!!

I take it none of you are flying to Ireland? Only once in the past year (2004) was Ryanair cheaper than its competitors, added to which the fact that they always manage to use airports very far from the city you are visiting (in once case in Germany the airport was actually in a neighbouring city!). Now I realise the advantage of using smaller airports is that the flights are cheaper - only thing is any saving is swallowed up in the cost of getting from said airport to the city.

I am aware that low cost flights are very competitive to and from the UK, but given the impass between Ryanair and the Irish government/airport authority and Aer Lingus, we do not benefit as much from this as you guys do.

Interesting debate going on here which i have been folowing with interest as i have booked my flight to Brindisi with Ryan Air and it will be the first time i have flown with them. I have heard conflicting reports about the quality of their service from friends and colleagues who have used them but most of them seem to have been satisfied and felt they had value for money. I have used Easyjet and BMI Baby in the past and was fairly happy with the standards but as with most cheap flight airlines you will always find something to grumble about.

think about the price you pay think about the grumble then think is it really that bad, cheap on time, and only 2 to 3 hours i can certainly bear that, and as you are flying into provincial airports the tranfer from plane to hire car or what ever is painless and very quick. ciao marco

I am not a grumbler myself Marco but i do hear many people who do during the flights. Like you i think the cheap flights are amazing value and use them as much as possible i think they are the best thing that has happened in the travel industry for a long while. My holiday flight price was excellent and i am booking Ryanair flight to Rome for August. I see the Rome flights arrive very late at night, 23. 50 to be precise. Do Ryanair run a shuttle bus service to the Termini at that time of night or would i have to use public transport ?

robur i can only assume that you are not travelling from stansted because they have a full itinery of flights from 7 am to late as you know, the last time i travelled to ciampino there was a shuttle bus that took you to the termini this was a while ago it may be worth checking other wise i think it will be a train to tibutina station then you can get the metropolitana to wherever you are staying, failing that it is a taxi, but they are expensive, sorry can not be more precise bout the shuttle service, and wholehartedly agree bout the cheap flights ciao marco

I am travelling to Brindisi from Stanstead which is a 5pm flight but i fly to Rome from East Midlands which is just down the road from me. Thanks again for the info.

Mike

another one to consider if you live near Coventry is
[url]http://www.thomsonflights.com/[/url] it is a baby airport

Rob - try logging on to the Campio airport website - i think details are on thier from a dim and distant memory {it has been 7 years since I went to Rome}

Another local airport now for the North is doncaster Robin hood most stupidly named airport in the world - who now fly with Thompson to Pisa

Ryanair are cheap but you can save a few bob more if you pay with a debit rather than credit card and if you use a card denominated in the same currency as the ticket price. Ryanair charge 5% to change GBPs to euros.
Every bit helps.

My first flight to Italy was more than 20 years ago with BA and cost GBP600 -because I wasn't staying a Saturday night! So I am ever so grateful to Ryanair who have dogedly continued offering gravity defying prices when others have dropped out. Flybe did Southampton to Bergamo for a short while and then pulled the plug and Volare went bust after a short while doing Venice to Gatwick. High hopes for Thomsonfly who have just started Bournemoth to Pisa but they have already changed one of our flights from evening to morning without explanation albeit with plenty of notice.

After years of drought (we used to fly from Manchester to Gatwick and then to Pisa and pay an arm and a leg for the privilege) this year we are spoilt for choice. Jet2.com have started flights form Manchetser to Pisa and now Ryanair are about to start flights form Liverpool to Pisa. Oh joy!!

Susi