Easyjet Vs Ryanair flight price comparison
Living near Bristol Airport I have a wide choice of cheap flights to European destinations from both Easyjet and Ryanair who both use the airport as a hub. Recently I had the opportunity to fly with both airlines within the space of a few days and decided to compare the experience.
Ryanair has a reputation for being the lowest of the low cost carriers albeit at the expense of the customer experience, while Easyjet appears to be the friendlier face of low cost travel. I decided to see if they lived up their reputations.
First the Online booking
Both carriers websites are easy to buy from on the face of it although I found all the flashing ads on the Ryanair website a little distracting. I was booking a return flight with Easyjet to Berlin with my daughter and what you see is pretty much what you get in terms of prices.
We were travelling light with only hand baggage but if you check in a suitcase with Easyjet it will cost you £16 for the round trip and if you don’t pay by the Electron Card (try to Co op or Halifax ) you’ll pay an extra £2.95. The final cost was £77 per person return to Berlin.
The Ryanair pricing felt less transparent and it was difficult to work out the final price until you got to the end of the purchase. The prices quoted include tax and at £30 for a return flight to Turin looked like a bargain, but soon the add-ons became apparent.
Forced to use the counter check-in
Although we were carrying mainly hand-luggage, the fact that we had some hold luggage meant that all passengers on the ticket were forced to use the counter check-in and pay an extra £20. Those with suitcases to check in had to pay £30 and the ski bag was a further £60. By now the £30 per person had doubled to £60.
Then there was the handling fee of £10 per person per return journey which is levied on all payments except those with an Electron cards. But even with all the add-ons Ryanair was cheaper at £60 per return flight to Turin compared with £77 with Easyjet for a return flight to Berlin – although neither exactly breaking the bank.
Online check-in
Using the online check-in with Easyjet everything went smoothly – put in your account details & print off the boarding card – that’s it.
With Ryanair it felt a bit like an ordeal. I called up my details, pressed the button to check in and the screen froze. As this was the day before we were due to fly and I was using the office printer as my home one was broken I was starting to feel stressed. I phoned my husband at his work to print out the boarding card but then a new problem presented itself.
At the time of booking, Ryanair only asks for the names of the passengers, but when you check in you need to give all the passport details. This involved calls home to get the necessary details before the boarding cards were finally printed off.
If I had been booking for a group of friends, I might not have had those passport details to hand. Why doesn’t Ryanair ask for them at the time of booking, when you have time to spare, rather than when you’re in a rush just before you travel?
The flight
The Easyjet flight from Bristol to Berlin was on time although on the way back was 15 mins late, due to confusion over a cello which had been booked with it’s own seat and caused some recounting of the passenger numbers. But at least the captain kept us informed of what was going on.
The crew were good humoured, jokingly asking if they could make us a nice cup of tea with their best Edinburgh water. They were helpful to a member of our group who had her leg in a brace and we were all put to the front of the queue although we had forgotten to request special assistance.
Record of being on time
Ryanair was also bang on time flying out of Bristol and on our return trip trip they announced ‘Another on time flight from Ryanair’ as we were 20 mins early, letting us know that Ryanair has the best record for being on time of all the low cost airlines.
The planes are designed for quick turnaround with no pockets on the back of the seats to gather rubbish and adverts on the overhead lockers, although I enjoyed reading the in flight magazine which was handed round during the flight.
The Verdict
Based on my experience, Ryanair lives up to the promises it makes of low fares and good record of flights being on time. However, Easyjet offered a better pre-flight customer experience with transparent pricing and easy booking and check-in on line.
All things being equal I’d choose Easyjet, although it’s amazing how tempting cheap flights can be.
The add-ons
In addition to the published fare, be aware that you may be stung for the following add-ons;
Easyjet
£16 per round trip check in a suitcase
£37 per round trip for skis/sports eqpt
£2.95 per transaction to pay with cards except Electron
Ryanair
£20 per person per round trip to check in at desk with hand luggage
£30 / £40 per bag per round trip to check in a suitcase with online checkin
£60 per bag per round trip to check in ski or sports equipment
£10 per person per round trip to pay with cards except Electron
An excellent in-depth travel guest post written by Heather Cowper who blogs at Heatheronhertravels.com and frequently takes advantage of cheap airfares from her home airport of Bristol.
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Easyjet Vs Ryanair flight price comparison
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