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in reply to Sarah Brown

Stopping oversize bags at the aircraft door or check-in counter would be a start. I've seen huge cases being forced into the overhead, some of them obviously well over the size limits.
in reply to gz

@gz Hence my comment about O'Leary. This is not a problem on his planes.
@gz
in reply to Sarah Brown

I don't remember flying RyanAir but I might have done once in 2003, Luton to Belfast. I've heard it sucks.
in reply to gz

@gz I am a frequent flyer with them. They do not, in fact, suck. I can travel across Europe in the front row with baggage for less than a hundred euros. Also they reliably have gluten free meal options.
@gz
in reply to Sarah Brown

Sounds good, must remember that next time I'm in Yurp.
in reply to Sarah Brown

@godzero It'll probably cost you another 100 euros to get from whatever random airport they fly to to your actual destination, but sometimes it works out 😀
@gz
Unknown parent

Sarah Brown

@Ghost of Hope @gz Kinda feels like being one of the elect, doesn't it?

After being a Ryanair regular for a few years, I flew Virgin, American and Air France in December.

None of them know how to "airline". Not a single one. They are all muppets.

I used to disparage Ryanair. I never will again. They are profoundly good at what they do, and so many of their peers are not.

it took American TWO HOURS to turn around a 737-800. TWO FUCKING HOURS. Jesus Christ!

in reply to Sarah Brown

@grayface_ghost
That's kinda bonkers unless there was an equipment failure of some sort.
in reply to gz

@gz @Ghost of Hope No. They spend 45 minutes boarding a 737-800 in mine squillion groups, and almost as long offloading it.
in reply to Sarah Brown

Group boarding is so ridiculous. Just load starting with the back rows first, much more efficient. They make it as awful as possible to encourage people to buy into higher groups. 🤦‍♂️
Also, what happened to those airports with 2 jetways, with one at the back?
This entry was edited (7 months ago)
in reply to gz

@gz @Ghost of Hope back rows first is actually terrible. There’s a video about this somewhere.

The best way to do it without assigning everyone a unique birding number is to just go, “plane’s here. Get on”, which is basically what Ryanair does, only they use both doors simultaneously.

in reply to Sarah Brown

@grayface_ghost
What's bad about back rows first?
I like it when there are no jetways but not many flights without them, at least in the USA. The last time I used stairs was in Long Beach in 2009.
in reply to gz

@gz @Ghost of Hope it creates congestion because everyone is trying to reach the same rows at the same time. It’s better to introduce a bit of randomness because the gaps that develop stop things bunching up.

Ryanair planes all have air stairs, which they deploy before the ground staff even get there. My record from fan stop/seatbelt lights going off to divining away in my car, via passport control at Faro is 4 minutes.

in reply to Sarah Brown

@grayface_ghost
That's incredible, 4 minutes! My sister has been flying to Faro for over 30 years (they have a place near there) but she's never mentioned anything about the airport.
in reply to gz

@gz @Ghost of Hope last time I came through there a few weeks ago I was first off the plane. As I passed the gate area for the return flight on my way to passport control, I heard, “Ryanair is now starting boarding of flight FR-whatever to London Stansted. Please have your passports and boarding passes ready for inspection”

More than half the incoming passengers were still on the plane. They’re that fast.

in reply to Sarah Brown

@grayface_ghost
That could cause some bunching! What do they do differently from other airlines?
in reply to gz

@gz @Ghost of Hope All their planes have airstairs. They use both front and rear entrances (with ground steps for the rear one), and they only have two classes of boarding: priority (where you get to use the overhead bins) and non priority (where you do not, unless you’re in an exit row). You wanna use an overhead bin, you have to pay extra.