Review of Ryanair flight London Dublin in Economy

Airline Ryanair
Flight FR 1127
Class Economy
Seat --
Aircraft Boeing 737-800
Flight time 01:40
Take-off 15 Jul 09, 19:50
Arrival at 15 Jul 09, 21:30
FR   #22 out of 22 Low-cost airlines A minimum of 10 flight-reports within the past two years is required to appear in the rankings. 392 reviews
TerryYong
By 3127
Published on 29th September 2013

15 July 2009
Ryanair
FR 1127
London Gatwick (LGW) - Dublin (DUB)
B737-800
EI-DAP
Low Class :tongue:


Arrived at London Gatwick for the transit onto the Ryanair flight to Dublin. We flew to LGW on the premium airline BA and now flying the world's lowest cost carrier, Ryanair, immediately after the BA flight. What irony.

Transferred from Gatwick's North Terminal to the older South Terminal, where all the LCCs operate from. We had to look for FR's baggage drop and document check counter. FR now have the ridiculous policy that all pax must check-in online and print out their own boarding passes (all at a low cost of 5pounds/euros) or be prepared to pay a surcharge 40pounds/euros for checking in and be issued a boarding pass at the airport!! We had already checked in way in advance in Singapore and had our printed boarding passes but we still need to drop our bags and have our travel documents checked and boarding passes endorsed (requirement for non-EU/UK travellers). When we reached the bag drop counters, horrors!! The single queue for bag drop was more than 50 meters long and only 3 counters were opened! Soon they opened 1 more counter and very surprisingly, the queue moved very rapidly! Bag drop agents were very efficient and friendly and ! was really amazed at the speed they processed our check-in bags.

After check-in, we proceeded through security and into the terminal. South terminal is quite old and facilities very limited in quantity. We bought some food to be consumed onboard.

London Gatwick South Terminal
photo 3800949916_40a0594e31

Soon after the departure gate appeared on the board, we rushed to the gate as the flight was free-seating and we did not want to get stuck with seperate seats. Too late, everyone had also rushed to the gate and the queue for boarding was already quite long. The plane had just arrived and boarding started immediately after the last passengers have left the incoming flight.

EI-DAP. Don't be misled by the aerobridge. It was not in use.
photo 3800949772_34f9a27468

There was an aerobridge attached to the plane but it was not in use. We proceeded onto the tarmac to board via the rear door. Aah, the smell of jet-fuel.

Walking to the plane.
photo 3800130865_40717f6cbf

Tailfin
photo 3800950094_bcdfb4943a

Up the steps
photo 3800950288_925c43372b

And into the plane.
photo 3800950402_d802ff17a4

Boarding. We tried to get a window seat but no chances at all. The flight was very full. Surprisingly, I was still able to secure free seats on the flight just 2 weeks before, paying just 25 pounds in taxes and other charges. We ended up in a middle and aisle seat.
photo 3800950558_d186a3d212

The seats are really plasticky with leather cushions and with safety instructions pasted on them. Seats are also non-reclinable and seat pitch was barely passable. No seat pockets and thus no inflight mags / vomit bags etc.

Seat pitch
photo 3800131555_da47482af4

Cabin view.
photo 3800131741_f1a048fa90

Lots of advertisements in the cabin
photo 3800132069_10d3477330

After all passengers boarded, the crew distributed inflight magazines and menus to anyone who wanted it. Following this, safety demonstration was done manually.

Crew preparing for safety demonstration
photo 3800131955_4c5c69d607

We pushed back on time and had a short taxi for takeoff. Flight time was announced at 1hr 5 min.

Takeoff from LGW. Photo taken over my seat neighbour's shoulders.
photo 3800132147_cb59366cc6

Shortly after takeoff, the crew came down the aisle, taking orders for hot meals. Following that, the food cart was pushed down for sales of food/drinks. Well, I tucked into my inflight cuisine of Pret & Manger sandwich, chips and juice which I had bought earlier at LGW.

My inflight meal
photo 3800951358_8fae08666d

Hungry?
photo 3800951548_313e80cb77

Thirsty?
photo 3800951682_e8a1634c74

Crew doing the food/beverage sales.
photo 3800132671_be146fb72e

After sale of food/beverages, crew came down with sales of Ryanair scratch cards. Due to the short flight, no sales of duty free items were conducted but pax can approach any crew if they wanted to buy any duty free items.

Very shortly, we started our descent into Dublin.
photo 3800951968_1218508777

Approaching Dublin
photo 3800952044_1ccb60a8c9

We landed 20min early and had a very fast Ryanair style taxi to the gate. Disembarking via steps again either by the front or rear doors.

Dublin airport
photo 3800952202_c2bd44045c

Under the wings
photo 3800133021_7084a49617

Last look at our plane
photo 3800132917_c87ce8386a

See more

Verdict

Ryanair

4.6/10
Cabin4.0
Cabin crew6.0
Entertainment/wifi3.0
Buy-on-board menu5.5

London - LGW

7.2/10
Efficiency8.0
Access6.5
Services7.0
Cleanliness7.5

Dublin - DUB

7.5/10
Efficiency8.0
Access7.0
Services7.0
Cleanliness8.0

Conclusion

Overall, Ryanair is a no frills, you get what you paid for Airline. Considering my all-in fare of only 25 pounds, I have no complaints but some of their surcharges are ridiculously high and would most likely catch unaware and less-travelled passengers by surprise. If everything goes smoothly, Ryanair is a cheap and good choice for short-haul travel but if anything goes wrong, that is another story which many Ryanair bashers can attest to.

Information on the route London (LGW) Dublin (DUB)

Les contributeurs de Flight-Report ont posté 3 avis concernant 2 compagnies sur la ligne London (LGW) → Dublin (DUB).


Useful

La compagnie qui obtient la meilleure moyenne est Aer Lingus avec 6.2/10.

La durée moyenne des vols est de 1 heures et 28 minutes.

  More information

1 Comments

If you liked this review or if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to post a comment below !

Login to post a comment.