Review of Ryanair flight Bournemouth → Malaga in Economy

Bucket and Spade Sequal!

Hello and welcome to the Sequel- That absolutely no one asked for!

Ryanair has been a "strong and stable" presence at Bournemouth Hurn Airport since the late 1990s. One of their most frequently and long standing services has been to the Spanish holiday classic Malaga on the famous Costa del Sol!

In 2022, Bournemouth Airport saw roughly 67,400 passengers out of that years 734,500 passengers fly Ryanair 737s to and from Malaga Airport (myself being one of those), making it the third busiest route for the Airport behind Palma de Mallorca & Alicante respectively. Bournemouth's main destinations are holiday destinations, but a small number of popular "City Break" destinations are making a firm entrance.

I did a report on my May 2022 trip on the Malaga to Bournemouth flight, and in May 2023- roughly a year later, Ryanair enticed me with a 24 hour trip to Malaga with return flight from Bournemouth in early July 2023…… for only £54 return on the base fare!

£54 for early July, flying out of a regional UK airport, with a flight back the following day before I was due to start work- that sounded more than reasonable! I found a cheap (slightly off) Airport Hotel which I'll feature a little in the TOURISM BONUS section at the end for a good price. 

Can't fault me there, right???

Well, without further ado, as I didn't do the BOH-AGP flight from May 2022 on this website, I figured I'd do the 2023 outbound flight, for your reading pleasure, so enjoy!

Ryanair FR5944 (BOH-AGP)

I got to Bournemouth Hurn Airport about 90 minutes before my flight was scheduled to depart, I had checked in online the night before, and was hand luggage only, BOH is also a small airport and this was the only flight leaving at that time of the day, so I got through a small que to holiday makers in about 10 minutes.

A compulsory route march via the smallest Duty Free in an English Airport took me to departures, a small area with no Airport Lounges available, but there was the Navigator Bar & Restaurant as well as a small café off-shoot. A usual WH Smith and some vending machines. 

I went to the Navigator's Café to get a coffee and a Tunnocks tea cake… I paid a little shy of £7 for those two items, I consider this one of my very worst unwise purchases…

The time for boarding came about, I took an opportunity to join the non-priority que as it was quiet, I happened to be sat near the Gate they were boarding, so I did something uncharacteristic for me and was one of the first people to board the flight.

We walked down an outside walkway which took us to Stand 3, where our Boeing 737-800 to Malaga was parked and ready to take us on. A lot of people at this time were boarding for the forward section, I was in the aft of the cabin, so I had a quicker board via the back stairs and the funky ramp used by Bournemouth Airport.

Today's Boeing 737-8AS(WL) was EI-EMF, a 13 year old Boeing 737-800 delivered brand new to Ryanair in late April 2010. Its been with the airline since its delivery. It wore the "Pomorskie Seaside Story" sticker on its rear fuselage from December 2019 to April 2023, however when I flew on it in July 2023- the sticker is very clearly still stuck on the side of the plane, having not been fully removed.

I was greeted by the "Classic Ryanair Cabin" which has been used by the airlines Boeing 737-800 fleet since the mid-2000s. A new cabin and seat design was introduced in 2016 along with the Boeing Sky Interior. Most of the older Boeing 737s have been retro-fitted with the new seats in the older cabin, but a slowly dwindling number of Ryanair 737s still look like they did in 2010.

My "Throne" for the next 2.5 hours was to be Seat 21A, providing a good bit of wing view, as well as a nice amount of clearance to see the scenery around the aircraft- especially on take off and landing!

If you do fly Ryanair, and you don't want to (or can't afford) the up front seats near the engines, then Row 20 to Row 25 are great for a mixture of wing view and scenic view!

We pushed back and made our way over to Runway 26, passing the Air Traffic Control tower, a very retro looking building when compare to some of the other ATC Tower facilities in the South of England. As we pushed I got a look at two European Aviation Cargo Airbus A340-600 parked up, in between flights they get chartered for.

We lined-up on Runway 26 and as soon as we were on the runway- it was straight to full power, straight into V-1, and we took off!

As we lifted out of Bournemouth Hurn, we headed out West towards Poole and Branksome before making the turn South towards the English Channel.

It didn't take long to get through the clouds and break into the amazing skies over France, the Bay of Biscay and Spain as we darted Southward for Malaga.

Ryanair crews obviously have sales targets, but for a two hour flight, this BOH based crew was going to get some pennies in their direction from me today!

I opted for the 10EUR Meal Deal Ryanair offers which includes a Main, Snack and Soft Drink. I combined the Cheese & Ham Panini with a Hot Tea and a Kit-Kat. It was ideal for this type of trip.

About 40 minutes later, I got up to use the bathroom in the Ryanair 737, but during my browsing of the new Ryanair menu I had noticed a new addition- pre mixed cans of Bombay Sapphire Gin & Tonic. I enquired if any remained and they had one left- so I parted with 6EUR for the can… 

I can't see me buying this again on a Ryanair flight and as it was my first time seeing this on a Ryanair flight, I opted to enjoy a quick novelty. 

We passed over Madrid when we started our decent as we were about 20 minutes away from the Costa del Sol and the South of Spain. There was some light cloud cover over Spain, but it was mostly clear skies and the forecast was to be in the mid-30 degrees heat, ideal for a Spanish getaway, especially if you're coming from northern Europe.

We made a quick arrival into Malaga Airport, there wasn't a huge hold up getting in, which surprised me given its peak season for the likes of Malaga and other major airports in the region. We had a slightly prolong taxi as we had to head over to the non-Schengen gates for the UK and Irish flights coming into Malaga that morning. There was quite a few Ryanair, Jet2 and easyJet planes dominating the area.

We parked up on a remote stand, which required a bus to get us over to the Terminal building to clear passport control and customs. I waited for everyone to bustle off. This would mean I could be one of the first off the bus if I was luckily facing the correct way. It was a good chance to grab some final cabin shots before leaving this Ryanair 737 and its outgoing cabin, I never know if a flight like this will be my final time in these older cabins when they begin to get phased out.

Leaving the Boeing 737, I got one last photo of it from the bus before we made the short drive over to the Airport terminal and as luck would have it, I was one of the first off the bus as I was one of the last people to get onboard after disembarking the Boeing 737! Pretty good shout on my end if I don't mind saying!

Heading inside I grabbed this photo of the parking area being dominated by Ryanair & Jet2 Boeing 737-800s (plus a Jet2 A321 from Manchester), it gave the impression passport control would be quite busy once we got through, and I was proven right.

Multiple UK/Irish flights appeared to have arrived meaning a bit of a wait to get through passport control, however the passport officers at Malaga Airport did a fine job getting through the masses and I was through in roughly 35 minutes from joining the que, so I won't complain too hard there, they did brilliantly!

Plus I got another MALAGA stamp in my Passport!

Bonus : Click here display hide

Malaga City

Malaga is a history rich in history and modernised infrastructure, its great for out door activity and if you are into travel, there are some good maritime areas to see boats of all sizes from private Yachts to Ferries and Cruiseliner.

There was this park with a nice performance stage, so buskers could easily stage a small show in style if they fancied.

I was amazed to see a Naval Aircraft Carrier at the Malaga Docks! I wasn't sure which country it was from, but I'll assume until proven otherwise that is belongs to the Spanish Navy. You can even see a Helicopter on the right side of the ship's deck.

I enjoyed a mint chocolate gelato whilst walking around the docks and into the city, searching for an Airport bus or metro train.

Chilling at the Hard Rock Cafe Malaga

I'm a huge fanatic of the Hard Rock Café- so making another visit to the Hard Rock Café Malaga for a lunch break during the height of midday, I opted to chillout to some cold drinks and a cheesecake whilst watching the maritime action in the docks, whilst overlooking the cities market as well.

Hard Rock Cafes can be a "Love 'em or Hate 'em" kind of thing among travellers and tourists, but I love them as well as enjoy them and I'm always happy to keep them as part of my trips, despite raised eye brows from various peers.

I love the food, I love to see the musical merchandise the chain collect and display at their locations and I enjoy collecting pins from the various locations I visit, its a reminder of me being out "On the Road".

Museum of Automobile & Fashion

One of my favourite museums to visit in Malaga is the Automobile & Fashion Museum, its a nice place to visit for a few hours a time. 

It offers a combined look at the evolution of motor vehicles and clothing styles from the late 1800s through to the early 21st Century, which puts into perspective the tastes of people over the course of a century!

I couldn't help but giggle at this somewhat confusing signage in the men's room though!

Malaga Airport Hotel

My humble lodgings for the night in Malaga was just off the Malaga Airport at a place called Hotel Complejo. I paid 64EUR (£58) for one night without breakfast (I had an early start) and it was pretty good for the money I paid for it.

There was a nice outside eating area which I could enjoy food ordered at the establishment, I opted for a pepperoni pizza, chips alongside a Jack and Coke. It came to about 14EUR, which was quite good value in my opinion. I also found out the place over looked down onto the Malaga Airport, and departures flew past the hotel quite low altitude, which I could easily get photos if I had brought my 70mm-300mm lens, which was back in England.

I am coming back for a spotting trip to AGP in the future, that is a certainty!

My room could hold three people, offered a TV , had a working air conditioning unit, offered a desk (should it be needed) and was nice and neutral.

Overall a good find and a good bargain, I'll be back again here!

It can be possible to come here using public transport in about 45 minutes (30 minute bus ride, plus 15 minutes walking), but if you are coming in late in the day or not familiar with the place (or even travelling with lots of baggage), then stump up the 17EUR for a taxi, it'll be worth while!