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How to avoid getting stuck with the middle seat on a Ryanair flight

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Re: How to avoid getting stuck with the middle seat on a Ryanair flight

#91

Post by mseebach »

gberger wrote: post #74
fwdpropaganda wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Ryanair is a horrible airline. If you add up random costs you are confronted with during the whole process of flying with them they aren't even that much cheaper. Withwhich I mean expensive meals/drinks, costs for suitcases, costs for checking in at the airport when you didn't have access to internet, etc. Complete BS. Cost of expensive meals and cost for suitcases aren't "random costs". They are entirely predictab…

I think he means arbitrary and unconventional, not random.

They're not arbitrary, they are well know and well documented, to the point of being really, really annoying for those of us who knows we don't want them. They were perhaps a bit unconventional ten years ago, but perfectly middle of the road today, even for legacy carriers.

Re: How to avoid getting stuck with the middle seat on a Ryanair flight

#92

Post by icebraining »

validationerror wrote: post #51
mosselman wrote: post #31

Ryanair is a horrible airline. If you add up random costs you are confronted with during the whole process of flying with them they aren't even that much cheaper. With which I mean expensive meals/drinks, costs for suitcases, costs for checking in at the airport when you didn't have access to internet, etc. Leg space and general facilities are crappy and their handling of cancelled flights, etc is very poor. Whenever…

Or you could just... not make use of any of the extra options and enjoy the cheapest price possible. I spent a total of 8 EUR to travel from Germany to Bulgaria and back again two years ago with Ryanair. I fly with them whenever possible because they're by far the cheapest option available and I simply manage to not eat or drink something or go online for 2-3 hours, which really should be manageable for pretty much a…

Plus you can take food with you if you need, and drinks from the airport past security, though those aren't necessarily cheaper.

Re: How to avoid getting stuck with the middle seat on a Ryanair flight

#93

Post by isostatic »

rusk wrote: post #29
amorphid wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a large person, I can say the aisle is definitely where I want to be. There is a good chance I'll be able to raise the arm rest on the aisle side of my seat, which gives me more room to fidget. I can also more easily get up to stretch. For contrast, I once had to sit in the middle seat between two people larger than I was, and behind a person who reclined their seat. And when I'm sitting at the window, my head can…

and behind a person who reclined their seat. Jam your knees in there. There are certain periods of long haul flights where you need to recline but the inconvenience to your fellow passenger should never be necessary on shorter ones. Speaking as a tall guy as well, one of the things I do actually like about Ryanair is their seats don't recline.

On most airlines, the seat is made to recline. If you don't like this, book a seat with more leg room, or book on a plane which doesn't have reclining seat.

Re: How to avoid getting stuck with the middle seat on a Ryanair flight

#94

Post by icebraining »

gberger wrote: post #74
fwdpropaganda wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Ryanair is a horrible airline. If you add up random costs you are confronted with during the whole process of flying with them they aren't even that much cheaper. Withwhich I mean expensive meals/drinks, costs for suitcases, costs for checking in at the airport when you didn't have access to internet, etc. Complete BS. Cost of expensive meals and cost for suitcases aren't "random costs". They are entirely predictab…

I think he means arbitrary and unconventional, not random.

Paying for food is arbitrary?

Re: How to avoid getting stuck with the middle seat on a Ryanair flight

#95

Post by gadders »

rusk wrote: post #29
amorphid wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a large person, I can say the aisle is definitely where I want to be. There is a good chance I'll be able to raise the arm rest on the aisle side of my seat, which gives me more room to fidget. I can also more easily get up to stretch. For contrast, I once had to sit in the middle seat between two people larger than I was, and behind a person who reclined their seat. And when I'm sitting at the window, my head can…

and behind a person who reclined their seat. Jam your knees in there. There are certain periods of long haul flights where you need to recline but the inconvenience to your fellow passenger should never be necessary on shorter ones. Speaking as a tall guy as well, one of the things I do actually like about Ryanair is their seats don't recline.

I got upgraded on a BA flight once because the person behind me said he was too tall for me to recline my seat.

I'm not sure where this idea came from that tall people can stop people from reclining their seat. If I've paid for a reclining seat, I'm going to recline it if I choose to.

Re: How to avoid getting stuck with the middle seat on a Ryanair flight

#96

Post by vertex-four »

mannykannot wrote: post #84
dmurray wrote: post #15

The article assumes that Ryanair always gives middle seats to the first passengers who check in and don't pay for middle seats. The eventual conclusion is that you should check in later to avoid getting the middle seat. I don't see why the R analysis and pretty visualizations are necessary for that. Sadly the article lacks evidence that this is the algorithm Ryanair uses. They could equally well hold back the middle…

The article specifically says that there is statistical evidence showing that Ryanair does, in fact, preferentially allocate base-fare paying users to middle seats. Though the article does not explicitly say that the evidence supports a particular variant of the algorithm, your particular alternative does not seem to alter the underlying reasoning here, which is that if you check in late enough, all the middle seats…

Interestingly, Ryanair claim that they do not overbook their flights, and claim to be the only airline in Europe which don't. See section 9 here: https://corporate.ryanair.com/about-us/passenger-charter/

Re: How to avoid getting stuck with the middle seat on a Ryanair flight

#97

Post by twic »

gambiting wrote: post #77
jbb67 wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know anyone who would fly on ryanair. If they were the only 'airline' flying somewhere I would consider that it's not possible to get to that place. As far as I'm concerned they only exist to spam up the flight listings

For a lot of places in Europe, there is no other option. Ryanair has conquered connections to all smaller airports, where normally you'd need to change in Amsterdam/London/Frankfurt first, and they fly for 1/10th of the price most of the time. Yes, I hate them too, but if the options are a 2h flight with Ryanair for £30 or two 2h flights with BA for £300(or 2h flight + 5h train) then Ryanair wins 100% of the time.

The other option is to not go to that place. If you're starting in that place, the other option is to walk out and never go there again.

Re: How to avoid getting stuck with the middle seat on a Ryanair flight

#98

Post by gambiting »

twic wrote: post #97
gambiting wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For a lot of places in Europe, there is no other option. Ryanair has conquered connections to all smaller airports, where normally you'd need to change in Amsterdam/London/Frankfurt first, and they fly for 1/10th of the price most of the time. Yes, I hate them too, but if the options are a 2h flight with Ryanair for £30 or two 2h flights with BA for £300(or 2h flight + 5h train) then Ryanair wins 100% of the time.

The other option is to not go to that place. If you're starting in that place, the other option is to walk out and never go there again.

Yes, I'll make sure to never go home again. Good shout.

Re: How to avoid getting stuck with the middle seat on a Ryanair flight

#99

Post by Symbiote »

nukeop wrote: post #90
rocqua wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If a company raises prices 'because they can' and people keep paying, that is just how markets work. In some sense, this leads to a better allocation of seats, as it allows those who desire some seats to pay for them, whilst those who have to preference get a cheaper flight. Now, people who used to be fine with the dice-roll of not paying get a worse experience. But this comes with the upside of those who really want…

People keep paying because there's no other choice on certain routes, short of driving or taking a bus. This isn't an upgrade or anything, people who wanted to pay to reserve seats could already do so. You could have also not paid, and picked whatever was available, switch with your neighbors, and so on. Obviously, since Ryan Air figured out that they can extract some extra bucks out of that, you're now assigned a pl…

I think there's a clear advantage: boarding is faster, as there's a lot less competition (or even argument) over the nicer seats.

Ryanair are fairly clear about what you must pay for when booking, and there are plenty of routes where they have competition from EasyJet, Norwegian etc.

Re: How to avoid getting stuck with the middle seat on a Ryanair flight

#100

Post by some_account »

dazc wrote: post #68
validationerror wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or you could just... not make use of any of the extra options and enjoy the cheapest price possible. I spent a total of 8 EUR to travel from Germany to Bulgaria and back again two years ago with Ryanair. I fly with them whenever possible because they're by far the cheapest option available and I simply manage to not eat or drink something or go online for 2-3 hours, which really should be manageable for pretty much a…

I am often amazed at how many people just can't manage to go for 2-3 hours without stuffing their face. Equally amazing too that people won't pay for a designated seat but will then spend 30 euros on drinks and snacks?

Or how they somehow can't bring some fruit or sandwiches in their hand baggage.

I think in general, people are very lazy and rather pay extra instead of plan ahead.

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