Pops’ Europe Travel Guide, Ryan Air

If you are already in Europe, getting around Europe can be pretty inexpensive. One option I have used is to fly Ryan Air.

Ryan Air’s business model is different from other airlines. Most airlines take in money from ticket sales and pay expenses such as fuel, gate fees, maintenance, cleaning, food /beverage, and salaries. Ryan air flies into smaller airports and will guarantee a level of traffic through their terminal in exchange for the airport paying them to land there and in some cases even cleaning the planes between flights. They charge for food and beverages and have advertisements on the inside of the plane. This eliminates expenses such as gate fees, cleaning and food /beverage. In fact food/beverage could be a profit item.  They take in money from ticket sales, advertising, and food/beverage. Their expenses are fuel, salaries, and maintenance.

What does this mean to you? This is a no frills airline so you’ll have to pay for everything extra such as food/beverage and baggage check-in. Remember they are guaranteeing a set number of traffic through the terminal. Ryan Air will have to pay a penalty if they don’t meet that goal. Therefore, ticket prices are very low and in some cases (if you book early enough) you are only paying the tax. As they get closer to the goal the prices rise and after they reach the goal the prices are very high.

I used this to fly between Dublin and Copenhagen and only paid the tax on the ticket. Now I had to fly into Malmo, Sweden and take the train across the bridge back to Copenhagen but it was still worth it. Round trip was about $34 each way. I also used it to fly between Dublin and Cork. Price was only a few dollars.

Bottom line, Ryan Air flies all over Europe. If you can plan well in advance book your flights early and save a lot of money. For examples just go to their website and check out flight costs. Play around with the dates and go out as far as you can. Also, be aware that you will be charged for baggage check-in and anything you purchase on the plane. Factor that in if you don't only have carry on.