RYANAIR: Luton to Bergamo for 2p

I couldn’t believe my luck in mid-May when I was able to book some flights with Ryanair for a mere 2p return. There was nowhere in particular on the Ryanair network that I wanted to visit, but for 2p, I was definitely going to go somewhere for the day. I booked up to go with two family members and as it was one of their birthdays, it seemed the perfect reason to go.

London Stansted was offering so many destinations at just 2p return (inclusive of all taxes) but the airport is too far from home, so had to search for availability from London Luton instead – an airport which is about 60 minutes away. The two cities on offer were Orio al Serio (also known as ‘Milan Bergamo’) and Dublin. Pretty quickly, we decided on Milan, and booked ourselves onto flight FR4152 from Luton, departing at 6:35am. The return flight was FR4153, departing at 10:45pm local time.

The day began really early, with us leaving home shortly before 4:00am on Wednesday morning. It wasn’t much of a surprise to see little in terms of traffic on the road, so we arrived at Luton within 50 minutes, and parked up at the NCP Long Stay car park. We were bussed to the terminal and arrived there at around 5:10am. I had never flown from Luton before, but I was very surprised at how it was laid out and had no troubles in locating check-in desks 3 and 4, from where we would check in. The terminal was extremely busy at the time, particularly the easyJet check-in desks. As I looked towards the other end of the terminal, it was clear that Ryanair was just as busy. A huge queue had formed for a flight to Rome Ciampino, and there was also a couple of passengers queuing for the early-morning Dublin flight. Fortunately for us, we were able to stroll right up to the check-in desk. We were issued boarding cards 78, 79 and 80.

Security at Luton took some time, but it was being managed very effectively. After about 20 minutes, we were through into departures, with a number of shops – the usual ‘Boots’ etc. – and bars. Following the delay in security, we didn’t have too much time to hang around, and soon began our walk down to gate 3. Despite Luton being quite a small airport, the walk took around 15 minutes.

Upon arrival at the gate, a small queue had formed at the double doors which led onto the tarmac. At each of Ryanair’s gates, the queue is divided in two – one side for priority passengers (those that had paid £2 to board first) and the other side for those who hadn’t paid the extra. We hadn’t bothered to pay extra to board first, and ended up being about fifth in line, so were almost guaranteed a half decent seat. It was surprising that so many passengers had paid extra for priority status. I counted at least 40 or so. I did wonder how many of these were priority passengers not by choice, but because they weren’t too sure how to remove the option when booking. It didn’t seem very clear!

Boarding began around 25 minutes before departure and we boarded the Boeing 737-800 (EI-DLH) through the front door. There were lots of seats available, so it wasn’t too tough to make a choice. Noticing that not a single exit row was occupied, we moved towards the middle of the aircraft. The legroom was great. The aircraft was very clean and tidy, although I wasn’t too keen on the yellow seats, walls and overhead lockers, which were also covered in advertisements for the airline. The crew weren’t overly-friendly, but I wasn’t expecting much from them.

We took off right on time and were given an estimated flying time of 1 hour and 50 minutes. Shortly after takeoff, the crew made several rushed announcements about the service on the flight – bar/snack service and duty free. They handed out menu cards to passengers before commencing the service. For my breakfast, I had a bottle of J2O at £1.40 and a large bar of Cadbury’s Dairy Milk chocolate at £1.05.

Later in the flight, the annoying scratchcard announcement was played, although sales were disappointing. Not a single person purchased one. The duty free sales were just as disappointing. For whatever reason, shopping guides were not handed out, even though an earlier announcement said they would be.

I was looking forward to the views over the Alps as we descended into Bergamo, but because of the weather, we didn’t get a glimpse of the ground until about a minute before landing, and there wasn’t a great deal to see – just countryside! The touchdown was nice and smooth, and we literally rolled off of the runway and onto a remote stand. Within seconds, the doors were flung open and we disembarked, boarding buses at the bottom of the steps. We arrived at passport control, where only one desk was open, before heading to the bus counter in arrivals, where we caught a bus into the city of Milan.

At 6:45pm, we left Milan for Bergamo, even though we weren’t due to fly until 10:45pm. The traffic was quite bad, and we wanted to be at check-in at least 2 hours before the flight. It was around 8:15pm when we arrived, so we still had about half an hour before we could check in. The check-in area was quite a squeeze and it was incredibly busy, with a number of Ryanair and MyAir flights checking in. We had a quick bite to eat at one of the few eateries in the airport and then started to queue for check-in. Exactly 2 hours before departure, the check-in desks opened and we were amongst the first to be served, walking away with boarding cards 21, 22 and 23.

After passing through security, we were in the departures area, and it was a huge disappointment, especially for an airport of this size. Whilst Orio al Serio Airport isn’t the biggest in the world, it does handle a large number of passengers on a daily basis, so I would have expected more than a couple of coffee shops, a bookshop and one tiny duty free shop when airside. Departures is quite cramped, just like the rest of the airport. After leaving the security area, you have gates one to five to your right and an escalator in front of you, which takes you up to the shops and to the other gates. Gates one to five are used by the low costs and passengers are bussed from here to remote stands. The other gates, six to twelve, are equipped with jetties. I was surprised to see a Brussels Airlines A319 being boarded when I went upstairs (I didn’t realise this airport was used by such airlines). At the same time, a Ryanair 737 was boarding for departure to Brussels Charleroi.

Our flight was boarding through gate 5, which is downstairs in the large, open-planned area. There is barely sufficient seating for the passengers of one 737, so when three of the gates are simultaneously in use, it gets extremely hectic. Trying to bypass gates one to four was an impossible task as huge queues had formed for flights to Liverpool and Dublin, both of which were delayed, although only for a about half an hour or so.

It wasn’t until 10:30pm, just 15 minutes before departure, that a delay was announced on our flight. We would now be going at 11:00pm instead. At the desk next to the doors onto the apron, there was no sign of any ground staff. In fact, they didn’t appear for quite some time. At 11:00pm, the ground staff appeared and we were packed onto buses straight away. There wasn’t any apology or explanation for the delay, but again, I didn’t expect one. I am well aware of Ryanair’s reputation and I know that customer service is the least of their priorities! As we started to get onto the buses, numerous passengers leapt out of their seats and jumped the queue, which had formed about 20 minutes beforehand. It was very obvious that some passengers were queue-jumping, yet no member of staff did anything to intervene. A number of passengers complained to them, myself included, but none of them could understand what we were saying. They couldn’t even understand one man’s question regarding priority boarding. This particular man and other passengers had paid their fee to board the aircraft first, but gate staff had failed to call them forward for boarding.

The two buses pulled up alongside the 737-800 (again with winglets, although registration forgotten) and as the doors were opened, a tidal wave of passengers rushed towards the steps of the aircraft. Dozens of pig-ignorant passengers pushed and shoved their way through the crowd to get a seat. Anybody would think that there wasn’t going to be a seat for them! We eventually got to the top of the steps and there wasn’t anybody there to greet us. As we moved down the aisle, I saw a couple of members of the crew – they looked very scruffy and very tired. They failed to acknowledge any of the passengers boarding the aircraft. When I passed one, I express my disgust at the number of passengers carrying very large/numerous items of hand baggage. After our bundle getting onto the aircraft, I had been whacked in the leg a countless number of times by big trolley cases – cases that were bigger than Ryanair apparently allows. When I complained to an Eastern European stewardess, she replied, “it is because we are in Italy” – erm… sorry? We this time chose the exit row (again) and a couple of seats in the row in front.

With everybody on board, the doors were close at around 11:10pm. The safety demonstration took place and the cabin lights were dimmed, yet we were still parked on our stand. We had been welcomed on board by a member of the crew in very broken English and at lightning speed, so we didn’t really take too much in. After that, we sat and waited.. and waited.. before the Captain finally spoke to us, announcing further delay. Unfortunately, the airport was now experiencing a high volume of inbound flights, so the runway was tied up for the next few minutes. We could expect to be in the air by 11:30pm – 45 minutes behind schedule. Sure enough, we were up just after 11:30pm.

The flight itself was just another Ryanair flight. There was nothing that deserves a special mention. The crew were delivering a very average service, the overpriced bar was offered twice, the aircraft was – as you might expect – filthy after a full day of flying, and there were no updates made during the flight. We did encounter some turbulence on the way, and the cabin shook violently for three or four minutes. As a result, the seatbelt sign briefly came on. The bar service was a disappointment and the contents of the trolley cannot have been replenished during the day. Just about everything had sold out, including just about every hot drink. One clueless girl got very confused and looked a little bit silly trying to explain what she did and didn’t have.

Scheduled arrival at Luton was 11:45pm but since we departed so late, a late arrival was inevitable. We touched down at 12:15am, so managed to make up some time en-route. Weather in Luton wasn’t so good, and we seemed to be battling a crosswind on approach. The aircraft was constantly adjusting itself to line up with the runway, right up until touchdown and the landing itself was one big thud – a couple of passengers gasped in shock!

We stepped off of the aircraft and into the rain, but after a quick walk, we were under a shelter, which led to the terminal. It took about 15 minutes to pass through the airport. Once outside, we jumped on the bus to the car park and drove home, eventually arriving 22 hours after setting off earlier in the morning!

I probably sound disappointed with my Ryanair experience, but I’m not really. In terms of value, the flight was unbeatable, but I don’t think I could be bothered flying with them again. I am surprised that passengers don’t come away with cuts and bruises after fighting to get onto the aircraft, and it’s this in particular that I can’t be bothered with. 2p doesn’t buy you anything, so to get a return flight is just brilliant. When I travel, I expect more than just a seat. Even if inflight service isn’t included and seats aren’t allocated, I expect an acceptable level of service from staff that are able to understand my complaints.

I have got another 2p flight booked in October, although I am unlikely to go. Flying Ryanair is one big hassle and not at all enjoyable.