Now Ryanair are famous for stinging their customers. The tickets are cheap enough (my flight out at Christmas cost 1p), but it's the extras that you get stung on. £30 for a suitcase, with a weight limit of only 15kg and an additional surcharge of £15 per kilo over means a suitcase can be a very expensive commodity. So you take one of those small suitcases that comply with hand luggage size, right? That has a weight limit of 10kg, and the size is very strict, so if it weighs too much or is bulging too much then that'll be £35 please. Ker-ching.
Also, Ryanair were the first to do away with check in at the airport. Online check in is free, but if you do it wrong it'll sting you for £40. Whilst online, you're buying the ticket. This means you must pay for it with a credit card, and they charge you £5 each way for that. Until New Year, if you had a Visa Electron (see crappy card that isn't accepted anywhere) you'd get it for free. 60% of Ryanair customers had one (strange that), so they moved the goalposts again and changed it to a pre-paid Mastercard. TDT and I now have one each, and sure enough my flight on Saturday was £10 cheaper.
On the flight itself and they sting you even further. The now famous fact they charge you £1 for the toilet for all short haul flights means you better go before you get on the plane. I find a good way to pass the time on the flight is to have a cup of tea. That'll be £5 please. Or how about a small (250ml/half pint) can of beer? That'll be a staggering £8. They also offer toasted paninis, but as tempting as they are, I daren't ask how much they cost.
In short, fly with Ryanair. Don't check in any luggage, do be careful with your hand luggage. Do check in online, do pay with a pre-paid mastercard. And don't buy anything on the plane. My trip cost me £20 return, and for that it makes you wonder how they make any money. See above...
