After steering clear of Ryanair for a decade, one man decided to fly with the popular budget airline once more and was stunned by one thing.
YouTuber Charles Brumfield, who operates the channel Charles on Travels, previously had unfavourable customer service run-ins with Ryanair. However, he now felt that the time was right for a second trip with the airline.
Instead of skirting around the additional offers when arranging his flight from Dublin to Newcastle, he opted to splash out on all the extras. His goal was to craft what he termed a "premium first class" journey.
The total price tag was still "ridiculously cheap" at just €63.99 (£53), even after he elevated his basic fare (£12.50) to a regular one by including perks such as priority boarding, two cabin bags and an assigned seat. On top of that, he paid extra cash for a front row spot and fast-track security access.
Charles' pre-flight experience in the Dublin Airport lounge left a bit to be desired, largely due to lacklustre Prosecco. Nonetheless, upon stepping aboard his Ryanair plane, he encountered something rather special, which he shared with his YouTube following, reports Bristol Live.
"Seat 1A comes with something that is a true luxury on a Ryanair flight – a seat pocket," he revealed before taking advantage of this by placing his tablet inside.
"The other obvious perk is the extra leg room, although during boarding that is a bit of a hindrance. You have to make sure to tuck your feet away to avoid tripping anyone."
As boarding progressed, Charles pulled out his phone to test the Ryanair app's new feature that allows customers to pre-order food and drink for in-flight delivery – and the result blew him away.
He opted for a 200ml bottle of Prosecco and, once seated, noted that while the extra legroom was a bonus, the seats were "pretty firm" and "more narrow" than those in the standard cabin.
However, his mood soon lifted when the cabin crew swiftly delivered his drink after take-off. Impressed by the prompt service, Charles revealed: "Pretty much as soon as we were up in the air, the cabin crew leapt into action to bring me my Prosecco. I was really impressed by how quickly they brought this out."
Although he did note a slight error with his order, Charles decided to make the most of it: "Before praising their service too much, I should point out they brought me the wrong Prosecco. I ordered the standard, they brought me the rosé.
"But to be honest, I was so impressed by how quick they brought it over, I was looking forward to a drink so I thought I would just crack on with it and I was halfway through that drink before they even took the seatbelt signs off."
He added: "It doesn't look like the most premium experience in the world when you are drinking it with a really flimsy plastic cup and it was pretty turbulent at that point as you can probably tell. I was still enjoying it and it was hell of a lot better than the Prosecco I was drinking in the lounge."
Charles shared that his Ryanair journey to Newcastle was pleasant and punctual, especially noting the perk of sitting in the front row for a quick exit.
Despite his gripes with the "rubbish" seat and a "cheap flimsy plastic cup", he came away content from the flight.
Summing up his experience, he expressed a newfound openness to choosing Ryanair, highlighting: "I have avoided Ryanair for quite a long time but I do think going forward I will be a lot more willing to give them a chance.
"The base fare is so low that it really does open the opportunity to travel a lot more. And even if I do make the experience a bit more comfortable by throwing in a few extras, the chances are it is still going to be a lot cheaper than flying with the likes of BA."
Click here to watch Charles' full review on YouTube
English (United States) ·