Review: Ryanair Boeing 737 MAX 8-200 – London Stansted to Copenhagen

About the Airline

Expectations

Pre-Flight Experience

Booking via Ryanair’s app is not always an easy affair, with plenty of optional extra ‘hurdles’ to work around for those looking to fly as cheaply as possible. Being a somewhat regular Ryanair passenger, I was able to slalom past these and once done, I was able to make a quick and easy payment. Once done, up until my flight all the optional extras could be added. It is worth noting that those flying on Ryanair must check-in online – this is open from 24 to 2 hours prior to departure (longer for those who have already pre-reserved a seat). Those who fail to do so are smacked with a controversial airport check-in charge of €/£55 (or €30 for flights departing from Spain).

Costs

Airport Experience

With no bags to check-in, upon arriving at Stansted I made a beeline for security. Those who regularly fly from Stansted will know that security times can vary significantly, sometimes this is a quick and easy two minute process, whilst at other times waits can be in excess of half an hour. Fortunately, that day, I managed to make it through to the busy airside area in no more than ten minutes. Once airside, Stansted was as packed as it usually is and not particularly clean or pleasant.

In my experience, boarding for Ryanair is usually a fairly structured affair and gate agents will readily turn away passengers who attempt to board when it is not their turn to do so. Being a major Ryanair hub, there was plenty of signage up at the gate and much to my delight, there was no holding between the gate podium and aircraft as is often the case with the carrier’s services.

Seat and Cabin

Seeing as all Boeing 737 MAX aircraft come with Boeing’s Sky Interior, the cabin felt bright, modern and airy. However, admittedly I am not the biggest fan of Ryanair’s somewhat garish blue and yellow design and the slightly tacky plastic backing of their seats. Nevertheless, in spite of their thin and firm nature, once seated these seemed to provide an acceptable amount of legroom. I was a little disappointed to find that the aircraft did not appear to have been particularly well cleaned during the turnaround and the area around my seat was surprisingly battered for a young aircraft.

Lavatories

Inflight Entertainment

Ryanair does not provide any form of inflight entertainment, be it an onboard wifi network or inflight magazine, although granted, this is probably not needed by most passengers onboard the short flights that the carrier operates.

Catering

Of course, Ryanair being Ryanair, passengers are not provided with any complimentary offerings. Instead, a full BoB service was undertaken a short time after departure. Ryanair have a relatively expansive BoB menu which features plenty of items, although I am not too sure what availability was like that day and the sandwiches were low.

Crew

Upon boarding I received absolutely no welcome from the crew member in either the rear galley or the exits towards the rear of the cabin, failing to leave me with a particularly good impression of the crew. Likewise, during the service the crew seemed to be a little cold and distance, with no smiles or pleasantries as they went about their duties. Granted, this was probably the third of four sectors for them that day, however, I was still not too pleased with them.

Summary

Granted, Ryanair left me with a few grumbles, however, given the very low price I paid for this flight as well as the fact that I touched down ahead of schedule and in one piece, I will almost certainly fly with Ryanair again. Granted, I definitely would not pay hundreds to fly with them though unless absolutely necessary!