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Why Hate Ryanair? Panorama BBC1 right now

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
^ did you check only that one date? You are looking at the end of December which is usually a blackout period.

Booking Period: Thu 15th Oct 09 - Thu 15th Oct 09
Travel Period: Mon 02nd Nov 09 - Thu 17th Dec 09
Applicable Days: Mon - Thurs & Sat (subject to availability)
Flight must be purchased: Travel from 02 Nov 09
Blackout Period: subject to availability
Notes on this fare: All Holidays, School Breaks and Major Sporting Events are excluded from this offer

A flight BHX - GDK on the 7th of Nov is 0.01p
No bags, no insurance, no priority boarding, no text confirmation and paying by electron/pre paid Visa = 0.01p
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Good one Wayne. Happy

Yep tons of free flights NOT!!!!!.

The latest one is 1/2 price "on our lowest fares" Happy checked a flight to Norway as usual. and it was nbormal price on all flights except a wednesday was 1/2 price. MInd you it was free everythignand £2.50 each way. Happy If they woudl just change their arrogance and slight penny pinching. An example is my last trip to norway. I normally dont eat on a plane or train, however, du to an early commitment that day I'd not got my lunch, so I bought a pizza. Sad Now in MIckyD's you dont get a burger that looks like the picture, hopwever, it tastes okay for £2-3 (you can see that I only go ther eonce every few years).

However, this ryanair "pizza" at £5 was the most disgusting food I've tasted. So I will never eat another one, or anythign else on ryanair. So for saving £1 on ingrediants, they have lost a food sale for good.

Cheers
Bob
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
All airline food is muck. Why not wait until you landed and get something or pick something up in the airport before boarding to tie you over like an apple and packet of crisps?

I am sure they are really going to miss out after losing your future food order.

There are lots of free flights. Just not on the days you want or to the places you want. For others who want/can go to these places on the specific days then happy days.
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Regarding the £40 fine. You could always go early leaving time for lunch/duty free etc. That way is you forget your pass, you can go to a shop and say to a poorly paid counter assistant or the chap in the ubquitous Yatses/witherspoons.

Cough!! Ahem!! Can I print out my boarding pass on your computer and I'll give you £20. Happy

Cheers
Bob
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Wayne wrote:

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Mad Sad Evil or Very Mad Shock




Need I say more -


Yes - first flights I tried:



Not being keen on Ryanair is one thing - but malicious misrepresentation of what they are doing is another.
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achilles Sorry I may have misunderstood the word "Free". I thought it meant no charge. Obviously not

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Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Wayne, fair comment on the taxes and charges. In that case I can do confused as well.
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
How come no one is taking digs at Jet2 who also charge an online check-in fee?
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achilles,

RyanAir will get you somewhere where you do not actually want to go !!

RyanAir should change the Destination description & stopped from calling the destination Dusseldorf. Weeze is over 80km away from Dusseldorf. It take over 1hr by train to get to Dusseldorf Main Station & 1hr 20/30 by car. Very Expensive Taxi Rifde

http://maps.google.de/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Airport+Weeze,+Wemb+47652+Weeze,+Kleve,+Nordrhein-Westfalen&daddr=D%C3%BCsseldorf+Hauptbahnhof&hl=de&geocode=FSlYEwMdrNhdAA%3BFQGNDQMdfqtnAA&mra=pe&mrcr=0&sll=51.416477,6.461051&sspn=0.603802,1.223602&ie=UTF8&ll=51.426614,6.473694&spn=0.603666,1.223602&z=10

Same applies for Frankfurt Hahn which is 147km away from Frankfurt .

http://maps.google.de/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Frankfurt-Hahn,+55483+Lautzenhausen,+Rhein-Hunsr%C3%BCck-Kreis,+Rheinland-Pfalz&daddr=Frankfurt+am+Main&hl=de&geocode=FUMe-gIdHuduAA%3B&mra=pe&mrcr=0&sll=50.090631,8.069458&sspn=1.242295,2.447205&ie=UTF8&ll=50.111772,8.052979&spn=1.241747,2.447205&z=9
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stanton wrote:
achilles,

RyanAir will get you somewhere where you do not actually want to go !!


Only if you are stupid enough to book a flight to somewhere you don't want to go!

Sorry if that has happened to you Smile

Quote:

RyanAir should change the Destination description & stopped from calling the destination Dusseldorf. Weeze is over 80km away from Dusseldorf. It take over 1hr by train to get to Dusseldorf Main Station & 1hr 20/30 by car.


They always list which airport it actually is, and the main part of the destination is the nearest large city to that.

Some of the "London" airports aren't much closer to the middle of London, but all airlines describe them as London.
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Amazingly, stanton's got a point:
Ryanair flight drops in at wrong airport
Laughing
(I though there was even a 2nd identical incident but can't find details..)

On a serious note though, that is one thing nobody can moan at Ryanair for. If you don't like where the destination airport is, don't book... The onus is on passengers, and certainly they should consider their transfer costs when planning the trip..
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
alex_heney wrote:
They always list which airport it actually is, and the main part of the destination is the nearest large city to that.


Nearest big citys to Weeze

Nijnmegen NL
Arnhem NL
Eindhoven NL

Duisburg D
Oberhausen D


Nearest big citys to Frankfurt Hahn

Mainz D
Wiesbaden D
Koblenz D
Kaiserslautern D

Luxembourg L


The point is it is extremely misleading to anyone who is not familiar with the region.
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So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
stanton, seriously, if you have use of the internet to book the flight in the first place, then surely researching exactly where the airport is isn't beyond the realms of comprehension? I'd never dream of booking a flight before knowing exactly where I'm going, and how far it is to my final destination.

It's not as if it's just a Ryanair policy anyway. Apparently Oxford airport isn't suitable terminology any more, and they've re-branded as London Oxford airport, despite being more than 60 miles away from the capital http://www.oxfordairport.co.uk/
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Dav, seriously.

Reports suggest that nearly every day folk show up at Dusseldorf & Frankfurt Airports asking where the RyanAir checkin desk is only to be told that they operate from another airport over 100Km away.
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
But Dav, not everybody has the common sense to do that....
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
stanton wrote:


The point is it is extremely misleading to anyone who is not familiar with the region.


You seem to think that "anyone" only includes peolpe without working brains.

I know of NO-ONE who has ever been confused by it. I know of a few who have been a bit irritated by it.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
stanton wrote:

Reports suggest that nearly every day folk show up at Dusseldorf & Frankfurt Airports asking where the RyanAir checkin desk is only to be told that they operate from another airport over 100Km away.


So there are some VERY stupid people around.

There are people who seem to need the warning on packets of nuts "may contain nuts". The above takes a similar level of stupidity, and I see no reason why Ryanair should be forced to cater for people who are totally unable to even read their travel confirmations or boarding passes.
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
stanton wrote:
.......The point is it is extremely misleading to anyone who is not familiar with the region.


I take it you have a pulse and a credit card.

Quote:
10. Is there an “ideal” Ryanair customer?

10. Yes. Any human being with a brain, a pulse and a credit card......
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Quote:

There are people who seem to need the warning on packets of nuts "may contain nuts".

Especially when the packet of peanuts contains legumes Wink


Actually, in the case of Frankfurt, I think it was regional or federal law/agreement to call Hahn "Frankfurt". And just to make matters worse, even on the main Frankfurt Airport website, when you do searches for flights from Frankfurt it also includes Hahn (including FR flights iirc, despite the fact that most no frills airlines are allergic to any other website having any of their flight details). Handy airport for Trier, Luxembourg and the Mosel wine region though Wink
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alex_heney, I think you are being a bit harsh ! as a frequent flyer you know the problems to look for, but some one who does not fly much may well assume a ticket booked to Frankfurt airport (for example) might possibly be a bit closer. The issue has only really become an issue due to the budget airlines sourcing these 'additional' airports that were not really on the tourist map a few years ago. The budget airlines have basically 'invented' or 'branded' airports for their own marketing purposes.

Whilst on the subject, I do not condsider Gatwick or Stansted as 'London' airports (both outside the M25 and not in London) and it is only in recent times that the 'London' tag has been added to dupe travellers thinking they are actually flying to London, there are much closer cities or towns that could have been allocated as a name. Is Luton airport now London Luton Shocked Laughing

Actually I remember when I first started booking flights that even Heathrow airport did not have the 'London' tag, and it was only when the Budget airlines started up that this reference to London was added.
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rayscoops, your memory is at fault on all counts.
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Quote:

Heathrow airport did not have the 'London' tag
My memory is that it used to be called just 'London Airport' and that Heathrow was added later (can't remember when.)
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
There's some form of assumption from some on here that the evil no-frills airline have tried to dupe the poor passenger by re-naming certain airports. Which is really quite impressive when the airports are owned separately from the airlines. My London Oxford example from earlier is a perfect example, as far as I'm aware none of the large no-frillls airlines fly out of there, yet despite being over 60 miles away the airport owners have re-branded themselves London Oxford.

And stanton, if "reports" show that every day people show up at the wrong airport for their travel, then such levels of stupidity would suggest that these people shouldn't be given a passport in the first place. And that's not a joke, really, if you don't know exactly where you're flying from and exactly where you are going, you shouldn't be travelling.
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rayscoops wrote:
alex_heney, I think you are being a bit harsh ! as a frequent flyer you know the problems to look for,


I don't regard myself as a "frequent flyer" - I usually take 1-2 return trips per year by air Smile


Quote:

but some one who does not fly much may well assume a ticket booked to Frankfurt airport (for example) might possibly be a bit closer.


Even when it quite clearly states on all the confirmations/tickets etc. that it is Hahn?


Quote:

The issue has only really become an issue due to the budget airlines sourcing these 'additional' airports that were not really on the tourist map a few years ago. The budget airlines have basically 'invented' or 'branded' airports for their own marketing purposes.


As others have said, it isn't the budget airlines who have invented or branded them. It is how they describe themselves in most cases. But it is true that few international flights used those airports before the budget airlines came along, so they weren't well known.


Quote:

Whilst on the subject, I do not condsider Gatwick or Stansted as 'London' airports (both outside the M25 and not in London)


Well all travel booking sites do.

Quote:

and it is only in recent times that the 'London' tag has been added to dupe travellers thinking they are actually flying to London, there are much closer cities or towns that could have been allocated as a name. Is Luton airport now London Luton Shocked Laughing


Yes.

And I don't think it has been done to "dupe" passengers at all.

Most people are intelligent enough to realise that even though the airport is described as "London xxxxx" it isn't actually in the centre of the city, or even within the M25 - the only one which is inside the M25 is London City airport.
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alex_heney, er ... LHR is within the M25.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

Bring back Croydon air port. All very relaxed - and none of your riff-raff.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
rayscoops wrote:
Is Luton airport now London Luton Shocked Laughing


It is indeed: http://www.london-luton.co.uk/

Wikipedia claims it was renamed from Luton International to London Luton in 1990 - that's almost 20 years ago and before the first Easyjet flights (1992).
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RobW, it was London Luton before it was Luton International as well. I grew up about 2 miles from the airport in the 1960s. My father, who was in the aviation business (though flying out of Heathrow), hated the fact that it had London in its title. That was partly out of civic pride (imagine that!) having been brought up in Luton himself.
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Winterhighland wrote:
Whats worse is this F'ing thread is just the sort of free publicity that feeds Ryanair.

Alan, I started the thread because the Panorama programme was on telly so what's the problem with "this F'ing thread"? Anyway I suspect the TV programme would have given a tad more publicity to them than this thread so it might be more sensible to 'take it out' on them!

I've stated my opinions clearly, my personal choice is that I wouldn't touch them with a 50 foot barge pole, I've heard too many dodgy things about them *in threads just like this one*!
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Luton airport was rebranded London Luton in 1990.

London Gatwick Airport does not exist, the airport is named Gatwick Airport and the airport reference is LGA

London Stansted Airport does not exist, the airport is named Stansted Airport and the airport reference is STN

London heathrow Airport does exist Very Happy

Ryan Air (and others for that matter) have flights from London Gatwick and London Standsted Puzzled surely airlines list airports with the London tag trying to dupe people in to thinking that the airport is in London Puzzled The point is that when I was booking trips 25 years ago at the travel agents they would ask if I wanted to fly from London (heathrow) or Gatwick or Stansted. All of a sudden these airports have become London airports and maybe it is coincidence that this is when the Budgets really took off Blush (coat...)

The Budgets have taken litttle known provincial airports and tagged a larger 'city' name to them to give the impression that the airport is part of that city, and I would suggest that the particular airports were never referred to as 'X' airport before the Bugets turned up there.

I have flown to Grenoble Airport a few times and I wonder if it has always had that name (quite far from Grenoble) because when i book with BA I always get confised with the reference being 'Lyon, France, GNB, Grenoble'.

Skull duggery is at hand imho Laughing
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laundryman wrote:
alex_heney, er ... LHR is within the M25.


True. JUST.
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rayscoops, from BAA's website (BAA own Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted).



Perhaps you should get on to BAA about how they are duping all their website visitors into believing that Gatwick and Stansted are actually in London?

Look, I get your point that some of these regional airports are sometimes well away from the cities they claim to serve, but that's one of the reasons we're able to take advantage of some very cheap flights on offer. But it really is the responsibility of the traveller to find out where it is they are actually going to, before buying their ticket (and certainly before turning up at the wrong airport). I just don't buy it that it's the airlines' fault for some dimwits not checking where they're going.
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
rayscoops, think you mean LGW. Don't want people accidentally ending up at LaGuardia Airport Wink

(and grrr at whomever made this page 4 screens wide with a dodgy link)
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Great isnt it, you are one side or the other. They should rename themselves Marmite Airways
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Tony_H, Laughing Laughing
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ccl wrote:
Fifespud wrote:
Missus and I went to Dublin earlier in the year, we paid about £20 more to go on Aer Lingus, thoroughly enjoyed sitting on the plane knowing I had denied Ryanair my dosh.


What a strangely nose-cutting off approach. I would be surprised if you could cite one substantive way in which the experience of sitting in an Aer Lingus plane was different from sitting in a Ryanair one - or indeed an Easyjet, BmiBaby, FlyBe or Flyglobespan one.


Well for one I had the knowledge that my carrier was holding the recommended minimum quantity of fuel for the journey I was undertaking.

I had the knowledge that I was spending my money exactly how I liked, nobody was going to tell me my hand luggage was 0.5 of a cm too big.

I had the knowledge that if more people acted as I had, MOL may have to reconsider some of his business practices, rather than to appear to revel in causing inconvenience.

I had the knowledge of knowing if I accidentally mistyped my name, they weren't going to charge me more than the cost of the flight to put right a simple and honest mistake.

I particularly hate there non allowance of baggage aggregation. Hence my 5 year old having to drag a 20 kg bag round the airport, when she could have had an 8kg bag and me a 32kg bag, plus the skis.
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Fifespud, do Ryanair habitually fly around without enough fuel then? Shocked
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After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
From the Times, and I have never seen it denied -

Ryanair pilots have denounced as “insane” attempts to pressurise them into flying with less fuel by imposing a cap on their safety reserves.

The low-cost airline is saving money by curbing the discretionary rights of pilots to request extra fuel.

The disclosure, made in internal company documents seen by The Sunday Times, has led to claims that the safety of passengers is being compromised as the price of oil soars.

Details of Ryanair’s policies emerged as the Civil Aviation Authority revealed that the number of emergencies declared in British airspace because of fuel shortages had doubled in five years. Last year, 27 planes were given the right to make priority landings, up from 11 in 2003.

RELATED LINKS
Airline fuel surcharges stay sky high
Low-cost? Not with these extras.....
There were also 18 “May-days” caused by fuel shortages in the same period, when British airports had to go on an emergency footing with fire engines on the runway.

Under European rules, every plane must carry a “contingency” load of about 5% of a trip’s fuel, and enough to divert to an alternative airport. Across the airline industry, captains also have a duty to anticipate delays from headwinds, storms and rerouting, and to request extra fuel to cope with this.

Pilots at Ryanair, Europe’s largest low-cost airline, must now abide by a limit of 300kg of extra fuel, costing £180. This provides about five minutes of extra stacking time for a Boeing 737.

Evan Cullen, a pilot with 19 years’ experience and president of the Irish Air Line Pilots’ Association, said commercial pressure on pilots to pare down the fuel they carry was compromising safety.

The internal Ryanair memo, sent to pilots in May, reveals that the company insisted that any request by a captain for extra fuel should be the “exception”. It referred to the 300kg maximum.

The memo shows that Ryanair is issuing warning letters to pilots who request extra fuel without explanation. Pilots claim such letters can be used in disciplinary proceedings.

The pilots have responded by complaining in anonymous postings on the Ryanair European Pilots’ Association website.

One says: “It is insane to push pilots to fly with the minimum fuel and take the risk of ending with a low fuel situation and maybe no place to go because the only diversion airport within reach will be mobbed by other aeroplanes.”

Pilots say Ryanair ranks them according to how much extra fuel they use. A spokesman for the airline rejected the pilots’ claims as “anonymous, unverified and inaccurate”. He said: “No pilot is allowed to fly with minimum fuel as these clowns claim.”

He admitted, however, that pilots were allowed extra fuel only in “exceptional cases”. He said Ryanair had suffered one Mayday in the past three years caused by fuel shortages.

A spokesman for the CAA said it would not comment because Ryanair’s fuel policy was monitored by the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA).
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I have also heard it said, that carriers do this because if planes are stacked at an airport, the pilot contacts the air traffic control saying that he has low fuel, and jumps the queue.
Thereby allowing the airline to turn its plane round quicker, saving money, sweating its assets more, such is the model of the 'no frills' carrier'.

I am not for one minute suggesting RA would ever do that however.
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Lizzard wrote:
Fifespud, do Ryanair habitually fly around without enough fuel then? Shocked

I think that was a yes then Wink
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