Below is a summary comparing Aer Lingus (EI) versus Ryanair (FR) as of May 2011......
Cost
In general FR are cheaper than EI, especially if you can avail of their special deals where they pay the taxes. If you do not get one of these fares, the difference can be a lot closer. Always factor in the full cost (including all fees) before concluding which is best. Both play games with ‘taxes’ to raise or lower the fare.
Airports
EI fly to primary airports which are generally better served by public transport and have better facilities. On the otherhand, major primary airports such as LHR and CDG can be more susceptible to delays due to the amount of traffic.
FR mainly fly to secondary airports which can be quite remote. That said, they usually have a dedicated bus service to get you to/from the airport. Though the FR bus is usually cheap enough, it does limit flexibility somewhat as frequency may be limited.
Check-in
FR online check in costs €6 (payable during booking) with an additional fee of €40 for airport check in. EI do not charge a specific fee for check-in. EI often have self-check-in kiosks at the airport that allow you to check in yourself or reprint a boarding pass.
Online check in with FR is possible 14 days out, while with EI advance online check in is possible 30 days out.
If you arrive at the airport after check-in has closed but before the plane has departed, EI will allow you to change your ticket to the next available flight for a fee of €75. No such option with Ryanair.
Booking fees
Both charge a €6 per person per flight credit card fee during booking, however FR fee can be avoided by using pre-paid mastercard.
FR recently introduced a new mandatory €2 fee that they blame on the EU airline compensation rules.
Seat Selection
Both allow advance seat selection for a fee. Seat selection is new to FR and is being trialled on a few routes. The cost is 10€ and this allows you to sit at the front of the aircraft or in an exit row.
With EI, the cost ranges from 5 to 25€, depending on where you want to sit. If you do not pre-book seats with EI you still get the opportunity to select seats during check-in on the day of the flight. Note; free seat selection does not work during EI’s new Advance Check-in, which can be done 30 days out.
Cabin Baggage
Both have the same allowance for carry-on baggage, allowing 10kg which is fairly generous. With EI you will normally also be able to bring a personal item also such as a handbag or briefcase (even though the website says otherwise). With FR it is ONE bag only, and they will go to extreme lengths to enforce this. This leads to farcical situation of people stuffing things into their bag at the departure gate, only to remove it again 2 mins later. However it does earn more money for FR as if you cannot fit it, you pay the baggage fees for checked bag. I have seen people put a McDonalds meal into their bag because of this!!!
Cution - At some stations FR use a special cardboard box to verify baggage size - this is a lot less forgiving than the steel frames one normally sees.
Checked baggage fees (charged per flight)
EI charge €15 for a 20kg bag (additional bags can be added at €15 each but you cannot exceed the 20kg – so you could have 2x10kg bags for €30). FR charge €25 to €35 for a 20kg bag depending on peak/off-peak times (there is also a 15kg option for €5 less). see http://www.ryanair.com/ie/terms-and-conditions#regulations-tableoffees
Excess baggage over 20kg can be carried on EI up to 32kg per passenger at a cost of €9 per excess kg. With FR each kg over your allowance costs €20 up to a max of 32kg.
Connecting flights
EI have interline agreements with many airlines, so if you have a through ticket, they will check your bags through to the final destination. They do not do this if you have separate tickets, but if you ask nicely it is not unknown to happen. There is absolutely no way to check bags through with FR, even if connecting to another FR flight.
Boarding
FR offer priority boarding for a fee of €4 per person per flight. It should be noted that FR priority boarding does not always work. It often only means that you are first to get on the bus that goes to the plane, after which you join the regular scrum to board the plane.
EI do not offer paid priority boarding, but as they provide pre-assigned seating there is less need to be first onboard the plane. EI also pre-board people with small children and those who may need extra time to board (people with mobility problems etc.) for no extra cost.
Website
When booking, the EI website also allows you to view flights +/- about 10days of your selected date. FR only display +/- 3days at a time.
In my opinion, the EI website is nicer than the FR website. I find the FR website very noisy with lots of clutter. The EI website is not perfect either but it is not as bad.
Frequent Flyers
EI have a frequent flyer program (Gold Circle), which is pretty poor as frequent flyer programs go, but it does offer a couple of advantages to the regular flyer. The main benefit is possibility of reward flights and (more significantly IMO) airport lounge access for the member and a guest. The lounges have snacks, drinks papers, wi-fi etc and make the airport wait a much more pleasant experience. FR have no such program.
Staff
Customer-Employee relations can vary with either airline. In problem situations, however the FR staff are generally more rule based than EI staff. You are more likely to get some sympathy/flexibility from the EI staff. There are however exceptions to this on both airlines. (One also gets the sense that the FR staff are being paid on a commission basis for things such as checked baggage and on-board sales).
During the Flight
Both airlines have young well maintained fleets, so they are comparable in that respect. Leg room is marginally better on EI as is the cabin interior. FR continue their loud color palette thoughout the cabin and have lots of advertising visible on the any open surfaces. EI seats recline, but FR seats are fixed in the upright position.
Both charge for everything, the days of free water, coffee, tea are long gone. Prices for the buy on board items are fairly comparable on both airlines.
FR continuously run through the cabin selling a range of lottery tickets, call cards etc throughout the flight. Lights are left on throughout the flight (even night flights) and one does get the sense that you are constantly being sold something.
EI normally just do one run with the food and drink and a second for duty free. Both airlines have annoyingly loud announcements regarding these sales (wake you up if asleep).
Infant travel
Both allow infant (under 2) to travel for flat rate of €20. Infant does not get any baggage allowance, however you can carry a collapsible stroller for free with both airlines. Children over 2yrs pay full fare. EI are usually more infant friendly, for example when travelling with baby Soy, we bought tea/coffee and asked for some hot water for baby Soy’s bottle. EI have given us hot water for free but FR insisted we pay for it.
Summary
FR are mostly cheaper especially for the single person who has only one carry on bag, is booking early and checks in online. As you move further away from this profile the difference narrows. All things being equal with respect to timing of the flights, it generally comes down to the soft product and how much (if any) of a premium are you prepared to pay for the EI product over FR on a given route.
Cost
In general FR are cheaper than EI, especially if you can avail of their special deals where they pay the taxes. If you do not get one of these fares, the difference can be a lot closer. Always factor in the full cost (including all fees) before concluding which is best. Both play games with ‘taxes’ to raise or lower the fare.
Airports
EI fly to primary airports which are generally better served by public transport and have better facilities. On the otherhand, major primary airports such as LHR and CDG can be more susceptible to delays due to the amount of traffic.
FR mainly fly to secondary airports which can be quite remote. That said, they usually have a dedicated bus service to get you to/from the airport. Though the FR bus is usually cheap enough, it does limit flexibility somewhat as frequency may be limited.
Check-in
FR online check in costs €6 (payable during booking) with an additional fee of €40 for airport check in. EI do not charge a specific fee for check-in. EI often have self-check-in kiosks at the airport that allow you to check in yourself or reprint a boarding pass.
Online check in with FR is possible 14 days out, while with EI advance online check in is possible 30 days out.
If you arrive at the airport after check-in has closed but before the plane has departed, EI will allow you to change your ticket to the next available flight for a fee of €75. No such option with Ryanair.
Booking fees
Both charge a €6 per person per flight credit card fee during booking, however FR fee can be avoided by using pre-paid mastercard.
FR recently introduced a new mandatory €2 fee that they blame on the EU airline compensation rules.
Seat Selection
Both allow advance seat selection for a fee. Seat selection is new to FR and is being trialled on a few routes. The cost is 10€ and this allows you to sit at the front of the aircraft or in an exit row.
With EI, the cost ranges from 5 to 25€, depending on where you want to sit. If you do not pre-book seats with EI you still get the opportunity to select seats during check-in on the day of the flight. Note; free seat selection does not work during EI’s new Advance Check-in, which can be done 30 days out.
Cabin Baggage
Both have the same allowance for carry-on baggage, allowing 10kg which is fairly generous. With EI you will normally also be able to bring a personal item also such as a handbag or briefcase (even though the website says otherwise). With FR it is ONE bag only, and they will go to extreme lengths to enforce this. This leads to farcical situation of people stuffing things into their bag at the departure gate, only to remove it again 2 mins later. However it does earn more money for FR as if you cannot fit it, you pay the baggage fees for checked bag. I have seen people put a McDonalds meal into their bag because of this!!!
Cution - At some stations FR use a special cardboard box to verify baggage size - this is a lot less forgiving than the steel frames one normally sees.
Checked baggage fees (charged per flight)
EI charge €15 for a 20kg bag (additional bags can be added at €15 each but you cannot exceed the 20kg – so you could have 2x10kg bags for €30). FR charge €25 to €35 for a 20kg bag depending on peak/off-peak times (there is also a 15kg option for €5 less). see http://www.ryanair.com/ie/terms-and-conditions#regulations-tableoffees
Excess baggage over 20kg can be carried on EI up to 32kg per passenger at a cost of €9 per excess kg. With FR each kg over your allowance costs €20 up to a max of 32kg.
Connecting flights
EI have interline agreements with many airlines, so if you have a through ticket, they will check your bags through to the final destination. They do not do this if you have separate tickets, but if you ask nicely it is not unknown to happen. There is absolutely no way to check bags through with FR, even if connecting to another FR flight.
Boarding
FR offer priority boarding for a fee of €4 per person per flight. It should be noted that FR priority boarding does not always work. It often only means that you are first to get on the bus that goes to the plane, after which you join the regular scrum to board the plane.
EI do not offer paid priority boarding, but as they provide pre-assigned seating there is less need to be first onboard the plane. EI also pre-board people with small children and those who may need extra time to board (people with mobility problems etc.) for no extra cost.
Website
When booking, the EI website also allows you to view flights +/- about 10days of your selected date. FR only display +/- 3days at a time.
In my opinion, the EI website is nicer than the FR website. I find the FR website very noisy with lots of clutter. The EI website is not perfect either but it is not as bad.
Frequent Flyers
EI have a frequent flyer program (Gold Circle), which is pretty poor as frequent flyer programs go, but it does offer a couple of advantages to the regular flyer. The main benefit is possibility of reward flights and (more significantly IMO) airport lounge access for the member and a guest. The lounges have snacks, drinks papers, wi-fi etc and make the airport wait a much more pleasant experience. FR have no such program.
Staff
Customer-Employee relations can vary with either airline. In problem situations, however the FR staff are generally more rule based than EI staff. You are more likely to get some sympathy/flexibility from the EI staff. There are however exceptions to this on both airlines. (One also gets the sense that the FR staff are being paid on a commission basis for things such as checked baggage and on-board sales).
During the Flight
Both airlines have young well maintained fleets, so they are comparable in that respect. Leg room is marginally better on EI as is the cabin interior. FR continue their loud color palette thoughout the cabin and have lots of advertising visible on the any open surfaces. EI seats recline, but FR seats are fixed in the upright position.
Both charge for everything, the days of free water, coffee, tea are long gone. Prices for the buy on board items are fairly comparable on both airlines.
FR continuously run through the cabin selling a range of lottery tickets, call cards etc throughout the flight. Lights are left on throughout the flight (even night flights) and one does get the sense that you are constantly being sold something.
EI normally just do one run with the food and drink and a second for duty free. Both airlines have annoyingly loud announcements regarding these sales (wake you up if asleep).
Infant travel
Both allow infant (under 2) to travel for flat rate of €20. Infant does not get any baggage allowance, however you can carry a collapsible stroller for free with both airlines. Children over 2yrs pay full fare. EI are usually more infant friendly, for example when travelling with baby Soy, we bought tea/coffee and asked for some hot water for baby Soy’s bottle. EI have given us hot water for free but FR insisted we pay for it.
Summary
FR are mostly cheaper especially for the single person who has only one carry on bag, is booking early and checks in online. As you move further away from this profile the difference narrows. All things being equal with respect to timing of the flights, it generally comes down to the soft product and how much (if any) of a premium are you prepared to pay for the EI product over FR on a given route.
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