When doing previous Ryanair v easyJet price comparisons, I have been accused of bias against Ryanair. I can assure my readers that all three scenarios below were picked at random - I merely chose the routes where the two airlines most closely overlapped.
- Ryanair v easyJet - Baggage Policy
- Ryanair v easyJet - Destinations
- Ryanair v easyJet - Ease of Use (Website)
- Ryanair v easyJet - Fees
All prices and times were accurate on November 15, 2011.
Scenario 1: The Inflexible, Short Notice Business Trip
This trip is for a single businessman, booking on Monday for a business trip to Madrid on Thursday and Friday of the same week. Working in London, he can go from any London airport. He has to leave as early as possible on Thursday but wants to be home at a sensible time on Friday evening. He will take no bags and has no need for priority or 'speedy' boarding.Scenario 2: The Slightly Flexible, Six-Weeks' Notice New Year's Eve for Two
A couple from near Manchester and Liverpool want to spend either Christmas or New Year in Barcelona. They can take a few days off work and they don't mind which dates they go, as long as they have the holiday period away. They want to sit together so will buy priority boarding. The girl will take checked luggage, the guy will be fine without.Note I had a run a second version of this scenario, as Ryanair isn't running any flights from Manchester or Liverpool to the Barcelona area over the Christmas period after the airline fell out with at least one of the three airports in the area.
Scenario 3: The Highly Flexible, Nine Months' Notice Family Vacation
A French family of four from near Paris want to travel to Barcelona for two weeks in August 2012. The two girls will check 20kg of luggage, the men will take 15kg. The youngest has to sit with the family, so they will buy priority boarding.The Results
In all three scenarios, easyJet was the cheapest airline.Ryanair's stated 'fare' is always vastly lower than the easyJet or the pre-tax and fees total, but quickly adds up to more. Strangely, the taxes and fees change depending on when the flight is.
Baggage charges and debit card fees are higher for Ryanair. easyJet is more expensive for 'speedy boarding' than Ryanair. However, easyJet's system works; in a minority of cases, Ryanair's doesn't.
In Scenario 1, easyJet is only barely cheaper than Ryanair.
In Scenario 2, it came out considerably cheaper. I actually found even cheaper flights for easyJet, but it required flying early in the morning on New Year's Eve, something few travelers want to do when they plan on partying that night.
I could have also added extra costs to Ryanair's total in Scenario 3, but I chose to give the male members of the family less checked luggage allowance.
For the full break down, see the chart below.
| Business Trip | NYE For Two | Summer Family Vacation | |||||||
| Booking Notice | Same week | Six weeks | Nine months | ||||||
| Flexibility? | None | Some | A lot | ||||||
| No of Travelers | 1 | 2 | Two adults, two kids | ||||||
| Ryanair | easyJet | Ryanair | easyJet | Ryanair | easyJet | ||||
| Start | London (Stansted) | London (?) | Manchester | Liverpool | Paris | Paris | |||
| Destination | Madrid | Madrid | Girona | Barcelona | Barcelona | Barcelona | |||
| Departure Date | Nov 17, 2011 | Nov 17, 2011 | Dec 27, 2011 | Dec 30, 2011 | Aug 2, 2012 | Aug 2, 2012 | |||
| Return Date | Nov 18, 2011 | Nov 18, 2011 | Jan 3, 2012 | Jan 6, 2012 | Aug 14, 2012 | Aug 14, 2012 | |||
| Fare | £74.98 | £140.98 | £169.96 | £177.96 | 215.92€ | 499.92€ | |||
| 'Total' Cost | £141.54 | £140.98 | £266.30 | £177.96 | 462.72€ | 499.92€ | |||
| Priority/Speedy Boarding | N/A | N/A | £20 | £46 | £40 | £94 | |||
| No of Bags | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | |||
| Bag cost | 0 | 0 | £40 | £28 | 200€ | 128€ | |||
| Debit Card Fee | £12 | £8 | £40 | £28 | 200€ | 128€ | |||
| Real Total | £153.54 | £148.98 | £350.38 | £259.96 | 750.72€ | 729.92€ |
