I Played the Ryanair Roulette
Booking a Ryanair flight is always a gamble. When all is well with the world, the Irish airline delivers flights that are almost too cheap to 230 destinations in 36 countries, connecting the world in a way previous generations wouldn't even have dreamed was possible. At its worst, the Ryanair experience seems to suck all that was glamorous and exciting about flying during the aviation golden age, replacing it with shockingly uncomfortable seats, long delays and scratch cards.
We all knowingly enter the Ryanair roulette when we hop aboard the Michael O'Leary fun bus, but it's not often that you win really big. On a recent trip to Athens, I landed the jackpot. And then, on the return leg, lightning struck twice.
The Emergency Exit Seat Row, All to Myself
As budget airline aficionados know, reserving a specific seat costs money. If you want to sit next to a loved one, or fancy a spot by a window or on the aisle, you have to pay more. With Ryanair, the cost ranges from £4.50 to over £30. No small amount, given one-way fares often cost less. If you don't reserve a seat, then you'll be plonked next to strangers and, or so it seems, given an undesirable seat. I have lost count of the number of times I've found myself wedged between two burly men, having been unwilling to hand Ryanair a penny more than is absolutely necessary.
Not this time. This time, I tried out a trick both my wife and an online community of frugal flyers swear by, and it worked. All you have to do is wait until the very last possible moment to check in. With Ryanair, this must be done online at least 2 hours before the scheduled departure time. The closer you get to departure, the better the seat you'll be allocated. The theory is that Ryanair's system gives the worst seats available to those who check in early, in the hope that they'll reconsider and choose a better seat. Those better seats remain unallocated until the last moment in the hope that passengers decide to pay for them. When they don't, they go to those brave or tardy customers who leave check-in until the very last minute.
Perhaps it was luck. Or maybe there is something in it. But on the way out, I found myself in the coveted seat one row behind the emergency exit, which has no seat directly in front. I was able to fully stretch out for the duration of the flight. On the way back, I landed a window seat, which I was able to swap for an emergency exit spot by boarding the aircraft last. None of these had been allocated, a flight attendant told me, giving weight to the theory.
The Potential Cost of Playing Ryanair Seat Roulette
There is, of course, a potential cost to playing Ryanair seat roulette. "You may have a better chance of a decent seat by checking in later. But for the love of God, don't miss the two-hour deadline," one Reddit user warns. Ryanair makes customers pay for late check-in, with a maximum fee of £55. Get the gamble wrong, and your flight will become a lot more expensive. "I've been caught before where I left checking in until the last minute and then, of course, my app played up. It's not worth the stress. It's usually a two-hour max flight, and like you said, most times you can just move to stretch out," one spurned traveller warned.
