Comparing Ryanair to Wizz Air During Our Recent Trip to Europe

This is the next installment in a series of posts on my recent trip to Europe. See my previous posts: Back from another  family reunion: galloping through Europe and driving my husband crazy , 24 hours in NYC with kids (plus review of Hyatt Place New York Midtown-South) , Our JFK-BRU economy flight on Brussels Airlines: Ok, not great , Our two nights in enchanting city of Bruges, plus day trip to Dunkirk , Cash vs. points: Choosing between hotel Die Swaene and Crowne Plaza Brugge,  and Polish mountain town of Zakopane: Postcard views and affordable prices

Since my family lives in Europe, we tend to visit them every few years. As a result, in the last two decades I’ve had a chance to fly on quite  a few European  low-cost carriers. Believe it or not, I’ve never really had a truly bad experience (so far), and mostly got what I paid for and then some. While at times it makes sense to burn miles on intra-European routes, usually that’s not the case.

Sure, you do have to factor in extra fees when booking a low-cost airline ticket. But it’s still usually a better deal compared to legacy carriers. For example, I had the option of burning 8k United miles plus $40 in taxes per person for a flight from Brussels to Krakow. Not bad. On the other hand, it would cost me $90 per person all-in (fees included) to go with Ryanair. Naturally, I chose the latter.

To be clear, when considering a low-cost airline, you have to do your research. Very often, you have to fly to an airport located considerably further from your destination. For example, when I booked Ryanair, I had to settle for flying from Brussels Charleroi airport instead of Brussels Zaventem, which added an extra half hour drive from Bruges.

But it wasn’t that big of a deal, and there was a relatively cheap  bus going from the main station in Bruges directly to Charleroi airport. It even had a bathroom and one person ended up using it!

Speaking of, these “off-brand” airports utilized by European low-cost carriers tend to be quirky. For example, at Charleroi airport you have to  pay to use a bathroom before your check-in, quite bizarre. Also, the whole check-in process was a bit chaotic, which is why you should arrive well in advance. We did.

You also have to read the fine print, so you don’t get slapped with insane fees at the airport. Ryanair is notorious for these, but by being proactive, you can avoid potential disappointment. My goal is to get from point A to point B at the lowest possible price, and airlines like Ryanair deliver in that regard. That’s all you should expect, nothing more. It’s why I chuckle at Ryanair snarky Twitter account antics:

I concur

 

Another issue is that some low-cost carriers are not listed on credit card travel portals. This can be a problem if you are looking to use up $300 annual travel credit from Capital One Venture X card. When booking my flights, I’ve discovered that Ryanair is not listed there, so I had to book it via Ryanair.com Fortunately, I was able to utilize the credit towards Wizzair flight from Krakow to London. It was my best option anyway, so the credit was almost as good as cash in this particular case.

Plus, it gave me a chance to compare Ryanair to Wizzair. It’s been awhile since I flew both of these  carriers, and I was curious as to who would come out on top. So, let’s look at three separate categories:

1) Pricing 

In the case of London, both carriers fly there from Krakow. Ryanair was a bit cheaper overall, but they don’t serve Gatwick airport, which was the more convenient option for my family since our hotel was located near Victoria station. The train there from Gatwick takes only 30 minutes, so it was a better choice compared to Stansted or Luton airports where transfers to central London would take considerably longer.

I have found Ryanair price for luggage and assigned seating to be lower that Wizzair, though not by much. Overall, this one will depend on the route and time of year. Sometimes Ryanair will be cheaper, other times Wizzair. So this one is a draw, unless you are looking to utilize Capital One travel credit or use flexible points through a portal.

2) Legroom

Generally, I don’t consider this to be a huge factor on short flights, but if you are a tall person planning to fly Wizzair in a near future, pay attention. I didn’t splurge on exit row seats, but for some reason the flight attendant has upgraded me and my daughter at no cost.

Unfortunately, my husband and son were not upgraded and I got a text from him asking to swap. Turns out, regular Wizzair legroom  is awful. I’m almost 6 feet tall, and my knees were pressing against the seat. My son is 5 feet 7 inches, and he could barely fit.

For my husband (6 feet 3 inches), this seat was downright unbearable. So, if you plan to fly Wizzair, consider splurging on exit row seats unless you are very short.

By comparison, Ryanair is actually quite decent when it comes to legroom:

This is my husband in a regular Ryanair seat

Ryanair wins in this category, hands down.

3) On-time performance 

Wizzair has been recently named the worst carrier when it comes to flight delays. This matches our experience, as our flight from Krakow to London was delayed by one hour, with no explanation. On the other hand, Ryanair has pretty good track record when it comes to their on-time performance. Our flight from Brussels left exactly on-time, down to a minute. In general, Ryanair runs a tight operation, which is laser-focused on maximizing profits. Delays mean loss in revenue.

Obviously, YMMV, but I would trust Ryanair over Wizzair any day if arriving to your destination late is a deal breaker.

 

Final thoughts

As you can probably already tell, I prefer Ryanair  over Wizzair, and all things being equal, would go with the former carrier. I honestly don’t get the hate towards Ryanair, as my experience with the airline has been great so far. It’s a bus in the sky, nothing more, and they don’t pretend to offer QSuites for $50 per person.

That being said, I would absolutely consider Wizzair in the future under certain circumstances, but would make sure to book exit-row seats next time.