Ryanair, one way 50 Cent including fees and taxes - an offer limited to bookings today, tommorow and to 100,000 seats is what a wild propaganda release and coverage at Der Spiegel and elsewhere might make you think. Finally an opportunity to test this carrier and to burn some money in nice European cities, I thought. So I considered buying four tickets to Oslo early in January, two to Rome and three to Barcelona in February. And fine it worked: Oslo, leaving around 10 a.m., arriving around 12 a.m., back next day. Four adults, round trip, 8 single flights, 50 Cents each - 4 Euro will be charged from your Eurocard.
Realizing I hadn't the family name of one member of our group present and given that changing passenger names after booking could get way too expensive, I aborted the Oslo booking and wanted to proceed with the Rome tickets. Now it said: Hahn - Rome 29.99 Euro, Rome - Hahn 49.99 Euro. Checking Barcelona: 24.99 Euro per leg. Checking Oslo again: getting there 0.50 Euro, getting away 109.99 Euro. What a difference three minutes in booking can make.
It's not just that ryanair.com is one of the worst sites ever, straight out of the My Nine Year Old Nephew Did That department. Also, nowhere does Ryanair disclose its selling strategy for those tickets, given there is one. Obviously, they are not sold first come first served. Perhaps randomly. Perhaps following an ultra-complicated algorithm producing seemingly random results. For sure, I won't sit down and fill out and re-submit the search form again and again until the result finally fits my needs, as flying We Suck 'till it Bleeds Airways isn't one of them.
EPILOGUE
It is a 100,000 seats re-action, not a 100,000 seats action - a reaction to Germanwings, selling 50,000 tickets for 1 Euro each (including taxes and fees), limited to bookings on Friday. Perhaps we will try that. Selling on a first come served basis with no hidden costs and no hidden randomness is part of their policy, according to their surprisingly well done website.
These guys remind me... >>
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