What is the only 1 star airline?
If one is planning to travel by a flight, then the two most important things they consider are either they get the Cheapest Flight Deal or the ones that are offered by a particular airline. However, discerning travelers are aware that finding out the quality ratings of airlines can at least prevent one from having a poor flight experience. Airline ratings are usually given from 1 to 5 or 1 to 7 stars, with the higher star status symbolizing better quality. Interestingly, there is one airline that currently holds the record of having a rating of only one star from leading rating companies that focus on the airline industry and travel sites. That airline is Ryanair.
About Ryanair
Ryanair is an international ultra-low-cost airline that was established in 1984 and has its headquarters in Swords, Dublin, Ireland. It flies more than 2,500 flights daily and provides passenger service to over 200 destinations, mainly in Europe and North Africa. It has over 450 Boeing 737 aircraft and transported 149 million passengers in the year 2019, and it is among the major airlines in Europe.
So bearing in mind that Ryanair is such a large operation, why is it that it boasts only one star when considering the ratings awarded by airline rating organisations? Now it is time to discuss elements that define this store as a low-cost, low-quality store.
The Factors that Led to the Attribution of 1 Star to Ryanair
There are several key reasons why Ryanair is consistently rated as a 1-star airline:
- Hidden fees for optional services: Ryanair charges fees for nearly all the services starting from booking by phone or at the airport to services like printing boarding passes, seat preferences, carrying extra cabin bags, selecting priority boarding, food, and most of the beverages. Some travelers argue that most of these fees are not compulsory since they are classified as the so-called optional extras.
- Poor customer service: Some of the worst aspects of Ryanair that come out most prominently include the fact that it has very poor customer relations as employees including flight attendants and ground staff are unfriendly, impolite, and rigid without any willingness to go out of their way to help with the most minor issues such as with children and the disabled.
- Use of secondary airports: Therefore, apart from fares, another reason why most consumers prefer to fly with Ryanair is that they can make more stops due to their ability to use less busy and cheaper secondary airports that are located farther away from city centers. This can lead to additional overhead charges that will prove costly concerning the amount of transfer that is to be done and also inconvenience the passengers.
- Uncomfortable cabin conditions: However, the Ryanair aircraft does not have most of the comforts of standard commercial aircraft like the pocket behind the seat in front of you or reclining seats, and leg room is extremely limited with seat pitch at 29 inches only. This is true because the constant advertisements and enticements to purchase various services while in the aircraft do not appeal to the passengers.
However, the factors above have put Ryanair in the lowest rank of airlines with a low 1-star rating; however, the airline points out that ‘’ cheap is cheerful’ because it is among the cheapest airlines in Europe. The basic service delivery style ensures that Ryanair offers its fares at shockingly low prices which makes air travel easily accessible to the many, despite their limited resources. Nevertheless, it has the disadvantage of inconveniences for passengers and discomfort.
Expert Airline Rating Agencies
The two most prominent intelligence aviation organizations that assess airlines’ quality and performance are Skytrax and AirlineRatings. com. Let’s also watch how they both rate this company at 1 and 7 out of 5 and seven stars respectively.
Skytrax Ratings and Reviews
A Skytrax organization carries out research involving more than three hundred and twenty-five airlines to assess quality benchmarks for frontline products and services. Airlines may be rated from 1 to 5 depending on the quality standards where the highest level of performance is given the 5 stars.
This is evidenced by the fact that Skytrax has awarded Ryanair just 1 star, which means that it is a low-quality airline that operates on a ‘low-cost’ model. The main customer perception stated by Skytrax is that Ryanair offers only fundamental transport services. They include restricted legroom, cramped seats, exorbitant charges for check-ins, carry-ons, and other services, unorganized boarding and flight delays, substandard customer relations services, and rude, inconsiderate cabin crews who refuse to respond to clients’ concerns.
Even though Ryanair denies the validity of Skytrax ratings criteria as subjective their approach does not address the noted challenges sufficiently to change for the better of their customers’ actual flying experience.
AirlineRatings. com Ratings
AirlineRatings. com is the only safety and product rating website in the world and based on the criteria most important to travelers for a 1-star worst to 7-star best it rates 385 of the top airlines. It also includes issues to do with passengers’ feedback, safety, financial performances, investment, fleet age, product and service spectrum, staff relations, and others.
AirlineRatings. com gives Ryanair only 1 star meaning of very low level of the airline products offered by the airline as it is a clear reflection of the no-frills low-cost airline. It notes the relatively affordable flights that Ryanair offers and has made travel affordable for a certain group of people; however, it all comes at the expense of poor treatment of passengers, high charges for almost everything, cramped cabin space, choice of out-of-town airports, and unpredictability in their flights. Finally, the winner of AirlineRatings. com is considered to be the Ryanair as the worst airline by today’s standards.
Takeaway Recommendations
True, cheap flights attract intelligent consumers, and the perception of low prices should be weighed against factors like additional charges, convenience, comfort, and overall service delivery when flying with ultra-low-cost 1-star rated Ryanair. Other options include even higher-ranked LCCs such as easyJet, Vueling, Wizz Air, and Norwegian. But those with limited pocket money may still find Ryanair corresponding to bare necessities of air transportation if only they do not expect too much beyond the safe and sound transportation from one place to another But as they say, they have earned the moniker ‘Ryanunfair’ for a reason, so be cautious if, or rather, you have to be a passenger with Europe’s one-star airline.
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