I flew from Dublin Terminal 1 in Ireland to London Gatwick with Ryanair’s FR118 flight at 1920PM in the evening. I booked my ticket direct on the Ryanair.com website for €37.73 one way, one week in advance. My flight to Dublin was from Frankfurt so I did not need a return ticket to London.
I got quite a good deal on this occasion even though I only booked the ticket a few days before the flight. I guess it was because I booked for a Saturday night and those tend to be cheaper as fewer people fly then.
Tip
Set up an online alert for Ryanair’s email newsletter as they contain a lot of good deals and advance notice for special sales. I once managed to get a FREE flight to Germany from Scotland this way!
Finding Dublin Airport
Dublin airport is very well connected to the city center by buses and taxis. There is also plenty of long, mid and short term parking so you can get there in many ways.
I took bus 41 direct from O’Connell Street, which took about 50 minutes with the bus stopping on every corner. The ticket only cost €3.60 one way, so it was the cheapest option. If you take the direct bus that will cost you from €10 each way but takes slightly less time.
The taxi uses the same roads as the bus so I would not take it from the city center unless you are coming from a place where there are no direct buses to the airport.
Entering Dublin Airport
Dublin Airport has undergone a huge expansion project in recent years thanks to the emigrating Irish and immigrating Polish and other eastern European people. There are hundreds of flights every day to virtually any direction in the world and Ryanair is probably their biggest customer by far.
Dublin Airport has two terminals connected by an elevated glass bridge. I quite like the idea of walking between the two terminals although I thought there were not that well sign posted so I had to ask for directions.
The walk between the two terminals takes about 10 minutes. It also takes about 10 minutes to get to either terminals from the bus stops.
Checking In To My Flight
I checked in online and I never travel with hold luggage on Ryanair as they cost quite a lot of extra money. At the time (October 2017) Ryanair had a generous luggage policy of one small carry on suitcase and a handbag or laptop bag.
Ryanair has now (January 2018) introduced a new baggage policy, very similar to Wizzair, restricting what you can take on board for free. Read further down for more details.
Seat Allocation on Ryanair Flights
The seats on Ryanair are allocated in advance which means you sit where they tell you. If you travel on your own prepare to sit at the very back in the middle or by the window! I’ve flown with Ryanair about 5-6 times this past couple of years and I got a middle seat without fail except for one time when I flew to Venice!
The Lift and Public Areas
I used the escalators and the stairs but not the lift. Dublin Airport is pretty big and you may be walking around for quite some time so give yourself plenty of time before departure. The public areas were clean and free of clutter, although I think they could do with some better signage.
The Security Checks at Dublin Airport
The security checks were pretty swift with no major hold ups. There was a party of students going on holiday in front of me so they held the process up a bit but otherwise everything went very smoothly.
The Restrooms at Dublin Airport
The restrooms were clean and seemed like they were renovated recently, probably at the time of the expansion.
Boarding My Ryanair Flight
The plane was quite full even though it was a Saturday night – I guess others were also taking advantage of the cheap flight to London. Boarding the plane went well, no hold ups or unhelpful air stewards trying to charge me extra for this or that.
Ryanair Luggage Allowance
I can only talk of taking hand luggage which is what I always do. I normally carry a 60 liter rucksack on these budget airlines as those easily fit in the bag checker. Problem is, Ryanair has now changed its luggage policy and on my last flight in January from Venice to London the air steward tried to force me to check it in with all my valuables in it!
I thought this is completely crazy, I am not going to put my laptop, all my money, camera and everything else in the luggage hold for some sticky handed thief to steal it! So I had an argument with her and said it easily fits in under the seat. Anyway, I hope they will go back to the old policy as this new one is completely pointless.
On-Board The Ryanair Flight to London Gatwick
Ryanair has stripped all the seats from the seat pocket so there is only a sticker now with the emergency instructions to save take-off weight and cleaning time. The tray table in front of me was clean and I got ready for take-off pretty quick.
The Seat And Legroom
I was sitting in Row 26, Seat B in the middle on the left hand side. The doors closed on time at 1920PM and we started moving on time as usual! I am always surprised how Ryanair manages to keep more than 90% of its flights on time while the other, more expensive and so called “premium” providers keep getting delayed?!
The On-board Facilities
The cabin crew was a mix of male and female, well dressed and looking fresh – no sign of being tired of working all day already! Although for all I know it could have been their only flight that day?
The on-board shop sells the regular after shaves and duty-free items as well as food and drinks. The on-board restaurant is reasonably priced with sandwiches at €4, drinks at €2-3 and crisps and snacks between 50p and €3. You can pay by card as well as cash in multiple currencies including euros, dollars and pounds.
On-Board Toilet
The toilet was clean and seemed like it was freshly cleaned. There was a big mirror, the usual small sink, hand wipes, soap, the toilet and baby changing desk.
Overall Impressions
It was another on-time arrival and we did not even need to go through passport control because the UK and Ireland have a special agreement so I was out in like 20 minutes!
We landed at 2048 and I was on the terminal bus at 2100 then in the airport corridor at 2106 and at the National Express bus stop at 2110 to catch the 2130 bus home!