DOROTHY HARRINGTON, a reader from Urlingford, Co Kilkenny takes a rare stance... in praise of Ryanair
It is fashionable to ridicule Ryanair, but it must be said that it has opened up air travel to many who before could not afford it.
I am a pensioner and have an older sister in the UK who is housebound. I have been able to visit her over the last few years, often for as little as €1.
I noticed in Go(December 5th, 2009) that you mentioned the cheapest way to Liverpool before the end of January is with Norfolkline for €41.99. A long time on the ferry, perhaps in bad weather. Would you be surprised to hear that we are flying from Dublin to Liverpool with Ryanair on December 29th and returning on January 4th for the total price of €14 each. This includes free online check-in. I don't think that can be beaten!
Fiona York, from Skibbereen, Co Cork, has this warning for travellers heading for Cape Town
We would like to give a word of warning to fans lucky enough to travel to South Africa for the World Cup – or, for that matter, anyone travelling there.
My suitcase, complete with wedding presents, jewellery and so on, was meticulously and carefully robbed at Cape Town airport. So meticulously done that, when I opened it at the airport (seeing the lock was broken), it didn’t appear that anything had been tampered with. Our original carrier airline had lost the case in transit – and then, despite instructions, refused to deliver it to a Cape Town address – and as a result, it remained in the airport for two days until we could fetch it. This is obviously where it was robbed. Not an isolated case, we later discovered. So many people we spoke to had similar experiences, so be warned. Probably clingwrapping is the way to go – there seem to be machines in most of the big airports now – as locks are certainly useless. It was a shame, as the rest of the trip was wonderful and those who arrive with their luggage intact will have a great time in South Africa.