Back in Glasgow

• Posted by: Geo Kearley
• Comments: 2

So… We suffered what appears to be the quintessential Ryan Air experience getting out of Austria. Granted, there were some increased airport security measures in place at the time we arrived in Stansted Airport, but that does not excuse the “we couldn’t give a crap about you” customer service that is Ryan Air’s policy (perhaps not in those words, but certainly in practice…) After our flight left Salzburg 20 minutes late, we arrived in Stansted and went through the usual passport control and baggage claim waits, then arrived at the check in counter for our next flight out approximately 4 minutes after they closed it for check in – this is still 55 minutes before our flight is due to take off.

Rather than offering to allow us a 5 minute late check in (as their flight was 20 minutes late) we had to get in line at the airport Ryan Air ticket office, where we were sold new tickets for a flight out 12 hours later, with no financial compensation for the tickets we were not allowed to use, but had to sit in the airport and watch the flight we suppose to have been on take off without us. Okay – so there’s increased airport security, and sometimes you just have to accept this crap. We weren’t really upset until 12 hours later when we are checking in for the flight we had to purchase new tickets for – and the Ryan Air staff at Stansted help a guy bud in line in front of us, and check in his guitar 20 minutes after the check in counter for his flight had been closed! We mentioned to them that we were not allowed to do this when we arrived at the check in counter was closed 4 minutes before we had arrived for our flight that morning, and all we got in response was embarrassed looks and mumbled responses that offered nothing in the way of apologies or reimbursement. I guess the moral of the story is – if you must fly Ryan Air, count on wasting an entire day in the airport at each end of your journey to ensure you have enough flight transfer time because Ryan Air does not give a crap about customers. Better yet – avoid Ryan Air in the first place, if at all possible. There are plenty of other discount carriers. Beyond that hassle, we did have two strokes of luck at the end of it all – our bags were miraculously the first ones off the belt at Prestwick, which meant we had just enough time (4 minutes) to sprint through the airport and make the last night train into Glasgow, and the night security guard at our hostel was very accommodating in letting us in and assigning us our room. The cabbie who drove us to the hostel was great too – we have found that all of the cabbies in Glagow are great ambassadors for their city.

Yesterday we went to Edinburgh for a day tour that took us out to Doone Castle ( of Monty Python fame – it’s the castle in The Holy Grail where they’re launching the cows off the ramparts…) I was hoping to find the coconut shells (remember Arthur’s horses in the movie?) at the gift shop, but they were all sold out! Crap! Oh well, that’s pretty funny all by itself – we settled for another fridge magnet for George. The highlights of the day were getting to see lots of talented street performers at the Fringe Festival, and more importantly – the Tatoo! We loved the bagpipes, the ceremony and the showmanship of the military bands from all over Scotland and all over the world in the courtyard of Edinburgh Castle. The New Zealand Military band was fantastic – they had quite a sense of humor, actually putting down their instruments and dancing jigs, and performing Rugby chants as part of their show. The Swiss “Top Secret” Drumming Band was impressive in it’s precision drumming and formations that included enacting a battle with their drumsticks as they continued to drum. Of course, the bagpipes were fantastic in that venue – there’s something about the ecoustics of the place that makes you feel the music as much as you hear it. We managed to get all of this in during one day, and make the last train back to Glasgow to get a decent night’s sleep. Opps… that didn’t happen either – the fire alarm went off in the hostel this morning, and everyone was outside in their pajamas looking blearily at the fire trucks that responded to what was probably burnt toast in one of the kitchens. At least we found out early that it was a beautiful day outside, so after two weeks of non-stop rain in Innsbruck, we can dress like it’s summer again. It’s funny how things work out like that… As usual, we miss our families, friends and doggies (happy birthday mom)… Noel & George

Post Information

Date posted :	Aug 16, 2006
Last modified :	Dec 21, 2007
Categories :	Scotland, Western Europe
Tags :	Austria, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Innsbruck, Prestwick, Salzburg