Ryanair is the most expensive airline for onboard food and drinks: survey

Published: 24 Dec 2008

Some no-frills airlines are charging almost half the cost of a ticket for a basic meal aboard their flights.

Which? Holiday, which looked at five no-frills airlines and the prices they charge for five food and drink products onboard their aircraft in October 2008 - a meat sandwich, tub of Pringles crisps, bottle of water, cup of coffee and bottle of red wine, said its findings show some discrepancies in the prices that the airlines charge, with Ryanair being the most expensive for every item on the list. The Irish airline charges £2.50 for a bottle of water and £2.50 for a cup of coffee while a small bottle of red wine costs £5.00. Bmibaby, Easyjet, Flybe, Monarch and Ryanair were surveyed for the same.

A sandwich, small tub of crisps and small bottle of red wine can add more than £10 to the price of a single ticket – increasing to over £20 for a return trip. In some instances this can amount to half the price of the actual airline ticket, according to Which? Holiday.

The best value for money was Bmibaby who generally offered the cheapest price on all products, charging just 80p for a bottle of water and £1.80 for a cup of coffee. There was more than £5 difference between all the products on the Ryanair flight compared with Bmibaby.

Which? Holiday editor Lorna Cowan said: "If you do need to buy food at the airport then opt for high street retailers in the departure lounge – or even bring your own. This could save you money especially if you have to feed a family."

Comments

Guest said on 25 Mar 10:

6 Euros for 18cl of not very good wine - That's £24 per normal bottle.
3 Euros for a bottle of water that costs 35p.in a shop.
Food that costs more than eating in a London hotel -I'm talking Pizza.
£20 to pay for the ticket even using a debit card which costs Ryanair nothing.
£30 to take luggage.
That "Cheap" airline 'aint so cheap.

Guest said on 25 Mar 10:

Used Ryanairto fly return to Malta. Treated us to a (Small) bottle of wine each.Charge was 6 euros per 18cl bottle. This is equal to £24 per full size bottle. The wine was not that good that it was worth that price. It may be that the original ticket price is lower but - beware... add on baggage charges £30 per person return -plus credit or debit or any other card charges of £20 - plus a bottle of water £3 plus the price of any food, and that would be like eating at a top London restaurant - - Ryanair will rip you off any way that they can.

Viaje said on 25 Dec 08:

At some point, passengers are going to shout "Enough" and begin boycotting those airlines that take advantage of captive customers. There is a price point and rudeness threshold where customers will simply revolt.

Or, maybe the customers could be fooled again by calling these inflated prices a "snack surcharge".

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