I joked in one of my opening posts about the perils of flying Ryan Air and compaed it to landing in Normandy on D-Day.
Well, Sunday was the 66th anniversary of the Allied invasion, and like the Band of Brothers before me I boarded a plane bound for the continent unsure of what would come.
Ryan Air was a bit terrifying. The plane was late getting into Dublin, and to minimize delay we had a 20 minute turnaround; boarding the plane (which is open-seating) was like a high-stressed competition to avoid a middle seat, even for a 90 minute flight. The seats are small and uncomfortable with minimal leg room; six seats crammed in side to side with an aisle that seemed narrower than the seats themselves.
We got stuck over Eindhoven (where the men in Band of Brothers actually jumped into several months after Normandy) waiting for a storm to pass, and when it did we came in through heavy turbulence, flying faster than I ever recall having exprienced on an approach. When we landed, our three wheels came down individually several seconds apart, and the force of the brakes in against the high speed we came in on made everyone on board fly forward (I felt a nice solid burn in my quads as I held myself back; my workout for the month). When the plane finally reached a slow speed after a very extended 6-8 seconds, indicating that we would not crash into a fireball at the end of the runway, at least ten people in the front began clapping enthusiastically. I looked around and wondered if I had just come close to an early demise.
My somberness was broken by the playing of a bugle sounding a cavalry charge over the cabin speakers, just before a robotic British voice congratulated us on being part of yet another on-time Ryan Air flight. I turned my phone on to see we had been on time by about 40 seconds.
I'm glad I have two more flights with them. At least they're cheap, and though they're uncomfortable and slightly dangerous, they do their best to avoid delays.
Well, Sunday was the 66th anniversary of the Allied invasion, and like the Band of Brothers before me I boarded a plane bound for the continent unsure of what would come.
Ryan Air was a bit terrifying. The plane was late getting into Dublin, and to minimize delay we had a 20 minute turnaround; boarding the plane (which is open-seating) was like a high-stressed competition to avoid a middle seat, even for a 90 minute flight. The seats are small and uncomfortable with minimal leg room; six seats crammed in side to side with an aisle that seemed narrower than the seats themselves.
We got stuck over Eindhoven (where the men in Band of Brothers actually jumped into several months after Normandy) waiting for a storm to pass, and when it did we came in through heavy turbulence, flying faster than I ever recall having exprienced on an approach. When we landed, our three wheels came down individually several seconds apart, and the force of the brakes in against the high speed we came in on made everyone on board fly forward (I felt a nice solid burn in my quads as I held myself back; my workout for the month). When the plane finally reached a slow speed after a very extended 6-8 seconds, indicating that we would not crash into a fireball at the end of the runway, at least ten people in the front began clapping enthusiastically. I looked around and wondered if I had just come close to an early demise.
My somberness was broken by the playing of a bugle sounding a cavalry charge over the cabin speakers, just before a robotic British voice congratulated us on being part of yet another on-time Ryan Air flight. I turned my phone on to see we had been on time by about 40 seconds.
I'm glad I have two more flights with them. At least they're cheap, and though they're uncomfortable and slightly dangerous, they do their best to avoid delays.
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