Same. They seem to be one of the few airlines that are well run. Maybe cause the founder is still CEO, I don't know.
I also respect their honesty. They tell you "we get you from A to B the cheapest way", no more. Traditional airlines' ads are all about traveling in luxury, which is extremely dishonest considering 99% of their travelers experience a not-far-from-Ryanair level of comfort.
Ryanair have a long history of very savvy, far sighted planning. Back in 2001 when many airlines cancelled orders for Boeing planes after 9/11, Ryanair signed a long term contract for 155 brand new 737-800s at a huge discount. They've taken out some smart long term options on jet fuel before a well.
I think their big thing was understanding the difference between stated preferences vs revealed ones. They took away beloved perks of flying, and managed to show that people weren't willing to pay what it cost to provide them.
I still remember their proposal for ultra-cheap standing-only tickets (couldn't get that one past regulators). Kinda wonder if it was seriously meant or not.
Any non-flat rate pricing for baggage is godsent. I've long been annoyed that US airlines will charge the same amount to check a small bag, with a few pieces of lightweight passenger cabin contraband, as to check a giant 50 pound duffel bag.
So long as the airlines rigidly enforce carryon size restrictions. It was bad enough when baggage was free, now you’ve got people slamming steamer trunks in the overhead cabinets just to avoid the fees.
Unless the flight is sufficiently empty, Ryanair staff often walk around the gate and get anyone with a large or heavy-looking bag to put it on a scale.
(They have the scales available before check-in, so it's reasonably fair.)
That’s the game with discount airlines. Not only baggage, but $ to print your boarding slip, $ to pay luggage fees at airport, etc.
If you read the costs closely and can avoid them, they work great. I flew from SFO to Stockholm with Norwegian Airlines for $400 return on a 787. About the same as SFO to JFK.
But it was no frills. No even free water served (you could ask for it) or any meals. If you prepare it’s great. If you don’t it’s pricey.
There was a similar deal for Paris/SFO return for $300, but United Airlines was determined to undercut them, so I got a United Airlines return flight instead for $275. The billing summary was hilarious:
Fare USD $ 1.49 Taxes & Fees USD $ 273.96 Total USD $ 275.45
cake was not like we have today, it was dough used to line the oven to keep the actual baked good from burning, like how some recopies say to have a pan of water in the oven.
In terms of the sentiment, The EU dug the hole on this one, and de-nuking their grid was just plain stupid.
If no one will be there you can drain the pipes and leave it unheated over the winter. People typically do this with summer homes.
(I think this thread is silly though: there's no way enough people will move to warm climates for the winter to make a dent in cold-country fuel consumption.)
At least in the UK, the part of the bill that is really increasing is the Standing Charge (a charge just for being connected to the gas network). So even if you turn off your heating your bills are still going to increase.
The problem with CNY are several fold: defacto peg, difference in price between onshore and offshore cny, strict currency controls make treasury operations challenging for real users of the currency, governmental policy of treating foreign holders different than domestic, etc.
At the end of the day most currency holders want a liberalized currency and CNY is far from that.
I remember some Reddit post asking about CNY and the replies were all “Wait, all the rich Chinese are desperate to get their money out and you want to bring your money in?”
