INSTEAD, my 3 flatmates and I were headed off to Dublin for a weekend! We got up bright and early to catch a 9:30am bus to the airport.
We arrived around 11am, grabbed some food, and headed to the gate, which was posted under departures saying "Delayed". We figured what the heck, so we'll have time to spare, we have each other. Not so much. As it turns out, our 12:40pm flight had been delayed to 3:40pm. We continued to make the best of it.
So what do you do to kill 4 hours in an airport? Why, you peruse the duty free shops, of course! I guarded the bags, and Leah, Kat and Lindsay came back with a Smirnoff bottle enclosed in an ipod playing speaker system.
After some more food, and magazines, and tune-blasting, it was finally time to board. on Ryan Air, seats are not assigned, so you have to get in line, first come first serve. We waited in line right at the front, ready to get the best seats, all together. We check in, and start walking through. We get to the bottom of the stairs, and wait, and wait, and wait. Finally, someone comes and gets us and tells us that the plane they sent is having major engineering issues and is unable to fly (comforting). So they brought us back up the stairs and back inside, where we were told our flight would leave in "5 minutes or 5 hours, who knows". Also reassuring.
At this point, people started getting very upset - as they should. They finally announced the new flight would be leaving around 5:30pm, and gave out vouchers of £3.50 as an attempt to ease the tension (it didn't work). There were/are also no Ryan Air representatives in the entire airport, and they only way they can be contacted is online or by phone. After more waiting and waiting, we were exhausted and frustrated. Tensions were high, and to be quite honest, I didn't feel comfortable with their planes. They started this round of boarding with "we will get everyone de-boarded and check the plane to make sure it will be able to fly again before letting you all on." So there was a chance it couldn't fly?! After checking their website (and losing an entire day in the airport), we learned that if a flight had been delayed over 3 hours, you were entitled to a full refund if you chose not to fly. So, we chose not to fly.
Lindsay headed on, as Zach was already there alone (he had taken an earlier flight that morning), and she went to meet him, while Leah, Kat and I, exhausted, frustrated, and yet content, headed back to the flat.
The moral of the story is, European travel companies obviously hate me. Again, you get what you pay for. Never will I ever fly Ryan Air again. Hopefully my upcoming travels with my mom next week go much smoother!! Luckily, I still had a very fun day in the airport, spending quality time with my flatmates that I haven't had in a while. Just 5 days until Mommy gets here, yay!!
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