My first Ryanair flight was in 1994. That same year a young accountant named Michael O'Leary took over as chief executive of the Irish airline. The trip from Luton airport to Dublin and back did not go entirely smoothly: shocking traffic in the Irish capital meant I arrived at the airport five minutes after check-in closed. No, I could not board the plane, even though passengers were evidently still sitting waiting at the gate. Yes, I could fly on the next departure for a fee of £25. It was an early lesson that either you respect the airline's rules or things get awkward and expensive. In 2025, Mr O'Leary is still in charge. Ryanair has grown from a small, loss-making Irish airline to become Europe's biggest and most profitable budget carrier. The CEO did not get where he is today by indulging passengers who fail to comply with his airline's policies. Passengers are warned to check-in online or pay an airport fee of £55. And this week Mr O'Leary announced a crackdown on passengers whose hand luggage breaches the maximum dimensions for a free bag (which, as I reported last month, have just increased to 40 x 30 x 20cm). Ground staff will earn €2.50 (£2.25) each time they identify a rogue bag – for which the traveller can pay £60 or abandon their trip. The airline boss told me passengers get cheesed off when they see others "scamming the system", for example by lugging a rucksack on board. The incentive must increase, he says, because the campaign against excessive cabin baggage has proved so successful that fewer and fewer passengers are getting caught. The Ryanair boss also gave me the inside story on the airline's plan for all passengers to use boarding passes on smartphones rather than paper. From 3 November, the 200 million-plus annual passengers will be expected to check in using the airline's app, and to present a pass on their smartphones at the departure gate. Ryanair hopes for smoother boarding and easier management of disruption, as well as saving an estimated 300 tonnes of paper each year. What if your phone battery runs out? No problem, says Michael O'Leary. If you have checked in online in advance, the airline will provide a boarding pass at the airport. The same applies for people without smartphones: friends or family can check them in online, and Ryanair staff will help out at the airport. What could possibly go wrong with the bonfire of the boarding passes? Nothing, I hope. But I have booked a flight from Ryanair's main base, London Stansted, on the morning of 3 November to observe the smartphone revolution in action (this has the side benefit of taking me to Italy just as the British winter sets in). The fare? £14, rather less than that first trip to Dublin in 1994. Aviation endurance: podcast with Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary Rail gain: Trains replace rail replacement buses in bank holiday first Beer train: Rome to Munich sleeper service for Oktoberfest Infant saving: Under-twos will fly free on Jet2 Long haul: Hull Trains drivers' strike set to continue | |
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Don't try this on board: Simon Calder and Michael O'Leary on the slide – at Ryanair's Dublin HQ |
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| Will the club ever recover from being ruined by reality stars, asks a soon-to-be former member. Read more. |
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| Can a luxury yacht writer fall for the charms of Royal Caribbean's 'Star of the Seas'? Read more. |
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This is a week of huge numbers in travel: the accumulation of countless journeys, each generating lifelong memories. Half a million of those trips will start today, the busiest day of the year for flight departures from UK airports. You thought summer was over? Well, at London Heathrow a flight will take off every 100 seconds, exporting almost 150,000 passengers. Our appetite for abroad knows few bounds – which is why the biggest number this week is the tourism deficit for last year: £46 billion. That is the excess of what we pay out on overseas holidays compared with spending by visitors to the UK, according to the latest Travel Trends survey. Arithmetically, we adore abroad about two-and-a-half times more than foreigners love us. According to the aviation analysts at Cirium, the top destinations for British travellers today are the usual suspects: Dublin, Amsterdam and the Spanish holy holiday trinity of Palma, Alicante and Malaga. Yet crunching through the Travel Trends data I discovered our favourite three overseas nations – Spain, France, and Italy – actually saw the number of British visitors fall last year. Our horizons are extending: Montenegro and Morocco offer compelling value for sunshine holidays, while Iceland and Norway deliver spectacular northern skies. Competition between destinations always delivers for the traveller – just like the ferocious rivalry between holiday companies and airlines.
Air fares have increased this summer, but not by as much as the Office for National Statistics says. Last week the ONS announced a 15.5 per cent surge in July flight prices nudged inflation higher than everyone expected. "Air fares are market misfits that have no place in any sensible index of prices," I wrote at the time. After some digging I discovered the statisticians compared term-time air fares in 2024 with school holiday prices this summer. The latter were high enough to distort the key economic measure, much to the chancellor's discomfort. The actual year-on-year rise in fares, according to Ryanair's Michael O'Leary, is 5-6 per cent. Rachel Reeves can at least look forward to a fall in inflation when the July glitch works its way out of the system. She can also anticipate some bumper VAT returns from London hotels, which peaked on the night of 12 July – between the women's and men's finals at Wimbledon. All but 6 per cent of the capital's rooms were filled, and the average daily rate paid was an eye-watering £276. That compares with just £203 per person for a week's package holiday in Corfu, flying from Gatwick on 7 September with Tui. Summer must be over, after all. |
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Each week, we'll invite you to vote in our exclusive Travel Week poll, where we pit two travel experiences against each other. In today's newsletter, we're reigniting the age-old hand or hold luggage debate. Do you travel with just hand luggage in tow? Or pack plenty for flights with a suitcase checked into the hold? Let us know by selecting the photo or buttons above. In the last newsletter, we travelled to the UAE and asked which of the most popular emirates you'd pick for a holiday. Would you rather gaze upon the Burj Khalifa and explore the Palm in Dubai, or kick back and soak up some culture on a trip to the capital Abu Dhabi? The result is in – and Abu Dhabi came out on top with 65 per cent of the vote. |
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Join the fast track into Germany |
As you know, eGates accelerate border crossings. Each European country decides who can use its fast-track portals (with the stipulation that EU citizens must be offered the swiftest option). This week Germany has opened up its eGates to British travellers who sign up for the EasyPass Registered Traveller Programme. Anyone aged 12 or over can do so, free of charge. You first have to register with the Federal Police at a major airport; these including Berlin, Hamburg, Dusseldorf, Cologne, Frankfurt and Munich (gateway to Bavaria, below). After going through the eGates, British travellers still need to have their passports examined and stamped by officials. See easypass.de for more details. |
Unlimited train travel across Europe is a joy. But one big drawback of the otherwise excellent Interrail offer is that you must pay a supplement – typically €10 or €20 – to travel on many high-speed expresses. The unlimited rail travel specialist is trialling an "Interrail Global Plus Pass" that has "the added perk of no additional fees on most trains requiring seat reservations". This is expected to cover French TGV, Spanish AVE and Italian Frecciarossa services. At present only a seven-days-in-a-month Plus Pass is on offer. It costs €480 (£415), a quarter more than the standard version, but includes "three reservation credits for high-demand trains". |
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| Is winter sun calling your name? Sandals has savings of up to £300 on all-inclusive Caribbean holidays with code "SALE" this September. From Antigua to Jamaica, there's a trip to celebrate a romantic honeymoon, milestone birthday, or simply enjoy a week on the beach. Learn more. |
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| Best reusable water bottles to keep you hydrated while traveling in 2025 |
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Best flights to South Island NZ? |
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Singapore Airlines seems the obvious choice from London to Christchurch in New Zealand in early January. But it's expensive. Do you have any other suggestions? |
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Christchurch, on the South Island of New Zealand, is the most distant big city in the world from the UK – almost 12,000 miles away from London. Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific of Hong Kong both have one-stop links via their hub. But you can minimise the fare, the time spent on board and the environmental damage on China Southern via Guangzhou. Like other Chinese airlines, it flies a much more direct track across Russian airspace from Heathrow to its hub. You also get the chance of a visa-free stopover in the Chinese city. As some Air China passengers found out this week, though, there is a chance you may divert to a Russian airport. Many people will regard the extra cost of a Singapore Airlines or Cathay Pacific flight as well worthwhile to avoid the risk of a Siberian side-trip and to travel on one of the world's best airlines. If you consult a good travel agent, you could also build a round-the-world trip, taking in the US on the way home. Always assume your flight may land somewhere unexpected |
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| Get two for one on Meller sunglasses to stay stylish and shielded while away. |
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| Save up to 50 per cent on Peter Harrow socks for long-haul flights, country ambles and more. |
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