▶️ Video Review: Are Ryanair REALLY that bad in 2025? | Flight Review | East Midlands–Berlin Brandenburg | 737 MAX 8

[jwotravelexpert]

Ryanair is Europe’s biggest low-cost airline, but how does it really stack up in 2025? I recently flew from East Midlands (EMA) to Berlin Brandenburg (BER) to see if Ryanair’s reputation for being no-frills and sometimes frustrating still holds—or if things have improved.

I documented the full experience onboard their Boeing 737-800 (EI-DCZ), including the seat, service, and navigating East Midlands Airport. Here’s a quick breakdown:

Flight Details:

• Route: EMA ✈️ BER

• Aircraft: Boeing 737-800

• Cabin: Economy

• Flight Time: 1h 43m

• Cost: £121.04 roundtrip (for two)

Overall, I cover everything from airport experience to in-flight service, including some quirks that only Ryanair can deliver. Was it as bad as its reputation suggests—or are we being a bit harsh?

Would love to hear your thoughts—especially if you’ve flown this route recently or have experience with Ryanair in 2025.

You can watch the full video here:

Cheers,
James

 

[Ray Finkle]

Great review, I very much enjoyed it 👍

I've only flown with Ryanair once, to CIA around 2004. From what I can recall it was perfectly fine, pleasant enough cabin and the crew were nice. The only bad thing I remember about that trip was the awful experience of LTN.

We did have flights booked to KRK this year but Ryanair cancelled them so we ended up on LH via FRA.

 

[jwotravelexpert]

Big thanks! I do think they get an overly bad rep, sure, you get what you pay for, but our experience was not unreasonable in anyway! Thanks for the kind comments - glad you enjoyed it.

 

[Silvercity]

I've flown with FR a lot mainly between Liverpool and Faro, its basic, but one thing I can say about them from my experience , they are very often on-time.

Thanks for the review

 

[Ray Finkle]

I do think they get an overly bad rep, sure, you get what you pay for, but our experience was not unreasonable in anyway!

Unfortunately it's usually the bad rather than the good that grabs the headlines.

I think if you're travelling with any low cost airline then it's best to just play by the rules to avoid nasty surprises at the airport.

Looking forward to watching more reviews in the future 🙂

 

[jwotravelexpert]

I've flown with FR a lot mainly between Liverpool and Faro, its basic, but one thing I can say about them from my experience , they are very often on-time.

Thanks for the review

I absolutely agree with this! Glad you enjoyed and thanks for watching.

Unfortunately it's usually the bad rather than the good that grabs the headlines.

I think if you're travelling with any low cost airline then it's best to just play by the rules to avoid nasty surprises at the airport.

Looking forward to watching more reviews in the future 🙂

Agreed Ray - managed expectations from the beginning means little chance for disappointment. As much as I'm on the fence about O'Leary, you can't argue with the man when he says that "most people who have a grudge against Ryanair are those who've broken the rules and then been penalised for doing so".

Thanks for watching - plenty more videos to come!

 

[LS@MAN]

Great trip report and I hope you both enjoyed Berlin, it's a beautiful city.
You were flying on a standard 737-800NG (EI-DCZ) not a MAX, it is actually one of the oldest aircraft in Ryanair's fleet! No doubt she has many more years left in her yet, given Ryanair's excellent standards of safety and maintenance.
Shame the cabin isn't cleaned in between flights to a high standard, but time is money after all!
I was surprised the gate was announced only 15mins before boarding, I fly Ryanair at least twice per month and never had the boarding gate announced that late (usually around 30-45mins before, depending on the time of the flight).

To get from A to B safely and efficiently is what you want and get and they are also good on pricing, as demonstrated in this case.

 

[Jon Dempsey]

Great review, I very much enjoyed it 👍

I've only flown with Ryanair once, to CIA around 2004. From what I can recall it was perfectly fine, pleasant enough cabin and the crew were nice. The only bad thing I remember about that trip was the awful experience of LTN.

We did have flights booked to KRK this year but Ryanair cancelled them so we ended up on LH via FRA.

Totally agree Ray. We have found that if you play by the rules, Ryanair do exactly what it says on the tin.

I do appreciate being called to the gate early so that, when the incoming has unboarded it's pax (including special needs at times), the aircraft is ready to go.

We have never boarded a plane as filthy as the OP. We have commented at times on how pax on our flight have created such a mess after boarding a clean A/C.

Thanks for the review @jwotravelexpert, very entertaining (apart from the customary "bog-review") 😉

 

[Ray Finkle]

We have commented at times on how pax on our flight have created such a mess after boarding a clean A/C.

I've seen some awful mess left behind. Leaving the aircraft on our last flight I actually felt sorry for the cabin crew as some rows were horrendous.

It's the same in the cinema, I really don't get it.

 

[rollo]

I've seen some awful mess left behind. Leaving the aircraft on our last flight I actually felt sorry for the cabin crew as some rows were horrendous.

It's the same in the cinema, I really don't get it.

My wife volunteers at the Palace Theatre in Redditch and is forever commenting on the mess audiences leave particularly bad suprisingly are when they have an act that attracts a predominately female audience closely followed by the pantomime season.

 

[Jerry]

Ryanair’s reputation for being no-frills and sometimes frustrating still holds—or if things have improved.

Always found Ryanair to be a very good airline, i find their MAX8200 aircraft quite comfortable.