Ryanair VS Wizz, my experience aboard the two low-cost carriers deemed the "worst in Europe"

In the middle of August, I decided to take two flights aboard Wizz Air and Ryanair on the Bergamo Sofia route, and back. It was the first time for me in Bulgaria and the first time aboard a Wizz Air plane, while aboard Ryanair I flew for the first time back in 1996, from London to Dublin, and in those nearly 30 years I have flown dozens of times with Europe's largest airline.

Why I chose to fly low-cost

I was supposed to go to Sofia not for a vacation, but to catch a plane. I had a ticket to fly from Sofia to Phuket on Qatar Airways, a crazy fare I had found just departing from the capital of Bulgaria. In December 2022 I had booked my flight to/from Sofia with Air France and KLM, too bad that a few months later the French airline cancelled my ticket.

The only carrier that flies regularly to Sofia is the LH group, several flights a day from Frankfurt, Munich, Zurich and Vienna. All others, including ITA, fly sporadically and/or at times that did not fit with my needs.

In the end I chose Wizz on the outbound and Ryanair on the return for two reasons: perfect schedule and low-cost fare. Thus, I had the opportunity to compare on the same itinerary the two low-costs that according to many rankings are the worst in Europe. All the traditional European airlines continue to sell the one-way ticket at a higher cost than the round-trip, while the low-cost carriers sell one-way without looking at what you buy. So schedules and fares convinced me to venture two tickets (in the middle of August) with the two low-cost carriers.

No fear about possible delays

I went with a clear heart, even though I had to squeeze in other flights, the reason was quite simple. The outbound was early in the morning, so the one with the least risk of delay, while the return was the last flight of the day, the one with potentially the most risk, but having no problem waiting for the plane was a calculated risk.

How much I spent on the tickets

The Wizz Air flight definitely cost me more, but. having a credit to use up the result of a cancelled flight in the past few months was an (almost) painless solution.

I could have spent even less, but I did not want to have any problems whatsoever with carry-on baggage, boarding, seat and other surprises that can always happen with low-cost airlines. So I wanted to protect myself as much as possible by taking a fare that included checked baggage and a minimal cancellation policy.

In contrast, the Ryanair ticket cost me very little and doubling the initial price was the choice of "optional extras" i.e. priority and carry-on baggage in addition to the allocation of a "premium" seat. In total I spent 224€, whereas with other airlines I would never spend less than 300/350€. The original AF ticket had cost just under 500€, but it was all in biz and was also a way to Put 60 XP points in my pocket.

The booking procedures are quite simple for both companies, of course one has to be careful of the n thousand options that pop up and not to enter wrong flags when trying to place the whatever. Needless to say, I paid for this ticket using my American Express So that you have your back covered in case of problems, cancellations, or delays Because of the included travel insurance.

Wizz Air Bergamo/Sofia Flight

I arrived at the gate after a quick stop in the Hello Sky lounge, of course thanks to my Amex Platinum I was able to skip the line at security and wait quietly for the gate to open, since the lounge faces the very part of the terminal where non-Schengen flights depart.

Gate opened on time, with flight landed from Sofia on time and boarding started moments later. Too bad that immediately after being sent out on the runway we waited about 15 minutes in the sun breathing kerosene. Fortunately it was 9 a.m. and not 1 p.m., otherwise it would not have been as pleasant. If for an AVgeek like me staying on the runway is a pleasure equal to that of a shopaholic inside an LV boutique, for normal people and families with children let's say it is not the best. In any case, at least the boarding priority was respected, since it was also paid for.

Flight left on time, very little leg room and plane "lived in."

Questionable cleanliness of the plane, although as mentioned it was only on the second flight of the day. In particular strange splashes on the overhead bin. Flight arrived at destination on time and no problems whatsoever during the trip.

On board I bought orange juice for 2.5€ and there was no wi-fi or anything else to do except look out the window (or sleep).

Landing in Sofia, I thought I was in Fiumicino given the many Alitalia livery aircraft abandoned at the edge of the runway.

Just as embarkation also took place via bus and not via terminal connection.

Ryanair Flight Sofia/Bergamo

Flight FR3662 is the last flight of the day from the Bulgarian airport., the scheduled departure is at 00:05 and for this Is not shown on airport display boards, which show only flights departing on the day and upon passing through the checkpoints trigger an alert as the passenger presents a boarding pass for a flight departing the next day.

I waited for departure in the Aspire lounge, the only one in the airport, until 9 p.m. when I was politely asked to leave since it was closing. The lounge closes even though there are still 5 flights departing in the evening.

As expected, the plane departed late from Bergamo and landed late in Sofia, but a delay of less than 20 minutes so nothing serious.

Unfortunately, however, we got on the bus no regard for passengers with Priority service, I remembered separate areas on buses to divide passengers, here instead cattle car without any division. To make up for the delay we were boarded on the bus and waited about 10 minutes inside before departing airplane destination. When we arrived, passengers were still descending the steps of the newly arrived plane.

Another wait of a few minutes and as soon as the last passenger got off and the buses started up again, the go-ahead was given for the boarding of the new passengers bound for Bergamo.

Cleanliness of the Boeing 737max, or as FR renamed it 737-8-200 decidedly sloppy, but for being the last flight of the day it could have been much worse.

Surprisingly plenty of legroom, at least 4 cm more than Wizz Air's A320. Honestly as soon as I buckled up I fell asleep and thanks to my headphones I didn't hear children crying until landing. As you can see from the time on the clock at 00:01 I was sitting in my seat, and takeoff was about 15 minutes later.

The only flaw is the fact that on an overnight flight the companies turn off or dim the lights on board, here everything is on full blast for the entire flight. I did not take advantage of the catering and slept practically the whole flight.

In conclusion

Maybe I was lucky, maybe one flight is not a meaningful test. I'm at 100 flights this year, less than 10% has been on board a low-cost airline and frankly I haven't found much difference, on the contrary to tell the truth, I don't find much difference between an FR flight and a short-haul AZ or DL flight.

I therefore find the title of "worst low-cost" in Europe exaggerated certainly there is better, but there are probably also those who give far worse experiences. Want to tell me about your experiences aboard these carriers? write them in the comments.