Compare Alitalia vs Ryanair

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Ryanair is Ireland’s flagship airline and its claim to popularity lies in having adopted a low-budget and no-frills approach towards travelling. It has two airport bases, namely Dublin and London Stansted, and usually has tie-ups with secondary airports in various destinations in order to save on the landing fee. Ryanair boasts of a fleet of 306 aircrafts, most of which are Boeing 737-800 type and fly passengers to as many as 179 destinations across Europe and Morocco. Ever since it was founded in 1985, Ryanair has had its head-quarters at Swords and has stuck with its advertising slogan of ‘Low fares made simple’. This airline has received its share of criticism too owing to its cost-cutting measures, primary being non-availability of washroom facilities on board.

Subsequent to the deregulation of aviation industry in Europe in 1997, Ryanair was launched on an expansion spree and devised a cost effective strategy to attract customers. Sure enough its popularity touched new heights and in 2013 it was adjudged as the largest airline in Europe. It was also the busiest on the international platform in terms of number of passengers. There are several fall-outs of low budget policy, primary amongst them being sub-standard in-flight service, passengers having to print their own boarding passes and levying extra charges.

Italy’s flagship airline, Alitalia was established in 1947 and its head office is located at Fiumicino, in the capital city of Rome. This airline boasts of a fleet size of 118 aircrafts all of which fly passengers to a little over 100 destinations. While the main hub of Alitalia is the Roman Airport of Leonardo da Vinci, there are secondary hubs too and these are the two airports of Linate and Malpensa in Milan. The word Alitalia is derived from two Italian words namely alli, meaning air, and italia, meaning Italy.

Alitalia’s cabins offer four classes of service namely Classica, Classica Plus, Ottima and Magnifica, which refer to Economy and Business Classes of short-distance and long-duration flights respectively. Travellers in Classica or Economy are served a snack and beverage and are also provided with a TV screen on each seat for entertainment. Classica Plus is the premium economy and it offers a little more leg space and allowance for extra baggage. Business Class in short-duration flights is referred to as Ottima and travellers opting for this mode are entitled to a separate check-in counter as also accessibility to VIP lounges. Magnifica, the Business class for long-duration flights is inclusive of special benefits like new catering service, new upholstery and amenity kits and flat-bed seats.

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