• Home
  • Reviews
    • Flight Reviews
    • Hotel Reviews
    • Lounge Reviews
    • Trip Reports
  • About
    • Press
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Award Expert
Live and Let's Fly
  • Home
  • Reviews
    • Flight Reviews
    • Hotel Reviews
    • Lounge Reviews
    • Trip Reports
  • About
    • Press
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Award Expert
Home » Ryanair » The Ryanair Experience – Frankfurt Hahn to Pisa
RyanairTrip Reports

The Ryanair Experience – Frankfurt Hahn to Pisa

Matthew Klint Posted onSeptember 12, 2011December 6, 2016 2 Comments

Earlier this year Ryanair ran a special from Frankfurt Hahn to many of their destinations in Europe, with fares only 7€ each way including taxes and check-in fees (normally tripling the cost of a ticket). My brother was on his way into town and had expressed interest in returning to Italy, so I booked a couple 14€ trips (plus another 7€ or so to use my credit card) and our tickets were quickly confirmed at a fraction of the cost of what Lufty was offering them for.

Ryanair flights depart from Frankfurt Hahn rather than Frankfurt am Main but using “Frankfurt” in Frankfurt Hahn is actually very misleading. The airport is well outside the Frankfurt city limits–reachable only by car or a 2.5hr bus ride. Buses depart from the south side of Frankfurt’s central railway station every few hours, though that means if you do not want to cut it too close, you may find yourself leaving for the airport 5-6 hours before your scheduled flight. At a cost of 24€ r/t for the bus, be sure to factor that into your ticket cost–it’s not quite as easy as taking the ten minute ride on the S-Bahn to Frankfurt am Main from the central railway station.

ryanair frankfurt hahn to pisa 1

The bus is not all that comfortable, but time passed rather quickly and we soon pulled up the dilapidated Frankfurt Hahn Airport, on the grounds of an abandoned NATO Air Base. The facilities are quite spartan–in fact, I cannot think a drabber airport than Frankfurt Hahn, though I was not expecting Incheon or Chep Lak Kok at a facility that features exclusively low-cost carriers.

ryanair frankfurt hahn to pisa 2

Check-in lines were long, as people lined up to check their baggage. Some were not aware that they would be charged extra to check bags and were frantically trying to consolidate or argue with the Ryanair staff. A few shops and a dozen or so plastic chairs dotted the terminal. On the other side of security (lines were quite long, but moved fast) a large warehouse-like room sat with fluorescent lights overhead and more plastic chairs. Passengers were lined up to board a number of flights departing at the same time.

ryanair frankfurt hahn to pisa 3

ryanair frankfurt hahn to pisa 4

My 1.5hr flight to Pisa was on time, and boarding began about 30 minutes prior to takeoff. All previous accounts of Ryanair that I had read indicated they were sticklers when it came to carry-on weight and size limits, but no one was checking carry-on bags and many were taking advantage–one guy dragged on four carry-on bags and no one said anything.

At Frankfurt Hahn, boarding passes are scanned, then passengers are directed outside and down a driveway where aircraft are parked on either side. On the way to the plane, I spied an Aeroflot MD-11 cargo aircraft, which I thought was odd to see at Hahn.

ryanair frankfurt hahn to pisa 7

ryanair frankfurt hahn to pisa 5

ryanair frankfurt hahn to pisa 8

My brother and I did not rush to board and feared that by the time we climbed the stairs and onto the plane there would only be middle seats in the back that remained. To the contrary, we scored some of the best seats on the 737-800 aircraft–row one (and even had an empty middle between us on a flight that was nearly full). There is only one cabin on Ryanair, of course, 30″ seat pitch, and no recline, but row one is an exit row and has abundant legroom–even it if we did have to stare at two of the flight attendants during takeoff and landing.

ryanair frankfurt hahn to pisa 13

In the air, the sales pitch began almost immediately. Duty free catalogs and food menus were promptly distributed and lotto scratchers and electronic cigarettes were specially hawked (“feel free to smoke onboard with these smokeless cigarettes…”).

It was nearing noontime and I was hungry, so I ordered beef chili off the menu. For 9€ it was hardly a steal, but it turned out to be tasty and I always enjoy a hot meal onboard an aircraft.

ryanair frankfurt hahn to pisa 9

ryanair frankfurt hahn to pisa 11

The flight was smooth, seats were comfortable, and service fairly friendly. All in all, I was very pleased with the flight. The problem, of course, was all the maneuvering it took to get on the flight. In fact, the thought of enduring another 2.5hr ride in the bus (and potentially a 3hr additional wait if we arrived back to Hahn just after a bus departed) led me to book one-way tickets on Lufthansa for the flight back to Frankfurt. Ryanair will be cheaper in most cases, but if you value your time and appreciate perks like earning mileage and lounge access, just stick to the legacy carriers.

The Ryanair onboard product was not only satisfactory, but impressive. Nevertheless, I cannot recommend them from Frankfurt Hahn–the whole process was just too much of a hassle to justify the money saved, even on the very cheap fare I was traveling on.

Get Daily Updates

Join our mailing list for a daily summary of posts! We never sell your info.

You have Successfully Subscribed!

Previous Article Ten Years Later: Critically Examining 9/11
Next Article Air India Has No Money to Pay for Boeing 787s

About Author

Matthew Klint

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.

Related Posts

  • Spring Break JetBlue SAS

    Booked! A Transatlantic Getaway On JetBlue + SAS

    May 26, 2025
  • a man in a suit sitting on a bed

    Not Glamorous, But Kind Of Fun: A Travel Blogger’s Trip To NYC

    May 16, 2025
  • a woman in a beige coat

    “It’s A Boy And We’re Naming Him Ryan” – Woman Fakes Pregnancy To Avoid Baggage Fees On Ryanair

    April 21, 2025

2 Comments

  1. Darren Reply
    September 13, 2011 at 3:25 pm

    Wow, you scored the first row?! I was (no-longer-so-secretly) hoping you’d be further back in the cabin & would have a pic of the seat pitch with aghast comments. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised they’re selling e-cigs… those aren’t cheap! Give Burbank another 15 years of deterioration and it might look like Hahn.

    Nice report, Matthew… thanks for posting as so few of us Yanks will ever fly with them.

  2. msp2anywhere Reply
    September 14, 2011 at 4:31 am

    Your TR brought back memories! We flew Ryanair out of Hahn from just after they started… back then the terminal was smaller (it grew in the time we were stationed at Ramstein as they added destinations), the parking was a free-for-all across the base, and all the buildings still had the USAF decor- I think the tower even still had the fighter wing patch painted on it.

    Yeah, it’s essentially a city bus with wings, but when you’re young and frugal and want to travel around Europe on 4-day weekends (thank God for Training Holidays/Commander’s Holiday/Wing Stand-Down), it’s great.

Leave a Reply

Cancel reply

Search

Hot Deals for May

Note: Please see my Advertiser Disclosure

Capital One Venture X Business Card
Earn 150,000 Miles Sign Up Bonus
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Earn 100,000 Points
Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
Earn 75,000 Miles!
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
Earn 75,000 Miles
Chase Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card
Earn $750 Cash Back
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
Earn 120,000 Membership Reward® Points

Recent Posts

  • a group of people in blue uniforms
    United Airlines’ Uniforms Get A Facelift—And A Political Filter May 28, 2025
  • Dog Diversion Delta
    Delta Flight Diverts To Care For Sick Dog. Justified? May 28, 2025
  • a inside of a plane with lights
    Review: Korean Air 747-8 First Class May 27, 2025
  • a screen on a plane
    My Highly Productive Daytime Flight To London On JetBlue May 27, 2025

Categories

Popular Posts

  • United Airlines Polaris Lounge Chicago Review
    Review: United Polaris Lounge Chicago (ORD) May 1, 2025
  • United Airlines Refresh Polaris Lounge Chicago
    First Look: United Airlines Reopens Renovated Polaris Lounge In Chicago (ORD) April 29, 2025
  • a hand holding a blue card
    Chase Sapphire Preferred 100K Bonus Offer Ending Soon May 2, 2025
  • Aegean Airlines Feast
    A Feast Fit For A King On Aegean Airlines May 23, 2025

Archives

May 2025
M T W T F S S
 1234
567891011
12131415161718
19202122232425
262728293031  
« Apr    

As seen on:

facebook twitter instagram rss
Privacy Policy © Live and Let's Fly All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Live and Let's Fly with appropriate and specific directions to the original content.