We’re delighted to post some travel tips from our MBA intern Sharad Piplani. Sharad has travelled widely within the Middle East and India and has recently started living in Madrid. He shares his recent experiences as a first-timer with Ryanair…

This week, I took my first Ryanair flight. I have long wanted to experience flying with the notorious airline first hand and I finally got my chance today on a flight to Rome.

I type this post on the flight, cramped up on a seat that refuses to incline. That said, I feel fortunate to be sitting at all, having heard the rumours that Ryanair is challenging regulators to allow standing tickets; just another O’Leary innovation for the low cost flying model!

Here are a few of my personal first-timer tips for surviving Ryanair:

• While booking your Ryanair flight, use a Visa Electron to pay or be prepared to pay another 5 EUR per person per one way flight at a minimum with any other card.
• Beware of the Ryanair voucher. The voucher is designed to book flights in one go and cannot be used again later as it expires
• Ryanair now charges EUR 40 if you forget to print your boarding pass, a charge that could be more than the cost of your flight!
• You are now allowed just 10 Kilos of cabin luggage on the flight. This is just one bag inclusive of your laptop and other electronic goods. You pay for any bag you check in.
• If you think that your bag is slightly over-sized and will not fit the baggage slot at the boarding gate, then be prepared to layer up with extra clothing or discard a few items. My friend had a hard-bound bag with wheels and the bag would not fit in. The lady at the counter would not budge either and insisted on a fee despite the bag weighing less than 10 kilos, which is the new allowed limit on Ryanair flights. Tip: Tilt the bag with the wheels up and the bag slides right in.
• The life vest being used during safety demonstration may look extremely weathered! I managed to locate my life vest  above me after five minutes of feeling the underside of my seat.
• If you’re a smoker and you’re desperate for your fix whilst on board, believe it or not, Ryanair now sell smokeless cigarettes (as well as a range of average drinks and food for top end prices).  Ten cigarettes with real nicotine cost 6 EUR.
• Finally, don’t forget to join the group fun and clap when your flight lands!

- Posted by Sharad

We are keen travellers here at Zoombu and are building a bank of real accounts and tips on travelling via a whole range of transport options in order to prevent unexpected wallet dents and to help you on your way.