P.S. I'm not the greatest authority on Ryanair, I only used them for one round trip simply because my ultimate destination was Vasteras and only Ryanair fly their ..... I 'enjoyed' Ryanair so much that for my subsequent trips to Vasteras I flew with Luftwaffe & KLM to Arlanda then went by road!
That story has been kicking around for yonks.
Can you imagine the flight staff standing at the door asking passangers for money before they take a leak?
This is just an attack on the Ryanair business success.
I'm surprised the articles don't say that they will be charging those who take a dump by the kilo.
I use Ryanair twice every month. Never once had a problem.
However I have a few provisos.
Here is a list of nuggets for the Ryanair traveller.
1. Never check in baggage. Sometimes I travel with no bag at all.
2. Never buy anything on the plane.
3. If they tell you it's against the rules to eat your own stuff, ask to see the rules.
4. Learn to sleep sitting in a completely upright position for the duration of the flight.
5. Tick all the right boxes when booking online. They default to make you buy everything. E.g you don't need medical insurance when travelling in Europe and you certainly wont be needing it if the plane falls out the sky.
6. Dont compare the staff to BA staff. Its a shitty low paid job and not what they signed up for...they're entitled to be sour faced about it.
7. Bring ear plugs or music...British travellers starting out are loud and obnoxious.
Martin, thanks for the link. What she has is a domestic passport. She showed it to me when I was there. Aparently that is enough for Russia. She did say that there was a checkpoint at the border. On the way there, one person, a woman was told to get out. When she went back, she had to bribe the police I think about 120 grivnia.
I talked to her last a week ago. She was on a train to Kiev. She said she was on her way to get her passport. She doesn't answer her cell phone when she is in Kiev or Simferopol. She said she will incur extra charges.
She's either waiting for her passport, getting the necessary visas and so forth, or she went to where ever they are sending her. Or, we now have the eventuality that as Kirkland described.
This venture is not just for getting a wife. It is also the chase. Because I tell my story, there will be those who will say that I am crying over this. It's like sports: the thrill of victory, the agony of defeat. Whatever the conclusion, I just love this.
This can be called my fault. I told her I would be there last month. I just can't afford it right now. I will keep you informed. I will hear from her.
From her mobile number you will be able to determine if it is Kyivstar or the other provider (can't recall name). Never heard of any such nonsense that one gets charged a 'roaming' fee for being outside of a city limits!
Whenever she's away to Simferopol, Kiev or even the other side of Kerch, the ring on her phone, the one I hear, when I call is different. There have been times when she answered the phone, but it was very brief, and this was her explanation.
I do remember her using phone cards to call from Kiev and Simferopol when I visited her. I remember because I had to get a phone card to call the US and she told me I had to buy a different one than what she was using.
RB in Ukraine many girls rarely talk on the phone because it is much cheaper to SMS. Just SMS her. I know there are a few carriers there that you can do via the internet for free. I resume you have a mobile you can receive an SMS!
A slight correction to what GeminiDreams offered about talking on the phone -- yes, people much prefer to SMS (text), but they also frequently talk on the phone. But because of the cost, the great majority of these "conversations" or kept to one minute or less.
Gemini, her English is much better since I started corresponding with her, but her English writing is almost nonexistent. Our conversations are kept to five minutes or less because of the cost, as durak says.
With Kyivstar there isn't a charge for incoming calls to a cell phone. Also Kyivstar has a website that you can SMS for free to your ladies. Only downside is you couldn't receive and SMS back from them. They may have changed that now, but I haven't used it in ages.
But the 8019 mobile prefix number that RB provided isn't Kyivstar , if one goes to that Kyivstar SMS page it gives, from a drop down menu, all their prefix numbers and '19' isn't one of them.
I think that there must have been a misunderstanding or typo when rb's answer implied that her number begins +380 19 ...
As far as I can tell, subscriber phone numbers in Ukraine never begin with 1 or 2. My phone begins +38 097, which is a Kyivstar code.
Just for reference, I sent some SMS to the US from my Kyivstar SIM here in Kyiv. They were all short (1-page) messages, and each cost about 1.1 UAH, or about $0.14 at the present exchange rate.
Incoming SMS from the US, like all incoming calls, are free.
Kyivstar may have different tariffs (rate plans), so mileage may vary: but it's pretty affordable to SMS to the US, even on Ukrainian incomes (2 SMS cost a little more than one metro or bus fare, a small bottle of soda will get you about 5 SMS).
The international code for UA is +380, thereafter a mobile might be '097' but, when dialling internationally, one drops the '0' but, when dialling with UA, one adds an '8' and includes the '0', unless it has changed, before dialling the mobile number hence '097' could be referred to as '97' or '8097'.
I asked of RB what the next 2 digits were after +380 and he replied '19' hence the mobile prefix number is '019' or '8019'
The numbers I dial, other than the long distance company and the last four numbers are 011-38-050-193...
Sorry, Martin. It is that 50 that threw me. Other ladies gave me their numbers before. That 50 is always there. I thought it was standard. Then again, when I was trying to call someone from a Kiev hotel, the discussion at the hotel desk was that 50. It's probably a region.
I am pretty sure she is not in Kerch because of the ring I hear when I call her. Besides, I was supposed to send her a little money for her internet before the 20th. She is not a computer person and cannot stay in the computer for more than 10 or 15 minutes. The internet is for her daughter.
She did answer the phone on the way to Kiev and told me she was going to get her passport fixed. She told me when she was coming back. I did not understand when, but I thought only a few days.
The brain cells aren't what they were, memories fade, but I'll be across in UA in a few days from now, if I've got time I'll find out if only to settle my own curiosity.