You really won’t believe the difference between the photo and the reality this time on Ryanair. I’m so surprised at being fooled by the false advertising that I am writing about a flight I took today.
What is it they say? The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Looks like I meet the definition here as I expected more despite being disappointed in the past.
Here Is The Advertising
Ryanair have the food menu in their inflight magazine. The all day Breakfast Burrito sounds pretty good from the description and it looks good too.
A delicious bacon, onion, potato and egg wrap sounds pretty good to me. The picture also makes it look pretty appetising, so I wanted one. On my last flight none were left so this time I really wanted one.
A Package Is Delivered
As usual with Ryanair the hot food orders are taken first by a crew member passing through the cabin. I ordered my Burrito and patiently waited for it to be heated. Soon enough it arrived.
Overlooking the spelling error, it looks good, right? It is in a package shaped to suggest I am going to get something approximating a Burrito. It even has the same picture on the front of the product. Hotly anticipating the inside item, I opened it up.
A Burrito Or A Wrap?
Look, I’m not stupid. I was under no illusions that I was going to get a large Burrito which would wildly exceed my expectations. When I removed it from the packaging it was sized to what I more or less expected.
It did not slide out of the package gracefully either. Parts of it stuck to the cardboard meaning I had to use a bit of elbow grease to get it out in one piece. No big deal though!
Fooled Again! A Bite By Bite Look At This “Meal”
After my first bite, my suspicions kicked in. There was no filling at all. Knowing how I’ve been fooled before, I decided to document every single bite of my Breakfast Burrito.
What fuckery is this? Where is the bacon? Where is the onion? How about the potato? Not to mention the egg. Compare the picture on the package and inside the magazine to what I received. What is going on?
How About The Ingredients?
Appalled by what is offered in this so called Breakfast Burrito, I decided to check out the ingredients. Helpfully it is in many languages, reflecting Ryanair’s European clientele.
Wrap, 47%. Filling 53%. The filling comprises of Free-Range Egg, Potatoes, Sour Cream, Milk, Cream, Smoked Pork Meat, then oils and other preservatives and flavour enhancers. You can’t tell me that 53% of what I ate comprised of the filling. Not a hope!
Now the thing tasted like a wrap with something inside vaguely breakfast like. It was a sort of yellow gloop which presumably is the concoction created when all those various ingredients come together. Edible, yes – as advertised, no way.
My expectation is something akin to the packaging. A wrap with fillings I could identify by sight. Is it too much to ask? I know it is a budget carrier and costs are always a focus but really? Do people buying cheap fares deserve to be insulted with cheap food that is not as advertised? I don’t think so.
Overall Thoughts
That’s it, I’ve had it. I have been fooled one too many times by the “culinary delights” of Ryanair. I sat on my flight today from Dublin to Luton and decided I am no longer purchasing any food on board the airline.
It is overpriced for what is offered and the fact it is not as advertised is particularly upsetting. Cheap fares does not mean you have to sell bad food on board. Sure, you may say that passengers on a budget should expect this, but decent food should be a human right.
This food is quite plainly done as cheaply as possible to make the highest margin. More power to them, but there should be more accurate pictures provided so people can make an informed decision on what they are about to buy.
Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.
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If I have a very early Ryanair flight I buy their delicious Veg Croque Monsieur for breakfast. No complaints at all. I am a hypoglycemia sufferer, need to eat regularly, and such a savoury treat is perfect for me.
I will have to give this a try the next time I fly with Ryanair. It sounds quite nice really and I imagine it is difficult to make a mistake with something like that. Thanks for the tip!
I would actually suggest sending this to the advertising standards authority as misleading advertising.
However, I rarely buy food on board planes, the same as motorway service stations or football grounds, as even if the quality is acceptable, the price is going to be way over the odds.
I think it would be a good idea – at least it might make Ryanair’s supplier sit up and do something about it.
I always eat on flights, it passes the time and I enjoy trying new things. Generally the food is pretty good and I’ve never been sick or anything like that. Price, yes, it is usually paying over the odds compared to food on the ground, but I accept that as part of the industry.
Seconded, please complain to the relevant authority so something can be done about this (or at least noted). And you have the photos to prove it!
Trent, my heart goes out to you. Not only the misspelling (I can’t stand that!) but the disappointment. As I viewed your “bite by bite”, all I could hope was that you didn’t swallow! 😉
Hahahahahaha!!!!!!! So many things I could say to that, but I’m saying nothing! :p
What’s the spelling error?
Yuminess.
That’s the one!
What happened when you demanded your money back?
I am not the kind of person to demand my money back. I still ate the thing, so asking for my money back would be a bit rich. If there was actually an issue such as mouldy bread, I would ask for money back.
You ATE it!
So you didn’t really find it that bad then.
How did you miss that in the bite by bite photos? I was hardly biting it and spitting it in my lap…
I don’t normally buy food on flights but recently I was in a major rush and had to eat on a Ryanair flight. I too chose the breakfast burrito and it was beyond a joke. Very similar to yours. Actually I have had their Croque Monsieur once before and that was quite decent compared to what I expected. The burrito is however an absolute disgrace.
I’ve had the ham & cheese croissant on Ryanair and that is okay as well. Both the breakfast burrito and the pancakes are astonishingly bad as you know yourself. I always eat when I’m flying as I enjoy food and it’s interesting to try new things (plus I like to review them of course). I’ve certainly had better!
wow…just wow. That is absolutely disgraceful. In my opinion that is bordering on fraud. When a company says that you are going to get 53% of something but instead they only give you 25-30% then that is at a minimum false advertising. I don’t know if it was the vendor providing the food who did this or if it was Ryan Air who instructed the vendor to get the cost of the product down as low as possible, and they did it by drastically reducing the food inside the wrap.
It really is something else, isn’t it? I just had a sixth sense that it wasn’t going to be what was pictured, so I am glad I had that and took the photos. It has to breach some kind of advertising standard I would expect. Either way, it’s pretty damned terrible. It would be good if one of those consumer shows did an investigation to see where the issue actually is. Thanks for the comment!
Don’t buy food in the plane unless it is an actual meal like on pegasus …
Other airlines do decent enough buy on board food. My main issue is the fact the food is not as advertised. Be honest or don’t bother at all, as far as I am concerned. Thanks for the comment!
Appalling and one of the reasons I do not buy in flight. However did you complain at all? I would suggest you have grounds to complain?
It really is absolutely terrible. I didn’t complain as I figured it would be pissing into the wind. Instead I made a note to blog about it, though you’re right, I probably should lodge a complaint. It’s not like I don’t have proof, so it’s a good suggestion! Thanks for the comment!
At least BA’s M&S food is better than this.
It really is far above the Ryanair food!
I’m genuinely quite happy with the BA M&S menu. The coffee is fresh and better than what they used to serve and the food options are good and reasonably priced.
I agree with you on this. The M&S food is pretty good and it beats the free offering immediately beforehand of pretzels or nuts and water.
Your first cup of tea should be included in the fare though. It is BRITISH Airways 🙂
The cabin crew don’t give a sh*t of course and just want to get on selling to other passengers.
They’re nice but they’re pushed to sell, clearly!