Travel / Ryanair travel by air - subtle scams to be wary of [98]


Struggling financially? I wonder where you read that...

The last full year results, reported on May 21st and dated 31st March saw the following figures -

25% increase in profits to 503m Euro.
19% increase in revenue to 4,325m Euro
5% increase in passengers

Ryanair are doing exceptionally well when many other airlines are indeed struggling financially. I mean - unless you think that 503m Euro profit on 4,325m revenue is "struggling financially".

They've also got (as of 31st March) - 2,708.3m Euro in CASH in the bank.


It's what keeps the flights cheap, turnarounds fast and Ryanair profitable.

Travel / Ryanair travel by air - subtle scams to be wary of [98]


It's not a fine, it's a fee for printing the boarding pass at the airport. Given that they send countless e-mails saying YOU MUST CHECK IN AND PRINT YOUR BOARDING PASS, there's really no excuse for not doing it.

Ryanair are fantastic for short trips to random places that you'd never consider visiting. Not so great if you have to bring along loads of baby stuff, large suitcases, etc etc.

News / Polish baby boom, but not in Poland [40]

There was a huge amount of emigration of the middle/educated classes up until very recently.

UK, Ireland / Polish immigrants in the UK - the next generation [87]

Why do you keep arguing your point when it's already been shown to you beyond a doubt that it's perfectly possible for someone from Poland to live in the UK, totally under the radar? RN and Barney actually live on that island and know what they're talking about when it comes to this sort of thing.

Ryanair/Wizzair/etc don't take passport data for Irish flights. Why would they, when API isn't required by Ireland? And Ryanair/wizzair/etc certainly don't scan passports - they scan boarding passes.

If you "knew first hand", you'd know that the UK border is wide open for EU nationals. The Republic of Ireland aren't going to enforce UK immigration rules, though they will question people who look likely to head straight to the UK.

Or is "first hand' slang for "I once shagged a stewardess"?

News / Will EURO 2012 be a proud moment for Poland and its people or set back Poland 20 years? [86]

A great deal of the Irish are amazed with Poland and will return. Many, many of them have talked about how filthy cheap it is, how much fun they've had and how they will definitely return.

Life / Which services is Poland still waiting for? [218]

No such thing. The concept of legal tender only exists in relation to paying debts. They (as any retailer) have the right of refusal if it concerns the supply of a product or service.

And yes, the banks will tell you to get lost if you turn up with odd amounts.

Real Estate / What do you pay in rent/mortgage in Poland? [144]


Fuzzy has no idea, because he never associated with people actually earning money. All his stories about eating "goracy kubek" and so on - it's pretty obvious that he was living a life of survival here, not the life that you, me or many others live.


In other words, people who actually want to work hard.


Fuzzy, I don't think it would make much difference to where I am today if I was paying 0 or 450zl a month for a room.


What Fuzzy doesn't seem to understand at all is that there are plenty of wealthy people in Poland. He didn't earn the big bucks himself, and he spent what he had on travelling back to the States. As I say - his bitterness all seems to stem from the fact that he couldn't succeed in Poland.

News / Will EURO 2012 be a proud moment for Poland and its people or set back Poland 20 years? [86]

Surely a PiS-loving paper would be posting "TUSK TO BLAME : 10% OF VISITORS WON'T COME BACK" ;)

So far, so good I'd say. The ones who are objecting are, as usual, either moronic hooligans who couldn't afford tickets anyway or the usual PiS voting suspects.


Quite common among bitter expats who married a Polish girl - and who simply wants to stay in Poland.

History / The story about German- Polish reconciliation [194]

One of the saddest notes in DDR history was that the last victim who died trying to escape - died not escaping into West Germany, but rather he was killed trying to escape into Poland.

That last picture is taken from the fence of the West German embassy, if I remember rightly?

Law / European driving licence - can he go back to Poland to get another license? [7]


Actually - not true. The points are linked to a PESEL, rather than the driving licence - hence expats with a PESEL can perfectly well obtain points.


Wrong. EU citizens have a right of residence - and thus - deportation is not an option.

News / Polish baby boom, but not in Poland [40]


Easily. The UK was a great example of this during the good times.

Food / Your favourite Polish foods! [180]


Perhaps if you buy ready meals, it is.


No, only endless well-known chefs praise the food. You know, nobodies.

bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00zf9vd

for instance.


Ah, Des Essientes is back I see.

UK, Ireland / Polish immigrants in the UK - the next generation [87]


They don't. They should, given that both are sovereign states and operating a mini-Schengen - but they don't.


Totally grasping at straws now. Anyone who has actually ever flown to Ireland from an EU country will know that they tend to wave people through quite frequently unless you look interesting. No API, nothing.

Food / Your favourite Polish foods! [180]


You do realise that these aren't much different to what's eaten in Ireland and Scotland?


Parents can't cook, eh?

News / Polish baby boom, but not in Poland [40]

And no doubt telling us all how they would move back to Poland now, but..but..always an excuse ;)

UK, Ireland / Polish immigrants in the UK - the next generation [87]

You're just showing your total ignorance as to NI-GB travel.

UK, Ireland / Polish immigrants in the UK - the next generation [87]

With pleasure.

poferries.com/tourist/content/pages/template/_footer_other_terms_&_conditions_terms_&_conditions.htm

Section 6 - your responsibilities.


That makes it crystal clear that photographic identification is *not* required on internal UK journeys. As I keep saying, the Northern Irish would have a fit if they were expected to identify themselves on internal UK journeys!

Barney's already told you that I'm 100% correct - why keep arguing?

But - just to put the icing on the cake. Who asks you for identification when you buy a bus ticket from Belfast to Edinburgh?

UK, Ireland / Polish immigrants in the UK - the next generation [87]


Policy varies by carrier, as well as route. For instance, low-cost airlines will ask for ID as a revenue protection system. Then it depends on where the controls are - quite normal with the juxtaposed controls at Dover to leave the UK without any identification check whatsoever.


Spot checks still did not involve the mandatory carrying of identification. While it might mean that Special Branch would take their time with you in the absence of ID, there was still (and is still no) compulsion to actually carry some when travelling to Great Britain on an internal UK journey.

Also worth pointing out that Advance Passenger Information is not required when travelling from the UK to Ireland.

Real Estate / What do you pay in rent/mortgage in Poland? [144]

You don't think, because you don't know them.


They most certainly aren't middle class if they have "modest jobs and modest flats". A mortgage of 300,000 is around 2000zl a month. That's around half of the average monthly wage in Wroclaw. If it would bankrupt them, then they most certainly aren't middle class at all.

Fuzzy, you didn't have a car and barely travelled around Poland - how would you have a hope in knowing about what actually lies beyond the end of the tram lines?

As I said before - perhaps if you mixed in better circles, you'd see how Polish people actually live.

UK, Ireland / Polish immigrants in the UK - the next generation [87]

What part of "They do not ask for ID on internal UK journeys" are you struggling to understand? Barney's already told you that you're not right - and he lives in Belfast. I'd expect him to know a thing or two about NI-GB travel!

There is no passport control on the Irish border. In fact, there never was - even from the start of the Free State, the border always remained free from immigration checks. Even during the worst of The Troubles, there was never a formal immigration check on the Irish border.

(Barney - I know about the checkpoints - but they weren't formal immigration checks as such)

UK, Ireland / Polish immigrants in the UK - the next generation [87]


They don't check ID on CTA journeys - why would they, when they're sailing within the Common Travel Area - which is essentially a mini-Schengen?

Furthermore, why would Stena Line check identification on an internal UK ferry?


And yet there was never an obligation to carry valid identification.

Don't you think that perhaps, the British in Northern Ireland would have an absolute fit if someone demanded ID from them to travel within their own country?

UK, Ireland / Polish immigrants in the UK - the next generation [87]


What part of what you quoted says anything about the mandatory possession of identification, or the compulsory registration of such identification with the UK authorities?

Life / Let`s compare prices of services and products in Poland [359]

Insurance in Poland is much cheaper and frankly - much better.

Try getting a Green Card for Serbia, Albania or Ukraine from a UK insurer. It's not going to happen. In Poland? Routine.

UK, Ireland / Polish immigrants in the UK - the next generation [87]


No, you're the one clutching at straws. Anyone who has passed through immigration in Ireland knows that they tend to wave people through without much, if any of a check. So - our Polish friend has already managed to gain entry to the CTA without being known to the UK.

Then our Polish friend gets on a nice Bus Eireann waiting for him, headed to Belfast. The UK very, very rarely checks ID on the Irish frontier, so he's already in Belfast without any problems. Then.


Why would they have to produce a passport/ID card when travelling inside the UK?


There is absolutely no obligation for them to carry any form of identity when sailing between Northern Ireland and Great Britain. Advised doesn't mean "required" - and a utility bill is hardly a form of identification. So - our friend has now entered Great Britain, all without a single check by the UK authorities.


Erm...Belfast is full of them.


Registered where, exactly? Given that there is no obligation to produce any identification when travelling on internal ferries, how could the Home Office know anything about our Polish friend?

News / Poland's Economy Is Booming! The EU's Success Story? [711]


Crap journalism. There were motorways in Poland then - Konin-Wresznia was open, as was the A4 from Olszyna to Wroclaw.


He isn't going far enough, though he's doing a good job so far.

Real Estate / What do you pay in rent/mortgage in Poland? [144]

As far as I know - after the system changed, the housing cooperatives sold off their stock at ridiculously low prices. That would certainly explain much of the mortgage-free figure.

This form of privatization was an utter disaster in terms of screwing up this generation.

UK, Ireland / Polish immigrants in the UK - the next generation [87]


And the next one is in 2021. Hardly a reliable register, unlike the residency schemes operated in the Schengen zone.


What needs to be sent to the UK Government? Very little - and none of them meet the definition of a "residency permit" as you claimed was a requirement for Polish citizens in the UK. Much of what you listed is dealt with locally, such as council tax.


Actually, it's very easy for a Polish worker to live off-grid.


Wrong. You can easily hop on a flight to Dublin Airport, take a bus to Belfast and sail across the North Sea without anyone being any the wiser and no passport information given.

Or did you forget that the UK has a roughly 200 mile unguarded frontier?

UK, Ireland / Polish immigrants in the UK - the next generation [87]


The census isn't any sort of registration, it's just a count for statistical purposes. The fact that they only come around every 10 years suggests that it really isn't much of a "registration' scheme.


Again - nothing to do with registering in the country as it's understood in the EU context.

There is no formal requirement to register your residence in the UK if you're from an EEA country.

Study / Looking to study at Warsaw university of technology - should i apply as a Polish or American citizen? [20]

You should be more concerned about the probable worthlessness of an English-language degree from that university.

Love / Very disappointed in Polish women. They prefer Spanish men. [24]


Is this sort of attitude common in Poland, do you think?

(I don't think so, for the record)