Can you elaborate on how 'hilarious' the low-budgetry is? I have flown with RyanAir many a time, and found it to be rather charming despite the low-budget nature.
Or... my favorite... I remember when they stranded me in Bratislava due to fog at Hahn with no way to get home. That was really charming too. I got lucky and booked a flight on another carrier to another city a few hours from my car. sigh
Of course they were so cheap I put up with it. But I don't have any love for them at all.
As for leaving earlier, I read this statement as "it was your fault you were late, you should have left earlier, and you deserve what you got."
I've flown Ryan Air many many times and I knew the airport well. I also knew when to leave to get there on time. Unfortunately the parking lot was torn up from construction, making the nearby spaces filled, and it took me a long time to find the poorly labeled alternate lot.
At the time I was annoyed because I felt I had done what I was supposed to do and there was nothing stopping them from providing the service. i.e. the security line was non-existent and I was there 35 minutes before take off.
The policy is what it is, but I think what really got to me the most then (and thanks to you reminding me) is the presumption that I did something wrong by not anticipating the construction and that I deserved to be punished by strict adherence to the policy.
In the US, we consider this very poor customer service.
I have heard great things about RyanAir, they just tack on the charges after you take off for every service.
When I said RyanAir is 'charming', I meant for leisurely travel around Europe. There is no way I'd put up with them if I had to absolutely be somewhere at a pre-planned time and feel like doing business when I landed.