Obviously, you get what you pay for

Bob_the_Saver

Quote:
Sadly, some people seem too stuborn to acknowledge this, or too stupid to realise that they are being taken advantage of by budget airlines. End of quote

I'm not being taken advantage of by any airline, budget or not, I take advantage of them. Ryanair for instance has always lost money on every booking I have made with them.

Of course you don't get this problem with Ryanair
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?p=25307399#post25307399

Of course things can go wrong but that applies to any airline. I've have more problems with cancelled and delayed flight with full fare airlines than with Budget carriers, but I would never ever ever leave a short gap between flights unless with the same airline and booked right through. I think the 'problems' with the actual flights are very overstated, obviously people only usually mention the problems - rarely the hundreds of flights with no problems. Good news is no news.
Where people do come unstuck is on the booking side, in 99% of cases this comes down to them reading what they think it says on the screen not what it actually says on the screen or not paying attention when completing the form. There surely can be no excuse for an adult not to be able to spell their name correctly. We all make typos (in these forums for instance) but I make damn sure that I check and double check everything when I'm booking flights (with any airline) on the net. I stick to the airlines T&C for my luggage size so no problem there.

As for people who moan that they can't get the 1p deals, well I always can, so if I can they can - I just put in a bit more effort.

Altarf

Pollycat wrote: »

when flying with a budget carrier you DO play the odds that something won't go wrong,

Which was why I referred to it earlier as playing "Ryanair Russian Roulette". I know for certain that one day my luck will run out and there will be a bullet in the chamber. Why do I play? Because I am happy taking the risk that the savings made on all the below cost flights that have gone right, will more than pay for the resulting hassle.

So when booking Ryanair, you've got to ask yourself "Did he fire six shots or only five?"

sammyjammy

I think its one of those situations where its all ok and its great money saving until something goes wrong. As the OP says in their post these budget airlines have no understanding or desire for customer service.

I've taken flights with a number of budget airlines over the years but not any more. I flew with BMI Baby a couple of months back when my return flight was cancelled due to poor weather. Fair enough but they couldn't offer me a seat on an alternative flight, wouldn't entertain putting on alternative transport (flight was Newquay to Manchester) and wouldn't pay towards the cost of getting myself home, it ended up costing me £115 for a train fare home the following day, expensive mistake.

To add insult to injury my fare was refunded by way of a credit voucher (including the taxes which they wouldn't even have had to pay as I never travelled)which I have to use within six months and cannot use to book a flight online (more expensive over the phone).

Sadly I had already booked another flight for tomorrow so am having to travel with them again, this time I've booked myself some travel insurance to cover the gaps and crossing my fingers that the weather will stay fine. I won't be making use of their generous refund credit - they can keep it!

I'll go back to trudging down the motorway for five hours!

Altarf

sammyjammy wrote: »

I've taken flights with a number of budget airlines over the years but not any more

I always find this a perverse point of view. I can understand people saying "I don't agree / like / want to risk Ryanair (or any other LOCO you want to mention), so have decided thay I will never fly with them, not even once".

But having taken the decision to use Ryanair (or any other LOCO you want to mention), but due to a single failure to then decide to never to use their service again, despite the fact it has worked on many occasions, and have to suffer / pay for an inferior / more expensive service forever more.

Cutting your nose off, springs to mind.

dmg24

sammyjammy, I was recently travelling with Air France when my flight was cancelled due to technical difficulties. Even as a business class passenger, they were unable to accommodate me on another direct flight, so I ended up taking a three sector flight (including four hours in US domestic first class - eugh!).

Do you think I should not use AF ever again, or accept that sometimes things happen which are beyond the control of the airline, and continue to use whichever airline represents best value?

7sefton

Altarf wrote: »

I guess you fall into the second category. And actually you are the sort of passenger that Ryanair wants.

Just to correct you: I am absolutely not. I could write a book about how to play Ryanair's game because I used to do it all the time. I was the person who applied for a bank account just to get an Electron card, who would take mini-sized toiletries so they would be accepted in my cabin baggage, who would do without a cup of coffee onboard and then battle to get onto a cheap bus for the 1 hour 30 minute ride to the 'city centre'. And I would roll my eyes at people who complained about Ryanair.

Then one day I thought to myself: 'Why the hell am I putting myself through this stress, inconvenience and downright exhausting process when I could spend a tiny amount more (or sometimes even the same amount) to fly with BA, KLM, etc and have the satisfaction to know I am not lining the pockets of Michael Tw*t O'Leary.

Let me be quite clear: there are occassions when budget carriers, in particular Ryanair with its considerable network, is the quickest option from one obscure airport to another. And if you live at the obscure origin and genuinely want to get to the obscure destination, great! There are also times of course when the budget carrier will be cheaper and you simply cannot afford to fly anyone else.

But the point of my post was to make the point that most people probably could afford to pay a little bit extra for a more pleasant experience, and then not need to waste their time complaining when Ryanair messes up. And for goodness sake, if you can afford the extra tenner then I just think you're degrading yourself by flying with a LCC and feeling smug because you got a 'bargain'.

And I just wanted a rant

dmg24

7sefton, can you clarify how else I can get from Nottingham to Marrakech for £30 return, and in five hours please? I trust you do not class Nottingham or Marrakech as obscure?

7sefton

dmg24 wrote: »

7sefton, can you clarify how else I can get from Nottingham to Marrakech for £30 return, and in five hours please? I trust you do not class Nottingham or Marrakech as obscure?

Actually, in terms of international aviation (and that is what we are talking about here) I would class Nottingham as obscure, yes. Along with Liverpool, Leeds-Bradford, Newquay, East Mindlands etc. Great places but not in terms of airlines. I think the only English airports which count in anyway internationally are London Heathrow & Gatwick, Manchester, and possibly Birmingham and Newcastle.

Furthermore, I also said in my previous post that Ryanair et al do sometimes work out cheaper/quicker on some routes at some times, particularly more obscure ones.

I suppose I am mainly arguing the case for flying a 'traditional' airline from major European cities, e.g. London to Frankfurt, Rome or Stockholm, not minor UK cities to locations which tend to feature mainly in the holiday markets. Long haul travel, of course, is a different matter completely because LCC do not have the same presence.

Moonchild

dmg24 wrote: »

7sefton, can you clarify how else I can get from Nottingham to Marrakech for £30 return, and in five hours please? I trust you do not class Nottingham or Marrakech as obscure?

You're being a tad facetious, as you know what they mean. Many of Ryanair's airports are obscure, many are not. Neither Nottingham or Marrekech are obscure, but I find the routing a little so.

Altarf

7sefton wrote: »

the point of my post was...that most people probably could afford to pay a little bit extra for a more pleasant experience,

It depends what you are comparing.

For category two passengers that I described earlier who don't play the game, then it might not be much.

However for category one passengers who are willing to play, it isn't "a little bit extra", it is many many multiples more. Marrakesh for £25 return, Fuerteventura for £10 return, etc, to give you a couple of recent Ryanair flights I have taken. On both of those flights Ryanair lost money as the Air Passenger Duty alone to leave the UK was £40. So ironically if you don't want to line MOL's pockets, then you should actually take up these offers as they cost him money.

As for the comfort, it depends on how you treat the plane. For me, its a few hours on something that is way better than the train/tube/bus I use daily (and which cost a damn site more money) is a reasonable trade off, to use the saving to go somewhere I would not have gone otherwise.