Obviously, you get what you pay for

dmg24

Moonchild wrote: »

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.

No, I am not. Yes, some Ryanair airports are obscure, but so are many served by BA!

The OP disagrees with you anyway - but then his argument is lost on me when he declares EMA to be obscure and Nottingham a minor UK city! :rotfl:

Moonchild

dmg24 wrote: »

No, I am not. Yes, some Ryanair airports are obscure, but so are many served by BA!

Which BA Airports are obscure??!

richardw

BA flighs to Athens ATH, which is further away from Athens than the old ATH airport, but nearer to Rafina for ferries to the islands.

7sefton

dmg24 wrote: »

No, I am not. Yes, some Ryanair airports are obscure, but so are many served by BA!

The OP disagrees with you anyway - but then his argument is lost on me when he declares EMA to be obscure and Nottingham a minor UK city! :rotfl:

What bit is lost on you? Most people would agree EMA is obscure in the global world of aviation (and no, BA don't fly from there either), and there are plenty more cities in the UK that are much bigger than Nottingham, thus making it a 'minor' one.

Bob_the_Saver

Airports are only obscure if you don't live near them or want to fly to them.

Doshwaster

Bob_the_Saver wrote: »

Airports are only obscure if you don't live near them or want to fly to them.

Quite right. For many people Heathrow and Gatwick are very remote places which would take many hours, and a lot of hassle, and cost more than the airfare to get to.

Too many people focus on the flight cost, when you have to take in the whole door to door trip in terms of time, money and hassle.

kingston_toon

Hmmm... I suspect the OP is a wind-up merchant, but I'll bite...

Bremen, Krakow, Edinburgh, Madrid, Berlin SXF, Dublin, Bologna, Malaga, Pisa, Marseille. Are these all *really* secondary airports in the middle of nowhere? Sure, you have the likes of Frankfurt Hahn and Dusseldorf Weeze in the middle of nowhere, but most of the rest of Ryanair's airports serve places that people actually live. Shock horror... Lodz, Bergamo, Bristol, Bydgoszcz, Charleroi, Eindhoven, Gothenburg. *Lots* of people actually live near or in these places and probably appreciate having a wide range of flights from their local airport, instead of having to schlep over to Warsaw, Malpensa, Heathrow or Amsterdam.

And even in cases like Hahn... I've done it myself loads of times... a nice 30 minute ride on a bus takes you down to the gorgeous Mosel valley. Lots of people want to go there.

Finally... let's say I really do want to go from the centre of London to the centre of Frankfurt. Well I doubt you'd get much change from £100 return from Heathrow. Stansted is around 45 mins away on the train, so not much longer than the Tube. A Network card return on the train is around £18. The flight is probably £5 each way, or less. And lets say £30 max on travel at the other end (although it can be a lot lot less if you get a Lander ticket on German Railways which is valid for up to 5 people). So £50 return max. The usual Electron card, and hand luggage only, because hey, do you really need to take all that stuff? And a bottle of water from Boots at the airport. Bargain.

You spend your £100 or more on a high fares airline, grinning smugly because you couldn't be bothered, or weren't clever enough, to spend 5 minutes looking for Ryanair's clearly marked special offer fares, and I'll drink to your health in a nice pub overlooking the river with my extra £50.

Moonchild

richardw wrote: »

BA flighs to Athens ATH, which is further away from Athens than the old ATH airport, but nearer to Rafina for ferries to the islands.

Eh? It's the only airport in Athens? Where do you want them to fly to, Istanbul? It's not an obscure airport anymore than KLIA is in KL, or Heathrow is compared to Croydon Aerodrome. It's the best and most central airport and only airport for Athens! Name an obscure aiport that BA flies to when there are better alternatives?

Pollycat

7sefton wrote: »

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

Ok, you've had your rant. :rolleyes:

But, who are YOU to decide or assume that people could afford to pay a little more?

Actually I think you're very rude - in this thread you've accused people of being stubborn, stupid, smug and degrading themselves.

And why?
Because they don't agree with your point of view about air travel.

7sefton

I take your points Polly and Kingston - I'm honestly not a wind-up merchant, but perhaps didn't express myself clearly or sensitively enough. I'm sorry if I caused any offence.

My main point remains that people should not be blinded by the hype Ryanair etc and people on these boards make about their cheap fares. Even if the budget flight does cost £10 or £20 cheaper than BA or Iberia, for instance, doesn't necessarily mean it's the best for you when you consider the hassle and stress it may cause you to jump through all the hoops. A holiday is, after all, supposed to be relaxing from start to finish; and it's better for a business person to arrive at a meeting refreshed and calm than ragged following a LCC nightmare.

Of course there is a market for Ryanair et al, but sometimes I do think it is a slightly more niche market than people seem to think it is.