Where to get 'the jacket' to beat budget airline fees

Pelican_eats_pigeon

ads677 wrote: »

Exactly - so why are airlines so concerned about the weight of baggage (and charge exorbitant amounts for 'excess baggage'), but do not actually know/care about the weight of their passengers?

They assume an average weight per passenger that is generally correct to a reasonable degree of accuracy.

The reason they are so concerned about baggage weight of course, is so they have an excuse to charge people through the nose.

marklee

a6v wrote: »

Well its more than just £10 at times. I've recently booked flights on Ryanair to Italy for the family that work out to be £170 each way and compared to other airlines this was about £120 cheaper each way so yes it does make sense to fly Ryanair sometimes and £240 saving is worth it. Again I might even "invest" a 100 quid out the 240 saved to buy a jacket that might allow me to save further on check in baggage in the long run.

Though admit that one should not take it too far and maybe just use the jacket for some of the stuff without trying to load 15 kilos in the pockets.

Another interesting idea might be to have a disposable wee bag in the jacket to save a few coins when the Ryanair toilets turn into a slot machine

It depends where you live, but for me, to get a family of 4 up to Stanstead from London by public transport would cost ~£70 total each way vs <£10 to Heathrow. Chuck in a hold bag or two - £20 / £40 each way (Do you really go on holiday for a week or two with just hand luggage?) and speedy boarding - £4 each way (I presume you want your family to sit together?) and you've almost wiped out your savings, plus you're kicking off your holiday with more stress.

Just my tuppence - I know everyone has their own way of doing things

Grayling

I made my own jacket bag some years ago and still use it regularly. There is a great pattern from Saf-t-Patterns in the USA. You can buy it from the following website (which mails anywhere in the world - I am in France) - I am not allowed to post the link as I am a new user but add sewingpatterns to the usual prefix and end in dot com!

Go to the website, click on the "Independent" tab and then search under Saf-t-Pockets. There are several designs to pick from but the most useful (as it will go under an overcoat in winter and is not too hot in summer) is SP9500 and costs US Dollars 11.40. With the spare fabric from the pattern I made little zip bags to go in the pockets for money, etc and a little folding shopping bag.

So, now I stagger through security with my pockets laden plus my 10Kg wheely bag (make Lafuma, wheels and converts to a rucksack) well within the Budget airline size limits!

Finally, I jumped through hoops to get an international pre-paid mastercard (neteller) which doesn't care where you live so I save on the booking fees too!

Happy sewing & saving!
Grayling:

Jen51

ads677 wrote: »

At the risk of stirring things up I have yet to understand why airlines don't impose a 'total weight for everything including the person' policy. If a child is charged the full price for a seat but only weighs, say, 30Kg why can't they have an increased allowance (and vice versa)?

Excellent idea, if they weighed the passengers including all their luggage it would be the perfect incentive for me to go on a diet as I go away at least twice a year. This would be the perfect way to tackle obesity.

commuterGranny

My Regatta jacket cost me £30 twelve years ago and is still going strong. Got it originally for walking the dog (weather proof clothing makes a difference) but became addicted to jackets with pockets. Ski jackets are also useful.

Now I use Budget Airlines to travel to South of France to see grandson as often as I can. Only hand-luggage but always full pockets.

Got a casual light jacket in Primark. £5 big pockets outside but no pockets inside.

I'M A GRANNY. I CAN SEW. That jacket now has 4 very big inside pockets.

SO IF YOU CAN'T SEW. ASK YOUR GRANNY.

[Deleted User]

Actually airlines did weigh the passengers when they first started out, but the practice ended by the 1950s. I think they should bring it back - I'm not the lightest guy but it would be damn good motivation to loose a few kgs.

I have wanted to buy a Scottivest for a while now but am a bit hesitant at spending £70+ on a garment I have not tried on. Unfortunately they don't seem to sell them anywhere outside of the US and return postage if you are not satisfied is going to be quite high, and of course you can't get the VAT and import duty back.

maxberan

annie_S wrote: »

... the crew ended up having to tag and offload 20-30 cabin bags into the hold causing us major delays. Delays cost more for an airline than any money they can take from these few last minute charges, ...

You might put it that way annie_S, but that's not how it came over from your boss's words; his focus was entirely on "changeing behaviour", which carries altogether more sinister and manipulative connotations especially as he went on to talk about the benefit to his airline of sacrificing toilet space for extra seating.

Is Michael Ryan really so divorced from customer perceptions as not to realise how he comes over when he says such things? Has he even thought it through? On his own logic he should then be prepared to accept an increased charge by the airport authorities for his customer's increased usage of their toilet facilities compared with that of other airlines.

[Deleted User]

maxberan wrote: »

Is Michael Ryan really so divorced from customer perceptions as not to realise how he comes over when he says such things?

No, he is full aware of it, and he loves it.

He knows that for some people only price matters. They will simply choose the cheapest deal regardless of how much like cattle they are treated, both in terms of being crammed in and milked for all they are worth.

The random idiotic ideas like charging to use the loos or standing-room-only cabins just get him more free publicity. As long as that is driving people to check Ryanair's prices he is happy.

cosyc

Grayling wrote: »

I made my own jacket bag some years ago and still use it regularly. There is a great pattern from Saf-t-Patterns in the USA. You can buy it from the following website (which mails anywhere in the world - I am in France) - I am not allowed to post the link as I am a new user but add sewingpatterns to the usual prefix and end in dot com!

Go to the website, click on the "Independent" tab and then search under Saf-t-Pockets. There are several designs to pick from but the most useful (as it will go under an overcoat in winter and is not too hot in summer) is SP9500 and costs US Dollars 11.40. With the spare fabric from the pattern I made little zip bags to go in the pockets for money, etc and a little folding shopping bag.

So, now I stagger through security with my pockets laden plus my 10Kg wheely bag (make Lafuma, wheels and converts to a rucksack) well within the Budget airline size limits!

Finally, I jumped through hoops to get an international pre-paid mastercard (neteller) which doesn't care where you live so I save on the booking fees too!

Happy sewing & saving!
Grayling:

Now thathttp://www.sewingpatterns.com/sub_item.php?item_num=sp9500&new_category=&view=gallery&brand=saf-t-pockets&category=new_releases&pageGoto=0&pageFormat=3|202|202&pageCount=18&search=&return=yes looks a lot better. You can even add some more to suit.

LizzieWhiz

The RNLI sells a Travel Waistcoat for £29.95. It comes in three colours and several sizes.:T