Budget airlines ruin the travel experience

I know I will get a lot of stick over this, but budget airlines are ruining the travel experience for me.

It is not that I want to pay a fortune for a 3-hour flight, but cheap tickets come with so many restrictions that I no longer enjoy flying. In reality the tickets are not cheap at all, they are scraped-to-the-bone cattle transportation (no offence to Mrs. Cow happily grazing under the flight path) with lots of hidden necessary extras. A bit like selling you a car, and making you pay extra for the key.

Setting the trend

I know what you are thinking, why don’t I just stay away from budget airlines. Believe me I do, but it is not that simple, because budget airlines are currently setting the trend for what all airlines will become, unless of course you can afford first class.

It is no longer just Ryanair who has the nerve to charge you £13.50 for printing your boarding card and £5 per item of baggage checked in. According to local radio ads British Airways also encourages you to print out your own boarding card, as does United Airlines.

Now, British Airways and United Airlines do not currently charge you, if they have to print your boarding card, but I will not be the slightest bit surprised, if this is their way of slowly introducing a charge.

Signs of a scraped back service

Another sign of a scraped back service is the introduction of “one-way” pricing. Many of us will have experienced the disappointment of trying to book a cheap flight only to discover that the advertised price was for a one-way flight not including taxes, fuel charges and other “you-should-be-grateful-we-can-be-bothered-with-you” fees.

My pet hate is different sized economy seats. An economy seat is small enough as it is, introducing small, medium and large sized economy seats might help combat obesity, but it will do nothing for your comfort.

I am all for choices, and I do take advantage of online check-in, I might even print out my own boarding pass one day. But I do not think other passengers who choose not to do so should be punished. Let’s not forget that airlines are not introducing these self-services for your convenience, but simply because it saves them money.

Wider-reaching effects?

I also wonder, if these self-services affect security. The more pre-boarding stages passengers can complete on their own, the fewer times their identities are checked.

Before you board that £10 flight to Malaga, let me ask you a question:

Do cheap flights play a role in some tourists’ appaling behaviour and disrespect for the country they are visiting? My partner lives by the theory that no one truly appreciates what is free, I am beginning to wonder if the same applies to cheap flights?

One thing I do know, I do not enjoy travelling on them.

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