Hidden costs or #scam?!

Although #travelling with #budget_airlines makes flying more accessible, it has its downfalls and can even cost you more than what you thought it would. Let’s look at some of the not so clear areas that contribute to the hidden #costs.

First, would someone explain the practice of not allocating seats next to one another? Surely if you are checking in together you want to seat together, but there is an extra charge if this request is to be honoured. I was recently travelling with other adults and not seating next to one another during the flight was not an issue; but, there were families with #babies and little children that were separated. I remember how difficult it was to travel with kids even when both my husband and I were attending to our little children.  I am glad my children grew up before the stingy business of some airlines charging for the push of a button on their behalf. What difference does it make to the #airline if you seat next to your travelling companion or not?

Now some of you might think it is a #budget airline after all and you get what you have paid for. So allow me to explore the airline’s logic further using an example. Imagine restaurants do the same. You ask for a table for four and they direct you to four different tables. For those of you with the unusual request of wanting to seat at the same table, the service charge would rise by let’s say 10 percent. Will you accept this? Why is it then OK to accept it on a flight?

Now let’s test this logic further, imagine one of the passengers boards the plane and sits at the first available seat and says if you want me to sit at my allocated seat, pay me! How would the airlines take this? Now if that passenger calls him/herself a budgeting passenger would not justify the action, would it?

Another cleverly disguised robbery is when an airline requires you to check in only two days prior to the flight. Currently one airline, charges you £55 per person if you fail to check in. Bear in mind your return flight is not available to check in until you start your trip; well unless you come back to the country on the same day or the next day as your ongoing flight. So, to check in for your return flight it is likely that you would be facing what we experienced in our last holiday. We had to check in whilst #abroad, where we had a very slow #internet connection that also disconnected repeatedly. To connect and be able to check in we spent over four hours over two consecutive days, during this time we couldn’t leave the accommodation as we needed the Wi-Fi. We managed to check in, but we didn’t have access to a #printer. We took screenshots of the passes as we couldn’t download the electronic version either. At the airport we realised the airline is charging 20 Euro per person for just printing the issued boarding passes.

When you buy any ticket, it should be the airline’s responsibility to give you a ticket and boarding pass.  Let’s continue using the airline’s own logic. If they demand the passengers to print their own boarding passes or face fine, how come when the airline doesn’t provide printed tickets, instead of an electronic confirmation, it is acceptable? Incidentally, what sort of ink do the airlines use that it costs so much for printing a black and white page? Gold ink?!

Whilst on board we realised that the airline has no facilities to accommodate medicines that need to be kept at low temperatures. They also had no drinking water available for the passengers; well apart from San Benedetto water at the cost of only 3 Euro per bottle. At least our travelling companion, after paying 3 Euro, could take their tablet. The importance of cooling down temperature-sensitive medication was ignored all together.

On another budget flight, the cabin bags which were allowed on our first flight in the connection flight cost us 15 Euro each!

I am just sorry for the budget airlines because #smoking is no longer permitted on the flights, otherwise non-smokers could have been given seats in the smoking section and smokers in the non-smoking section. Then the airline could have charged passengers for allocating seats relevant to their smoking state. Alas! The airlines have lost this opportunity, but something tells me they make up for it by other hidden charges.

Well, that’s budget airlines for you, but despite all, I guess some of us will have to continue using them. If you do just be aware of the hidden costs.

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