La Vie En Rose for 2007 April 10 (entry 1)

(2) Tue Apr 10 2007 18:15 PST We fondly called it "slEasy jet": The thing about budget airlines is that they keep the fares low by ripping you off in every other possible way. I think this has gotten worse in the few years since my happy-go-lucky days as an undergrad study abroader, back when a euro was less than a dollar and it took less than two dollars to get you a pound. *sigh* Anyway, the 4 pound fare was seriously the cheapest part of my ticket except the 1.75 credit card fee (which is charged per leg, per passenger). There was 25 pounds tax (but that's to be expected), and now apparently they don't even let you check luggage without having to pay for it. 5 pounds per piece, I think more at the airport, and if it weighs more than 15 kilos, it's like 8 pounds per kilo or something ridiculous like that. Needless to say there will be no free snacks, drinks, or friendly stewards aboard the flight. But I'm still flying from London to Venice for $75, so it's hard to complain. Thanks to cheap airlines, I experienced the delights of Paris, Madrid, Nice, and other places that would have been out of reach previous to the budget airline revolution in Europe. I'm really looking forward to being back where all of Europe is just a hop, skip, and 20 pounds away, especially now that they have expanded east. I will probably be spending many more nights on a scored armrest-less cushion at Stansted en route to Krakow, Budapest, Riga… The sky is the limit (as they say).

Comments:

Posted by Susie at Wed Apr 11 2007 20:46

Italy! Mom would be jealous. Is the actual fare really 4 pounds?

Posted by Stacy at Thu Apr 12 2007 01:41

I saw a 1 pound fare to Italy...and is part of the reason I went. If you book from Italy to England-- they charge you in Euro and not in pounds.

Also, they weigh your carry on at Stansted just to let you know. They aint kidding around with that stuff.

And when they say 1 carry on-- that includes your purse. Like you have to jam your purse into your other bag.

And I boarded at Stansted at the flight next to Riga....that's a scary full flight cause 600,000 Poles immigrated to the UK in 2004-2005 cause of EU regulations.

And they had advertisements on their flight! Like the loud speaker would come on and voila-- radio.

Ok. That's my rant on RyanAir. Be forewarned. They aren't kidding around with the luggage thing.