La Vie En Rose for 2007 April 10

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).