Airline passenger news and views

I just came back from using Ryanair and it was fine. The total price, including the extras, was still much cheaper than the big airline prices. I have no problem with them.

I dislike the rip off charges but do like the flexibility of cheap travel. It depends what you think is a fair price. If you really think that you should be able to travel to Spain for £10 and you end up paying £70 then you will feel annoyed. But, if you reckon that it used to cost at least £150, then these prices are very good.

Perhaps the low-cost guys ought to come clean and state the price without all the start low, build it up nonsense.

I have had good experiences of Ryanair. Only one time did they have a problem when a woman tried to smoke in the toilet and set fire to it. The plane arrived in Verona but was not able to fly back. Ryanair had another plane there the following morning to pick us up. That was good service. No, they did not pay for the hotel but we did not expect that on a cheap flight.

I recognise that low cost flying is really low budget flying. I sometimes travel with my husband and we go business class and I love it. Other times we fly Ryanair or EasyJet and it is vastly cheaper and vastly less comfortable. I think the phrase is 'you get what you pay for'.

Both work for me as long as I do not mistakenly expect business class travel for budget class fares.

This is what low-cost air travel is all about - some of us have to save money. It is ok for the business guys to grumble but for the majority of us, this is just how it is. Ryanair do a good job and if you book at the right time you get to travel. If it was not for them, we would have to stay at home.

Basic, no frills I can live with, but I still expect a reliable and efficient service for my cheap plane ticket.

My experience with easyjet was exactly what it said on the tin ‘cheap no frills’. The only thing that bothers me is the lack of transparency of the extra costs involved. Just tell me up front how much in total the flight will cost me please!

I might pay a bit more and have less extra charges but I am pretty pleased with the two flights that I have done. I could not have afforded to fly with BA or the French line but EasyJet took me and my wife and it was alright.

I use Ryanair to go to Sweden and they are very good. I must have done 20+ flights and only once (perhaps twice) was there a minor problem or delay. Do I have grumbles? yes of course I have. Is it good value for money? very much so.

For me, flying from places like Stanstead and Gatwick is much better than from Heathrow, so I am a fan of the choice provided by the low-cost guys.

Ryanair is great. I have not had a problem and I use them to go to France about six times a year. I could not afford it if they were not there. Yes, I have to pay for the luggage but if I dont take any, then I dont pay - which is just fine by me. It also cuts down on delays and makes people think about what they really need to take.

They had a problem with a flight that I was on to Verona and I know that the people waiting to come back did not get back that evening (I know because one of them works two floors down from me).

They had to find a hotel which Ryanair did pay for but they had to do all the work. Chris, the guy, said that it was just chaos and, as far as the airport was concerned, the flight was cancelled and there was no more information available. They did not even have a list of hotels. Chris said that whilst everybody else was arguing about what was going to happen, he just got a hotel and booked a room. He said others probably ended up sleeping in the airport.

His main grumble was that there was really no backup or any kind of support. He was ok but he felt sorry for people with kids that perhaps could not afford to just go and book a hotel room and argue about the money later.

Cheap flights were a good idea and they helped lots of people travel but then that spoils the environment and makes it hard for the rest of us. We should get back to enjoying where we live and not wanting to fly here, and everywhere. Then you would not have the pollution, not need all the oil that they use and domestic fuel would not be so expensive in the winters.

I found a 6 hour EasyJet flight to Egypt very uncomfortable, my legs and back ached for hours after, made me wish I had paid that bit more for a decent airline.

Easyjet? more like Hasslejet. On a recent trip we arrived at Gatwick with 2+hours to book in, we found the queue for Easyjet. This had at least 500 people waiting to book in, and only two desks open, many with small children. Many wearing Eastjet uniform were around but not one helped, a case of we have had your money so we don't care.

We did not choose to use Easyjet, it was the choice of our holiday company. On clearing this area an hour and a half later, we were told not to hang around and go straight to the plane, where we waited for another half an hour with no explaination. Eventually we boarded, but then were told there was a problem, due to the queue, and waiting another hour before take off.

Our return was also delayed, our luggage dumped in a heap at Gatwick. Never again.

Easyjet is rapidly becoming a no frills service at a premium cost. This is surely a receipe for disaster. Perhaps we need new budget airlines to emerge and compete to drive costs back down.

I traveled to Spain with Ryanair this year and I had no problems. The flights were on time and our luggage was quick to arrive when we reached the reclaim.

I flew to Nice last year with easyjet and i would never do it again. Going out the flight was 5 hours dealyed and when we got to Nice our lugagae did not arrive for 1 hour after we arrived.

On the way back our flight was cancelled and we was stuck in the airport all night untill they decided to reschedule the flight, when we finally reached Engalnd we had to wait a further hour for a lugage to arrive. NEVER AGAIN

In my experience flying with budjet airlines is what it says on the tin! You should be prepared to get a lower level of customer service etc, after all you get what you pay for!

It also helps to be net savvy and perky online to travel cheap nowadays.