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The hidden costs of cheap travelling
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Farah Hesdin Wednesday 27 April 2011 |
It is true that budget airlines such as Ryanair or Easyjet offer the possibilities of getting cheap flights as low as 35 pounds, provided that they are bought at the opportune time. The fact is however, it is never really that 'cheap'.
Click after click on Ryanair's booking page, supplementary costs are automatically added to the original ticket fare: taxes; online check-in for the way to go; online check-in for the return and online booking fees. These mandatory added costs increase the fee by at least 20 pounds and obviously exclude optional services such as insurance or extra luggage. This principally means that prices originally shown are virtually never what passengers end up paying. It also means that the minimum paid provides the minimum that can possibly be purchased from an airline: a seat in a container that takes you from one place to another, not to mention on a bumpy ride.
That said; the cheapest flight fares one might get are early morning or late night ones. This in turn translates into getting very little or no sleep at all. The snow ball increases - not enough sleep usually equals to spending the next day recovering. Travelers might thus lose almost two days resting, one on the way to go and another on the way back. This phenomenon has personally happened to me numerous times that I have recently decided never to go through the somnambulism again.
Moreover, from a logistical perspective, budget airlines are based in smaller airports such as Stansted or Gatwick, which, for the London traveler at least, means quite a voyage to get to - and money along with it. Finding the right night bus(es) to arrive to the right coach station to get to the relevant airport takes not only a good 3 hours on each way but adds costs to the overall trip.
Depending on the destination, the material and intangible costs associated with cheap traveling are worth considering. Sometimes one is better off taking the tube to Heathrow to get on a more expensive afternoon flight and landing afresh, or at least not drained of all energy.
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Mark, Nottingham 27 April 2011, 12:54PM | |
It irritates me that budget airlines continue to do this, I would much rather pay more for a plane ticket with NO HIDDEN COSTS, everything mandatory included. Just be clear and honest with us, we are not mugs who believe a flight will only cost £35! | |
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Mary Perks, London 29 April 2011, 03:21PM | |
Of course Ryanair and the low-cost carriers are cheap. The problem is that they have helped identify the extra costs of travel and they charge for these as separate items. Not that many years ago, full service airlines were all that we had and there was a single inclusive cost. You paid for the 'extra' services whether you used them or not. | |
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Emma, Surrey 2 May 2011, 01:29PM | |
I agree with both Mark and Mary but the really annoying thing is that the inital prices shown are really never what we pay, even if extra costs are seperated. I mean it's one thing to have different services seperated, it's another to always find added costs everytime you move on in your booking. Really annoying, just put the real price at the very beginning. There is a difference between being cheap and false marketing. | |
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Colin Beamish 15 May 2011, 01:35PM | |
This is not just Ryanair and easyjet, I was in the USA last month and you hear the same complaints there. | |
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