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What is your flight experience worth?

by lovelindstrom 20 May 2009 |

6 comments | Love

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Hi all
I'm about to book a flight home to the land of the reindeers. Choice of airlines;
British airways
Scandinavian airlines
*Ryan Air

Now every time I fly Ryan Air I think NEVER again! The tenners saved cannot justify extra bus journeys, additional charges and flight discomfort.

But every time I'm about to book a flight, I can't help but feeling swayed by the discount deals.

How much is your flight experience really worth - especially in these cash tight times?

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Comments (6)

37

lovebunny posted
Good question -- I was thinking about this the other day.
My family lives a ten-hour flight away (direct), and that flight is not cheap.
I can trim at least 15% off my fare by stopping once, and another 10% by stopping a second time, but for me, turning a ten-hour flight into a 15-19 hour ordeal just isn't worth it. Even if everything connects smoothly, I arrive completely exhausted and my jet lag is crippling.
So how much is my flight experience worth? A fair bit, actually.
I'm prepared take one stop on either my inbound or outbound, IF it saves me £150 or more. And I'll also pay a little more for a nicer airline (BA over Air Canada, for me -- but alas it is rarely just 'a little' more!).
In fact, I'm hoping The Goateed One will announce a Virgin expansion into Canada... I'd happily pay more for that flight!
Posted on 20 May 2009 | Love 0 loves Report
78

bellini posted
I have to say that I always think the same whenever I fly Ryanair.
As well as the extra stress, another cost that you can't always put a price on is time.
I find that the extra hours spent travelling to remote aiport locations before and after the flight are pretty costly in this respect.
Also, although the flight iteslf may be cheap, I find that I always end up buying food and drink on the plane - that cuppa and sandwich can easily add a tenner to the cost!
Posted on 20 May 2009 | Love 1 love Report
3

lovenhate posted
I've done the same flight as lovebunny many many times and I tend to agree. Sometime cheap flights are a false economy. Zoom tended to be cheaper than Air Canada and yet the difference in quality was shockingly apparent.
Saying that, if it's a short haul flight, what else could you put that money towards? A difference in say £150 over a 10 hour flight compared to the same savings over a 2 hour flight? I'd take the savings on a short haul every time. You can barely sit down read the magazine, scoff the meal and nail a chapter in a book on a short haul flight. That £150 saving is suddenly two or three meals out, a sight seeing tour and all the duty free you can cram into your hand luggage.
Scandanavia? Suck it up and save that cash :)
Posted on 20 May 2009 | Love 1 love Report
824

MikeGG1 posted
I agree with lovenhate in that you can grit your teeth, get into a book or other distraction and you are there . Not so easy on a long haul.
However, those breaks on a long haul flight, provided that you can get some exercise during those breaks, could be the difference between life & death even for the young. DVTs are still killing the occasional passenger although we don't hear about it so often.
Remember that a positive mental attitude helps enormously. If you are expecting to find fault you are bound to.
Enjoy your trip whatever you decide.
Mike
Posted on 20 May 2009 | Love 1 love Report
41

lovelindstrom posted
Thanks all - think I'll go for comfort ie BA. Especially following Bellini's advice regarding time. It's always a tough decision but just can't stand another Ryan Air flight.
Posted on 20 May 2009 | Love 0 loves Report
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Roker posted
Ryanair is not cheap. I recently tried to book Cork to Newcastle. There are lots of connection Cork Dublin and Dublin Newcastle, But they will not let you book through, it requires two booking with double the charges. Total return €566, plus all of the other Ryanair hassle. I could have a holiday in Spain including flights for less than this.
Posted on 27 June 2009 | Love 0 loves Report

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