Never Again-AMS-BCN with Vueling!
Mar 1, 2010, 1:20 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Amsterdam
Programs: Flying Blue, Miles and More
Posts: 7
Never Again-AMS-BCN with Vueling!
On a recent trip from AMS-BCN, I made the mistake of deciding to travel with a discount airline-you can blame this decision on the latest series of strikes by the French air traffic controllers. All I can say IS NEVER AGAIN! I will drive, or walk first.
I have seriously come to the conclusion, I HATE DISCOUNT AIR TRAVEL! Yes you get there cheaply, but the toll it takes on your nerves, your dignity, and your legs last longer that any money you saved on buying a cheap ticket. First off, I think they specially train the staff in rudeness, and anti-customer service. I swear they go out of their way to aggravate and just piss you off for the sheer hell of it. I would be pretty much a malcontent if I had to work for a ...... airline, so to some extent it is understandable.
Then the security restrictions are even more numerous with your average discount airline, you can only carry one bag on, it has to weigh so much, it has to be a certain size, usually smaller than that of the ‘normal’ carriers, allow, and you have to pay for your luggage. Low and behold if it is one f’ing kilo over the barebones minimum that they allow, they can slap another 20-30 euros on top of it for over baggage. I mean have they forgotten we are traveling, and by virtue of being in transit, we will have some kind of baggage with us? So to make you pay for the flight and then the baggage is in my opinion ridiculous, and not to mention the .......s also charge you for your food on the flight!
Then to carry on the insult, the security measures are extreme in there stupidity, hasn’t anyone realized all you do is frustrate people, cause delays, and accomplish absolutely nothing in stopping a terrorist from wrecking havoc if they so chose? Christmas 2009, springs to mind. This unfortunate young idiot passed through the hallowed halls of Schiphol airport on his way to the US, with his strap-on bomb in place. The taking off of the shoes, the limiting of liquids, the opening of lap tops and such didn’t stop this would-be terrorist from getting through and almost causing a major disaster. Aggravating travelers is not the way to prevent terrorism, if anything it is a good way to cause normal individuals to want to turn to terror as a means to alleviate some of the frustration they feel, when some jackass at security, who hasn’t a clue what to look for is making you late for your plane, because your f’ing lipgloss isn’t in a stupid ziplock baggie!
Ok so you have cleared the insipid security measures, managed to not shove your lipgloss, or foot up some Security Nazi’s ..., and now you have the pleasure of walking the entire length of the airport! Because it is a cheap discount airline, they stick them at gates seriously bordering on another province let alone the airport environs, that is allowable. So, not only are you late for your flight, but now you have to run a marathon to get to the gate, only to discover that they have move your flight, maybe they announced it, maybe not. Who knows! They certainly don’t care. That is one less pissed off passenger they have to deal with.
It certainly doesn’t add to the travel experience at all. But I am safe in the knowledge that I will soon be in a suite at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Barcelona, with a masseuse waiting for me to rub away all the stress of the nightmare that airline travel has become. If only I could have one waiting for me at home when in a few days I have to relive the nightmare of the return trip.
I have seriously come to the conclusion, I HATE DISCOUNT AIR TRAVEL! Yes you get there cheaply, but the toll it takes on your nerves, your dignity, and your legs last longer that any money you saved on buying a cheap ticket. First off, I think they specially train the staff in rudeness, and anti-customer service. I swear they go out of their way to aggravate and just piss you off for the sheer hell of it. I would be pretty much a malcontent if I had to work for a ...... airline, so to some extent it is understandable.
Then the security restrictions are even more numerous with your average discount airline, you can only carry one bag on, it has to weigh so much, it has to be a certain size, usually smaller than that of the ‘normal’ carriers, allow, and you have to pay for your luggage. Low and behold if it is one f’ing kilo over the barebones minimum that they allow, they can slap another 20-30 euros on top of it for over baggage. I mean have they forgotten we are traveling, and by virtue of being in transit, we will have some kind of baggage with us? So to make you pay for the flight and then the baggage is in my opinion ridiculous, and not to mention the .......s also charge you for your food on the flight!
Then to carry on the insult, the security measures are extreme in there stupidity, hasn’t anyone realized all you do is frustrate people, cause delays, and accomplish absolutely nothing in stopping a terrorist from wrecking havoc if they so chose? Christmas 2009, springs to mind. This unfortunate young idiot passed through the hallowed halls of Schiphol airport on his way to the US, with his strap-on bomb in place. The taking off of the shoes, the limiting of liquids, the opening of lap tops and such didn’t stop this would-be terrorist from getting through and almost causing a major disaster. Aggravating travelers is not the way to prevent terrorism, if anything it is a good way to cause normal individuals to want to turn to terror as a means to alleviate some of the frustration they feel, when some jackass at security, who hasn’t a clue what to look for is making you late for your plane, because your f’ing lipgloss isn’t in a stupid ziplock baggie!
Ok so you have cleared the insipid security measures, managed to not shove your lipgloss, or foot up some Security Nazi’s ..., and now you have the pleasure of walking the entire length of the airport! Because it is a cheap discount airline, they stick them at gates seriously bordering on another province let alone the airport environs, that is allowable. So, not only are you late for your flight, but now you have to run a marathon to get to the gate, only to discover that they have move your flight, maybe they announced it, maybe not. Who knows! They certainly don’t care. That is one less pissed off passenger they have to deal with.
It certainly doesn’t add to the travel experience at all. But I am safe in the knowledge that I will soon be in a suite at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Barcelona, with a masseuse waiting for me to rub away all the stress of the nightmare that airline travel has become. If only I could have one waiting for me at home when in a few days I have to relive the nightmare of the return trip.
Mar 1, 2010, 1:47 am
#2
Join Date: May 2005
Location: BRU
Programs: A3/Gold, BA/Gold + other less precious metals
Posts: 2,641
Good morning to you, too 
Oh, most definitely.
Well, luckily, you don't. Working for an airline is not easy and, evidently, it's not for everyone.
This has nothing to do with "security". It's just the rules of the airline. You agree to them when buying your ticket. Shockingly, they have rules covering these things.
I take it you haven't recently flown with "full service" airlines in the USA, for example? Besides, again, all this is explained on their website where - I presume - you bought the ticket.
The nerve! 
Vueling's fault, for sure.
Vueling's fault that the airport is big...
Agreed. It's not for everybody.
Be sure to post a trip report. Oh wait...
Huh?! What gives?!
...and you have to pay for your luggage. Low and behold if it is one f’ing kilo over the barebones minimum that they allow, they can slap another 20-30 euros on top of it for over baggage. I mean have they forgotten we are traveling, and by virtue of being in transit, we will have some kind of baggage with us? So to make you pay for the flight and then the baggage is in my opinion ridiculous.
Then to carry on the insult, the security measures are extreme in there stupidity, hasn’t anyone realized all you do is frustrate people, cause delays, and accomplish absolutely nothing in stopping a terrorist from wrecking havoc if they so chose? Christmas 2009, springs to mind. This unfortunate young idiot passed through the hallowed halls of Schiphol airport on his way to the US, with his strap-on bomb in place. The taking off of the shoes, the limiting of liquids, the opening of lap tops and such didn’t stop this would-be terrorist from getting through and almost causing a major disaster. Aggravating travelers is not the way to prevent terrorism, if anything it is a good way to cause normal individuals to want to turn to terror as a means to alleviate some of the frustration they feel, when some jackass at security, who hasn’t a clue what to look for is making you late for your plane, because your f’ing lipgloss isn’t in a stupid ziplock baggie!
Ok so you have cleared the insipid security measures, managed to not shove your lipgloss, or foot up some Security Nazi’s ..., and now you have the pleasure of walking the entire length of the airport! Because it is a cheap discount airline, they stick them at gates seriously bordering on another province let alone the airport environs, that is allowable.
Agreed. It's not for everybody.
Be sure to post a trip report. Oh wait...
Huh?! What gives?!
Mar 1, 2010, 2:36 am
#4
formerly known as 2lovelife
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: ORF : UA_Premier_Gold4Life, Bonvoy_titanium, Accor_Plat
Posts: 6,952
I have to agree that Discount carriers push the limits. But that's life. And unlike you, I will definitely take discount carriers again when the occasion permits. They suck, but I need them sometimes.
On Air Asia once, my ticket was appx $47. I was way over the weight limit for luggage. The charges, had I checked the bags would have been appx $150.
Of course, I checked in the 15KG allowed and tried to sneak the rest on board. It didn't go very well... and ended up with me emptying my wallet to the manager before being allowed to board. Of course not all the money I gave him was remitted to the company.
On Air Asia once, my ticket was appx $47. I was way over the weight limit for luggage. The charges, had I checked the bags would have been appx $150.
Of course, I checked in the 15KG allowed and tried to sneak the rest on board. It didn't go very well... and ended up with me emptying my wallet to the manager before being allowed to board. Of course not all the money I gave him was remitted to the company.
Mar 1, 2010, 4:07 am
#5
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Amsterdam
Programs: Flying Blue, Miles and More
Posts: 7
This isn't the first discount carrier I have ever used, but it was by far the most annoying experience. Or maybe it is just Schiphol airport. Because at BCN, everything went quite well.
Mar 1, 2010, 4:49 am
#6
Join Date: May 2005
Location: BRU
Programs: A3/Gold, BA/Gold + other less precious metals
Posts: 2,641
Mar 1, 2010, 5:41 am
#7
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: ORD MDW
Programs: AA, UA, DL , IHG Plat, Bonvoy Gold - 2009 FT Fantasy Football Champion
Posts: 6,854
I HATE DISCOUNT AIR TRAVEL! Yes you get there cheaply, but the toll it takes on your nerves, your dignity, and your legs last longer that any money you saved on buying a cheap ticket.
Mar 1, 2010, 9:46 am
#8
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: WA, US
Programs: lots of little things
Posts: 705
For someone with the means to enjoy a wonderful massage at the Mandarin Oriental, you must be living under a very fancy rock!
The realities of air travel are a bit different than they once were.
Hope the massage was nice!
The realities of air travel are a bit different than they once were.
Hope the massage was nice!
Mar 1, 2010, 5:01 pm
#9
Join Date: Dec 2006
Programs: DL DM
Posts: 1,212
I think that perhaps your expectations were far to great. Vueling is not, by any means, a full-service carrier, nor do they pretend to be.
However, I flew them four times inside of one week in November, and found them to be quite adequate.
Yes, the seat pitch is absolutely horrible, and I would not want to (and probably would be unable to) endure it for any trip longer than 60-90 minutes.
Yes, the location of their gates in certain airports is less than ideal, and you have to take a bus, etc., but that savings is most definitely passed on to you, the customer. I have to say, however, that their operation at BCN is pretty much the same as full-service carriers -- jet-bridge boarding from the new terminal.
Yes, the FAs are not warm and chatty, but at the same time, I didn't find them rude, mean, or unwelcoming.
But to expect a meal, and high levels of customer service from Vueling when you are paying significantly less than flying on KLM is somewhat ridiculous. There is no way you could have booked a flight with Vueling without realizing that they are not a full-service carrier.
If I want to fly from AMS to BCN tomorrow and return Wednesday, I can spend less than 300 euros and fly Vueling, or I can spend close to 800 euros and fly KLM. I'm sorry, but for 500 euros more, I am not flying KLM. I'll put up with a little pain to fly Vueling, which for that length of flight, is not really that much of a pain.
I'm not normally a defender of LCCs, but Vueling is something a little different. They fly to major airports, have okay customer service, and are clean, cheap, and on-time.
Would I fly them from New York to Europe? No way. But I will happily trade significant savings for a little comfort on a short European flight.
However, I flew them four times inside of one week in November, and found them to be quite adequate.
Yes, the seat pitch is absolutely horrible, and I would not want to (and probably would be unable to) endure it for any trip longer than 60-90 minutes.
Yes, the location of their gates in certain airports is less than ideal, and you have to take a bus, etc., but that savings is most definitely passed on to you, the customer. I have to say, however, that their operation at BCN is pretty much the same as full-service carriers -- jet-bridge boarding from the new terminal.
Yes, the FAs are not warm and chatty, but at the same time, I didn't find them rude, mean, or unwelcoming.
But to expect a meal, and high levels of customer service from Vueling when you are paying significantly less than flying on KLM is somewhat ridiculous. There is no way you could have booked a flight with Vueling without realizing that they are not a full-service carrier.
If I want to fly from AMS to BCN tomorrow and return Wednesday, I can spend less than 300 euros and fly Vueling, or I can spend close to 800 euros and fly KLM. I'm sorry, but for 500 euros more, I am not flying KLM. I'll put up with a little pain to fly Vueling, which for that length of flight, is not really that much of a pain.
I'm not normally a defender of LCCs, but Vueling is something a little different. They fly to major airports, have okay customer service, and are clean, cheap, and on-time.
Would I fly them from New York to Europe? No way. But I will happily trade significant savings for a little comfort on a short European flight.
Mar 1, 2010, 11:56 pm
#10
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Vantaa, Finland
Programs: AY Lumo, FB Gold
Posts: 1,667
Ok, now that you got that out from your system, I'm not sure what you are complaining about.
Yes, the seat pitch on Vueling is quite abysmal. The same can be said for many other carriers as well. But unless you are very obese or tall you should survive the less than two hour flight, just get an aisle seat if you can't get an exit row and stretch your legs down the aisle.
I've never found their crew to be that rude. Sure, any airline has some bad apples and any crew bad days, but I doubt this is a recurring occurrence. Maybe a cultural thing, the Spanish service culture is definitely different if one is used to the overwhelming American way for example.
For luggage, they do make it quite clear what the restrictions are. If you don't want to comply with them, then you should pay the fees or pick another carrier. Low cost carriers gain lots of revenue from luggage fees - that's why their fares are lower - and that's why they are keen to enforce their limits in a much more stricter way. It's their company, they are free to set any rules they wish.
As for the security madness this doesn't really has anything to do with the airline. The regulations are laid down by the various aviation authorities in each country, and we all know how good government organizations are at getting something right. They are enforced by whatever company or organization is running the airport, usually outsourced to some companies specializing in this kind of work.
False expectations, I'd say.
Yes, the seat pitch on Vueling is quite abysmal. The same can be said for many other carriers as well. But unless you are very obese or tall you should survive the less than two hour flight, just get an aisle seat if you can't get an exit row and stretch your legs down the aisle.
I've never found their crew to be that rude. Sure, any airline has some bad apples and any crew bad days, but I doubt this is a recurring occurrence. Maybe a cultural thing, the Spanish service culture is definitely different if one is used to the overwhelming American way for example.
For luggage, they do make it quite clear what the restrictions are. If you don't want to comply with them, then you should pay the fees or pick another carrier. Low cost carriers gain lots of revenue from luggage fees - that's why their fares are lower - and that's why they are keen to enforce their limits in a much more stricter way. It's their company, they are free to set any rules they wish.
As for the security madness this doesn't really has anything to do with the airline. The regulations are laid down by the various aviation authorities in each country, and we all know how good government organizations are at getting something right. They are enforced by whatever company or organization is running the airport, usually outsourced to some companies specializing in this kind of work.
False expectations, I'd say.
Mar 2, 2010, 12:28 am
#11
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Sydney, Australia
Programs: QF, Skywards, SQ, Centurion
Posts: 391
What an angry post! I feel angry just from reading it!
Geez, you think?
I don't know about you, but when I hear "budget airline" I don't envisage lush pitch & vomit-inducingly amazing customer service....
EDIT: You may be interested in this facebook group:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?si...236&ref=search
I made the mistake of deciding to travel with a discount airline
I don't know about you, but when I hear "budget airline" I don't envisage lush pitch & vomit-inducingly amazing customer service....
EDIT: You may be interested in this facebook group:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?si...236&ref=search
Last edited by haydensydney; Mar 2, 2010 at 12:30 am Reason: Darlingk
Mar 2, 2010, 1:06 am
#12
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Posts: 396
Because of this post, I, for the first time, went to the Vueling website.
Maybe to your impatience in booking, lack of funds, but within and not joking, 3 minutes, I easily found ways to book more comfort, either 1) seat with more legroom or 2) seat duo, or something close, where in the first couple rows, you pay a little extra for the seat next to you to remain empty instead of added legroom. A different technique not thought of yet here in the U.S., but there it was.
So, I stopped wasting any further of my time being that in minutes I disregarded this as whah whah whah
Maybe to your impatience in booking, lack of funds, but within and not joking, 3 minutes, I easily found ways to book more comfort, either 1) seat with more legroom or 2) seat duo, or something close, where in the first couple rows, you pay a little extra for the seat next to you to remain empty instead of added legroom. A different technique not thought of yet here in the U.S., but there it was.
So, I stopped wasting any further of my time being that in minutes I disregarded this as whah whah whah
Mar 3, 2010, 9:18 am
#13
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Amsterdam
Programs: Flying Blue, Miles and More
Posts: 7
Oi, flyboy what does the seat I chose have to do with anything? Which incidentally was in the first row.
It was a ...... experience, plain and simple you don't have to agree with it.
It was a ...... experience, plain and simple you don't have to agree with it.
Mar 3, 2010, 9:34 am
#14
Join Date: May 2005
Location: BRU
Programs: A3/Gold, BA/Gold + other less precious metals
Posts: 2,641
Frankly, I think your expectations far exceeded what you paid for, which was no-frills transportation from AMS to BCN.
- Did they get you there safely? YES.
- On time? I GUESS SO (otherwise I am sure you would have mentioned it!).
- Did they deliver what they promised in terms of "frills" (food, luggage, etc)? YES.
Everything else that you mention are false expectations and/or beyond Vueling's control. You got what you paid for, what's all the fuss about?!
Mar 3, 2010, 1:18 pm
#15
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: DFW
Programs: UA MM, QF Plat, Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott
Posts: 2,563
In the end of the day the OP saved money and they should've had the sense to make sure of their baggage limits before flying and by buying on Vueling they knew they were getting value. It's not like the OP booked a ticket on KLM and got a budget carrier experience. In reality he booked a budget carrier and got that level of service.