And that, I feel, is the crux of the matter. Most people on this forum and website are quite clearly frequent flyers. They know the ins and outs of airline travel and can whisk themselves from point to point with only a semi-conscious awareness of the hoops through which they must jump. Most BA status pax would be quite capable of travelling FR without incurring huge charges.

However, the target market for FR are irregular leisure travellers, who see their home airport once or twice a year. The whole thing is a special occasion and every hoop comes as part of all the other pre-holiday tasks they must undertake. It is entirely understandable they will not organise themselves and their family in regimented fashion, so will suffer under FR.

They do not realise that a €1 flight will incur added extras, ranging from check-in charges via checked-in baggage to paying to pay by card. A significant number would find it cheaper to book with BA but are enticed by the headline rate and screwed by their own ignorance of the system.

What this comes down to is how much the individual should be responsible for their own actions. FR says "fit into our system or it'll cost you" whilst BA says "we'll give you room to manoeuvre."

Personally I've never found their flights cheap enough to justify the additional cost of flying with them... @:-)

[And, with thanks and apologies to fatmac70 who posted this video last August, here it is again.]