Thanks for containing my frustration, Viagero.

But I do wonder why one should pussyfoot around such bad service. Is it because we know the prices are amazingly low and we don't want to jeopardise them? That's a bit perverse. If your local supermarket has a special on the shelf and you enquire about its qualities, do you get any less annoyed to be told to pi$$ off? They put the goods on the shelf and they put the price on them - why should the customer accept less than the normal levels of service?

Many have speculated that the "quality" airlines don't really buy into the OW fare offerings and I firmly believe it's true. They can't find an excuse quickly enough to rid themselves of any OW fare problems. It's things like this that make you realise that alliances are really only skin deep.