dark_horse

<sigh>

To my mind, it still beggars belief that people will jump through the LCC hoops in order to save what ends up being a very small amount of money (if any at all). But there we are. My friends have, and I'm being given a bit of a ribbing about choosing to fly a "premium carrier" - despite my protestations that it's very often cheaper overall.

Now, at some point I'm probably going to jot down some numbers and run through them. You know: cost of getting to airport, cost of food, cost of beer, cost of baggage, cost of checking in.... I might bring up the value I place in lounge access, additional baggage and all the other SCH benefits, but I fear that may just alienate them further!

Anyway, given that we are comparing U2 / FR with BA inflexible ET fare, the price is never that dissimilar. So, what verbal ammunition might you suggest for convincing them that I'm not some over-privileged FF-wannabe, and that I just find better value with a proper airline?

CT-UK

You also need to have an open mind that often the LLCs are oftern cheaper no matter how you try and add things in.

I have gone from being a never fly LCCs to if they are cheaper then why not person and I have done a couple of comparison reports.

Never assume etiher is more or less but double check you will often be suprised. Also be honest and work out if you need to check in luggage.

PanGalactic

Here would be a good start....

http://www.britishairways.com/travel...r/public/en_gb

Cap'n Benj

The promise of free booze is enough to sway many!

Otherwise the financials are the only thing likely to sway them, so price it up, including seat selection (if you make the booking), bags, boarding passes etc and see how it comes out.

dunk

A piece from the Indy recently debunking the "always cheaper" myth: http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/...g-6275045.html

Also, bear in mind the relative capabilities of network carriers and LCCs in IRROP scenarios.

HIDDY

As CT-UK has said you can't always discount the LCC product so easily. For a lot of people they are the only choice of airline if wanting to fly direct.....not everyone in the UK has LHR on their doorstep.

If your friends live near LHR then I think they might need a good talking to right though.

LondonAndy

Watch Cheap Flights and many of the (tongue in cheek) lyrics will ring true for those flying LCC.....

Went to see Fascinating Aida this week - they were great (if not slightly rude in places!).

BA304

Just tell them to stop being ridiculous and fly a proper airline.

For a recent trip I looked at EZY/FR out of interest. FR was more expensive than ET and on the wrong side of London. EZY was slightly cheaper but the timing was horrific. (Paying for CE may have ever so slightly increased the price difference. )

courtster

I almost pulled the trigger on BHX-LPA flights with FR last week for a week in a family villa in January...

All in for 2 people with luggage, priority boarding, card charge etc was £140.

In the end booked LHR-MAD-LPA-MAD-LHR for £230 more plus night stop in MAD outbound like I did last year as I just couldn't face FR after I went BRS-VLC to see my Dad last month for £30 return. Flying is a hobby and a passion of mine. FR took all that enthusiasm out of me.

Some people will never understand that to many of us flying is not the inconvenient thing that has to be endured before the start of the holiday.

Every time I go away and walk into T5 , my holiday starts and relish my next adventure while pondering what drink to have next

mad_rich

All good points so far.

My question: Why would you be looking for 'ammunition' as you put it? If you are confident in your belief that BA is always superior in every way to every LCC, then you will already have the tools, experience and data with which to convince your friends. It's only if you have a vague unsubstantiated belief that LCCs are nasty, that you would need 'ammunition'

It's fairly simple proposition as far as I see. Tell your friends "Don't write off mainstream carriers until you have checked the total price and considered the service levels."

Similarly, don't write off LCCs until you've checked whether the horror stories will actually apply to you.

My last U2 flight (1200 miles) was on-time, cost less than £60 including a bag, went at a convenient time, to and from convenient airports and was hassle free. I spent about £10 on a fairly decent meal on board.

My last BA flight (250 miles) was about 25 minutes late, cost £70 including the ability to check a bag which I did not take, went to an inconvenient airport but was otherwise hassle free. I got a sandwich with no choice of filling which I didn't like.

What does that prove? Probably nothing, but those are my experiences.

sdorling

I'm with CT-UK on this one, having historically had a rather 'avoid at all costs' attitude towards the LCCs.

I've only used Easyjet a handful of times and Ryanair once, but both were fine. When travelling with hand baggage only and from LGW, the difference tends to be substantial.

It's when you factor in checked baggage and (for me) a trip to LTN and STN that the cost difference tends to swing in BA's favour.

BERbound

I use FR, BA, EZY and BD/LH for my fortnightly flights to Berlin. BA have the best choice of flight times, it's also the cheapest airport to get to as the underground goes to LHR, However If I can secure a £20 flight with EZY or FR it's a no brainer over BA. However once the EZY / FR price rises to £35 or more ill switch to BA who are generally in the region of £60 , if it's more expensive than that I'll then go on BD.

Ive got to be honest I prefer BA. But I'm also impressed with FR and EZY, the crews are always professional and friendly and I love Ryanair's sense of urgency. No faffing about with them.

I never take luggage and always check in online, I've also just downloaded Easyjet's iPhone app which is great, looking forward to the next update where you will be able to receive a mobile boarding pass.

Greenpen

It was the baggage allowance that finally turn me away from LCCs. Went to southern Spain by train but came back on Ryanair. It was a fortnight holiday and thus we were carrying two suitcases plus some hand baggage. Knew what the limit was but made the assumption that Spanish checkin staff would be a bit liberal, but they checked to the gramme. Had to repack at the airport and wear too much clothing to avoid the extra charges.

Would now only use them for short trips with carry on baggage and booked well ahead to get the cheapest tickets.

By the was, IB Y is just the same as FR; came back from MAD with no allocated seating, no drinks of snack (unless paid for), so alas the cost advantage of the LCCs, wrongly perceived or not, is driving all standards down.

dark_horse

Fair question. There are actually two jaunts in question. One, with an essential bag, is cheaper with BA - and that's without travel to distant airports (though, in fairness, some of the group are a distance from London and STN is actually in the middle of us all). From my perspective, that's reasonably easy to justify.

The other, after factoring in travel to and from the airport, is a whole £10 cheaper (ooh, unless you jump through the FR hoops and get one of their special payment cards - then it's about £22 - although at what time cost?)! Apparently my reluctance to undertake that chore is enough to brand me some kind of airline snob!

Which, of course, I am...

But until someone starts flying regularly it's a bit difficult for them to understand why a headline rate of £50 vs £120 actually ends up being comparable.

corporate-wage-slave

Well I fly Easyjet as alternative to CE in the following situations:
1) It has to be more than £100 cheaper that CE (surprisingly it doesn't always happen).
2) It is point to point to exactly where I want to go. Invariably this means a proper airline isn't going there very often.
3) With Speedy Boarding (which in EDI means you can use priority security too, which is more than BA offers).
4) It is either at times I like or I book into EDI Hilton / NCL Doubletree the night before - and factor the cost accordingly.
5) I take a doggy bag on board.

I won't do Ryan again, if I can possible help it, and I never check in bags anyway. Easyjet is not too bad, and the staff's commitment to safety and customer service is actually quite good. Done about 20 flights with Easyjet this year.