Ber2dca

Ryanair isn't as awful as people make out. Most of their flights are short and there's a notably cheap vibe to their whole operation but it will get people from A to B and on short routes that's the only thing most people care about on those types of short hops. Is Easyjet "smarter"-feeling? Yeah but then Easyjet price-wise is often more similar to the legacy airlines than to Ryanair too. And I'll still take BA or KLM over Easyjet.

lloydah

Yes it is and yes they do. The short flights take some of the misery away but it's still short misery. And when they land miles away from the centre of things it makes the whole journey a pain in the butt. Suppose it depends on what you consider "awful".

ft101

They're not.

You just have to be alert during the booking process to avoid all the add ons or currency conversion "scam". And astute enough on board not to buy scratchcards etc.

Those that get caught subsidise those that don't.

In many places they fly to secondary airports, so only book them if you're happy with the destination. Seems kind of obvious to me.

NYTA

There's definitely an issue of dumb people subsidizing smart people on the LCCs - I often refer to them as the "gotcha" carriers, but once you know what you're doing, it's the same as any other airline if not easier - the change fees for example on most LCCs are a lot less than on the legacy carriers.

Ber2dca

I think a lot of times it depends on whether people read the fine print. Yes, Beauvais is halfway to Amiens, Hahn is not in the Frankfurt region and Bergamo definitely isn't Milan. But then these flights aren't aiming at a business constituency and people need to know if it suits their purposes or not.

It wouldn't generally suit mine but then for example, they fly DUB to SXF, DUB to EDI and DUB to MAD which are the same routes Aer Lingus would fly. Except for DUB to EDI I would be on a Stobart Air ATR with Aer Lingus.

USA_flyer

Agreed. For me it's the reverse - I am closer to LGW so prefer it to the point I am willing to pay up to £50 more per seat than ex-LHR.

My real fear with Ryanair, is getting stuck at some podunk armpit airport in the middle of Europe and be told the next flight I can take is 3 days away.

NYTA

Bergamo is often a faster trip to Milan than Malpensa

Nimrod1965

easyJet are okay, modern aircraft, punctual and clean. The seats do not recline but are more comfortable than the new seats on BA short haul aircraft. I have flown them LGW-TFS a few times and for 3 hours 45 it's okay. The money saved on the fare can be spent on drinks by the pool!

My favourite LCC are Norwegian, they have a hub at Gatwick and I've used them to Scandinavian destinations and also Tenerife. Seats are Recarro slim design but recline and are comfortable. In flight wifi is available free of charge and bought in advance fares are very competitive.

Ryanscare, yes. CEO is a scumbag, don't like their way of doing things and their "we've got your money, now F**k off" attitude stinks. Oslo Torp says it all, 2 hours on an infrequent bus to Oslo City centre, Norwegian flies to Gardemoen.

rjque

I like them for the simple fact that that the legacy carriers will often match their fares.

USA_flyer

I hope to try Norwegian to LAX at some point^

it's a pity their service is only once a week at the moment.

lloydah

May be worth noting - have read several remarks about their good service but if anything goes tech they don't have the fleet to back up the loss. Can mean hours or even days wait.

moondog

I flew F9 this morning for the first time since they adopted the "Spirit" strategy, and I have to say that it might have been my best flying experience YTD:

-5 minutes from curb to gate at IAD (they use the Z gates and there were no lines of any sort)
-comfortable seat
-early departure and arrival
-St. Augustine airport is a shockingly pleasant place to arrive (20 second walk from plane to car, literally)
-the FAs didn't attempt to sell anything except food/drinks

Maybe I caught them on a good day, but it honestly was far more civilized than I've become accustomed to on respected airlines... and, all for $39.

pinniped

I used to fly F9 a bit back when they were actually quite good. I'd probably be willing to do it again if I had a daytrip or quick overnighter somewhere... It would need to be a really short flight, something like MCI-DEN or MCI-MSP would be acceptable.

Doppy

Really depends on the specifics. In the US, LCC JetBlue offers the same level of comfort as the legacy airlines in economy. It has some seats with more legroom that cost extra, but it charges less for those upgrades than the legacy airlines do for their extra legroom seats.

JetBlue offers one checked bag free, the legacies all charge.

JetBlue offers free snacks (i.e. chips/cookies), the legacies charge.

JetBlue has free live TV on all its planes; the legacies have limited or no inflight entertainment domestically; United charges for the same TV offering on the handful of planes that have the capability.

JetBlue is starting to install wifi, which it is offering for free, the legacies charge.

So in this case JetBlue offers more stuff for free than the legacy airlines, and the inflight crew are friendlier, to boot.

s0ssos

I dislike low-cost carriers because I feel nickel-and-dimed, and the question is whether the hassle is worth it. But LCCs do have many routes (direct) that other airlines aren't really doing. My question is what happens when a flight gets cancelled? I think that is where customer service comes in, in the worst case scenarios. Whether peace of mind is worth a few hundred extra depends on you (though ironically the taxes and fees are horrendous on mainline carriers as well, if you consider fuel surcharges)