No frills….for 8+ hours?
Posted April 13th, 2007 by Sheila
Breaking news: budget Irish airline Ryanair is going to take a swipe at transatlantic routes, offering flights to the US through a “sister or associate company” from bases in continental Europe. They promise some of their usual teaser fares, like around $12 one way.
I’ve flown Ryanair with my family to Pisa, Italy and Oslo, Norway (although the “Oslo Torp” airport is a heck of a long way from Oslo) and my take is that if you’re willing to go bare bones, you can’t beat the price. How about all 4 of us from Germany to Pisa and back for about $150 total?
That said, I was flying short-haul, from within Europe since I lived in the Netherlands at the time. I’m not sure I can take zero amenities, paying for all basics like water and food, plus draconian baggage weight restrictions for a long flight over to Europe (unless I don’t have my kids along and I just plan on buying a whole new wardrobe as soon as I land.)
A Guardian blogger has already weighed in. What do you think?
Technorati tags: travel, Ryanair, budget airlines, Europe
April 14th, 2007 at 6:20 am
I think you’ve said it all! I heard this report on Marketplace yesterday morning, and when the London reporter said “no frills” (which might have been “no thrills,” not sure), the American host laughed and said, in essence, that Americans have been doing without frills–and thrills–in their flying for a long time, so he wasn’t quite sure what we’d be missing out on.
I usually end up on British Airways, so when I flew American to Europe last year it was like stepping back about twenty years. Shoddy plane, shoddy service, and everything grim and a little dirty and very depressing and uncomfortable. We did get food and a movie (which I couldn’t see without sitting on a pillow and putting my head on my neighbor’s chest).
That’s still a lot more than you’d get on Ryanair, BUT can we resist the prices? Is it any worse than flying cross-country on Song? Wait until they allow cell phones on board and then let’s see how many people go mad.
July 16th, 2007 at 4:30 pm
[…] upshot of Harry Ritchie’s piece is that the easy availability of cheap flights to the Continent makes hitherto less accessible places like Rome and Barcelona more attractive to […]