Are budget airlines’ bad habits being adopted by more established airlines?

Lois Avery, Confused.com reporter reveals the latest charges the not-so-budget airlines are trying to push on passengers at check-in.

Budget airlines have bagged themselves a reputation for cashing in on their customers over the years, charging for anything and everything.

From online check-in, to card payments and even suggestions by Ryanair that it was about to charge customers to use its aircraft’s toilets, certain low-cost carriers are reasonably cheap but not so cheerful.

So when you fly long-haul or you’ve paid a hefty sum for a flight overseas you expect to be treated differently.

You expect to be fed, have free films, free drinks, including alcohol. And you certainly expect to have a seat allocated to avoid the mad scramble and long queues often seen at the Easyjet and Ryanair desks.

But it seems that even the longer-established airlines are now adopting the no-frills approach.

I recently flew with Air Canada across the Atlantic and this is what happened:

On the return flight I was told that my boyfriend and I could not sit together because the flight was all booked up. Fair enough you might say if we’d arrived half an hour before departure. We all know the best seats go early, if you want extra leg room, you used to make sure you’re at the front of the check-in queue. But this is no longer the case.

We were first in the check-in queue thanks to an early transfer and expected to have our pick of the seats but were told that the flight (a connecting flight not due for take-off for nearly seven hours) was full, so we’d have to sit apart. Full? How was it possible that a Boeing 777 with a passenger capacity of more than 350 was full seven hours before take off?

The Air Canada staff member couldn’t fathom the answers, so I’m not sure how we were supposed to.

The only thing I can assume is that a huge proportion of the passengers due to take our flight had pre-booked their seats online, something you can now do on long-haul, up to 24 hours beforehand to skip the first come, first served check-in queue system.

Had I known this, I’d have done the same and avoided hanging about in a queue only to end up sitting alone for eight hours. But what I really resent is paying £600 for a flight and then having to pay for the privilege of sitting next to my travel companion on top. We weren’t even offered this at the time of booking but i've since discovered that, in order to book what Air Canada call ‘preferred seats’ so legroom etc, it would have cost an additional $75 Canadian dollars each. But we could have pre-booked our seats online for free up to 24 hours before take-off, but we didn’t know this was an option on long-haul.

It looks like even the better respected airlines might be heading for the Ryanair-style scramble when it comes to checking-in, which is a shame for the air travel industry.

So, to avoid sitting alone I recommend checking the website of the airline you’re travelling with a day or two before to try and check in online. That way you can pre-select your seat, but be warned, extras may cost you.

Comments

[lee]

dont do it
dont be like the cheap and not so cheerful lot

[Robert Cooper]

Doesn't always work. Last year I visited the UK on a return flight with Thai Airways, which has an undeserved good reputation and charges full rates. I checked in on line on 17 May for a flight 18 May and reserved seats for my wife and I. Since we were way out of London and the volcano had been causing cancellations, I did what TV advised and checked on line and booked in advance. Arriving at Heathrow we found the flight had not arrived from Bangkok because it had never left. Had I been informed of this by automatic message, I would not have gone to London airport. There were no Thai staff to explain and other airline personnel provided the info. We had to take a taxi from the airport with all cases, stay in a hotel, return by taxi the next day -- when we took the next scheduled Thai flight. No apology and not one penny in compensation.

[olive butler]

it's your fault for not reading things properly. i have done the same thing to america, it says clearly when your ticket information arrives that you can book online for free 24 hours in advance. i managed to get a brilliant seat, the emergency exit seat with the most leg room i've ever had.

clearly the majority of passangers didn't have a problem with finding out about pre booking, so obviously the problem is down to you.

i think it's a great idea, especially the checking in online part, it seriously cuts down on queuing time, all i had to do was print out my boarding pass at one of the little machines and drop off my luggage. fabulous!

[Alan Copeland]

I tried to book seats on line with Singapore airline at exactly the allocated time, took 20 minutes to get through-most of the 'plane was allocated. On the return, got through straight away--most of the seats were allocated.
AC

[Pauline Bland]

On a flight to Las Vegas with Virgin Atlantic travelling on a 747-400 I checked that there were seats available on the Upper Deck before agreeing to pay for Premium Economy. It was purely on the basis of securing seats in this particular cabin that I was prepared to pay a considerable premium. Exact seats were chosen at the time of booking and were confirmed 3 times before flying. Upon checking in at Gatwick we were assigned seats in the centre section on the Lower Deck. OK we were sitting together and still had the extra legroom but no window seats and not in the much superior Upper Deck cabin. When we showed our tickets with our seat numbers displayed we were told there was no such thing as guaranteed pre-booked seating but that it was a request only and still a first come first served basis. "Our seats" had been allocated to someone who checked in ahead of us.
Upon complaining to Virgin on our return they told us that the check in girl was mistaken and that our seats had been reserved but that a change of aircraft had altered the seating configuration. This was still RUBBISH. The truth was that our seats had been given to a pair of frequent flyers who just showed up and asked for them and we were BUMPED!!!! I know this for sure as I spoke to the couple concerned who were sitting in the seats with our numbers in exactly the location I had chosen.

[Lucy Jones]

Flying with British Airways on a full price seat I turned up 2 hours before departure to be told the flight was full and I was on standby - becauase I hadn't checked in online. I was trying to return home having worked abroad all week and as I work with people and don't sit on a computer browsing the internet all day and there wasn't any wifi where I was - I had no chance. So paying for a ticket no longer guarantees you even get on the flight unless you check in one line....At this rate you'll have to check in 23 hrs and 55 mins lastest before you fly or else you won't get on.

[Georgia Mac]

When we flew with Air Canada, not only could we not sit together, but my husband sat next to a woman who was so large that she needed an extension for the seatbelt! So he had half a seat for a long, overnight flight back to the UK from Vancouver.
We asked if we could be moved, or if my husband could at least have a whole seat, but were told that the flight was full.
People who encroach onto two seats should pay for two seats, and not make other passengers suffer.

[Crackle]

I have a lot of sympathy with Georgia Mac. I think though that the arilines cram in so many seats that a row of average men is uncomfortable. In North America, by genetics and diet, the average size seems to be greater than in other parts of the world.

[Phil]

I totally agree that large people should have to pay extra. Also children on long haul is a nighmare. I travelled to Australia in the winter with BA and experienced screaming children for the whole flight. BTW, on the way back we flew the Bangkok-Heathrow leg with Quantas. Way, way better than BA