Darrell O'Neill Posted March 18, 2008 Posted March 18, 2008 OK, cant get my head around this .... Im just about to book a return flight from Bristol to Shannon for the pricely sum of 8p.... for 4 people! Im sure Ive read the small print, but what's the catch? online checking... Free Hand luggage only .... Free total cost of flight 2p !!!! Anyone give me any guidance? Quote
tabs23 Posted March 18, 2008 Posted March 18, 2008 Air Passenger Duty, Airport Landing Fees, Airport Luggage Handling Fees, Fuel Surcharges. Could easily add £40 per person, per flight to the cost. Low-cost airlines have been told to make these more obvious in their advertising and web sites, but some still don't. Quote
Man On The Clapham Omnibus Posted March 18, 2008 Posted March 18, 2008 The drawback is that you end up in Shannon! I haven't been there often but every time it's been thunder and lightning over the airport as the plane approached. Quote
Sam-Kit car dreams Posted March 18, 2008 Posted March 18, 2008 No meal or drinks, unless you pay for them. £3 for a coffee with BMI baby from Birmingham. No dedicated check in desk, be prepared to stand on a huge queue to check in your luggage (if you have any). Old aeroplanes, small seats, tiny hand luggage compartments etc etc I find them OK for flights of two hours but i couldnt stand any longer ! Quote
Norman Verona Posted March 18, 2008 Posted March 18, 2008 There is no catch as such. As Tabs says you will have to pay the taxes. So how do they make money. Most destination airports either pay these airlines to bring in passengers or reduce the landing charges, maybe to zero. Also it's the first 80% that get the penny fares then it starts to rise. I was in the queue for an Itilain airport for which we'd paid about a tenner plus the taxes when a young lad was trying to get a ticket. He was quoted £630! He went of mumbling about sex and travel but came back about half hour later and paid in full. Just go through the booking form until it shows you the full price then see if any other airline will fly for similar price. We use Ryanair (help us) from Nantes to East Midlands and, if we book well ahead, it's usualy 1p. But full price is nearer £60 with all the add ons. The airline (well Ryanair at least) was pricing to get hand baggage only (so save on the baggage handling charges). Come the security scare they switched to charging a lot of money for checked in baggage and reduced hand luggage size to about the size of a large packet of fags. On my last flight it would not let me complete the on-line check in. When I got to check in she started to tell me she should charge me £10 for checking in. I told her, in no uncertain terms, that the system refused my entry and she just shrugged and checked me in "free" One other thing to watch is the luggage allowances. The weights are per person and you cannot add the total and divide by the number of passengers. If one passenger is over you're charges excess, even is the other passenger has no luggage to check in. Quote
Stuart Posted March 18, 2008 Posted March 18, 2008 Bristol to Shannon is Ryanair. It is likely to be a fairly new 737-800. Keep your hand luggage below 10kgs each and with maximum dimensions of 55cm x 40cm x 20cm and they can't touch you for any extras. Check in online and you even get priority boarding (so you get to find some space in the overhead lockers for your hand luggage). You are packed on there like sardines and the colour scheme is lurid yellow and blue but its OK for an hour. I dread when they start allowing people to use their mobile phones on board though. Quote
Darrell O'Neill Posted March 19, 2008 Author Posted March 19, 2008 Thanks guys. TBH was'nt really worried what the cost was, Ryanair is the only local flight to shannon, (visiting family) IF it is between £40-£60 I wont be worried, just couldnt see any extra costs in the small print.... We'll see..... Quote
Sir Greg Posted March 19, 2008 Posted March 19, 2008 The extra costs won't appear until the last page of the online booking form..... as if by magic! I fly very often with work, sometimes five/six times a month and have to say that in the last three years my fligt costs have reduced significantly. It's still possible to find UK short haul flights for less than £40 a go and to me, that's fantastic value. Long may it continue! Quote
Norman Verona Posted March 19, 2008 Posted March 19, 2008 Just been talking to a friend whos daughter is coming over tomorrow. She lives in Croydon and is getting the train from St Pancras to Paris then across Paris and another train to Laval, about 30 miles from here. The fare is £100.00 I told him that BA do a flight from gatwick to Nantes for £52.00 and it's an hour flight (also Gatwick is on her doorstep) The answer was that she doesn't like the messing about checking in and getting there an hour early. Quote
steve_m Posted March 19, 2008 Posted March 19, 2008 If you compare the cost of a Ryan Air flight with UK rail travel you can see what a huge rip off rail travel is. Ryan air don't loose a penny on any flight, it's all profit. (empty flights or lossey flights aree cancelled) Costs me £18 return into London on the train from Herts, for the same price I can get return to France or Ireland by air - both tickets booked a week or two ahead. Quote
Carl Posted March 19, 2008 Posted March 19, 2008 Luton - Amsterjam can be as low as £1 if you book 3 months in advance and don't go Fri-Mon. I use this route regularly and have never paid more than £80 return (50% is taxes) even booking late. Quote
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