"Roland Perry" wrote in message
...
It lost credibility for me when they appeared to claim that Electron
cards were not available in the UK.

No, they actually said an Electron Credit card was not available in the UK.
However it would have been more accurate to state that the debit version is
and name the banks that issue it.

I would guess the show was originally planned as an expose of Ryan Air and
money spent and they found nothing new.

Ryan Air is a put it together yourself airline. You don;t pay for what you
dont need.
BA is a full service airline and you get it without asking, and pay for it
even if you do not use it.

I think everyone is imagining what the world was like pre-budget airlines.
My first pay myself flight was Heathrow to Miami off season in the 70s with
BA.

I was open to exact time/date and spent 2 hours in the travel agent trying
to find an available seat. When I got on the BA flight it was less than half
full, the automated messages and information film pre-arrival was on
Auckland immigration procedures.

Now I can book in five minutes and not be bothered with being woken for
meals I dont want.

I dont live near London or Manchester and the budget airlines now offer
choice from regional airports more convenient to those living away from the
two rational hubs.

The flight within Europe is so short that it is the public transport and
airport facilities that dominate the experience. You would be better off
paying to use a private lounge than extra for the flight.

In message , at 08:48:26 on Tue, 13
Oct 2009, Buddenbrooks remarked:

"Roland Perry" wrote in message
...
It lost credibility for me when they appeared to claim that Electron
cards were not available in the UK.

No, they actually said an Electron Credit card was not available in the UK.

On one hand it's very common the refer to all cards (debit, credit and
charge) as "Credit Cards".

On the other hand they were going out of their way to rubbish the
"Electron" option, on the grounds that the cards(sic) were unavailable
and it was therefore cynical for Ryanair to 'pretend' this was a viable
payment method.

However it would have been more accurate to state that the debit
version is and name the banks that issue it.

Cockup or conspiracy?

I think everyone is imagining what the world was like pre-budget
airlines. My first pay myself flight was Heathrow to Miami off season
in the 70s with BA.

They had some footage of "old fashioned jet set".

The flight within Europe is so short that it is the public transport
and airport facilities that dominate the experience. You would be
better off paying to use a private lounge than extra for the flight.

Yep. I'm going to Brussels on Eurostar later today. I've saved more than
£50 by going "economy" rather than "Leisure select" [you don't even want
to know how much full FC costs]. I'll spend the £50 on something better
than an airline meal en-route.
--
Roland Perry

"Roland Perry" wrote in message



Yep. I'm going to Brussels on Eurostar later today. I've saved more
than £50 by going "economy" rather than "Leisure select" [you don't
even want to know how much full FC costs]. I'll spend the £50 on
something better than an airline meal en-route.

As a matter of interest, how does full first class (Business Premier)
differ from Leisure Select? They both use first class carriages, and
both include food and drink.

Is it more a question of flexible bookings than the actual service on
offer? For example, does Business Premier include a complimentary limo
service or just lounge access? Or is it more of a case of segregating
noisy holiday makers from people who want to work on the train?

In message , at 12:54:44 on
Tue, 13 Oct 2009, Recliner remarked:

Yep. I'm going to Brussels on Eurostar later today. I've saved more
than £50 by going "economy" rather than "Leisure select" [you don't
even want to know how much full FC costs]. I'll spend the £50 on
something better than an airline meal en-route.

As a matter of interest, how does full first class (Business Premier)
differ from Leisure Select? They both use first class carriages, and
both include food and drink.

The only difference I can see in the "service" is the ability to use the
lounge. Chauffeuring is extra.

Is it more a question of flexible bookings than the actual service on
offer?

Yes, the higher fares are much more flexible. But that may not be
important to many travellers.
--
Roland Perry

Recliner wrote:
Or is it more of a case of segregating
noisy holiday makers from people who want to work on the train?

Yes.

--
Arthur Figgis Surrey, UK

On Tue, 13 Oct 2009 08:48:26 +0100, Buddenbrooks wrote:

"Roland Perry" wrote in message
...
It lost credibility for me when they appeared to claim that Electron
cards were not available in the UK.

No, they actually said an Electron Credit card was not available in the UK.
However it would have been more accurate to state that the debit version is
and name the banks that issue it.

I would guess the show was originally planned as an expose of Ryan Air and
money spent and they found nothing new.

Ryan Air is a put it together yourself airline. You don;t pay for what you
dont need.
BA is a full service airline and you get it without asking, and pay for it
even if you do not use it.

I think everyone is imagining what the world was like pre-budget airlines.
My first pay myself flight was Heathrow to Miami off season in the 70s with
BA.

I was open to exact time/date and spent 2 hours in the travel agent trying
to find an available seat. When I got on the BA flight it was less than half
full, the automated messages and information film pre-arrival was on
Auckland immigration procedures.

Now I can book in five minutes and not be bothered with being woken for
meals I dont want.

This is something that continually amazes me. That pax feel the need
to eat while flying - even though most flights to holiday destinations
are only 3 - 4 hours max (Spain even less from the S of Eng.) AND they've
just spent an hour or two at departures - with not much to do there except
eat and drink, too.

I dont live near London or Manchester and the budget airlines now offer
choice from regional airports more convenient to those living away from the
two rational hubs.

The flight within Europe is so short that it is the public transport and
airport facilities that dominate the experience. You would be better off
paying to use a private lounge than extra for the flight.

The other thing I got from the programme was that ryanair came in at number
33 out of 42 in a customer satisfaction survey. I want to know which airlines
are worse - so I can avoid _them_!

"pete" wrote in message
...

This is something that continually amazes me. That pax feel the need
to eat while flying - even though most flights to holiday destinations
are only 3 - 4 hours max (Spain even less from the S of Eng.) AND they've
just spent an hour or two at departures - with not much to do there except
eat and drink, too.

It supposedly relaxes people. For many passengers flying can still be a
stressful experience, regardless of statistics. And so if they can pass
their time in the air doing something "enjoyable" they normally do in everyday
life, this can act as a welcome distraction. Whereas some other "welcome
distractions" would be lot more expensive to implement.

michael adams

....

In message , at
09:05:09 on Tue, 13 Oct 2009, pete remarked:
This is something that continually amazes me. That pax feel the need
to eat while flying - even though most flights to holiday destinations
are only 3 - 4 hours max (Spain even less from the S of Eng.) AND they've
just spent an hour or two at departures - with not much to do there except
eat and drink, too.

And the bloke going on holiday to Portugal (I think it was) who
"obviously" was needing to check in 6-8 suitcases at Stansted[1]. I
don't necessarily agree with the road-warriors who spend all week in the
same t-shirt and travel carry-on only; but surely one suitcase each
should be enough for a week's holiday?

[1] I'm pretty sure this programme was triggered by a one-off fiasco
there a couple of months ago when their check-in agents failed to
provide enough staff.
--
Roland Perry

pete wrote:
On Tue, 13 Oct 2009 08:48:26 +0100, Buddenbrooks wrote:

I dont live near London or Manchester and the budget airlines now
offer choice from regional airports more convenient to those living
away from the two rational hubs.

The flight within Europe is so short that it is the public transport
and airport facilities that dominate the experience. You would be
better off paying to use a private lounge than extra for the flight.

The other thing I got from the programme was that ryanair came in at
number 33 out of 42 in a customer satisfaction survey. I want to know
which airlines are worse - so I can avoid _them_!

**** customer satisfaction surveys! What do they want, a free cigar,
newspaper and a hand job from the stewardess? It's about flying as cheaply
as possible. Generally in life, you get what you pay for. The public amaze
me with their expectations. They'll pay a fiver for a flight and then
expect to be treated like Royalty!

On Oct 13, 6:05*pm, "Stephen O'Connell" wrote:
pete wrote:
On Tue, 13 Oct 2009 08:48:26 +0100, Buddenbrooks wrote:

I dont live near London or Manchester and the budget airlines now
offer choice from regional airports more convenient to those living
away from the two rational hubs.

The flight within Europe is so short that it is the public transport
and airport facilities that dominate the experience. You would be
better off paying to use a private lounge than extra for the flight.

The other thing I got from the programme was that ryanair came in at
number 33 out of 42 in a customer satisfaction survey. I want to know
which airlines are worse - so I can avoid _them_!

**** customer satisfaction surveys! What do they want, a free cigar,
newspaper and a hand job from the stewardess? It's about flying as cheaply
as possible. Generally in life, you get what you pay for. The public amaze
me with their expectations. They'll pay a fiver for a flight and then
expect to be treated like Royalty!

a Ryanair hand job....I wonder how much they would charge for that ;-)