Miss. Opinionated : The woes of Travel - Budget Airlines
Traveling.
It leaves you speechless then turns you into a story teller
As you well know, my sweeter self is quite the avid adventurer, having travelled to over 50 destinations in the past year alone, I am a firm believer in living with no excuses, and travelling with no regrets.
Unfortunately, this ethos is constantly being tested. As the frequent traveller meets one challenge to the next, little things we have come to enjoy and assume as human rights (though irrevocably they are not) become a growing pile of weights burdening us as we trudge our way through.
Regrets no, but resentment? Plenty.
In today's rant about the "other" side of travelling, let's take a look at a couple of things that really make my blood boil, leaving me with a fresh dose of resentment right from the get go of my travels!
Budget Airlines
The very definition of a Budget Airline is that they sell cheap tickets 👍.
Except.. they're really not cheap at all after you take into account the insane charges for simple things like choosing a seat, altering a booking, adding hold luggage and even printing boarding passes at the airport. All these extra fees add up to essentially a not very cheap ticket at all. In fact, it's probably more expensive than flying with a non-budget airline.
But it doesn't end there..
Exorbitantly priced garbage food.
Bar the free bag of peanuts, most budget airlines will charge ridiculous amounts of money for "premium" food and drinks. So, what, the strategy to make people spend $20 on garbage is to chuck them crap for free, then make them pay undue amounts of money for anything better? Oh, I forgot that, that kind of relative pricing psychology is age old business practice.
Oh well. At least I can get a second round of peanuts?? Pretty please???
Any volunteers for the next flight?
Overbooked flights are some what industry standard practice. Beating up and dragging elderly men off for refusing to take the next flight however, hopefully not.
I haven't had the "pleasure" of being physically abused and maimed for drawing the unlucky straw, but I have been asked to leave the plane after checking in, boarding, sitting down, seat belts buckled and ready to fly.
Apparently economy flight tickets are not fungible, because someone else with exactly the same ticket has priority over me despite not even being on the damn plane!
For the inconvenience bestowed upon me, surely some form of compensation would be just? Well, that would be too inconvenient for the airline and their razor thin margins.
Airline status quo
People are cheapskates and will continue booking with us, even if we treat them like livestock - we'll just say they're being disruptive and belligerent then proceed to re-accommodate them if need be.
Boarding
Normally, people expect to arrive at the airport at least 2 hours before boarding to buffer against unforeseen circumstances. The problem is, budget airlines would prefer if you had to jump through as many hurdles on your way to your seat as possible.
Check-in 👍
Boarding Pass 👍
It's 6am, and boarding time is 8am. Things are looking good.. now, to wait for the gate announcement.
07:45 - Gate D45! ( Average walking time to D45 : 15 MINUTES ! )
|
07:50 - Gate closing in 5 minutes!
|
07:55 - Gate closed
|
07:55:01 - Sorry, the gates are now closed, we cannot let you board the plane.
Meanwhile, to rub salt in the wound, I can see all the passengers still chilling in the waiting area. It's a scam I tell you! How did all the passengers get there before me!?
Sound familiar? It's not a coincidence that the gate number was announced late, or the fact that it's physically impossible to get there unless you're a professional athlete. I guess under-funded sports teams fly budget these days.
Is it really worth the mental anguish, physical abuse and blatant manipulation of passengers for the sake of saving (if at all) a bit of money? Apparently so. Remarkably, passengers who repeatedly feel disappointed from flying with Budget Airlines, continue to gamble and subject themselves to below par service to save a couple of bucks. Ironically, the whole point of going on vacation is to take away stress, not add to it!
Do you fly Budget?
在过去的一年里，我很幸运去了50个地方旅游，我认为一段理想的旅行是，说走就走，没有借口也没有后悔。很不幸，我的这种想法不断的被挑战。在一段旅行中，总有你预料不到的故事或者事故，不断挑战着你的耐性和脾气。在今天的文章里我想告诉大家我旅行故事的另一面，那些让我在旅行中难以忍受的事情。
廉价航空
对于廉价航空最准确的定位就是，他们非常便宜。然而这个定义其实有些偏差，廉价航空并不廉价，它身后藏着各种隐性的消费，例如换坐，改机票的钱=重新买一张机牌的钱，多加一件托运行李，只能带一件有规格的随身行李上飞机（多出的继续加钱托运），甚至连换个登机牌也要另花钱。这样看来，说起来好听的廉价航空，需要你另付上各种琐碎的小钱，才能起飞。
贵的夸张的烂食物
除了送你一包小花生，如果你要吃真正的食物，喝饮料，都是要另买的。一个简单的三明治经常要接近20美金，并且也不是什么好吃的三明治，它的质量不敢恭维。这大概是历史上长久的商业秘密，送你一包又干又难吃的花生，让你以为你买到的三明治是米其林水平了，其实这2种食物，放在日常生活中，你都不会选择。好吧，至少我可以再要第二份的花生。
哪位志愿者愿意坐下一班航空？
航班超载貌似是航空产业中的普遍现象，但是把人打昏再拉出去就不是了吧。我并没有经历过这样野蛮的行为，但是我曾经已经check in，坐上飞机，系好安全带之后，被空乘人员询问过，是否愿意留下来坐下一班飞机。好像经济舱的票是不可以替代的，但是在这种情况下，经济舱的票也分高低了。这种情况带给乘客的麻烦应该补给乘客一些好处，但是这对于廉价航空来说也太艰难了，本来他们能赚到的钱就不多。
航空公司的回应是，他们不愿意改政策，因为选择廉价航空的乘客是冲着价钱的好处选择他们的，就算他们做的再差，这些乘客为了贪小便宜或是省钱，还是会跟他们飞。就算航空公司把乘客当作动物一样拉出去，也不会影响他们航空的生意。
登机
正常情况，乘客会提前至少2小时到机场，为了避免突发情况。但是这个廉价航空从来不介意给你带来很多麻烦，你想顺利赶上飞机，就要越过重重阻碍，像奥运会场上的跨栏一样。Check-in 👍 Boarding Pass 👍现在是早上6点，还有2个小时到要登机的时候，看起来一切都很顺利，现在就是等着大屏幕出登机口的号码。7：45宣布登机口，7：50被告知登机口还有5分钟就要关了，7：55登机口关了，7点55又1秒，我到了，可是他们不让我进，说登机口已经关了。可是我从大厅走到登机口，至少要15分钟，所以完全不可能赶到。航空公司肯定以为我也是奥林匹克的运动员，我们要跑步像世界冠军一样，才能准时到达登机口。
坐廉价航空可能会有精神上的压力和身体的摧残，好像是这样子，很多人虽然对廉价航空不太满意，但是还愿意继续尝试，希望自己侥幸没有碰上这些不理想的情况。可是我们开始一段旅行，不是为了消遣解闷，得到精神放松的吗？你们飞不飞廉价航空呢？
MISS OPINIONATED
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Miss. Opinionated : You know what really grinds my gears?
Guys that grind my gears!
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Hello @sweetsssj
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We @fairvote are looking manually for good content like yours with the focus of users, which contributing that kind of content, but dont have the network or reputation like yours yet.
We think it is an good idea to reward these users at least with a minimum for their efforts, to keep them in our community. Thats our mission !
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yeah awesome.
Thank you @sweetsssj
@fairvote
Your idea and project sound really nice and i am looking forward to become a beneficial of this great project
@bania - thank you, we will develope this idea over time. everybody can find good content, but some simply don't have the time for it. so we're going around and suggest them good content...
Sharing that information is very useful
https://steemit.com/life/@maskur2840/the-stone-resembles-a-turtle
Do you really think she flies budget airlines when she earns $40,000 per month?
We are very thankfull for @sweetsssj vote on our recommended post.
So far she is the onliest one of the "trending people" who did !
I am actually glad that she upvoted it also. very nice!
Hello fairvote,
I watched that video on Island hopping. I was surprised that many people saw it on Steam, but not many on YouTube, because it's a good video - and the video is also on YouTube. Anyway, it's interesting to me, as I also have a similar video.
You're welcome to have a look, it's a video I made also of an island, but this one, in southern Thailand. If you're looking for island videos, you're welcome to link to it.
Regards, Narayan.
https://steemit.com/travel/@narayan-travel/discover-the-wildlife-of-koh-lanta-southern-thailand-s-island-featured-in-the-french-reality-tv-show-koh-lanta
Flights are like everything else in life.... You (usually) get what you pay for. So if you travel budget you will get very little. I in no way condone the assault on the United Airlines passenger and that situation was completely mishandled. If the airline has overbooked (they all do) those onboard have to have priority. By all means pay compensation to those you wont allow to travel, but don't beat people up, so your own staff can meet a connecting flight! Budget airlines are constantly looking to save money but where will it end? There was talk in the UK that budget airlines would start to charge to use the toilet.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-1263905/Ryanair-toilet-charges-phased-in.html
Judging by the amount of hen and stag dos, this would have resulted in mnay unusable seats!
Surely a sensible middle ground needs to be found where airlines ca make money but passengers can expect basic facilities without the fear of being assaulted for the crime of taking their seat and refusing to give it up for someone else?
That's quite a dangerous precedent the UK Airlines are going down. I'm also sure there has to be a middle ground where the majority of customers don't feel like they're 'just' getting what they pay for, which isn't very much honestly.
Hi @sweetsssj how are you? As my way of integrating into the Steemit community I am being proactive and using my skills to do nice things for people. Today you are the lucky recipient! I hope you like it! Feel free to do what you like with it, or if you want me to take it down then let me know.
owesome ...dont think she will mind u posting it
it's become so bad I don't even want to fly anymore, try to avoid it at all costs :( hopefully the cycle will turn at some point and they'll start being a bit more respectful (along with those giving all the cavity searches).
BTW, you know you've hit the "big time" when artists create paintings and drawings featuring you! lol
Congrats, @sweetsssj! :)
Link: Portrait for @sweetsssj
It is simple time for First and Business only :)
Try and avoid the daily mail news -- not a reliable source of information 😉
We all know that the airline stated in that article loves to make free publicity. As the CEO says, any publicity is good publicity and these kind of stories would get him all over the papers without paying a cent in advertising! Obviously its completely illegal to do but people love to talk about these kind of articles.
I totally agree with you, I took a low budget airline over to europe last year and with paying for seats there and back, checking bags, and buying food on the airplane it ended up somewhat costly. Sometimes it might be worth it buy the more expensive flights.
totally agree, for me i'm going to start looking at flights from reputable airlines and not just the cheapest from a to b.
It costs you only 1/4 of your post.)) Do you know why people upvote and follow you?
I'm of the opinion that people shouldn't have to pay any more for things that aren't in their eyes value for money. It's got nothing to do with how much money they have, or how much money they make.
As for why people upvote and follow me, I would like to think that it's because i've been contributing to the platform everyday, spending every minute that I'm not travelling, creating informational content that has entertainment value as well. I also hope that people vote and follow me because I like to interact and engage with as many of those people as possible. It has been something i've stuck by even if I get 10 comments or 500. At 20 second time frames between comments, you can imagine replying to hundreds of comments takes quite a bit of time.
Hi @sweetssj, i have been following you for about a week -- as long as i've been on steemit. Initially i was intrigued by the $ your posts made. (Don't get me wrong, they are good posts, but holy cow!) Then, i started reading them, and comments/replies too, and realized that you spend a lot of time and attention replying to most, if not all of them. Wow!!!
You deserve all of your steem power! and are a gracious personality on this site; many could learn much from you.
Keep up with the fun times, exciting travelling and great posts. You have a follower here!
Cheers!
@thedamus
thank you thedamus, I'll remember you because of your kind comment! Thank you and welcome !
Shes sweet and sassy, and rockin it out here with these posts!!!
aww captainquack22 thank you!!
Hope she is as bright as she sounds from the inside
I am totally agree with you @sweetsssj it not easy task to give a lot of time to the platform,i like your work and efforts
Eek. I think I booked budget. I haven't flown in 10 years (nor do I feel particularly inclined to!) ... and now, thro sheer ignorance (and a wrong assumption 'what can go wrong? There are basic laws and trading standards and standards of service, and their reputation to protect') I'm about to fly budget airline in about 1 week. What's more, I'm flying with 5 family members (hence not flying in a long time). That increases the probability of us having problems by 6!
I really am going to be much more aware if and when I book again. It's cheapskate as you say.
I hope you have a swift journey without problems sally, I have had flights completely smooth with no problems with budget airlines, it isn't always an issue. These are just issues that happen more often than should. Good luck!
Give me a break @sweetsssj. You earn $40,000 per month on here and you fly budget airlines? I bet you have a private charter jet or at least fly first class all around the world.
Thanks @sweetsssj 😁. So far so good. We got here without much drama.
I used budget airlines when I was in the Uni and it was very uncomfortable but it takes me to my destination on time and am very grateful because I could not afford expensive airlines at that time. Good post, thanks for sharing
Yeah I understand the circumstances sometimes do not permit you to fly on non-budget airlines. But sometimes, you're really not getting anything 'value' from the experience at all. Flight delays, overbooking.. paying for all the little things you should get as part of the ticket.
you are right but it depends on the budget airline you are using. The one I used here in Germany to UK as student never delays however it is uncomfortable but I got what I paid for and glad to reach my destination on time
Wow, You've read my comment and stick to this idea of sharing bad things of trip.
Yes uneducated, I do occasionally write about the dark side of things. But I don't want my followers to become a bucket to pour my rants into. Best to try keep the positive energy flowing
Do you have problems with man? )) Tell about those situations - maybe some people recognise themselves and change their actions. Educate those man that woman is not only about ...
Keep steeming my friend, continue your positive energy and ignore those with negetive energy. Not all will agree with you but most will have a constructive discussion about the topic. I like your post (and you too) even though I will always have my own constructive view points in order to add value. More success
In the end everything is a matter of how much you are willing to pay an extra for the comfort
Love the last line "Ironically, the whole point of going on vacation is to take away stress, not add to it!'
The issue about airports and flying these days is that they add more stress to travelers...the new extra checks and sanctioning of boarding with gadgets like laptops etc on some routes...although for safety concerns to many is added stress.
Your narratives are awesome...I shall recommend you to Richard Quest to join him as a partner in his " Quest means business & also "Business traveler" Ending it like Richard usually does...
"Wherever your travels may take you, I hope its profitable and peaceful ...'
It's also partly due to people across the world being progressively stripped of their civil liberties in the name of 'war on terrorism'. As a result, we now have to go through excessive checks, and for me, rigorous questioning at the border control, every single time. It's such a drag.
Thanks for the recommendation :)
Always welcome dear. Anyways we have no option than to carry the extra baggage of stress and making the best out of our travel experiences like you doing it...being steeming hot! ;)
I won't even fly any more if I don't absolutely have to. And that's just domestic. I can't imagine what you must go through at borders. In America the border thing is getting absolutely ridiculous. I remember being in college in the nineties and driving into Canada and back with a ton of beer because they had a lower drinking age, lol. Now I'm afraid to drive too close to the border even without anything illegal going on just for fear of being harassed.
Too many people choosing the illusion of security over liberty imo.
As for the folks wondering why people up vote and follow you; as a newer member who just found your blog today, I can say that for me it's because you write generously, entertainingly, well, and about something that isn't blockchain related, lol! I delayed joining for so long because I write humor, fiction, parenting, reviews... nothing to do with bitcoin etc. but it seemed like that was all anyone here wrote about. I'm excited every time I find a good writer with broader interests, so thank you from a new follower!
Wow.. well you are someone with a true idea of how times have changed. And good point about people choosing the illusion of security over liberty, I agree!
Thank you for your comment about my blog and posts, I'm obviously very grateful for the blockchain and crypto community for creating a wonderful platform, but obviously I hope that in the longer run it will become more mainstream which of course means some decent content on regular things non-crypto like you say.
Thank you!!
@jrhughes
i beg to disagree on one area alone... many bloggers here blog on diverse topics even related to arts, food, philosophy, sports, poetry, fun jokes etc. i hardly read on blockchain posts these days as i get enough entertainment reading more interesting blog posts here in steemit including travel experiences from this wonderful lady @sweetsssj which s why I follow her.
I for one is interested in posts related to alternative medicine and home remedies, jokes and inspirational stories of which i plan to engage more on such from next week... so feel free to entertain us with your interesting posts as we are earger to read them...thanks
I first joined a year ago and there was far less content not related to blockchain. I'm not saying there isn't plenty available now, only that I followed @sweetsssj in large part because she is one of the growing number who post about other topics 😉
IOW we likely don't actually disagree ❤️
I do fly budget for the most part because that's all my budget can allow lol. It's not too often I fly though. Last budget flight I went on they canceled one day, I had to scramble to move my hotel around (was going to Mexico, first and only time out of the country) then the next day they canceled it again! I was unable to scramble dates around the second time. So my "budget" airline cost me a whole day of vacation that was already paid for.
If I can spring for it I like Southwest. At least they don't make me pay for bags lol
You see, it's not really all that budget when you take into account everything else..
That is so true!
Couldn't agree more 😂😂😂
@sharingeverybite and I made the mistake of traveling to and from SteemFest on a budget airline. Never again!
We flew from Phoenix to San Francisco on a local airline, then flew out of San Francisco to Amsterdam on a budget airline called WOW. Things went fine on the way there. But, on the way back...
We flew with WOW back to San Francisco, with a short layover in Iceland. Well, what was supposed to be a short layover in Iceland turned into an overnight stay with a 24-hour delay. This long delay caused us to miss our flight from San Francisco to Phoenix, which forced us into buying expensive last-minute tickets for that final leg of the trip.
It's now eight months later and we're still trying to get compensated by WOW.
We learned our lesson and have our flights booked on a quality airline for SteemFest2.
Ahh shenanigator, sorry to hear about your bad experiences, but at least it is a not so expensive (in the long run) learned right?
It's such a nightmare when you are on a long haul flight and you absolutely hate the service that you're getting, because then it's a really long time before you can quickly get off and get on with life.
I really prefer to have ease of mind, if at the cost of paying just a bit more :)
I worked at the Amsterdam airport and we had a few low budget airlines there, and the reason at our airport that they announce the gate last minute is because several airlines already have their gates and terminals booked, but the cheap airlines get to hear last minute which ones are available. In that way they have to pay less. But I know this is very inconvenient for the travellers. Also, my experience is that you don't have a lot of space at all and that the wing might fall of any soon, but I might be paranoid LOL HAHA
Sounds like the 'official' response for why the gates are announced last minute. But again, that's just a compounded nuisance designed to increase the likelihood of the passenger missing their flight, and them making more money.
Probably. That way they can sell more tickets, and they will have more profit. They probably have a higher percentage of unavailable tickets they sell. Bitches :). But here in Europe, all low lost airlines are flying on B airports which are all very small, and thus you have a small chance of missing the flight :).
Well, for short haul flights it's not thaat bad because you can just ride it out in the short time. But long haul, the issues are magnified some what.
Yeah agree. I still always try to go for a little more luxury though.
me too 😎
Uff been there ... been through most and yup it is a hassle ...will be going through it soon again though August 1st we go to Barcelona ... and I am totally looking forward to it(not the flight part ) but the when I got both feet on the ground ... a good thing about some of the cheap flights is that it has opened up the possibility to travel more for a broader audience ...
Oh definitely, cheap flights have their place, and I wouldn't want people to miss out on travelling because of the price points of flights being above what alot of people can pay. It's strange that aviation has come such a long way, and yet they have to resort to nullifying the service to a customer to afford them the seat.
I agree, just the fact that the food sucks... that is one part I hate, and they do not allow people to bring their own .. I mean on the cheap flights there is nothing that I would eat at all , I prefer to buy a good deli sandwich and bring it ... but nope .. and often the price is misleading as after you get through the simple booking all the extras start coming on top like you also mention... I have flown first class and budget all over the world ... right now the wallet is suited for budget lol ... also the fact that the cheap airlines often disrespect their customers is totally rude and it should not be acceptable at all ... I think the industry needs to make some ethical standards on how to treat customers hehe but that is most likely a dream... luckily from Copenhagen to Barcelona its only 2:50 hrs ... and the fact that my daughter will be absolutely thrilled will make me forget about the rest ...I hope
It's such a shame that the flying part is the beginning and end of what should have been a positive beginning to a vacation, and a nice round up at the end.
We have to go through displeasure just to experience the pleasure in between, meanwhile trying to forget that we have to experience it on the way back..
You're right though, shorter flights are a lot more tolerable. That's of course if you actually board the flight, but that's another issue.
Yes ! It can get you started on the wrong foot and end up coming home with a bad taste in your mouth that is for sure ... whereas if you are on a servicefriendlyflight it can up the whole experience and memory by miles and miles .. KLM and Emirates have been good experiences in my opinion ... the old scandinavian SAS used to be good but the last times I used it , it was as crappy as the budget ones but 3x the price which spells triple annoying in my book ...