Well, that’s evolution for you. Now that passengers have had a taste of being able to fly away more often for a lot less money, I cannot see the demand for low cost flights disappearing, as some of you predict. I mean, Southwest Airlines have lasted 30+ years in the USA by doing it right and now have a fleet of over 400 Boeing 737’s to boast about. They clearly appeal to a vast amount of passengers as do low cost carriers in this, generally overpriced, country of ours. I am not a fan of all LCC’s but with the likes of EZY, for example, I have no complaints to report in about 60 or 70 flights with them.

Also, do the traditional airlines really still offer the same standard of service they used to? The last time I flew on BA, I got a sandwich on a one and a half hour flight and then on TAP LGW/LIS/LGW earlier this year on a business trip, I got a very small (but nice) filled bread roll, a minute salad and a cup of a coffee. I had no choice except coffee or tea! That is for a two and a half hour flight at 7.00am – I had no chance to get breakfast before the flight even if I had have known. Now, as this was a day return, and I fully expected the same standard of “meal” on the return sector, I made sure I had eaten before the flight home, just in case. As it turns out, I was spot on – bread roll and a tiny salad again. With frills?? Hardly!! I think Monarch’s little extras weigh out to about the same as these tiny frills offered by your choice of airline – they are just different extras. Price wins everytime on shorthaul for the majority of passengers.

Well Danairboy, let’s hope that the BA check-in staff aren’t on strike the next time you plan to fly with them MAN/LGW/GIB. And if they do or don’t strike, but they win their pay award nonetheless, I hope your BA fares don’t get even higher to compensate. There’s no way I would be snob enough to say that “Having to pay for meals onboard is somewhat degrading” when it meant not only paying a lot more for the flight with someone else, but also having to connect at LGW. Madness in my own opinion – flying direct on a reknowned airline would do me just fine. Your pride must be much harder for you to swallow than Monarch Scheduled’s delicious meals and snacks that are available for purchase, at reasonable prices. :D. You should also bear in mind that if you are flying to Spain (for example) on a BA flight number, you could well end up on an Iberia code-share flight and STILL HAVE TO PAY FOR YOUR FOOD!!

Also, just for further info, Monarch Scheduled’s decision to charge for food on board came about after extensive on board research by way of passenger questionnaires. The majority vote was for a choice of food on board at a cost rather than the preset meal (that you might not even like!). It wasn’t a decision they took ‘just for the sake of it’. When it comes to competing with ones closest competitors, one cannot afford to be complacent. Recent passenger figures suggest we are still getting it very much right, despite direct well known low cost competition on most of our routes. Fares are comparable to those of our competitors but we still offer the free newspapers, pre-bookable seats, designated seating and in-flight entertainment which gives us that little bit more edge. The seat pitch isn’t great, granted, but it’s no worse than any other charter airline or other low cost operator who operate the same routes.

I once read that the flight between Westray and Papa Westray is scheduled to take two minutes but there is a pilot who made it into the Guinness Book of World Records when he managed to fly the sector in just 58 seconds. Bejeezus!! 😮

……..as do Monarch Scheduled – they can even be pre-booked with us!! 😉

me thinks Bhoy was being sarcastic about Ryanair airport labels, Jeanske. 🙂 And perhaps I have misunderstood you, but Alghero is in Sardinia, not Corsica