Are Budget Airlines Cutting Costs Too Much?

Can anyone here remember the days when if you wanted to fly anywhere life seemed so much easier?

You got your plane tickets sent to you in the post, or collected them at the travel agents. You went along to the airport, queued up in the check-in line, handed over your luggage, and got your boarding card? Right, ever so easy.

Then once on the plane, you got your meal brought to you, depending on what time of day you were travelling. And, if you needed the loo you went, no fuss.

Then the budget airline came along. In order to chop costs the bosses of these airlines decided that most of us would prefer not to have a meal on board the flight. But, if we did, we could pay for one. From what I remember some of us might have complained about airline food, but very few of us refused it.

They decided that most passengers don't travel with much baggage, and those of us who do can take hand luggage at no extra charge. But, if we do want to take luggage that needed to go in the hold of the airplane we should pay for it. Strange that whenever I fly I don't see the claimed 70% of passengers not carrying luggage, more like 70% of them do.

The bosses of the budget airlines decided that it would be cheaper if, instead of using travel agents, we could all book our tickets ourselves online. They then thought it would be a marvellous idea if we could even print off our own boarding passes. Funny thing is that one such budget airline in its wisdom charges for the boarding pass, plus a hefty fee for using a debit or credit card. That charge is for each passenger, in each direction. But hold on, meals are optional, baggage to a certain extent is optional, but paying online, which we have to do, and to use a card, again which we have to do? The word 'con' springs to mind here.

So, having pared back the prices to we ever so grateful passengers, the budget airlines get it back with hefty additional charges, and certainly no improvement in services. We still have to queue up at the check in desk when we arrive at the airport. So what time are we saving?

And now, wonder of wonders, Ryanair is at it again. In its attempts to cut costs even further, the boss of Ryanair, Michael O'Leary, has put the cost of taking check-in luggage up from £15 to £20 per item. What a great time to do it, right before the beginning of the school holidays. I must stop being a cynic, the increase must just be a coincidence.

Wait, it gets even better. Mr O'Leary has resurrected an idea aimed raise their revenues even further. It's called "spend a pound to spend a penny." And, for anyone who doesn't understand what may be a British expression, 'spending a penny' means using the toilet.

Yes, Ryanair's new loony idea is to put coin-operated loos on its flights. After all, Mr O'Leary says that their customers (is that really what they are?), should use the loos at the airport, not on their nice planes. No one should need to go to the toilet on short flights, especially those lasting less than an hour. And anyone with the audacity to use one of their toilets will pay for the privilege! Hmm, does that mean that on flights lasting over an hour - surely the vast majority of Ryanair's flights - that passengers won't be forced to pay to answer the call of nature? Most flights from the UK to Spain, for example, take 2 hours minimum. Could it backfire, as passengers drink less onboard so as to not need the loos?

And, how about getting rid of co-pilots on Ryanair flights? Yes, crazy as it might seem, that is yet another idea to cut costs. Needless to say the CAA might have something to say about that.

And finally, just to top it off, another ludicrous idea. Vertical seats. Fitting a number of vertical seats will get more people on the plane. Those seats, erm... 'standing seats' will cost passengers much less than a sitting seat, however. So, more people to buy lottery tickets, spend money on going to the toilet, buying duty free. Oh what a wonderful idea. Trouble is somehow I doubt the Civil Aviation Authority will go along with these plans, thank goodness.

Don't get me wrong, I have a great deal of respect for any company which not only manages to stay afloat in these difficult times, but actually makes a tidy profit. And without question there is a place for budget airlines. But, are some in danger of going too far in order to cut costs?

Will we, in time, have to take our own cleaning equipment on the plane to give it a once over before we fly?

I wonder how they'll cut one of their major costs - pilots. Don't worry, they'll think of a way before too long.

Oh how I look back at those simple bygone days of flying with such fondness.