So true. The last time I travelled with EJ there was one guy had all his clothes in five Tesco carrierbags and god knows how many people with massive hold-alls!

Because the plane they were using was stuck somewhere else and there was no chance that it would be in place by 1900?

I'd rather be told that the flight was cancelled 12 hours early than 1 or 2 hours after the scheduled departure (that's happened a couple of times with SWISS).

correct, EJ have such tight control of schedules that if they miss a slot, it can have huge knock on effects in what would seem to be unrelated destinations.

all part of paying less for more ...

They only fly in Europe, can't think of any European destination that is over a twelve hour return!!

I don't know the circumstances you mention, but in many cases where bad weather occurs, then aircraft may not have been able to fly as planned and they end up missing sectors and are therefore in the wrong place. EZ don't have contingency plans if their airplanes go tech or end up so late that they can't make a particular sector. In summer they try and latch on very late night flights (where the airports allow this with nor curfew) or they just cancel due to economics (but they're not going to tell you that...).

Rabina has got the spirit of this thread! Lets go back to the reasons why flying for as close to free as possible is great. This is the I love cheap flights page. There are pleanty of others to go Easyjet bashing on.

I love Ryanair because they have the highest percentage of on time flights in Europe! (I think this is what the announcment tells me after we land )

flew ej once , no twice ....never again. i would rather pay the extra and know what the cost will be before i get to the airport. also if i want coach class , i'll go in a coach.

never done ryanair .....slight phobia about that one .

big however , if you understand all the rules ( ie what DOESNT cost extra ), and you are on a limited budget then they are superb, esp for those on low budgets.( swiss were actually cheaper on more than one occassion.)

now wheres that falcon .....

do you work for Ryan or EZY?

I wish! Then my flights may be even cheaper again!!!

I've flown back and forth between Canada and Germany numerous times over the last 12 years... all in all, I'd have to say I've had more problems and delays with the big expensive companies than I've had with the cheap charter ones.

Interesting topic.

I have used budget airlines for years but I alway check BA and Swiss and have been surprised to find the major carriers cheaper on some routes. If its a little more expensive I will often choose BA or Swiss for the free drink, the snack and the assigned seat.

I hate the boarding scrum too and if I am travelling alone will often be the very last passenger on.

A thing that works quite often is to wait until last then cast your eye until you see a couple with an empty seat between them with the guy in the outside seat usually (Providing the flight isn't full of course) and take a chance on that middle seat, especially if its near the front of the plane. Quite often the guy will smooth over to the center seat so that he can sit next to his companion. Works about 8 out of ten times.

I haven't received free drinks or snacks with Swiss

One advantage of the extra charge for seat allocation is that you can specify your exact seat if you book early enough.

My last few flight were with Aer Lingus, operated on the same principles as the budget airlines. The last time I flew with them it was a nearly full flight. They called people from the boarding gate in sections of the plane to reduce the boarding scrum. They didn't do this when the flights were only about half full.

I hate budget airlines when they aren't budget.

I mean £160 return to go to Edinburgh and back and I don't even get a free meal.

LOL - reminds me of the time Swiss went all budget. They charged 700 CHF to Austria and I got a choice of two "meals"...

...a pot of yoghurt or a croissant for breakfast...

Has anyone flown long-haul with Condor airlines?

I was looking at a holiday to South America with Thomas Cook De and the flight is with Condor. My kids are reluctant as they don't have seat-back entertainment in economy class (... the words spoilt and brats spring to mind..)

Anyone had any experience of Condor?

Agreed. Unfortunately, EasyJet sometimes don't understand this concept, either. In January, when I was flying back from Egypt to Geneva, the plane was supposed to arrive in Geneva at 2200 hours. Starting that morning, I decided to follow the plane that was supposed to do it online. Its flights that day were London - Geneva, Geneva - Sharm El Sheikh, Sharm El Sheikh - Geneva. Already leaving from London to Geneva (so at 10 AM), it was running three hours late. The Geneva airport closes at midnight. At 10 AM that day I know that there was no way it was going to make it in time. Apparently, I was more in the know than the people running the thing. We had to go to the airport, do the check-in, wait around. The plane arrived 3-4 hours late as expected. We got into the bus, we were in front of the plane, when someone finally decided to call Geneva and ask if they were going to let us fly in. Of course, their answer was no, they weren't going to pay their staff 2 hours of overtime because a budget airline flight was running late. To their credit, they put us up in a hotel, but I couldn't believe their incompetency. All the wait for something I had known was going to happen 12 hours before. I mentioned this to the pilot and he said with a droopy face, and I'm not kidding, "I thought they were going to make an exception for us." Sweet Jesus, man, is this your job or not?

I could have snorkled for an extra day, is all I'm saying.

Good news EasyJet opening Manchester-Zurich service. This route tends to be quite expensive with Swiss (paid £420 return last time)

Just booked a family trip for 4 in peak summer months on EasyJet - £250 return for all 4 of us!

condor were very good ....did fly with them a few times , but then they were lufthansa sub , dont know if they still are . got free food and drink , plus the crew were competent and friendly ....goes a long way with me .

As a family we have flown with both easyjet and ryanair and we've had a relatively trouble free time. But I recommend everyone reads this guide before they book

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/tra...irline-charges