cheap flights

[julia]

can anybody please tell me why when easyjet took go over they became an expensive airline but still continue to charge for refreshments,advertise bargain flights and run on a skeleton staff at stanstead

[cupra]

How much did you pay for your flight??

[julia]

i have just booked from stanstead to faro and paid �181!!!!!! it is NOT school holidays and this was one way!!!! where have all the �60 and �70 flights gone--obviously go took them with them. ps they also add tax now!!!!

[cupra]

Wow! That's quite a price! The only thing I can suggest is that that particular flight is very popular, hence the high (by recent standards) price.... normally if you book at least 2-3 weeks in advance you get the cheap ones (I got Geneva for �80 return and Barcelona for �90), butnot always! I bet you could have got an Air Portugal or BA ticket for less (and, as you said, you would have had a free sandwich at the very least!). p.s I once had to change an EasyJet flight at the last minute and had to fork out an extra �140 for a name change!

[KARL]

As this correspondence already shows, the low cost airlines are not always low cost. Cupra is correct, usually the early bird does get cheaper seats but if you are quoted what appears a high price then search for other options which may be just as attractive. Don't forget that there may be other cheap airlines going to somewhere near your destination (perhaps even exactly to the same place. It is worth checking some of the charter outlets also. However, if easijet are already selling at a high price, this suggests there is a demand, even at that price. But the point about reduced competition after the takeover is probably a valid one.

[geofbob]

I quite agree that the so-called "economy airlines" don't always live up to their reputations these days. A month or so ago I was looking for cheap flights to Athens for May - ie a couple of months in advance, and not a peak holiday period. Yet I found that it was as cheap to book "with frills" scheduled BA flights from Heathrow via ebookers (�129), as Easyjet flights from Luton. That said, Ryanair still has some great bargains; and even though they fly to some minor airports - eg Treviso for Venice - they almost always lay on special buses between the airport and relevant city.