14 DAY TRIAL // This is many people's dream: traveling comfortably by plane, but paying for a very cheap ticket (just 9 to 139 Euro / $ 12-195). The low cost companies have developed a lot lately, taking advantage of our desire to arrive fast and safe to whatever location in the world. You almost pay for an plane ticket as much as you'd pay for a taxi ride. Internet, a credit card and an e-mail to receive a personal code, and you're ready to go.
With a flexible schedule and lots of patience, you will find the perfect "trip" for you on the net. The basic rule of the 'low cost' system is to cut off all the intermediary agents and costs, so that the client will pay just for the flight. It is estimated that by 2010, 35 % of the market will be owned by the low cost companies. But keeping the prices low comes with a trade off. Here are some disadvantages:
1. Make the reservation on-line. If you do it by phone or at a ticket window, you also involve an intermediary, and this will raise the price of the ticket as it means a supplementary cost. You go to the airport with your identity card and the reservation number. These companies do not actually give tickets, so that's another way to cut the price of the journey.
2. You'd better choose just the option 'departure' when making the reservation on the Internet. The real low cost is achieved when you make the reservation at least 14 days before. As there is no ticket, you don't have a previously assigned seat.
3. However, the check-in can totally ruin the meaning of low cost. Low cost companies allow every passenger to have a luggage that weighs just 15-20 kg (35-45 pounds), plus and 5 kg (12 pounds) on the plane (hand luggage). For each extra kg (2.2 pounds) you pay 6-7 Euro ($ 8.5 -10), and they are inflexible. Say bye-bye to saving money. So that, at the check in office, it's not unusual to see passengers removing content from their bags.
4. You may feel crowded once in the plane. And you're right. The planes are the same models as the ones used by companies practicing normal costs, only that there are more seats. This also explains the lower price.
5. You'll probably be hungry after a couple of hours flying, so you'd better buy a sandwich before getting on the plane, as these companies do not serve free food, newspapers or candies on the plane. Of course, you can always buy them.
6. Making complaints? That's difficult. Usually, there is no respresentative of the company in the airport, they only give you an e-mail address or a fax. With no phone number available, this is rather useless in cases of emergency.
7. Low cost companies usually use small airports, linked to the main routes by buses. To reach more important cities, the travelers must use special buses (which can sometimes be old and dirty, or too crowded), for which the ticket quite often costs more than the price you paid for the plane ticket.
There are cases when low cost flights land on airports located even at 60 km (38 mi) from the location they initially mentioned in the offer (for example, Bergamo and not Milan). It can be tricky when you have to catch another plane that takes off from another airport, and the bus that was supposed to take you there is caught in some traffic jam. If you lose one flight, the ticket bought from an office won't have a low price anymore.
8. The plane's seats do not have bins. This way, the company reduces the time dedicated to cleaning and costs, while making more flights.
9. A plane that doesn't fly is no source of money. That's why planes from the low cost companies usually don't stay in the airport for more than 25 minutes between flights. In case of normal companies a plane stays on ground for at least one hour, and the plane will fly 8 hours daily, while in low cost companies, 12 hours each day is the 'norm'.
10. Not all the employees wear security yellow jackets. They work more hours for less money, and the work environment is less formal.
11. Flight delays are not really 'exceptional' in case of low cost companies. More than that, passengers are advised to arrive at the airport at least 2-3 hours before the flight, since the check-in queue for low cost flights can be huge.
12. Attention: airport fees can cost you more than the price of the ticket!