Cheap flights?

[knobby]

Following on from my thread about booking instruments on flights I was reminded of this, which I think sums up some of these cheap airlines pefectly: (if you are very easliy offended then don't watch)

 

[JerryPH]

Hahahaa... so true!!!!!

 

[Stephen Hawkins]

Cheap equals Rubbish when it comes to airlines. You are going to pay, one way or another.

Kind Regards,

Stephen.

 

[debra]

What a great sketch! Of course cheap flights are rubbish, but at least with Ryanair you can book an extra seat for your musical instrument, so you can safeguard it all the time!

 

[Stephen Hawkins]

I must confess that I have never actually flown with a budget airline, so cannot speak from personal experience. The carriers I have mainly used are either National Carriers such as B.A., South African & K.L.M., or fairly large airlines such as Britannia.

Some of the younger generations of my family have flown with budget airlines, and I have benefited from their experiences/mistakes.

Kind Regards,

Stephen.

 

[debra]

...
Some of the younger generations of my family have flown with budget airlines, and I have benefited from their experiences/mistakes.

Kind Regards,

Stephen.

I am not of the "younger generations" of any family (despite what my picture may suggest) and I don't like budget airlines, but sometimes they are just too convenient to pass up. I sometimes need to travel from Eindhoven to Dublin, and with Ryanair flying precisely that route it feels silly to take a train to Amsterdam in order to get a flight to Dublin with one of the more "regular" airlines. Convenience over quality here...

 

[Stephen Hawkins]

Hi Paul,

I am sure that certain circumstances make a Ryanair flight an attractive alternative, but disgruntled hordes of angry Ryanair passengers would seem to suggest otherwise.

I once flew with Dan Air back in the sixties, but a comprehensive list of niggles would take up too much space for this forum. Many people used the epithet "Dan Dare" when referring to Dan Air, and with good reason. Some breathed a sigh of relief when it went bust.

Maybe Ryanair is a reincarnation of Dan Dare.

Kind Regards,

Stephen.

 

[knobby]

I once flew with Dan Air back in the sixties

I remember flying with them back from somewhere in to Gatwick airport, and I was sitting close to the front of the aircraft. Just before starting to descend a stewardess came out of the cockpit with a road atlas and said to me "Can you show me where gatwick is on here please?" I think she saw the look of terror on my face and quickly followed it up by saying "There's a passanger wants to see how far it is from London!"

 

[Stephen Hawkins]

Hi Knobby,

The Dan Dare plane I was meant to board at Manchester had technical problems, so another aircraft was dispatched from Gatwick to replace the duff one. We boarded shortly after it arrived, and were disgusted to find that it hadn't even been swept out following its previous flight.

There were sandwich wrappers and other litter all over the cabin. It was at that point that I vowed I would never book a flight with them again. (and I never did)

Dan Dare also had an appalling accident record at the time, so it was little wonder that the business failed.

Kind Regards,

Stephen.

 

[Eddy Yates]

Montana had Big Sky Airlines which everybody called Big Scare. I actually liked it because it flew so low you could see the beautiful countryside, but I have to admit it made me “a wee bit tense” in a storm. There were usually only 2-3 passengers, and no cabin, so you could see the radar screen and the pilot’s reactions.
Never flew in a big budget jet.

 

[Stephen Hawkins]

Hi Eddy,

Light aircraft can be quite exciting at low altitude.

Dan Dare (Dan Air) was just rubbish, and their fatality records were scandalous. They owned a mixed bag of superannuated aircraft, which they failed to maintain to an acceptable standard.

Some British stand up comedians built their careers on Dan Dare. They may have exaggerated a little, but there was an element of truth in the jokes they told.

Anyway, once was enough for me.

Kind Regards,

Stephen.

 

[Pipemajor]

Light aircraft can be quite exciting at low altitude.

This reminds me of when, in 1970, I was posted from the Met Police to Anguilla when they had their mini revolt.
A few of us decided to travel to the neighbouring island of St. Maarten on our day off with the local Anguilla Airways .
We taxied down the dirt runway, turned round to take off when the pilot announced that we had a puncture.
He then took out a screw jack, jacked the plane up and took off the wheel, which he then carried away with him to get it repaired.
An hour later he re-appeared, fitted the wheel and then took off.
The doors were left open during the flight so that we could jump out if there was a problem.
Happy days

 

[Dingo40]

Pipemajor,
Good story, thanks!?