trans-Pacific flight was around $550
To be fair that ain't half bad. Most the time when my friends go back from Asia to USA, they're coughing up $1,000 give or take.
I've also been looking at some short trip budget things in Europe for a holiday plan and its infuriating. 25 pounds?? Great! carry on bag? That'll be 100 pounds please... So wtf is even budget about it?
The worst thing is that's the only options to fly such short distances. Doesn't seem to be a middle or upper class alternative short of private jets.
I think the main thing at least in Asia that I've been hating is that the budget lines seem to take bottom priority at the airport, so the chances of being delayed are almost 100%, you often have to do that whole bus journey across the airfield after going to the most distant possible gate that requires a train ride to get to, it just makes the whole process stupidly tiring.
Let me pay a bit more for a normal flight!!
absolutely. I hope that we start to see a resurfacing of the popularity of full-service airlines. When I have a choice I will always pay the extra little bit of money to get what all airlines used to be like. The low cost carriers started out as a good idea but it has devolved into a situation where everyone on the plane is pissed off because what they thought was a cheap alternative to fly turns out to be a situation where the airline is going to nickel and dime you around every corner. I'm surprised they haven't started to charge you to use the bathroom.
There was a time when $1000 to go trans-pacific was the norm but these days you can nearly get a round trip flight for that much money. It obviously depends on where you are going and where you are coming from.
I remember seeing one of the CEO's of the budget flights in an interview saying how he was planning on spaces for standing flights, where you'd literally stand up the whole journey like on a crowded bus.
Then more recently there's those two-layer seats being planned where seats are in a zig-zag, with the person in front being raised so their arses are your head height, to squeeze more in... hah.
I just had another miserable budget experience im gonna rant about too lol (although the flight itself was technically... fine)