Are low-cost airlines value for money?

May 18 2009 By Anuji Varma

THE AIRLINES entice us with prices that are sometimes cheaper than a pint down the boozer.

But are these low-cost airlines really a con? Musician Heath Hunter seems to think so.

The dad-of-three, of Eardiston, near Worcester, is a frequent flyer on these budget airlines, but to him the no-frills logo also stands for no-fun.

He jets over to Hamburg once a month where he is a chart-topping popstar to perform and to hold workshops with budding musicians. But using the low-cost airlines is testing his patience.

“I’ve renamed Flybe, Flymaybe. You never know if you’re going to get to your destination because of the amount of times I have been let down by them.

“I am also disgusted with all the little extras that they whack onto the price. These airlines market themselves as low cost, but are they really that cheap?

Once you’ve added on baggage fees, seat charges, taxes and food, you end up paying up more than £100 for a flight that’s sometimes touted for £20.

“Then there are so many terms and conditions to sift through once you’ve booked the flight. How many people really do go through the fine print?”

The last straw came two weeks ago when Heath, 39, was travelling back from Hamburg. He had booked an outgoing and incoming flight to Birmingham but had to fly out to Hamburg two days earlier with another airline.

The singer/songwriter, who has worked with Bob Marley’s son Stephen, phoned Flybe to inform them he wouldn’t be taking the flight out to Hamburg.

He thought his flight back to Birmingham was still available because he had informed them of his plans regarding the outbound flight. But when he arrived at Hamburg airport on May 1 he was told he had to purchase another flight because he was considered a “no-show” for the out-going flight to the German city – and then had to fork out 250 euros for a seat on the same flight.