Having just returned from a week's sojourn in Tuscany, Italy, I am left with the opinion that flying just is not fun anymore. I understand the need for the added security and I have found that the people who work in airports are generally helpful when I approach this area. Being disabled I have a certain problem in that I cannot move as fast as everyone else when it comes to removing jackets and belts, my fingers freeze and I get over-anxious. Despite this the people waiting to see if I am packing any contraband have always proven to be patient and occasionally even funny. It is the bit before and after passing through the security area that I am beginning to grumble about.
We flew out of Manchester Airport, England, to Pisa, Italy, on a Ryanair flight. The booking in desk was defended by an interminable snake of ribbon barriers. I had already downloaded and printed out our boarding cards, you know, those things that they used to give you after your luggage had been weighed and labelled ready for onward transit. There were only two desks open despite the fact that they were accepting passengers for all Ryanair flights due to depart. Gone are the days when you went to a specific desk for a specific flight. When we reached the desk we were told that we should have gone to the 'self-check in area'! There were no signs nor any communications informing of us of this fact. Soon afterwards a member of staff was posted to direct those people already clutching their home printed boarding cards to this fabulous area of frustrated activity.
It is not surprising that the 'self-check in' resembles the 'self-service' in most supermarkets, but then it achieves the same objective; it gets the paying customer to do the work that they used to pay the company to do themselves. It sounded a lot like those supermarkets as well, 'what do we do?' 'How does this work?' 'Why does it say that I don't have a case to weigh?' If you get it right then you the machine prints out a label for you to fasten to your checked-in luggage items, you know, liked they used to do for you in times gone by. Yes, Ryanair is a 'budget airline', but they did use to do all of this themselves once and as none of the cost savings have gone into improving the service then they are just being cheap.
When it all comes down to it the real objective is not about delivering a worthwhile service, it is about making money. Ryanair sells everything as an additional service when once it was included in the price. They have even taken the sick bags out of that hand elasticated bag that used to be on the seat in front of you - yes, they have gone as well! This proved somewhat unpleasant on the flight home when a little girl a few rows in front of us was indeed sick. The best that could be done was to put a few paper towels on the floor that we all had to step over on the way out.
Travelling by air is, just like so many other things in life, subject to your financial status. If you can afford a little bit more then you get that little bit more. If you cannot afford it then you get what you are given. Our society accepts this fact without question. The airlines might use images of the more upmarket areas of their airliners to advertise their brand, the wide seats and aisles, and flight attendants only too willing to get you whatever drink you prefer, but the majority of customers will be herded into cattle-class and charged extra for everything. Flying today is simply no fun and it can take longer to get both into and out of an airport than it does to complete some journeys! I am beginning to look at holidays abroad that do not involve flying at all.
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