Travelling Starfish

Just about a month and a half ago, I was sitting in my hotel in Manchester just after arriving into the UK from Tel Aviv.  I started a 3-week trip back to Jersey and Gran Canaria.

To kick off the travel blog fest, I did a blog on discount airlines since I was going to be taking quite a number of them over the course of the 3 weeks.  During that time, I flew with 2 discount airlines – Jet2.com & BMIBaby.

So the burning question is….what was the verdict? Are the discount airlines a friend or a foe?  Are they really any cheaper than a standard commercial airline once you add up all the costs?  We’ll soon find out.

For my Tel Aviv to Manchester trek, there was no other option than to fly discount a la Jet2.com.  For my Manchester to Jersey flight via BMIBaby also the only other option was another discount airline, Flybe.

As I digress, let’s take what we can get.

What I will do is show the pros and cons of flying discount by 5 variables and rank them all out of 5:

1) Convenience – good route and access

2) Availability – how often do they fly the route, did I need to stay over at all

3) Hidden fees – check in, excess baggage

4) Costs on board – costs for food

5) Service – always one of my faves

6) Value for money – is this discount airline worth it?

Well, here’s what I found throughout my 6-leg journey – YES 6 legs – with the 2 airlines:

JET2.COM (4/6 legs of my trip) – Overall rating 4/5

Leg 1 – Tel Aviv to Manchester, Leg 4 – Manchester to Gran Canaria, Leg 5 – Gran Canaria to Manchester & Leg 6 – Manchester to Tel Aviv

Convenience (5/5) – very convenient route for me as I wanted to go in and out of Manchester from Tel Aviv as that gave me the opportunity to skip the transfer from Heathrow to Gatwick (no flights operate from Heathrow to Jersey anymore)

Availability (2/5) – the route from Tel Aviv to Manchester only operates on Thursday and Monday.  It gets into Manchester quite late on the Thursday night so I had to stay over before I caught my flight to Jersey the next morning.  On the way back I ended up having to wait until Monday morning to fly back to Tel Aviv so I had an additional 2  nights in Manchester post Gran Canaria.  The Gran Canaria availability was fine but that was largely because we were on a package holiday.

Hidden fees (3/5) – they do charge for online check in (which I still can’t understand) but the baggage limit is 22 kg when you book with Jet2.com so its quite forgiving compared to other discount airlines.  Also they aren’t so insane about the 1 hand baggage policy either – thank goodness.  I paid a bit of excess baggage on our way to Gran Canaria but it was quite minimal (I think 20 GBP) so I can’t complain.

Costs on board (5/5) – snacks and drinks are priced reasonably so a tea break is always an option.

Service (5/5) – I found the check in staff very nice in Tel Aviv, Manchester and Gran Canaria and the crew on board was great too.

Value for money (4/5) - Pretty decent value for money and I would fly with them again.  The planes were clean and service was good.  Flying in and out of Manchester was better than London in my opinion so I think it was worth the money all in all.

BMI BABY (2/6 legs of my trip) – Overall rating 1/5

Leg 2 – Manchester to Jersey, Leg 2 – Jersey to Manchester

Convenience (4/5) – it is a convenient route as I needed to fly in and out of Manchester to Jersey.

Availability (3/5) – they operate one flight a day – at all sorts of hours of the day.  A bit confusing but I guess variety is the spice of life.

Hidden fees (0/5) – this is where BMI Baby loses the plot.  You must pay for your checked baggage – 30 pounds return!  This paid baggage is only for 18 kgs I learned.  I had 21 so ended up paying an extra 50 pounds to get over to Jersey – a flight of 45 minutes!  Also you have to pay for checking in online – again 30 pounds.  Unfortunately I got stung with this both ways so I am not going to fly with these guys again.  Also on my way over to Jersey they were enforcing a strict 1 hand baggage policy – I even had to throw out my Tupperware container – I kid you not! This is not for the faint hearted…BEWARE!

Costs on board (3/5) – out of principle after my little extra baggage fees, I would not dare buy anything but the snacks and drinks looked a bit pricier than good old Jet2.com – why am I not surprised?

Service (0/5) – again a very poor showing by BMI Baby.  The people at the check-in look like they are in misery land and I don’t blame them since they are the bearer of the 18kg bad news.  Also I am a member of the Star Alliance (which BMI is a member of) and so I asked if I would be able to collect miles for my flight with BMI Baby and the gentleman (if we can call him that) laughed at me and said why would BMI Baby allow you to collect miles – we’re not affiliated with BMI! Sorry to ask silly questions when BMI is actually apart of the name BMI Baby – I guess I got a dose of the silly stick!  Anyway, I learned my lesson for next time.  If I ever am forced to fly with the likes of BMI Baby I’ll make sure to keep my mouth shut.

Value for money (1/5) - no way Jose! This airline won’t be geting my business anytime soon!  I haven’t calculated how much my short flight to Jersey actually cost in the end (partly because I’m afraid it will exceed the price of my holiday for 2 weeks in the Canaries) but I must say its really disappointing that an airline like this can even operate the skies.  As a marketer, there has to be a company that has better customer service that can help us travellers out.  Having lived in Jersey, I know the options are limited but, come on, it’s got to get better than this.

The verdict – BMI Baby is definitely a miss but Jet2.com is worth a try!

So, in summary, how do I feel about discount airlines?  Hmmm…I think that they have their place.  As I said in my post in June, I’m willing to take them if they make my trip somehow more convenient – like Jet2.com did with giving me the Manchester option.  The advantage of not having to go through London was ideal so if I needed something like that again I’d go for it.  All airlines these days offer their challenges and as the Travelling Starfish that I am. I need to be aware that even with the best of airlines there is always room for problems.

The next flight I’m taking is with British Airways and we all know what can happen with these guys.  I want you all to cross your fingers that in early Sept we’ll be nice and strike free!

For now, if you are tempted to hit the skies with a discount airline, do your research in order to make sure you are truly getting the deal you think you are!!

Enjoy, Miriam

Well, we left Jersey on a flight to Manchester.

We fly out to Gran Canaria first thing in the morning so we decided to stay overnight to ensure we were ready for the flight to our special island.

Originally, I thought I’d be writing a travel blog on a night out in Manchester city centre.  Since we had the whole night ahead of us we were planning on going into the town, and I’ve never been into Manchester before so I was pretty geared up for it.

After all the checking in a and rushing around at the airport, we changed our minds.  Instead, we decided to stay in, go for a swim and have a meal and watch the England game.

We found a great deal at the the Marriott Manchester airport.  It’s about a 10 minute bus ride from the airport but feels a world away.  The hotel has a really great atmosphere and doesn’t feel like your typical airport hotel.  We all quickly checked in and decided to check out the pool and spa area.  Isn’t that the best way to feel like you’re on holiday?

The leisure area is great – a a large indoor pool (which is fine with me since the UK isn’t the warmest even though it was June), a hot tub, sauana and steam room.

They also do treatments – I wish I knew this before as I would’ve booked one.  We spend about an hour there and realize we should really start getting ready for dinner since the game is going to begin.

We’ve decided to go and watch the England versus Algeria World Cup game at this bar called Players.  It’s actually attached to the hotel but separate from the bar/restaurant area.  As we walk by, I’m so excited – it has just the right atmosphere.  A nice outdoor patio, a lovely bar inside and the food looks and smells good too.

Once we sit down, order a couple of drinks and food, I am so happy about our decision to stay “in”, so to speak.

For weeks, we’ve been talking about heading into Manchester but now I realize how great it is to be spontaneous sometimes and take it easy.

England doesn’t do too well (it was a draw) but at least we’ve had a night filled with laughs, nice wine (a bit too much maybe) and good food.

After the game, we stay for a couple more glasses of vino and then call it a night.  We have a big day tomorrow so its best to take it easy.

When we wake, we grab a lovely breakfast which helps to cure those few too many glasses of wine I indulged in.  Being in marketing, I am true believer that positive feedback is just as important as negative.  We complete the comment card and tell the staff how well they did.

This hotel was really great – it offers anything you can ask of not only an airport hotel but any accommodation in general.  I highly recommend it…we really enjoyed it.

The feedback is appreciated and we check out and are on our way back to Manchester airport for our next big adventure.

Next stop…Gran Canaria – woo hoo!

A question I’m sure many often have when booking a holiday!

Well, I’m on my way.  About 2 months ago, I made arrangements to head back to the UK & Europe.

Being a freelancer gives me a lot of flexibility.  Working through the digital channel allows me to work remotely – seeing the world but still satisfying the needs of my clients and also ensuring a steady flow of income in my bank account:).

The original reason behind this trip was to get away to one of the Spanish islands in the Canaries.  We are headed there for a bit to get a bit of R&R.  It should be a really good time and make for some great blog posts too – stay tuned.

Before I go to paradise, I’m heading back to my favourite spot – Jersey!! I know, surprise surprise.  You can’t tear me away for that long, can you?

Before I booked my flight I found out that there was a discount carrier who flew from Tel Aviv to Manchester.  Manchester offers me a bit of a benefit when heading to Jersey as instead of having to take a shuttle between London Heathrow to Gatwick I can grab a flight direct to Jersey from the MAN airport.

I booked on the discount airline, Jet2.com.  I had never heard of them before if I’m honest.  Funny enough when we bought our tix to Gran Canaria we realized the flight over there was with Jet2 too.  So this is going to be three week of Jet2-ing.

Flying with discount airlines, in my opinion, is always a hit and miss experience.  I’ve flown with some that are brilliant and others that are really bad.

I’m in 2 minds if they are really cheaper in the end than a commercial airline as you have to pay extra for so many things.

The main items that get added on are checked baggage, in-flight meals, check in (my personal favourite), extra baggage weight at the airport and soon-to-be released charges for the use of the toilet.  I’ll take each of these in turn.

Checked baggage is a huge source of revenue for these discount airlines.  Typically the charges can be anywhere from 7-18 pounds – it varies so much between airlines and it often depends on if you book it in advance or at the airport.  This charge I can somewhat understand definetly more so than the others.

Charges for in-flight meals became popular after 9/11 in my opinion.  As airlines struggled, they started to remove these now “perks” and offered meals at a cost.  In my view, I never opt for buying food on planes.  I’ll just bring something with me from home or buy in the airport before boarding.  You are bound to get something tastier and cheaper.

The new one that astonishes me is paying for check in.  I can understand charging people for checking in at the airport as this costs the airline money for hiring more staff to check you in.  When I booked my Jet2 flight they actually charged me 6 pounds for checking in online.  I don’t understand how they can charge for checking in online.  Essentially customers are paying for their website as we are checking in online and printing out our own boarding passes.

Where these airlines really sting you is on extra baggage.  When you book your holiday, sometimes months in advance, most of us have all the intentions of staying within the 20kg limit.  Then something happens when we are packing.  We pack those souveniers, gifts and we have to bring our favourite pair of pumps for those nights out.  Then all of a sudden we break the 20kg threshold and it goes downhill from there.  I can’t complain, when I checked in on my flight from Tel Aviv to Manchester yesterday they didn’t charge me a dime but I know very well when the scale read 22.5 kg that could have costed me a lot.  Some extra baggage fees can range between 10-20 pounds per kilo.  Not good for the pocketbook without even getting on the plane.  This one is a classic for airlines as you are stuck at the airport so you have to pay – unless you suddenly decide to throw out 2.5kg of stuff into the garbage bin.  They know they’ve got you and you’re going to pay for it.

The latest and greatest is a story I heard from the notorious pioneer of discount airlines, Ryanair.  Last year in 2009 it hit headlines that its owner Michael O’Leary wanted to start charging passengers for going to the toilet on the flight – 1 pd / 1 euro per visit.  When I first read this headline I actually thought it was a joke but I found it was true.  What is even more amazing is that it apparently is going to move forward.  A recent article in the Daily Mail stated that Ryanair will start charging for use of onboard toilets.  I think I’ve seen it all.

Am I the only one that thinks this is out of line?  Please let me know how you feel!!

On the whole, I am not against discount airlines – actually I’ve flown some pretty decent ones including Thomas Cook, First Choice and will now say the same about Jet2.com (so far).  The main reason I fly with discount airlines is if they make life more convenient for me – flying into a better airport for the most part – not really for the cost savings.

Another positive of a discount airline is that they keep the big guys – the likes of El Al (Israel’s airline), British Airways (everyone’s favourite) and Air Canada – on their toes.  The competition of discount airlines creates an environment for better prices.

I must be speaking with my marketing hate on but don’t you agree?

I’m curious to hear what others think about the discount airlines out there.  I’ll keep you posted on my experiences with Jet2 in the coming weeks and also give you more thoughts on how I feel about discount airlines but for now tell me your views.

And now I’m off to Jersey…stay tuned…

I’m not sure if I mentioned, but I’m going away in a couple of weeks.  First I’m heading back to Jersey for a quick visit (still working though) and then am headed to Gran Canaria for some R&R – honestly, I can’t wait and desperately need a proper holiday!

My trip requires me to fly in and out of the UK as that is where (in my opinion) the best deals are to be had.

I’m going in and out of Manchester airport so need to arrange a bunch of airport hotels there.  Honestly staying by the airport is never my favourite thing to do.  Sure, its built for purpose, but it always feels so cold and soulless.

I don’t get why its like that if I’m honest.  The whole concept of an airport hotel and its functional feeling makes sense I guess for when you come back from a holiday – since you typically don’t want to get back to the real world.  However, when you are off to a new place staying by the airport should be fun as its your first taste that you are on holiday.  Hmmm…business idea maybe??

I’m looking for two different types of accommodation in Manchester for 2 different types of stays  – the first is cheap and reliable and the second a hotel with a bit more luxury.

You see, when I get into Manchester my flight arrives late so I need to stay over before I head to Jersey.  I just want something cheap, clean and cheerful.  One of my favourite chains in the UK is Premier Travel Inn.  They are nothing to phone home about but they are dead cheap and fairly standard – no surprises.  I look online and managed to get a bargain at 29 quid! Can’t beat that so I book it and all is said and done.

For the second stay I’m looking for something a bit nicer with a pool, maybe even a spa.  Before we head to the islands, we want to enjoy some swimming and fun to kick-start the holiday.  I look around and see that there  are actually a lot of deals to be had right now.  With the UK still coming out of its economic woes, hotels really want to increase their occupancy rates.  I get a great deal for the Marriott and the hotel sports an indoor pool and spa!  Everyone is well pleased and looking forward to starting the holiday off on the right foot.

After all this travelling over the years – for business and pleasure – I’ve learned a few tips when booking airport hotels.  Here’s me instilling some of that wisdom on you:

1) Understand where these “airport” hotels actually are. In North America, I find that most airport hotels will be either in the airport, walking distance or offer a free shuttle service from the airport.  So they are easy to get to.  In the UK and other parts of Europe, I’ve found it to be a different story.  The UK often has buses they call “hoppa” buses which are essentially like public transit and cost usually 2 pound/way. However they also typically don’t operate all night so you may have to pay for a cab if you arrive on a late flight.  I’ve found these can sometimes be confusing as I’ve had some of these buses ride on by me when I’m waiting to get picked up to catch my flight. Best thing to do is check the distance to the airport and even your terminal to see if it makes sense for your needs.

2) Search the web for good rates. Since there are so many hotels nearby airports, if you look hard enough you can usually get a good deal for a hotel that meets your needs.  I use a consolidation site like HotelsCombined or something similar as they pull information from a number of sites and try to show  you the best rates.

and…

3) I always think about how much time I’ll be there. On many business trips I would literally be in the room to put my head down and shower before a flight.  Even if the company was paying, I always thought it was a big waste to spend a lot of money for no reason.  On the flip side, if I’m going to be there for awhile, I usually look for a hotel with a full-service restaurant, a gym and wireless so I have lots to do with my time – work or play.

In just over 2 weeks I’ll be leaving on a jet plane (lol) heading for the UK.  Hopefully my airport hotel will be a nice start to the few weeks of wonder I’ll be having.

Can’t wait!!! x