COMMENT: Air travel is not what it used to be

WHO remembers a time when flying was the ultimate in luxury travel?

Such was the fascination with planes when we were young, some parents were pestered into bringing their kids to Dublin Airport for a few hours, just to get a glimpse of how the other half lived. 

In 1982, when I was in sixth class, we went on a memorable school tour which involved flying on an Aer Lingus 747 jumbo jet from Dublin to Shannon, just like the one the Pope had travelled on during his Irish visit a few years earlier. It may have been just a 20-minute trip but to us it was an experience beyond our wildest dreams. The train trip home from Limerick that evening was something of an anti-climax, as you can imagine.

A lot has happened in the world of aviation since those days. In the mid-eighties, Ryanair started to flap its fledgling wings before going on to become Europe’s most successful low-cost airline. Ryanair certainly knocked some of the glamour out of air travel, with its no frills, no nonsense approach to customer service. But it certainly made flying more accessible and affordable for all of us, forcing the industry as a whole to reduce its fares.

In more recent times, Michael O’Leary has worked hard to soften up his company’s image with fancy new initiatives like seat selection and – whisper it – a more customer orientated experience. 

And like many Ryanair customers, I’ve had largely positive experiences with the airline, with a couple of minor quibbles along the way.

I’ve always been happy to pay a premium for decent, polite service and just a few little frills to break the back of the journey. That’s why I opted, where possible, to travel with Aer Lingus. There was something comforting about seeing that emblematic, tilted shamrock on the tail of the plane as you boarded your flight, met by smiling cabin crew who wouldn’t attempt to sell you scratch cards. You even got something to eat and drink on short flights, all included in the price of your ticket.

While it would be wrong to say that Aer Lingus now simply apes how Ryanair runs its business, there are fewer differences between the two brands these days. But some things that used to annoy me about Ryanair now annoy me about Aer Lingus.

Booking a flight requires serious tolerance levels. I’m heading off to a popular European city with my family during the peak summer season so I wasn’t too surprised at the shortage of bargain flights to be found. In fact, Aer Lingus prices were as good or bad as all the other low-cost carriers I searched.

What I found particularly galling, though, were all the little add-ons as I proceeded through the online booking system. Paying €70 return per bag (which used to be included in the fare) had my blood boiling, as did the increased price every time I selected a seat for each of us. By the time I was finished, the price bore little resemblance to what I had originally been quoted.

With my holiday now just weeks away, I am already breaking into a sweat thinking about having to navigate the online check-in, not to mention all the necessary security and passport control desks at the airports (great fun when you’re travelling with young children!). And don’t even get me started on the exorbitant costs of airport parking! 

But for all its faults, air travel is still the most practical way to travel. It’s just a pity it has become such an exercise in endurance.