In terms of flier experience, there is a world of difference between flying with British Airways and flying with one of the budget airlines such as Easy Jet, and although the former might be a little more expensive, sometimes the money that we can save is just not worth all the extra hassle.
In the early days of budget airlines it was possible to fly to many destinations for just a few pounds and, at a time when the major outlines were very expensive, many of us were quite content to put up with such inconveniences of not having a designated seat, flying to non-mainstream airports which meant that we needed to spend an extra few hours reaching the main destinations by bus, and generally being herded around like cattle.
However, nowadays the cost savings are considerably less than they were, mainly because of all the additional charges that the budget airlines add to the basic price of a ticket. Charges such as taxes, various levies, check-in fees, additional charges for luggage, penalty fees for carry-on bags that are marginally too big, early boarding fees, and charges for paying by credit and debit cards all add to the bill; for many return flights you need to add around £100 to the originally quoted ticket price.
One way of flying on mainstream airlines such as BA is with air miles or Avios as they are now called. These can be used to pay for the full cost of your flight, or can be used as a partial payment. There are many ways of collecting these and you will find all the information that you need on how to collect and spend them on airmiles.co.uk newly avios.com.
In order to discover how many Avios you would need for a flight, you can use the Aviospoints calculator. You simply enter your intended destination and from where you would like to fly, and the calculator will list the number of Avios needed to purchase the flight along with various combinations of points and cash you would need to spend.
For instance, a single economy flight to Barcelona in Spain would cost 7,500 Avios, or 3,750 Avios plus £80. The same flight with Easy Jet could cost you around £100 just as a starter price. The beauty of Avios is that they are free; once you join the club you can collect Avios points on many of your standard purchases.
In summary, if saving money is your top priority when you pay for a flight, and you are willing to tolerate all the inconveniences and uncertainties of flying with a budget no-frills airline, then in many circumstances you can still save a little money by doing so. If you prefer a more comfortable way of flying and you don’t mind paying what could be just a little more, then a major airline would be your choice, but with Avios you can enjoy all the convenience and comfort of the second option without it costing you any extra; you could even fly for free.