Date: 22 March 2006

Having spent an awful lot of my time blasting through the air in an aluminium tube, I have some gripes with the airline industry as a whole.

The first of these gripes is pricing. Many of the established "flag-carriers" have the simply ludicrousc policy of charging more for a one-way ticket than they do for a return ticket. They claim this is due to oppurtunity cost or because people simply don't turn up for their flights.

Well, here's a thought. I recently bought a return ticket from Zurich to Tripoli. The one-way ticket was over 1,000 Swiss Francs more expensive. As I will be returning to Zurich from Cairo, all I needed was a oneway to Tripoli. Of course, I bought a return ticket. A thousand francs might not be a lot to a flag-carrier, but it is to me. That's why I won't turn up for the return leg of the flight. And that's why the flight is overbooked.

So, why not use a budget airline? Budget airlines never fly to where you want them to. Nearby perhaps, but not actually to. Furthermore, in order to make a profit with such low prices, they load you into to tightest possible space making your journey uncomfortable and generally unpleasant.

On of the worst side-effects of budget airlines is that they have forced the flag-carriers to compete on price-exclusively. The resultant cost cuts have come at the expense of service. While consumers welcome lower prices, it isn't the sole criteria for all travellers. Some of us are prepared to pay a little extra for some extra space on board. Or simply be taken to where we want to go.

As things stand, there isn't much to distinguish between flag-carriers and budget airlines in service. Or price. But some of us still want our service back. We're prepared to pay to get fed on lunch time flights, but not 1,000CHF. It's cheaper at the Ritz.

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