There is a perception among consumers that only a certain type of airline provides cheap prices. Airlines that spring to mind in that category are Ryanair, Norwegian, Southwest, easyJet and others around the world.
What some people don’t know, which is a fact the airlines above count on, is that often the old school full service airlines are just as cheap. In this instance my British Airways flight – which included a complimentary meal – cost me less than €50.
BA4463 – Dublin to London City (DUB-LCY)
29 August 2018
Embraer E190 – G-LCYW
Seat: EuroTraveller 6D
Departure: 08:40 Arrival: 10:10
A morning flight to London City during summer usually means good weather and a slight delay. Today met my expectations perfectly and the flight was 20 minutes delayed due to the late inbound aircraft. Soon we boarded and I settled in for the flight ahead.
-
- Quite a lot of brown in Ireland this summer
-
- Turning around, Dublin Airport is in the centre
Quite quickly everyone was on board and we headed for the runway. Though there were aircraft in the queue to take off, congestion wasn’t too bad and we were in the air soon enough.
A Cheap Flight And A Free Meal
Considering the price of my flight, you might expect that there would be no food, or you’d have to buy on board. Not when flying on routes to and from London City Airport. These still feature complimentary catering in EuroTraveller (Economy Class) which is great.
-
- Continental breakfast with orange juice and tea
-
- Ham, cheese, egg, tomato, croissant and jam – yum!
Spreading the jam on my croissant makes it into a sweet morning treat. Everything else tasted fresh and delicious, just as it should. Not bad for my third breakfast of the morning! Now for an example of OCD.
-
- Where’d everything go?
-
- Rubbish perfectly fits into the OJ container
Meals always have a lot of packaging and the trays are so small that it’s difficult to know where to put it. My tip – always drink the orange juice or water cup, and then use it as a mini bin. Works a treat and my empty tray looks pretty slick rather than a rubbishy mess.
Overall Thoughts
Consumers are conditioned into automatically searching for flights with airlines they perceive to be cheap. You should always avoid this and think outside the box. Last December I scored a ticket from London Heathrow to Dublin on British Airways as a same day return, booked about two weeks ahead for around £78. This was far cheaper than any of the alternatives.
No matter where I am flying, I always check the various airline options, especially when I am trying to save money. Often you can get a lot more bang for your buck with a long and well established airline when you might not necessarily expect so.
What do you think? Have you found good deals with the legacy carriers that beat the low cost carriers? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.
To never miss a post, follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
All my flight and lounge reviews are indexed here so check them out!
Featured image by spottergva via Go Travel Your Way.
Definitely great advice! After 16 years with Emirates I went outside the box after subscribing to this website, and discovered how to fly business class with good airlines, cheaper than Emirates economy. I have found many airlines out there offering great deals. My flights have been on Ethiopian business where you are spoiled with food and family-type hospitality, and the most comfortable bed in a 777. Then the biggest surprise was the newly vamped Saudia. Food service was superior to Emirates with 2 full hot multi-course services on the same route where Emirates business just offers a meal and pot… Read more »
I am really pleased to hear you’ve had such a good experience with other airlines. I had no idea that Saudia offered to meal services on certain routes, so that’s news to me. They’re definitely an airline I haven’t flown. I’ve heard nothing but good things from anyone who has flown Ethiopian so they are high on my list of airlines I’d like to try. Good luck on getting to gold and thanks for the comment!!
Maybe I am just hungry as I am reading this, but that continental breakfast (the ham and cheese looks really yummy to me).
(I’ve heard of second breakfast, thanks Lord of the Rings, but third breakfast? Hmm)
Hahaha! It was really yummy! Sure, third breakfast… I had coffee and cereal at home, a bowl of porridge in the lounge and then the continental breakfast on the flight. Not that unusual for me 🙂