Cheap or Low Cost?

Cheap or Low Cost, call them what you like, the Budget airlines have changed the way we fly.

Now, in my opinion they are doing something else as well!  They are teaching the more traditional carriers how to behave when it comes to passenger service.

Now of course I am not including Ryan Air in that statement,  every seasoned and regular flyer knows that life is far too short for Ryan Air, but the others are definately making a real effort and are certainly showing the flag carriers a trick or two.

Yes I know, for some strange reason, EasyJet prefer to have you stamped dangerously onto an aircraft rather than allocate you a seat but at least when you get to the flying cigar tube, you are greeted with a smile and generally by someone who is clearly enjoying the job of sky waiter unlike the sourpuss poh faced girls who man the British Airways flights and think of them selves as a cut above the average passenger.

They are paid far less and even have to clean up the mess passengers make of their aircraft during the flights so if anything, you would think the staff aboard the low cost carriers would have more reason to be in a grot!

Here think I ought to rate the sleazyJet team as being even better than say FlyBe or BMI Baby.

In fact, if Sleazy where to allocate seats, they might become my short haul airline of choice.

What do you think?  Please leave a comment, I cannot be the only cantankerous traveller in the world can I?

Bordeaux Beggars Belief

I had reason to visit Bordeaux for a one night stay recently and it is not a city to commend.

It may well be France's sixth largest conurbation but I doubt that the country is proud of it either.

Beggars, loads of them, not quite to Mumbai standards, but never the less enough to notice and eventually get annoyed at.

It also seems devoid of anywhere nice to eat, what I might call middle priced food.  After an hour and a half of walking the streets peering into empty restaurants we eventually found one that served a half decent meal which with wine cost at least £35 and used ingredients that must have cost less than 10 even allowing 3 for the wine.

If for any reason you find yourself looking for an hotel and someone recommends Le Dauphin ask your self why?

Not since the days I lugged a back pack around the globe in the 1960's have I stayed in a doss house hardly better than the worst possible youth hostel.

Breakfast was rubbish and the only reason I went was because the fire alarm sounded constantly from 0720 for 10 minutes until someone arrived from a security company to switch it off.

By then I was too awake to return to my bed.

The staff, rather sensibly, do not live in the hotel and are absent from 5 30 in the afternoon until breakfast time. So they were little help and had it been a real fire I fear lives would have been lost.

Cheap yes but value for money? Defiantly no!