Possible to go too cheap?

[GrantMcCall]

Every book and article tells us that airfares never have been cheaper and even the slightest self-reflection will confirm that.
Even so, all of us look for the best deal, usually online, but sometimes through other media.
But as I found out recently, one can get a fare too cheap.
At the time of booking, there was nearly an AUD500 difference between the fare that I booked on China Airlines and the nearest competitor.
So, I took it, in "cattle class".
It was SYD/PEK/CDG/PEK/SYD, departing on 05/01/12 and returning 06/02/12
On the first leg, the entertainment system had a large number of possible selections, but only 9 of them worked at 44D. "Mama Mia" and the original Wizard of Oz flickered and a Michael Jackson doco played well. It was throughout the aircraft.
But the PEK/CDG/PEK was the worst: only the main cabin screen with a very detailed doco about how to bring a pet into China, so good that it was repeated several times. It was in Chinese and whilst the cage for the animal was visible, the great mystery of what it was remained, well, a mystery.
"Mama Mia" was back, a strange thriller (in Chinese) set, I think, in HK and more about pets being taken to China.
Now, it is "China Airlines" so they have every right to have everything printed and screened in Chinese. Would have been nice, though, for an alternative.
Food was indifferent, on all legs a request for a beer was met with scorn and they consistently ran out anyhow. A feeling of cheapness about the whole affair, including no salt/pepper with any meal (or soya sauce), thin plastic cutlery and a limited selection even of soft drinks.
Chinese passengers came on board knowing what to expect and brought packaged foods with them.
I did save AUD500 or so, but at what cost?
Regards,
Grant

 

[Simo]

I have done Cebu Pacific which is a LCC in Asia a few times and yes they are very cheap but never on time and the service is not great sometimes as well.

Food on Cebu is not great and now will not eat it as it is all frozena nd they just defrost it and serve it out at a price.

 

[Cruiser Elite]

At the time of booking, there was nearly an AUD500 difference between the fare that I booked on China Airlines and the nearest competitor.

China Airlines or Air China Grant?

FWIW I will never fly Y long haul on Chinese carrier - NEVER.

As for Cebu Pacific have flown them PEK-MNL and PVG-MNL a dozen times - never a problem - 4hr flt virtually upright at 00:30dep or thereabouts - but sleeping tablet does the job.

 

[eastwest101]

My answer would be that you got to go to Europe with the $500 in your own pocket to buy stuff that you may want - whether its an extra one night in a fancy hotel or 10 nights in a backpackers - you had the increased opportunity to spend your $$ at your destination rather than getting there.

 

[Moopere]

I think you are on to something.

Its been postulated in other threads that todays version of Y class travel is really a new beast, and not the same Y class travel of say the 70's and 80's. PE today is probably closer, though not the same, as Y "back in the day". Likewise, todays F class is not the F of 1975, 70's F is probably closer to todays full service J.

Given inflation, those of us who were happy to pay 2000$ for a Y fare in 1980 should be equally happy to pay $6000-7000 today. Its what you almost certainly _would_ be paying if the only change was inflation and the seats/service/space/etc remained the same as the 1980 Y bucket.

So, the new breed and new opportunity of ultra cheap travel is well and truly here. However, its my opinion that although this is a good thing, along the lines of 'choice is great', there is a personal cost (potentially) that comes with the monetary saving.

Who knows, in the future maybe there will be a super ultra cheap airline drug which you take at the airport which will comatose you, they will then pack you in a box, stack the boxes on top of one another, then let you out of the box 20,000 miles and 24 hours later for $10 + CC fee

For now though, I agree, sometimes we can try to be too cheap. I reckon there is still potentially a huge market in PE, done properly. At the moment, across the various airlines whihc do PE there is usually a very wide gulf between Y and PE, with a somewhat less large perception of a gap between PE and J. Perhaps pricing PE more realistically would see far greater uptake (ie, make it cheaper).

 

[albatross710]

Choosing an airfare based on a destination pair is not a fair comparison. I guess like bank loans, there are plenty of 'features' which you assume are included only to find they are not.

When I have been travelling on a super cheap fare I eat at the airport before boarding. I factor in an extra nice at a nice hotel upon arrival.

It is also a consideration of time as well. If I know I have to work as soon as I arrive I can't take the chance on the super low fare. If I have time up my sleeve I'd rather put up with discomfort for 12 hours and have the $450 ($500 less airport food.)

 

[jetlagger]

I have done Cebu Pacific which is a LCC in Asia a few times and yes they are very cheap but never on time and the service is not great sometimes as well.

Food on Cebu is not great and now will not eat it as it is all frozena nd they just defrost it and serve it out at a price.

Have done the Cebu pacific many of times, when it works around 60% of the time it's great or the other 40% when with a 2-5 hour delay, unannounced till reach airport only to find out their is a further 'engineering" issue or some other usual BS story they seem to concoct & the flight is then cancelled...as your probably aware, it happens randomly across the board with all Philippine carriers.. So what's the alternative?? A clapped out overloaded ferry, now that's an adventure & a half! Survivor in film shoot sequence there at the moment.. How appropriate!

 

[Isochronous]

I would never fly a Chinese carrier, I value my dignity and comfort far too much.

 

[eastwest101]

Just like people who swore they would never buy a Japanese car in the 1960s, and then said they would never buy a korean car in the 1990s.... give them time and I am sure the Chinese carriers will catch up to the market leaders.

 

[yo yo ma]

My answer would be that you got to go to Europe with the $500 in your own pocket to buy stuff that you may want.

I agree and think it is a matter of you get what you pay for. The extra $500 you saved can be put towards purchasing your own IFE - books, electronics etc.

 

[harvyk]

First of all, welcome to AFF...

Yes, it's possible to go too cheap, but not for the things you have mentioned. (I'm thinking aircraft safety et all).

Had you paid top dollar for that experience then yes, I would be complaining, but you mentioned that you saved $500, you don't get that kinda saving for nothing. As others have mentioned, that sort of saving would allow you to purchase a cheapy tablet and load it up with movies (something I would do as a matter of course when flying a carrier from a non-English speaking country anyway) and get a decent meal at the airport before flying. Provided that the seat belt doesn't fall apart when you try and use it (that happened to Mum a few years ago, forget which carrier that was with) then I would consider that a good saving, and the inconvenience of poor food and bad options for movies won't really matter provided you got there safely.

 

[jetlagger]

Always consider that:

'Quality is remembered long after price is forgotten"

 

[smit0847]

Chinese carriers are like the new budget carriers. They offer rock bottom prices, but people will pick them because 'everything' is included (regardless of how poor the quality is), over the budget carriers where you have to pay for everything on top. This is a new breed of 'all inclusive but cough' fares - I'm sure there is a market for them. People can feel like they are flying full service for a great price even if the service is awful. I doubt the Chinese carriers will improve quality while there is demand for their low prices - the Chinese seem to have a much lower expectation of comfort and service than Australians do.

I have just booked MEL-CDG-MEL Y fares. China Eastern and Southern were both about $1500 all up, SQ was $1850. It was an absolute no-brainer to go with SQ. Comfort for 50 hours is worth well over $350 to me.

 

[eastwest101]

I have just booked MEL-CDG-MEL Y fares. China Eastern and Southern were both about $1500 all up, SQ was $1850. It was an absolute no-brainer to go with SQ. Comfort for 50 hours is worth well over $350 to me.

I completely agree smit - with that small difference in fares it was a no-brainer to fly SQ... but when the difference in fares gets silly - that's when people start looking at China Eastern or China Southern. If I understand correctly the OP was seeing a difference of $500 each way - so that may have been $1000 all up - if I understood his post correctly.

 

[Flashback]

Also...... welcome to AFF! :mrgreen:

 

[GeeZed]

Chinese carriers are like the new budget carriers. They offer rock bottom prices, but people will pick them because 'everything' is included (regardless of how poor the quality is), over the budget carriers where you have to pay for everything on top. This is a new breed of 'all inclusive but cough' fares - I'm sure there is a market for them. People can feel like they are flying full service for a great price even if the service is awful. I doubt the Chinese carriers will improve quality while there is demand for their low prices - the Chinese seem to have a much lower expectation of comfort and service than Australians do.

I have just booked MEL-CDG-MEL Y fares. China Eastern and Southern were both about $1500 all up, SQ was $1850. It was an absolute no-brainer to go with SQ. Comfort for 50 hours is worth well over $350 to me.

And add around 20k frequent flyer points earned @ 0.01 nominal value each ... the difference is now only $150 ... $3 per hour extra for relative comfort

 

[nickfromeastryde]

For me, the flight is part of the experience especially when going on holiday. Maybe I feel that way because I have done very little business travel and actually like flying still. Have done plenty of domestic trips with most of the main airlines when I was in China so though I have no issues with the safety etc, the extras do leave a lot to be desired. Plenty of negative things said about Qantas but a Y flight to Europe does give you decent meals/drinks, decent entertainment and decent service and for me worth the extra cost. I'm getting a bit older now with a bit more money in my pocket, I'm actually going the other way with my next trip to NY in J so maybe I am a bit biased

 

[ckck]

Yes it is possible to go too cheap. It was not that long ago that Air Australia went belly up. A cheap airfare doesn't help you much when you are grounded somewhere far, far away and now have to dish out top dollar to make your way home. Airlines are a business that need to make a profit to continue operating.

Also, if airlines are always charging a low price and giving the same level of service as their competitors I wonder where they are cutting corners, I sure hope that they are not cutting back on safety.

 

[JohnK]

Welcome to AFF GrantMcCall!

There is a big difference between a LCC, or similar, for short haul and spending 24+ hours in long haul.

If I had the same experience as you mention I would go crazy. I can handle economy class quite easily and I am one to save money where possible when I travel but not at the expense of my sanity.

There are some carriers I do not even consider for long haul flights. My father will never forget his Gulf Air experience a while back. "Never again" were his words or at least that is the translation.