not only were there separate check-ins for every leg, the lines had a tendency to be long. What was I expecting - first class at these incredibly cheap prices? As time passes I have to say that for as cheap as the fares are, if one gets there, they should have no complaints! If you are interested in economy, this airline is wonderful!!!

One issue that those traveling from North America should consider, when buying their tickets, is related to connecting flights. In some cases the flights aren't considered as contiguous (adjoining) in their issue.

That means that there is "no guarantee" on the next flight, or leg, if you prefer. If you miss it, there is no recourse for a different flight. You end up paying for the flight you didn't make, and end up paying for a different flight.

This can happen when you buy your tickets through sources that are offering "best buy" services, and unless you get the guarantee for each leg of your flight... be cautious.

Though it hasn't happened to me, it did to a family of four that I know of, that was destined for Spain. Their airline links were from San Antonio to NYC, to London, and then to Madrid. Their plane arrived too late in NYC for the second flight, and they ended up losing all four tickets for the next two legs, because the airline bookings were not considered part of a "continued flight package."

Sometimes... what appears as a great deal... isn't what you thought

This may sound like a rare situation but if it ends up happening...

Wolf

I've flown to Spain regularly with both Go and EasyJet and found Go vastly better. If they've discontinued their service to Madrid then I guess you're stuck with EasyJet. Wasn't there a post on here recently though (help me out here MM) from someone who's flight was delayed for ages and eventually cancelled altogether, the cause being that the budget carriers' "slots" come last in precedence to all the big airlines and if there's a delay they get pushed back and back and may eventually be delayed for so long they have to be cancelled.

ok....the airline employee is back! You're right about the slots. Generally, the larger airlines will get the slots first as they hold the larger account. British Airways, for instance, will always beat anyone! one other thing is that the airlines' only responsibility is to get the passenger from A to B (no-one said it had to be by air!!) - some airlines, noticeably the larger ones, will make more of an effort than the no-frills ones, but you may find yourself going by bus part-way! Still, as I've said in a previous post here, I think Easyjet is good value consistently, but DO check out other airlines to Madrid (so that'd be British Midland and Iberia) as there are bargains to be had from time to time with the "frills" airlines too - good luck.

On the topic of delays, EasyJet offer a full refund on any part of your flight where you're delayed more than 4 hours. As they sell outward and return legs of their flights separately, this can sometimes be a substantial part of the overall cost. For instance, my wife and I were delayed flying to Malaga at new year, due to snow. We left 5 hours late. EasyJet refunded us the £80 (each) that that part of the journey cost. As the return leg only cost £20 each, we ended up getting 2 return flights to Spain for £40, at the cost of a 5 hour delay! Not bad value, however you look at it.

Sponge Cake

As I am someone who has only booked easyJet can you tell me how I would go about booking a BM bargain flight? (I don't need one now, but maybe in the future?

I also noticed that British Midland are currently doing some kind of promotion through the Telegraph.

This is probably a very stupid question, but do BM ever fly from Manchester/Liverpool/Leeds? :o

Thanks

Jo-Anne

Hi Jo-Anne,

Sorry for the late reply - best bet is just to visit the British Midland website - www.flybmi.com and take a look at any deals on there. Unfortunately they only fly out of London Heathrow to Madrid - you can take connecting flights from either Leeds Bradford or Manchester but this will be a bit more expensive unfortunately. I live in north Derbys so London is a trek for me too. Anyway, for your information, British Airways are the only airline flying from Manchester & Birmingham (to my knowledge) and they also go from Heathrow, along with British Midland and Iberia - worth checking any of these websites because ALL airlines compete against eachother and have deals from time to time that can certainly rival Easyjet. Good luck.