A free G&T and in-flight entertainment are now merely the stuff of fantasy

By Philippa Tracy

Back in the summer of 2022, I read an article bemoaning the lack of glamour in airline travel since the pandemic. It showed how some airlines were still blaming Covid for shoddy customer service. Ridiculous as it was then, a full five years after the pandemic, it has hardly improved. Annual air travel demand has apparently surpassed 2019 levels this year, but what about customer service levels? The additional paperwork and long queues for Covid tests on arrival at Larnaca are gone. But so are all of the so-called pre-pandemic economy “frills”; these days unless you travel business it’s hard to spot a free non-essential.

A tiny bottle of free water and a pack of two biscuits is as good as it gets on BA on the Cyprus-London route these days. Recently, part of that little customer service frill has been denied too. No more bottles of water on my recent flights to Gatwick, just the biscuit. If you ask nicely, you might get a plastic cup of water. A free G&T and in-flight entertainment are now merely the stuff of fantasy if you’re not on a long-haul flight. And that’s before we talk about the issues of long queues at security and delays. What is the point of checking yourself in online to avoid wasting time at the airport and then having to queue for an hour (as I did recently at both Larnaca and Gatwick), just to drop off a suitcase? Worse than pointless! Why has airline travel become so miserable, especially in the summer?

In terms of arriving at your destination on time, that too now seems to fall into the category of a non-essential. Travel experts suggest that in terms of delays, morning flights are more reliable. This is because you don’t usually have to wait for a plane to arrive. And also the weather is often better. According to data shared by Euronews earlier this year, flight delays increased by 54 per cent in the first five months of this year. TAP Portugal was the worst offender with 37 per cent of its flight arrivals delayed by more than 15 minutes. Of the airlines I am more familiar with, EasyJet’s performance was not as bad as some, with a bit more than 20 per cent of its flights arriving more than 15 minutes late. BA, by comparison, was 16 per cent and Wizz Air, a meagre 10 per cent.

And if your flight is cancelled or delayed, things get a whole lot worse. Add in a delay or cancellation and what was always going to be a miserable experience becomes exhausting, infuriating and sometimes downright hit-your-head-against-a-brick-wall futile. Last September, a friend came to stay. They were due to leave on an EasyJet flight to London late one evening. They checked-in online and got to Larnaca nice and early. As the passengers were about to board the plane, or so they thought, they were told the plane was no longer leaving and they were sent back through security. They were told the flight was delayed overnight and offered a new flight the next afternoon.

Obviously, they should have listened to me and booked a morning flight instead (fewer delays, remember). However, the bigger issue is, what happens next? Given that the passengers were forced back through security, given a new flight number and asked to check-in again the following day, this begs the question of what constitutes a delay? And what constitutes a cancellation? And why does this matter? It might matter because the rules governing airline delays and cancellations are different. EU Regulation 261/2004 (also adopted in the UK, post-Brexit, as UK261 legislation), established the rules around delays and cancellations 20 years ago. But you might not know it. Airlines have been criticised for routinely ignoring or contesting legitimate claims by law firms, forcing passengers to give up or go to court to resolve them.

In this case, the passenger could not wait until the following afternoon. They chose to book onto another airline that was leaving early the next morning. They then tried to claim the cost of the original EasyJet airline ticket and the compensation of £350 they assumed was due for a delay of more than three hours for a flight of this distance. To be eligible, the reason for the delay or cancellation must be within the control of the airline. The initial response from EasyJet was an email apologising because of the delay and explaining there were problems with the suppliers not completing tasks within the crew’s legal working hours. They offered nothing. My friend persisted.

Two months later, he was offered a voucher or a full refund for the cost of the original flight; EasyJet said they would get back to him about compensation.

When they did respond, just before Christmas, it turns out that EasyJet could not offer compensation because “the disruption was caused by factors beyond our control.” My friend did not agree. He decided to take it to the next level: alternate dispute resolution (ADR). Most airlines are members of ADR bodies, which is the next option before engaging a lawyer. However, you have to wonder if the system is just designed to impose even more misery. It took another eight long months to get a final decision.

It turns out that although the delay was not beyond the airline’s control after all, they now had another reason not to pay. My friend was a ‘no show’ on the replacement EasyJet flight because he had paid for an alternative flight earlier that day. But to benefit from the compensation offered to delayed passengers, you have to stay on the flight. So, if you don’t do as asked by the airline, you are not really delayed? Or, at least, it means that you can only prove you are delayed by staying on the flight. Or in this case, sitting in the airport all night, and checking in again for the new flight offered. You don’t qualify for compensation if you choose to get on another flight that will get you to your destination earlier than the delayed or replacement flight. Even though that is precisely when you need the compensation, to pay for the replacement flight! Of course, the ADR decision is not binding. There is still the option to pursue this through the courts. If anyone has the energy!

Glamour, what glamour? Most economy airline experiences are now no-frills. You don’t even get to choose a seat unless you pay extra. But just getting the basics right would be good. Travelling economy used to be fun with plenty of leg room, half decent entertainment and free alcohol. Now, everything from a bottle of water to choosing a seat and getting through security in a reasonable amount of time has become an add on (you can pay to use the fast track security lane at Larnaca and skip the queues). So, if you are booking a flight, think about the time of the flight and be aware of your rights.