Flight rationing won’t keep me on this expensive little island of ours

If a bridge suddenly appeared between Ireland and mainland Europe overnight, I would happily use it. I like driving and it would be nice to have my car with me on the other side too when I arrive. It would be interesting to see how that would work out financially when compared to flights and car ferries but for now, I limited to flying.

That’s not always straight forward though. I often use low-budget airlines but dealing with them can be stressful. It can be expensive at times too and it’s important to understand beforehand that if anything goes wrong with your travel plans, your chances of finding a sympathetic voice in the customer service department of these organisations are slim. That’s provided you can even get through.

You can probably expect a bit of a walk too. The boarding gates used by low budget airlines are often located at the far end of the terminal. Space might also be tight, and the seats won’t be as comfortable as your recliner at home so your bum might be a little numb by the time you reach your destination.

But if you’re getting the flight at the right price and you know what you’re letting yourself in for beforehand then you can’t complain. You pay for the basics and that’s what you get so if it’s luxury you’re after, you better look elsewhere. They’ll get you to where you want to go and that’s the most important thing.

We all want value for money though, but with no frills airlines, what you see is not necessarily always what you get. Especially when it comes to final cost, so you need to be tuned in; they aren’t always cheap. Prices have risen sharply in the last couple of years thanks to the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, the go-to excuses for all price hikes these days, so watch out for hidden charges.

After you have been lured into the website by the prospect of getting a flight at a bargain price you might discover the cost has risen dramatically once you’ve added your luggage, selected your seats and opted for priority boarding.

Travelling without luggage is obviously cheaper. It’s easier to move around too when you don’t have to haul suitcases behind you, and it saves time at your destination when you don’t have to wait at the carousel for the bags to be unloaded from the plane.

Paying for luggage can often cost as much as the price of the actual ticket but families going on holidays have little alternative. Similarly, families travelling together have little choice but to reserve seats if they want to sit together. Opting for random seating is easier and cheaper when travelling alone.

I only pre-book a seat if I need to catch a connecting flight and time is short. Selecting a seat up the front of the plane allows for a quick exit but that only works when you don’t have to wait for a bus to take you to the terminal building and you don’t have to collect luggage.

Priority boarding is something that always leaves me scratching my head. Passengers who pay more for that facility pass through the boarding gate ahead of non-priority passengers, but they generally end up standing together on the other side of the gate anyway until the plane is ready to accept them.

Having said all that, there are deals to be had too, especially if you can be flexible with your dates and times. For now, driving to Cyprus is a non-runner for me. My only choice is to fly, and it seems there are some who would like to deprive me of that.

The idea of rationing flights has been around for a few years. The suggestion is that passengers would only be allowed to fly a certain number of miles each year to help cut down on emissions that are causing a huge amount of damage to the environment.

Short haul flights emit more CO2 per passenger than long haul flights because most of the fuel is used during take-off and landing. Long haul flights are more fuel efficient, but they use more fuel overall so there have been calls for the airline industry to make changes.

If flight rationing does come into force, we will be at the mercy of an air mile allowance which will make it more difficult to get off our very expensive little island.

Ireland had the single highest consumer prices in the EU last year, because of government hikes in alcohol and tobacco as well as the cost of energy and communications. Ireland’s price level for consumer goods and services was 46% above the EU average in 2022, according to data released by Eurostat.

I experienced a bit of that recently when my wife and I called into a hotel for a bit of lunch. My wife had a glass of house wine, and the measure could be described as modest. There was no danger of it overflowing.

When we got the bill afterwards, we were shocked to see she was charged €9.20 for her tipple. I reckon the hotel could get at least five glasses out of that bottle which would give them close to €50 for each bottle.

I know very little about wine apart from the fact that it comes from grapes, but I do know I can get lots of it in Cyprus for less than a fiver a bottle and wine drinkers are very happy with it. I can also have a dinner and a few beers on that island for less than €15 which is more than I can do here.

If flight rationing does come to pass, I might just have to stay away for longer.