Is cheap air travel is a good thing?

With the advent of budget airlines such as EasyJet and RyanAir, you can get to Prague for less money that it would cost you to go to Penzance but there are buts.

While a dinner somewhere sunny for £18 rtn sounds like an attractive proposition it has a negative impact on the environement. I think cheap air travel is not a sustainable option, as it's only cheap because there is no fuel duty on kerosene.
On the economic aspect, and the droves (2.3m last Easter) of holidaymakers going abroad end up not benefiting their own economy through tourism revenues.

And there are catches too: their customer service not great, to say the least. I remember a time where we were queuing to check-in for a RyanAir flight to Bergerac and they closed the counter without telling anyone! We went to ask what was going on and were told the flight was closed for good -although we arrived plenty of time in advance! It actually took quite some negotiation before they accepted to rebook a flight to Bordeaux...

Plus, you should not travel with any luggage whatsoever:
Boing Boing: Judge to RyanAir: no valuables in checked bags?

So, is cheap air travel such it a good thing? I am not so sure...

Tags: richmondtransits.blog politics airlines air travel transportation environment