Holiday ‘extras’ eating into holiday budget!

Only me then who lives for airplane snacks ?

You hear stories of very odd people who ask and then won't take no for an answer, even when a very tall person has booked extra legroom or whatever. I read about one passenger who was big so booked two seats and someone demanded the 'spare' for their under two!

If he’s that fussy, surely he’s not going to want to toxic ‘hot meals’ coming out of the weird little ‘ovens’ in the galley of a short haul aircraft 🤢

@StrawberrySquash

Nailed it.

I was looking at the cheapest EasyJet flights to Malaga based on this thread.
The total price including the cheapest luggage option ( it’s hold not larger cabin bag) put the price up x4 from the original fare.
Also the luggage costs changed depending on flight, even on the same day.

Would be more honest to quote the £178 fare and let you take off items to get down to £39 if that’s what you wanted ( this was my actual research this morning)

How would know who had paid though? Lots of us still don’t. I wouldn’t mind if someone asked me.
I checked in yesterday for a flight next week. DH and I have the aisle seat across from each other. If someone wants mine for a window seat, I’m moving.

Yep, it’s all DIY now and god forbid you get any of it wrong or your boarding pass doesn’t swipe or the e gates are not playing ball. You end up with an eye roll from some officious worker who thinks it’s something you have done.
Airports are just a mass of stress as well as being expensive. Again, goes back to my theory that they don’t want us going away really and will make it as hard as possible ( or only of your rich and the extras to pay for isn’t a huge problem)

If air-con is charged separately by the place then it's a fairly cheap place, my daughter had to pay 100 euros per week last year.

Surely when booking it's possible to keep track of the extra charges, if the airlines included everything then some people would be paying for things they didn't want/need and then there would still be complaints!

Oh I do have a different gripe though about going on holiday and that’s the amount of admin I now have to do myself!!!
It happens across so many airlines.
i have to enter my passport details in online, check in online, download my boarding pass, weigh and label my own baggage, check into my air BnB online (I rarely use air BnB and won’t be rushing to use them again).
I know it’s all money saving but the margin for error is zero and you just know that if you type in one wrong number somewhere you’ll not be able to board your bloody flight!!
Anyway, that’s my rant about going on holiday now compared to 20 years ago. The service has declined massively along with many other companies, airlines aren’t alone here.

‘ Back in the day ‘they allocated seats at the check in desk and everyone sat together. I do think now that this is a complete scam and I’d love the airports to be under the same scrutiny that the car selling people are currently as transparency with pricing and ‘adds on ‘ seems to be a bit hit and miss as to who knows what.

We tend to sit down and eat a proper meal at the airport before we go if it’s short haul, always nicer than anything you get on the plane. And then buy sweets etc on the flight if the kids want them, dh will have a tea and if it’s later on in the day I’ll have an alcoholic drink.
Last time though it was too early for us to want to eat anything so we bought a load of pret baguettes and sandwiches and stuff and had them on the flight. They are obviously more expensive at the airport than in their regular stores but still much nicer than plane food. I couldn’t be arsed with preparing packed lunches or sandwiches at home first but each to their own.
It’s also a bit of a distraction on the flight, something to do, look through the menu etc and wait for the trolley, getting your sweets!

I see a lot of your extras as just part of the overall cost of travelling rather than holiday money to spend while there.

We tried to just book 2 seats together last time we flew as a family of 5 but it said you either booked them all together or none of them. I think we went for none of them in the end (youngest is 14, older 2 are 20 and 21 so we don’t technically need them together anymore). 2 of us were seated together anyway.

city tax is unavoidable as is paying to drop someone off at the airports we fly from, there are exclusion zones all around the airport where you get a fine for stopping and dropping anyone off.

But we book airport parking so the only time I’ve ever had to pay to drop off and collect is if I’m picking dc up.

And I’ve never stayed anywhere you had to pay for the A/C as a separate add on but I’d pay it anyway if it’s going to be hot. Again I’d consider it part of the cost of the holiday rather than as part of the holiday spending money.

It's not nonsense I assure you, it's what I paid at Manchester airport a few weeks ago.

Yip. We’ve paid £££££s for a cruise later this year, paid to upgrade to Premium economy for the flight home and still had to pay another £45 each to sit together! I’m raging because at no point were we told we’d need to pay more on top of the upgrade price - I’ve actually made a complaint about the lack of transparency around this. We’ve upgraded to premium economy on our last two trips and seat choice was free after paying for the upgrade.

I remember a thread on here where someone went through security with food and set the alarms off. Turned out to be the jelly in her pork pie which they thought was an explosive of some kind, so taking a ‘ packed lunch’ isn’t without its challenges getting to departures. Plus your a long time at airports , most people have to buy something even to eat or drink at some stage. It’s fine being frugal, but they get you with something !

We paid the tourist tax at a hotel a few years ago ( Majorca) and in Portugal. It was 14 euros each I think or something. Depends on how many nights you’re staying for as to how much they charge and one hotel only accepted cash.
Exotic places like the Maldives charge a lot more too.

O/T but sitting together didn't use to be included, it was just they started at the front of the plane and worked back without seats missing. If you were near the back of the queue you got what was left, including children being separated from parents.

Back to OP... I don't get why tourist tax isn't included in the hotel price.

All the people saying you don't need to eat on a four hour flight, sure, you can go four hours without eating, but with getting to the airport and being there two hours in advance, you need some food at some point! Getting a 'free' meal just used to be part of the deal. Now it's one more thing to have to think about. And killing time on the plane eating makes sense.

The headline price nothing like the price you pay thing is pretty tedious. It takes longer to compare each airline and work out which not-that-clearly named luggage package you need and exactly how big it can be. Back in the day you knew if you were packing 'normal' luggage that it would be okay. Only if you had skis or a tuba did you have to think.

It all just adds to the mental load of a holiday. Sure, it's first world problems, but it is tedious doing all the planning!

@Tigergirl80

but surely if it’s gonna incur you lots of expense you just suck up a cold meal for one meal?

and just make him tuna sandwiches at home and bring them into airport?

Not everyone likes a cold meal some want a hot meal. The only meal deal item my son will eat is a coronation chicken sandwich. Great if they are available. But there has been times when there hasn’t been and had to go elsewhere. I wouldn’t want to be doing that at an airport before boarding a flight. He likes homemade sandwiches tuna and mayo chicken and mayo egg mayo etc. Just not the mass produced.

I would include seats as part of the overall holiday budget and not as part of spends. £22 seems a lot though, are you booking extra leg room? I think ours are usually around £7/8.

Admittedly I've never done long haul (nor first class), but I don't eat aeroplane food. We either take snacks with us, or buy a meal deal in the airport. Or, we eat at the airport prior to departure.

Most airports have a free drop off area that's a bit further away.

My experience when I flight and I have to sleep in the airport ground or close by, cheaper hotels charge the shuttle bus to the airport, the room is about 70 quid plus the 16 quid to the airport, two people. More expensive hotels doesn't. I just book the room, full for 83 pounds. Airport ground free shuttle, free wify, free courtesy wake up call if needed. Sometimes budget has load of hidden cost. If you don't want to eat at the hotel just pack some noodles/sandwich etc, that do the job for one night.
If you book your free seats when booking the flight they are free. That is another tip.
Get some food/snacks and go only for the drink on the flight.
The AC is one of those hidden cost. It is rubbish because you were un aware of it but you need to read the fine print.
I save a few quids checking all the amenities, facilities included.

@Tigergirl80

a meal deal from Boots is less than £8…

Having stayed at an expensive place in Spain which tried exactly that, I wouldn't be too sure

I wouldn't mind, but it was originally advertised with aircon included as one of the amenities, and when asked about this I got some blather about "discouraging its use because of eco concerns" (in 40 degree temperatures??) - as if folk couldn't work out that they'd thought of another grift

Needless to say it was waived when I mentioned taking it up with the holiday company ...

@Revolutioniser
You don’t need food on a four hour flight. I bet if you’d have looked around you, you wouldn’t have seen many of your fellow passengers buying food. You either eat before or after the flight, and/or have a couple of snacks from home in your bag just to put you on.

You are right. It is a fucking rip off. Many people would not see this as a problem as they do not think of it and just pay.

The op is referring to prices charged in the UK ( the drop off charges for UK airport) the in flight food is charged by the holiday company ( which may be UK owned) the seat prices too. Ok the rest isn’t to do with the UK, but it’s still extra on top of the actual holiday price.