EasilytheworstJet

I managed to avoid the "cheap" airlines when I lived in Madrid. When I say "cheap" I am not only talking about price, but cheap in pretty much every other aspect of a flight- thinking you get a really good deal but then being charged a ton to check a bag, waiting in a long line to board, horrible seats, turbulence etc. It worked out that whenever I needed to fly somewhere I was able to find a great deal on Spanair or Lufthansa. Therefore my first experience on a "cheap" airline was my trip to London this past weekend on EasyJet. Although Emily and I got the flight for a great price I had heard horror stories from friends who had flown EasyJet and RyanAir so I knew not to get too excited. Greg recently flew to London on EasyJet and said that when the plane finally landed he opened his eyes and everyone was crying and practically hugging each other because they couldn't believe they weren't submerged in water.

I am happy to report that there was no turbulence on the flight, but on the way to London our plane lacked reclining chairs. I sat upright in the middle seat staring at the back of the chair in front of me praying that the flight would go by faster. I refused to let myself pay for a beverage of food item so I became extremely hungered. Uncomfortable is an understatement. Luckily on the way back I was able to score a window seat and a reclining chair. The wait to get on the plane though was ridiculous. There was one person checking the tickets for all of the passengers. However, there were two crew men sitting nearby to her just talking and laughing with each other! Why couldn't they help her speed things along? These are aspects of European culture that will continue to frustrate and confuse me.