11 ms·

Since this thread will end up with anecdotes, here’s mine with Flair Airlines in Canada. I wanted to take the time to figure out how much value I would get out

by xattt 3y ago

Since this thread will end up with anecdotes, here’s mine with Flair Airlines in Canada. I wanted to take the time to figure out how much value I would get out of each add on. It looked like it would be cheaper to get an add-on in a particular way. The fuckers set a timeout to the site that’s so low that it was just enough time to click through to buy but not enough time to figure out the value. This could be a difference of about 100-200CAD. The airline also had us sitting on the tarmac long enough for my kid to finish a graphical novel. I am guessing they didn’t want to cough up penalty fees to the destination airport for arriving out of a given landing time slot. The experience was like going over to a stingy relatives’ house where they keep the thermostat at 40° in the winter and reuse Saran Wrap between different dishes in the fridge.

giarc 3y ago
I recently flew Flair and it was a regular experience. I did find that the booking process did seem to have some "black patterns", mainly that things would be checked off when I had indicated I didn't want them previously. For example, we were just flying with a single checked bag for a family of 5. The first option is to add a checked bag for EVERY passenger and no option for just one. Then at other times during the booking process, bags would be added and price would change. It was only later in the process that I was able to add a single bag. It was worth the few thousand in difference, however our flights all left on time and we had no delays, so I might be singing a different tune if we had sat and waiting long. One thing I wish I knew is that they charge for everything, including water and coffee.
dubcanada 3y ago
Flair is a discount airline (not WestJet discount, more like Spirit Airlines or Frontier or some "ultra low cost carrier", I doubt their passenger revenue is more then peanuts a flight, if they even make anything at all), it's basically like going to the discount grocery store in a poor neighborhood and wondering why your $20 brand of parmesan cheese is not available? It's not like they hide the fact they are a discount airline and you need to accept there will be inconveniences for such discounted prices.
- xattt 3y ago
  > it's basically like going to the discount grocery store in a poor neighborhood and wondering why your $20 brand of parmesan cheese is not available? The poor neighbourhood grocery store doesn’t act like I’m a mark. They respect their customer base and provide what they can.

by xattt 3y ago

giarc 3y ago

I recently flew Flair and it was a regular experience. I did find that the booking process did seem to have some "black patterns", mainly that things would be checked off when I had indicated I didn't want them previously. For example, we were just flying with a single checked bag for a family of 5. The first option is to add a checked bag for EVERY passenger and no option for just one. Then at other times during the booking process, bags would be added and price would change. It was only later in the process that I was able to add a single bag. It was worth the few thousand in difference, however our flights all left on time and we had no delays, so I might be singing a different tune if we had sat and waiting long. One thing I wish I knew is that they charge for everything, including water and coffee.

dubcanada 3y ago

Flair is a discount airline (not WestJet discount, more like Spirit Airlines or Frontier or some "ultra low cost carrier", I doubt their passenger revenue is more then peanuts a flight, if they even make anything at all), it's basically like going to the discount grocery store in a poor neighborhood and wondering why your $20 brand of parmesan cheese is not available? It's not like they hide the fact they are a discount airline and you need to accept there will be inconveniences for such discounted prices.

xattt 3y ago
> it's basically like going to the discount grocery store in a poor neighborhood and wondering why your $20 brand of parmesan cheese is not available? The poor neighbourhood grocery store doesn’t act like I’m a mark. They respect their customer base and provide what they can.