This Hungarian discount airline’s name is somehow appropriate.
Especially given our experience. And further reinforced the idea of
never fly discount
airlines. We flew
Wizz from
Prague to
London Luton airport last month and the experience
was underwhelming to say the least. The issue was my partner’s disability.
Airlines send check-ins online 24 hours before departure. When travelling with
her I never check in online as we’ve already booked seats by phone weeks ahead through
accessibility assistance and I don’t want to screw it up since online bookings
also ask for seats. Arriving at
Prague’s Václav Havel Airport we were told that
we’d be charged an extra $167.91 because of that. What?! The check in clerk was
sympathetic but even a call to head office resulted in a no-go – discount airlines
want/need to make money, so they have absolutely zero latitude. Then the fact
her suitcase was about 20 lbs. overweight resulted in another $127.30 charge.
We never chose Wizz as a discounter but only because it fit our schedule when
booking through a third-party site……Another things about Wizz is that, as
previously stated, this airline squeezes every last cent to make its bottom line.
I’d never experienced entering an aircraft (by the rear right door from our accessible
elevated bus) while passengers from the previous flight were still getting off
the plane! That means extreme turnaround, folks. Get that aircraft in the air
as much as possible to keep the revenue churning! Moreover, no need to spend
money on terminal cleaning staff but use your own flight attendants – in hi-vis
vests – to clean out the seat pockets and pickup floor trash before the flight.
At least they still cross the seat belts.
It’s true you can fight the airlines! Most people find it difficult
to get refunds from even the most mainstream airlines. I’ve had a couple of
good experiences through. One when an
Air Canada flight was cancelled back in
2022 as people began mass travelling again post-Covid and threw airline schedules
into disarray; it paid for our
Cape Breton hotel room for another night. And
Colombioan airline Avianca recently credited me $638.94 for a missed flight to
Bogota
this summer. It initially was my fault (July 27 post), my mind playing
tricks thinking an early morning flight was related to the previous night. But
the airline had promised to reschedule my flight – despite my error – and sent me
back to Toronto (a long return road trip from Windsor two days in a row) the
next night to buy the ticket before departure. The clerk at check-in shook his
head and said no go. He asked the name of the online agent who’d told me that
and I gave it to him; guess she got a talk-to. Nevertheless, I appealed to the airline,
and months later (through
Booking.com) I receive the refund…..This on top of
the refund I got from
Big Bus Athens (Sept. 23 post) - $102.06 – for not having
suitable/broken
wheelchair facilities on board their double-deckers despite advertising
they do.
