I wanted to take a w--- on Wizz

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.