No-frills airlines get even MORE basic – Aer Lingus scraps free blankets and headphones on cheap US flights
The airline is removing the perks from its Dublin to North America flights from next month on its most basic fares
IT’S hard to imagine, but no-frills flights to the US are becoming even more basic.
Aer Lingus passengers flying on the most basic transatlantic tickets will no longer be given free earphones and blankets.
The airline is removing the perks from its Dublin to North America flights from next month, according to .
Customers on the “Saver” tickets will also have to pay to select their seat and check baggage into the hold – much like on Norwegian Air’s Economy fares.
The cheap tickets cost up to €40 (£36.80) less than the next priciest fare, which comes with headphones, blankets, seat selection and one bag in the hold.
All customers will still receive a free in-flight meal, and they will also be able to pay €3 for a blanket and €5 for headphones.
The new cost-cutting move is just the latest in an intensifying battle between the several low-cost airlines vying for control of the transatlantic flight market.
While it might seem harsh for Aer Lingus to remove their free headphones and blankets – it’s probably better for passengers to bring their on a flight.
According to industry insiders, the headphones given out by cabin crew are just old headphones that have been repackaged, and some airlines even re-use their blankets without washing them.
That means that at least two other people could have been snuggled up in your blanket before you.
Sara Keagle, a flight attendant and founder of aviation blog TheFlyingPinto.com told the
Huffington Post that in the Economy Class cabins of the flights she works, clean blankets are only
given to the first flight of the day, and after that they are just folded and re-used.
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A former airline attendant who went by the username Melhow44 backed up these claims on Reddit, saying: "Those blankets and pillows? Yeah, those just get refolded and stuffed back in the bins between flights.
"Only fresh ones I ever saw were on an originating first flight in the morning in a provisioning city.";
