Earlier this year it was revealed that budget airlines were clawing back the losses associated with low-cost flights through “hidden” debit and credit-card charges. Now it appears that holidaymakers are being hit with exorbitant prices for snacks.
Research by TravelSupermarket.com, a price comparison website, revealed that airline passengers were stumping up more for their tasty in-flight treats than the price of a single fare in some cases.
As an example, travellers who chose six basic items from a Ryanair in-flight menu, such as a sandwich, a tin of Pringles, a Kit Kat, a bottle of water, a glass of wine and a cup of tea would face a bill of £18.07. This figure is higher than the £18 price for one-way flights that is currently being offered by the airline to Genoa, Warsaw and Paris.
The price for a similar array of goods was slightly below this figure, at £16.10 and £14.75 respectively, for Aer Lingus and easyJet.
The study also highlighted that the cost of on-board drinks and snacks was up to ten times more expensive than supermarket prices. A bottle of still water on an Aer Lingus flight comes with a 1,083 per cent mark-up, while flapjacks on Flybe are subject to a 1,036 per cent price increase.
Beverages such as tea and coffee cost an average of 2,355 per cent more than they would in the supermarket. For example, a 500ml bottle of still water, a cup of tea and a cup of coffee all cost £2.76 each on a Ryanair flight.
Tea and coffee are priced at £2.50 on easyJet flights, with a 500ml bottle of water coming in at £1.50. The cost of tea and coffee also strayed above the £1.50 mark for Monarch, coming in at £1.70 and £2.20 respectively.
(Images: Joao Ornelas, Steven Yuen-Pak Liu, Drewski 2112)
