Easyjet are known for their low prices and stupendously ugly colour scheme. They're one of the first low-budget airlines, and are doing extremely well for themselves even as other airlines fail.

So how are they? No frills definitely covers it. It's more like taking a bus than a traditional flight: no assigned seat, no headphones - not that it matters because there's no inflight entertainment - no complimentary food or drinks, airports in the middle of nowhere (because their landing fees are lower) and so on. And the process of checking in is notoriously bad: if you don't check in online before leaving for the airport you can be in the line for an hour. This is a particular problem at the hub airports, where eight or ten check in agents are looking after perhaps twenty or thirty flights. At a recent flight from Gatwick North terminal, we arrived three hours ahead of our flight, spent 2.5 of those in the check in line and had to be taken forward from our position about another hour away from the check in desks to the "closing flights" queue. We eventually got through security as our flight was closing. Not good at all.

Once you're past the check in and security, the indignities aren't over. You can buy priority boarding passes, which mean you get through the departure gate first, and the boarding area is separated into areas of priority. So if you're not one of the lucky few, you get to be herded into little roped-off zones like cattle to let the more important people go first.

You should also be aware, if tempted to buy priority tickets, that if your plane is a bus ride away rather than parked up right at the gate (common with budget airlines) you're not even going to get onto the plane first; people without priority boarding will get on the bus after you and be closer to the doors, so they'll be first out and will beat you to the good seats.

If anything goes wrong in-flight or with your bags, don't expect any great shakes from customer service either. The process of getting your stuff refunded or repaired is tortuous and ridiculous. My baby's pushchair was damaged in transit along with a large suitcase by the baggage handlers two months ago, and they've still not had the courtesy to process the payment.

Having said that, if youre travelling with only hand luggage, checking in online, and are not bothered where you sit, Easyjet provides a great budget option for travelling and I wouldn't be put off using them again. I'm not taking the buggy next time, though.