No Go? (Go)

Member Name: michaelhudson

Product:	Go
Date:	10/01/02 (570 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cheap

Disadvantages: Unreliable in terms of punctuality

Go started off as BA’s answer to the growing threat posed by low-cost airlines such as easyjet on its European routes. However, a £100 million management buy-out by Barbara Cassani, backed by the venture capital group 3i, last summer gave Go its independence. September 11th swiftly followed, big airlines cut back on their routes and no-frills operators saw passenger numbers increase by a third. With a recent report from stockbrokers West LB Panmure predicting that the market for budget airlines in the EU will grow from the current 20 million passengers a year to 125 million by 2015 the future looks bright for Go.


DESTINATIONS

Aside from its base at London Stansted, Go currently flies from Belfast International, Bristol, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Newcastle within the UK.

FROM LONDON STANSTED:

Alicante
Barcelona
Belfast International
Bilbao
Bologna
Copenhagen
Edinburgh
Faro
Glasgow
Ibiza
Lyon
Malaga
Milan Linate
Munich
Naples
Newcastle
Nice
Palma Mallorca
Prague
Rome Ciampino
Venice Marco Polo

FROM BRISTOL:

Alicante
Barcelona
Belfast International
Edinburgh
Faro
Glasgow
Ibiza
Malaga
Nice
Palma Mallorca

FROM EDINBURGH:

Belfast International
Bristol
Dublin
London Stansted

FROM GLASGOW:

Belfast International
Bristol
Dublin
London Stansted

FROM NEWCASTLE:

3 flights a day to London Stansted


BOOKING FLIGHTS

You can either call Go on 0870 6076543 (lines open 0700-2200, calls charged at National Rate) or visit their website on www.go-fly.com. A £5 discount is given for all on-line transactions.

Booking a flight on the internet is a simple process taking no more than 3-4 minutes. Simply select your destination and date(s) of travel and then follow the easy on-screen instructions. After paying
for your flight with credit or debit cards (a £3 fee is charged for all credit card transactions) you are given a customer code number and the option of receiving your confirmation letter by post or email.

After the confirmation letter you’ll receive your ‘ticket’ in the form of a letter or email with your customer code number and flight details. Present this to the check-in staff at the airport along with photo ID (required for both domestic and international flights).


ONBOARD

Go has a fleet of 18 Boeing 737 planes, each holding 148 passengers. The planes are a little cramped, but with the longest flight time being Malaga at 3 hours 10 minutes the conditions are tolerable. Tax-free shopping, food and drink can be purchased during the flight.

FOOD

A breakfast box, consisting of cornflakes, milk, cake, nutrigrain bar, orange juice and tea or coffee, is available on morning flights at a cost of £4.
There is also a limited selection of sandwiches (£2.50-£3) supplemented by muffins (£1.50), Pringles, cookies and flapjack bars (all £1) and chunky Kit Kats (50p).

DRINK

Tea costs £1 with coffee and hot chocolate costing an extra 50p.
Soft drinks cost 50p for a 50cl can.
Spirits cost £2.50 for a 5cl bottle.
A 33cl van of Kronenbourg Lager costs £2, wine costs £2.50 for a 18.75cl bottle and champagne £10 for a 37.5cl bottle.
Finally, Highland Spring Water costs £1 for a 50cl bottle and Red Bull £2 for a 25cl can.

SHOPPING

A fairly limited selection of souvenirs, cosmetics, perfume and jewellery is available. Benson & Hedges and Marlboro Lights cigarettes, as well as Bell’s Whisky, Absolut, Bombay Sapphire Gin and Baileys Irish Cream, are available on flights to and from Prague only.


HOW TO GET THE CHEAPEST FARES

Go’s website advises passengers to travel mid-week or stay for a minimum of two nights in order to get th
e cheapest flights. I’d advise you to check the website regularly and sign up to the Go Mail service (see www.go-fly.com for details). Book as soon as you get email notification of special offers as they sell out quickly.

On the subject of Go Mail, I’ve found that Go sends out special offers about as often as easyjet but less frequently than Ryanair. On one occasion details of a big seat sale were announced on the front page of the website only.


WWW.GO-FLY.COM

The site is easy to navigate and features some useful extras. You can book hotels and ski chalets, hire cars and travel insurance through Go partners for all destinations served by Go and a lot more besides. I’d particularly recommend the Hotels service, which is operated by Hotel Connect and does not require you to have booked a flight with Go.


MY EXPERIENCE

I flew with Go on six occasions last month (four flights on the Newcastle-Stansted route and a return flight from Stansted to Rome).

GOOD POINTS

Prices can be remarkably cheap. I managed to get a return flight from Stansted to Rome for a total of £52 in the pre-Christmas sale (the usual price is around £86) and flights from Newcastle to Stansted can cost as little as £10.

In addition to offering cut-price hotels etc, Go has secured discount rates on coach and rail services from Stansted to central London for its passengers.

I found Go staff to be extremely friendly and helpful.

The One-Line guide (available onboard) contains a lot of useful information on flight destinations and travel to and from the airport.


BAD POINTS

Punctuality. Each flight was delayed by at least half an hour, with one flight from Stansted to Newcastle taking off 90 minutes behind schedule. The outward flight from Newcastle to Stansted had arrived almost an hour late five days previously, causing me to miss my check-in time for my onward flig
ht to Faro by two minutes. There are no transfers, changes or refunds on Go flights so my tickets were worthless.
Go flights work on a 25 minute turnaround schedule, so if the first flight of the day is late the knock-on effect continues throughout the day.

As with all budget carriers, some of the airports used by Go are far from the city they serve. However, the savings in landing-fees etc are reflected in the price of your ticket.

Due to the size of the planes, the baggage allowance is a miserly 10kg for checked-in baggage and 5kg for carry-on. Bag dimensions are strictly monitored for all carry-on luggage.

Flight times can be somewhat inconvenient with a lot of early morning or late evening flights. For example, the only two flights from Stansted to Faro depart at 7am and 10am.

You will be subjected to the horrific Go jingle. It will stay in your head for a lot longer than is healthy.


WOULD I FLY WITH GO AGAIN?

I’d recommend Go in terms of price and destinations served. However, I would not rely on it if I could not afford to be flexible in terms of my arrival time. I suppose I'd give Go my qualified approval.

Summary: