Why would I choose full service carrier instead of a low-cost one?

I just started flying recently and over the last two years I was on an airplane about once a month. All my trips were between European cities. I have been successfully using Ryanair, Wizz Air and Vueling with zero negative experiences. I've been considering the full-service airlines for some time now, but every time I check them, their prices are an order of magnitude higher. I usually pay around €100 both ways (and another €100 for luggage and travel to the city itself from the satellite airport) while the full-service airlines charge €1,000-2,000 for the same flight.
One motivation I can think of are business trips, where you're going somewhere for one day and can't afford the additional hour on the bus/train on the way to the main city. Also, I like having ample space for my legs, but I can suffer being marginally uncomfortable for one hour in order to save a thousand bucks.
What are any other reasons to pay all this money?
Best Answer
You actually want to be somewhere on time. I had an Air France flight from Budapest to Paris which didn't fly and I told the desk I needed to be in Paris next morning 10am and that's it. They put me on a Lufthansa flight via Munich and I was there on time. Do you think a low cost would this? At best you can rebook for free at worst you get the money the EU laws prescribe.
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Why full service airlines are better?
Full service airlines also offer first class and business class seating. Whereas low cost carriers only have economy class. At an extra cost. Or random seat allocation at check-in (free).How is a low cost carrier any different from a full service airlines?
While full-service airlines have a range of distribution channels (which is reflected in their ticket price), low-cost carriers usually sell their tickets only on their website. That not only gives them total control over fare pricing but also cuts the costs of selling a ticket.Why are low cost carriers cheap?
In essence and perhaps this is extremely predictable, but the main reasons for why low cost carriers are so cheap is that they fundamentally do not offer high cost features. This renders them less expensive to run.What is full service carrier?
A full service airline typically offers passengers in flight entertainment,checked baggage, meals, beverages and comforts such as blankets and pillows in the ticket price. The seats generally have more recline than a low cost carrier as well as more leg room.Difference Between Low-Cost Carrier and Full-Service Carrier
More answers regarding why would I choose full service carrier instead of a low-cost one?
Answer 2
In addition to jpatokal's excellent answer, budget airlines sell you a pair of one-way tickets, whereas full-service carriers sell you a return ticket. This means that the budget airline has considerably lower responsibilities to you if things go wrong.
When you have a return ticket, the airline has obligations to you from the moment you check in for the outbound flight: in particular, they're obliged to get you home again. If the weather's impossible on the day of your return flight, they're must to put you up in a hotel and get you home as soon as they reasonably can. However, if you're travelling with two one-way tickets, you're out of luck. Your trip home is a separate journey, which doesn't begin until you've checked in for that flight. If there are no flights today because of the weather, the airline can just cancel your flight and give you a refund, leaving you stranded in Whereversville at your own expense until you can find a flight home at whatever price they cost at short notice at a time when demand just went through the roof because everyone else is stranded, too.
Answer 3
€1000-2000 is not a “normal” fare for a short-haul flight within Europe, even with a legacy full-service airlines. Most of them will have cheap fares that are slightly above the price of low-cost airlines (if you book a non-flexible return ticket in advance). Even full fares for a flexible ticket booked at the last minute or business class tickets should be in the hundreds, and not the thousands of euros.
You can however find fares of €2000 and up but that's best regarded as a glitch of the booking system resulting from very complicated way airline fares are constructed.
Very often this happens when looking for flights from an airline that does not operate them in the area at all and simply resells tickets from partners. In these cases, there are almost always better fares available. The funny thing is that one website will show you the crazy fare but a search engine will reveal more logical routings or perhaps even the very same flights for a lower price.
Finally, note that not all passengers on the plane are paying the point-to-point fare. Some of the short-haul flights you might have looked at are really feeder flights to bring long-haul passengers to a hub. When combined with an intercontinental flight, the short-haul flight can be essentially free and the whole ticket cheaper than a direct long-haul flight to your destination from your airport of departure. Again a counter-intuitive results of complex fare rules.
So nobody needs a reason to pay that much money. Mostly people just pay a small premium for all the reasons detailed in other answers (convenience of non-stop flights and better airports, hopes of a better service in case of irregular operations, points for loyalty programs), especially if they are not paying for the tickets themselves. And sometimes, the full-service airline can be the only way to reach your destination or even be cheaper than a low-cost airline.
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