PATRONS of budget airlines need to understand that the term is not a misnomer ("Scoot delay: Vouchers not enough to make up for disruption" by Mr Roger Lim, and "Honour published times" by Mr Desmond Teo Ee Hock; both published yesterday).

As most budget airlines operate only one aeroplane on the same flight path and run this one aeroplane mercilessly and ceaselessly, mechanical failure tends to happen more frequently. Coupled with almost no spare capacity, there is no wriggle room to help stranded passengers.

There is also less focus on top-notch customer service, unlike with full-service airlines.

Airlines are required by law to pay compensation for flight delays beyond a set limit, unless the delay is due to extraordinary reasons; technical faults do not apply.

We should just spare ourselves the aggravation: Where there is urgency in travel, where we want recourse for any flight mishandlings and where we want good customer service, stick to full-service airlines.

Yik Keng Yeong (Dr)