I haven’t had much experience with budget airlines. I wish I could say that the reason for that is because I like to travel in style, first class all the way baby! Err no. I wasn’t really well travelled and the few times I have to take a plane were with traditional airlines, you know, pack of nuts and all. So, one of the things I was excited about coming to Europe was I could fly to pretty much everywhere in the continent for cheap. And when you think Europe and cheap fares, one airline comes to mind: RyanAir.

My first experience with RyanAir was not a good one. We were booked on a flight from Barcelona to Paris with Vueling, a Spanish low-cost airline with a hub at the main Barcelona airport. However, the price of the return flight was almost double the outbound so I decided to look elsewhere. You guessed it, it was RyanAir to the rescue.

Couldn’t complain with the Vueling flight, it was no-frills but it didn’t feel cheap. Going back was a different story. It was at the height of winter and Paris was freezing. We were tired from walking around for days so on our last day, we checked out of the hotel and head straight to the airport early. I knew beforehand that Beauvais, the Paris airport that RyanAir operates in, is located outside the city. What I did not know is how far, expensive and inconvenient it is to go there.

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As I write this, it’s less than 5 days before the iPhone 4 arrives here in Spain. I should be ecstatic, after all since the iPhone 4 was announced I was all set to sell a piece of my soul once again just to have Cupertino’s latest creation. Now, I don’t really care that much. So, what happened? Is it because I got discouraged by this so-called antenna issue and I’m afraid that I will have a  phone that can’t make calls? Yes, you are absolutely wrong.

I couldn’t care less about the antenna thing, I think it’s a non-issue and, as with most Apple stories, something that has been overhyped by the media. It’s a freakin’ phone, if you don’t like your iPhone 4 because it drops calls like an adolescent boy’s balls then return it and get another smartphone. Problem solved.

Why am I not getting an iPhone 4, then? It’s simple, really, I don’t know how. After the launch in the UK and France where Apple put up a full-priced unlocked version on the online Apple Store, I fully expected them to do the same for the launch here. After all, Movistar lost exclusivity rights and all major carriers have announced that they will sell it. Waited for pre-orders and there’s none. I thought about getting it subsidized and just signing-up for a plan but it’s something I really don’t want to do. With my current prepaid plan, I spend less than 7 € for data and occasional calls and SMS. Cheapest iPhone plans would probably hover around 20-30 € per month and I will be tied to that for a year and a half? No, thanks.

Until I could somehow snatch up an unlocked iPhone 4, I am staying with my 3G. It pains me to say that as it has been running really slow on iOS 4. I will just have to deal with it for a while and if it becomes unbearable, I can always downgrade. Besides, the white one won’t come out until later this year and I might just wait for that.