Does €70 for a one-way bus trip to the west sound excessive? It's what one PriceWatch reader was expected to shell out last month after the plane she had planned to take was cancelled at the last minute.

To avoid the Friday evening tailbacks on the Dublin-Galway road, Mary Bresnihan decided to treat herself to a flight to Carnmore Airport in Galway with Aer Arann. At more than €70 each way, the ticket wasn't cheap but the hours she would save in travelling - not to mention the reduced stress levels involved in the short hop across the country - made it seem worthwhile.

The flying time from Dublin to Galway is just 45 minutes compared with more than four hours in rush-hour Friday evening traffic.

While on the way to the airport in a cab she received a text message from Aer Arran informing her that her flight had been cancelled. She was told that the airline might be able to get her to Galway via Knock but when she arrived at the airport she was dismayed to find out there was no room left on the Knock flight.

"There was no reason given for the flight's cancellation and when I was asked, all I was told was that there were technical difficulties," she says.

An Aer Arann staff member said alternative arrangements were being made to ferry the passengers west.

Bresnihan and her fellow travellers were less than impressed when they were told that the alternative was a coach which was being provided to bring them to Galway. She asked about a refund for the flight but was told that the company would not offer refunds - or even discounts - if she took the coach, which they said would arrive in Galway at close to 11pm.

"So Aer Arann was in effect charging me €70 for a one-way bus trip to Galway at 6.30pm on a Friday evening and instead of arriving in Galway at 7.15pm as expected, I was now looking at an arrival time of closer to 11pm."

Unimpressed by the offer, she decided to forgo the bus trip and was duly told she would get a refund of her €70. Instead of taking the coach she caught a taxi to Heuston Station and bought a train ticket. The price of the train ticket and the taxi fare amounted to less than €50. "I can't believe Aer Arann cancelled the flight and tried to get away with offering us a coach trip to Galway for the same fare they were charging for the flights."

We contacted Aer Arann which was unapologetic and insisted it had acted in accordance with "company policy" on this occasion. A spokesman said that on the "rare occasions" the company cancels flights it offers "a full refund or provides an alternative". There's not much kudos to be derived from this, however, as all airlines are legally obliged by the Montreal Convention which covers air travel to make such an offer. The spokesman said the airline was not able to offer refunds in addition to providing the coach as part-compensation for the severe delays caused by the cancellation because "for us to get alternative transport at short notice can be expensive".

When PriceWatch asked what had caused the cancellation of the flight in question, the spokesman was not prepared to offer any more detailed explanation than to say "technical issues".

According to the European Regulation on denied boarding, cancellation or long delay, passengers must be given a choice between a refund of the ticket price or re-routing to their final destination.

The regulations also say that free meals and refreshments as well as a free phone call should be provided to passengers who experience long delays and cancellations. PriceWatch was unable to determine whether refreshments were offered to passengers on the coach - or even if a stop-off in Kinnegad was included.

Steep and crisp and even

While making his way home after Dublin's recent demolition of Laois in Croke Park , Michael Ohle from Killiney stopped off to buy a packet of Tayto crisps in the shop on the main concourse in Connolly Station.

"When I went to buy the crisps I saw they were selling for 85c, with a packet of King crisps selling for 65c."

He says there was no way he was prepared to pay what he believed to be an inflated price for a packet of Tayto "so I bit the bullet and went for the rival packet of King instead".

"Imagine my surprise," he writes, "when I passed the little independent newsagents based in the tunnel that links northbound and southbound Dart commuters with the main station and discovered the same packet of Tayto on sale for 55c!

That's 30c of a price difference! Absolutely ridiculous."

Crunchy Nut, flaky price

A reader in Clane has noticed an odd pricing structure in her local SuperValu. A 375g box of Kellog's Crunchy Nut Cornflakes costs €3.01 while a 500g box costs just one cent more.