**For the trips you describe, you may have little reason to switch—especially at €200 versus €1,000–2,000 all-in.** The reasons to choose a full-service airline usually concern the itinerary and ticket conditions more than the experience of sitting on the plane.

The main ones are:

- **Better flight times and airports.** An early outbound and late return can give you another day at your destination or avoid a hotel night. That matters for holidays as well as business. Compare the actual airports and schedules: the airline category alone doesn’t determine convenience.
- **Protected connections.** When connecting flights are sold together on one ticket, a delay that causes you to miss the connection generally becomes the airline’s problem to resolve. With separate tickets, you usually bear the risk of missing the second flight. EU guidance specifically distinguishes connections under a single reservation. [EU passenger rights](https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/travel/passenger-rights/air/index_en.htm)
- **More practical options when something goes wrong.** An airline with several daily departures and a broad partner network may have more ways to get you to your destination. This depends on the route and available seats; the full-service label doesn’t guarantee good recovery. Lufthansa, for example, offers automatic rebooking after qualifying disruptions. [Lufthansa disruption information](https://www.lufthansa.com/ua/en/flight-disruptions)
- **Flexibility when your plans change.** Some fares let you change flights or cancel for a refund. That can be valuable if a meeting might finish early or your travel dates are uncertain. You must buy the appropriate fare: British Airways, for example, offers different conditions for Basic, Plus and Plus Flex. [BA European economy fares](https://www.britishairways.com/content/information/travel-classes/euro-traveller)
- **Included extras and frequent-flyer benefits.** Baggage allowances, seat selection and status benefits can reduce the effective price difference. But check the fare carefully: even full-service airlines sell basic tickets without checked baggage. [BA baggage and fare types](https://www.britishairways.com/content/information/help/faq/baggage/some-checked-in-and-some-not)

You also aren’t buying exclusive access to passenger protections: **EU cancellation, delay and rerouting rights apply to low-cost carriers too**, where the journey falls within their scope. [EU passenger rights](https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/travel/passenger-rights/air/index_en.htm)

I would scrutinize the €1,000–2,000 quotes before treating that as the usual premium. Without the routes and dates, the explanation is uncertain: you might be seeing business class, fully flexible economy, expensive remaining seats, or a particularly uncompetitive route. Compare the same dates, economy cabin, return itinerary and total baggage costs.

For your legroom preference, price an extra-legroom seat on the low-cost flight first. If the cheap flight gets you where you want, at a convenient time, with acceptable conditions, there is no inherent reason to pay hundreds or thousands more. A full-service airline becomes attractive when its particular schedule, connection protection or fare flexibility is worth the actual difference to you.