Budget Air Travel In Europe Through Low Cost No-Frills Airlines

by John Swan

Budget airlines have revolutionised the way we travel short haul. Whether its for family holidays, short breaks, away weekends- available at very short  notice and previously not available to most of us because of the very  high cost of flying with major scheduled airlines- whatever, the budget airlines are spiriting us off to warmer climes, delivering us to centres of culture and gastronomy, to vibrant cities in many countries.

 Levels of accessibility and mobility have been increased exponentially in recent years. Importantly the extended  travel opportunities are enjoyed by a wider public. Further, not only has the number of destinations been increasing, but also- important, too- the number of departure points has increased as well with all the extra convenience that implies for travellers. Capacity has been increasing with new carriers coming into the market to meet growing demand, as the public has grabbed the opportunities on offer with both hands.

 All this at lower prices than anyone could have imagined just a few short years ago.

 Where is it possible to go to? Where can we go from? Everyone has some idea... gained from frequent newspaper adverts placed by the carriers; from friends who have already made use of services; from TV programmes such as ‘Airline’ which focuses on the activities, trials,  tribulations, and successes of the people involved - passengers and airline staff  alike -  at one low cost carrier, Easyjet.

 To get precise information go to  ‘TheBigProject.co.uk’ http://www.thebigproject.co.uk/budget/ ).This is a brilliantly useful, meticulously thorough  and comprehensive website, which has, or at a click or two, gives access to all the information that you could possibly want. It lists all the European low cost airlines, with their  hubs .Each carrier name is clickable leading to information, offers,  and booking engines ( clicking on the ‘origin’ and ‘destination’ buttons on a company’s booking engine usually brings up the routes it operates).

 If you need a graphic representation of possibilities then have a look at the excellent route planner on SkyScanner (http://www.skyscanner.net/map.asp?langid=en) with clickable maps on which you can select departure and destination airports .The results page in this case not only gives sample prices but also shows which airlines operate the route you are interested in.

 Take care, because some routes are seasonal, other services are withdrawn if there is insufficient demand. Check company online timetables to make sure what is available.

 The whole developmental  process has been assisted by a technological revolution in ticketing. No longer are there the potential problems with  paper based tickets…(Will they arrive on time? Will they be accurate? Where did I put them?)…as they have been superceded  by electronic ticketing associated with the online booking systems now being employed. It is really very easy. Your passport and the booking reference number is all that you need nowadays to catch your flight. Often an additional benefit of booking online is a further £5 or £10 pounds discount off the price. And at no stage do you have to undertake the tedious, time consuming trek to the traditional travel agents premises ( with all that implied in additional costs and middleman).

 For the UK the earliest players were Easyjet and Ryanair. They have been joined by other independents, plus existing major operators, holiday companies, charter companies diversifying into the low cost market. These operators include BMIbaby, Flybe, Jet2,Monarch,and Thompson Fly.

 Try the Cheapflights.co.uk link , above or the feed below, for news of offers in the industry.Likewise it is also well worth your while looking at  whichbudget.com.

Go onto the companies’ websites and subscribe/register to receive regular email notification of flight offers, free seat sales,promotions, as they are released, in some cases with additional booking privileges. The usual pattern is that the first release of tickets is the cheapest so get in quickly. Prices rise as bookings proceed.

 Ticket prices are quoted one way, which provides  extra flexibility. For those who may be resident abroad only a single journey may be needed. For those who are looking for a round trip it is necessary to book an outward and an inward flight. Alternative flight date, time, and price combinations are displayed online for choices to be made. The prices vary according to availability, as mentioned above, plus timing of the flight. For instance, midweek prices, notably for Tuesday and Wednesday flights, are often cheaper, as indeed are flights scheduled for times that people would regard as inconvenient: say,  uncomfortably early take offs, which will require passengers to be at the airport  at an ungodly hour like 4.30 in the morning. New route start ups carry  particularly attractive offers  of the…”low one way prices starting at £0.99p”…variety. As a general rule the return leg of the journey is more expensive than the outgoing one.

 Some sources suggest that things have changed for the better from the early days of budget flights. This is true to a large extent .Certainly there is so much more choice for the customer. The exponential growth in flights from smaller regional airports – Bournemouth,Coventry,Doncaster,Exeter, Blackpool are not names you would have expected to feature in flight adverts just a few years ago- to the continent is a welcome development.

 Online check-in facilities, now available with some operators, will further smooth your journey.

 Some sources however, suggest that things are not as good as they could be. For instance you will still find that quite a few offers from some carriers are hedged around with conditions : that you can fly only on certain days, not within certain designated periods, and so forth. This in all probability reflects scheduling and supply/demand considerations. But check the fine print- if what is in offer does not suit you then look elsewhere.

Further some argue that the airport you arrive at is in some out of the way place relative to your intended destination.(For example Girona airport at least an hour’s travel by road from most people’s intended ‘Catalunyan’ destination Barcelona.).This may be a problem for some but not for others!

 ‘Extras’ are increasing the price of budget air travel. It is not uncommon to find that as you proceed with your booking the taxes increasingly attracted by air travel substantially inflate the final price that you have to pay, and not unusually taxes incurred actually exceed the quoted fare prices.

 Governments are currently increasingly interested in taxing air travel further on environmental grounds. Some of the arguments put forward for those taxes are reasonable, some decidedly spurious, notably those which clearly seek to reduce air travel by pricing people out of planes.

 Some budget operators have recently begun to reduce baggage weight limits below what was the standard 20Kg, to say 15Kg with the option then extended to customers of paying for any excess weight. Obviously this must be a consideration when you are selecting your carrier –check out the baggage allowance details on their websites.

 All that said what a treat it is to be relieved  of  the stress and cost of those interminable road journeys, sometimes thousands of miles across Europe to a family holiday destination. No need to remind ourselves of those roads often exceedingly busy, clogged up with slow or even stationary traffic; the substantial fuel costs; the ferry fares; the road tolls; the cost of overnight stopovers enroute; above all the time costs. Better to fly and be at your destination to begin your holiday, fresh, in a couple of hours. Hire a car, if you need one, for getting around when you arrive.

 Even if prices do rise some, it just has to be worth it! And how many of us would be able to reach Barcelona for a glorious weekend stay without the budget flight??

Author : John Swan

 Writes about travel, journeying worldwide. Websites detailing recent trips are to be found at: ‘Visit New Zealand’ (  http://www.swanelite.co.uk/nz1/ ), ‘Discover New Zealand by Coach Travel’  (http://swanelite.co.uk/discovernzbycoach/ )‘Honfleur : Jewel of the Normandy Coast’ (http://www.swanelite.co.uk/honfleur  ), and 'Florida Vacation Villas' (http://www.swanelite.co.uk/florida_villas ).