European Budget Airfares/Airlines

There is a recent thread on RyanAir and other budget European airlines that has raised some questions. Coincidentally, the Travel section of the New York Times has a piece entitled, %26quot;..Bargain Fares In Europe?..Well Not Exactly...%26quot; on just this topic which may be of interest---

…nytimes.com/2005/09/25/travel/25prac.html

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KDK - First THANKS for the article. I also paged through to see some of the other travel topics. Helpful info..so I%26#39;m now on the list to access the NYTimes..

I flew SkyEurope this past summer. I booked my fares a couple weeks before my trip so I paid more than their original fares. $104 for Amsterdam to Budapest and $125 for Budapest to Paris (Orly). My bag weighed 25 lbs and I was able to check it with no extra charges. Based on my experience, I would highly recommend SkyEurope - Friendly, efficient service all around. (I forgot in my jetlagged 3 stop flight to get to Amsterdam from the west coast to check in at the SkyEurope desk and the staff checked me and my bag in at the gate with smiles, not sneers which you can sometimes get when you goof up at the airport)

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Thanks Kevin!

I also flew Virgin express within Europe and they are good and cheap. Same as Ryanair. You do not get food, so what ? you can eat when you arrive in 2 hours. And maybe you do not sit next to your traveling companion as there are no seat assigned? Fine! Read your book and relax.

The best thing with those airlines is that they allow 1 way ticket at the price of 1/2 a regular ticket.

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It%26#39;s like everything in life - read the small print and do a little research.

Low Cost Airlines have revolutionised travel in Europe - I remember 10 years ago buying a return ticket to Paris for £250 and thinking I%26#39;d got a good deal! I%26#39;ve just bought 4 tickets for the same price (including tax etc)!

Make sure you know the luggage allowances, make sure you know where the airports actually are, make sure you turn up on time - don%26#39;t expect the plane to wait for you! Do all of this and you%26#39;ll benefit enormously.

Then again I%26#39;m slightly biaised as my husband is a low cost airline pilot ;)

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Thanks KDKSAIL for the article link. Very informative. I am just now trying to book some short %26amp; hopefully cheap flights within Europe, and since it%26#39;s our first time going, I%26#39;m not too familiar with the different airlines.

If anyone can recommend -- or advise against -- any other specific airlines to check, that would be great. I need one-way flights from Paris (CDG) to London (Heathrow or LdnCity), London to Rome, and Nice to Paris (CDG or Orly). (I am bound to fly into and out of Paris from Canada at the start %26amp; end of our trip so have to work around this)

Thanks!

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Paris-Heathrow: BMI hands down, or a false Eurostar return

Paris-Nice: EasyJet

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Thanks Bob.... sorry if this is stupid, but maybe it%26#39;s a phrase we don%26#39;t use here... when you say a %26quot;false return%26quot; do you mean buy a round-trip flight but only use half?

Thanks

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Good article, thanks! Had no problems flying the Czech low-cost airline, SmartWings from Prague to Paris (CDG) last month. I did check the fine print on baggage limits of size and weight -- even e-mailed ahead to see if my slightly different carry-on measurements would be a problem--got a courteous reply that the bag was fine. At check-in -- no hassles about bags at all. At the Prague airport, it looked as if all airlines are now dropping weight restrictions on carry-on and they were not even weighed. It IS sort of sad that flying was much cheaper than taking a train, but then it was rather fun to have lunch in Prague and a nightcap in Paris on our anniversary...

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Yes, Sherry, that%26#39;s exactly it. But, don%26#39;t worry: the term %26quot;false return%26quot; is just a clumsy attempt by a non Anglophone to describe this actual type of ticket, nothing %26quot;official%26quot;! But so crazy is the fare structure on Eurostar, that, if you pick a real non busy time (ie Tu to Th, 11 to 15h00), and one week apart from the other leg of the journey) for the leg you will not use, you are likely to come up with a better fare than a one way plane ticket (and definitely than a one way Eurostar one).

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I read somewhere that Astraeus flies from Gatwick to Santorini, but when I went to their website I couldn%26#39;t even find any flight schedules. Does anyone know anything about this airline? Or is there another airline that flies from London to one of the Greek Isles?