How To Find Cheap Airfares – Budget Airlines and Air Tickets
Today, thanks to deregulation, EU reform and the takeoff of aggressive no-frills airlines, airfares within Europe are cheaper than ever before. Even a few of the major carriers offer discounts (or air passes) for flights within Europe to their transatlantic customers. Once you’ve finalized your itinerary, check with your travel agent (or the airlines’ Web sites) to compare the cost of flying with rail and car travel. You might be surprised.
For most trips, a Eurail Pass is still going to cost a lot less than flying (and flights purchased in Europe are payable in expensive euros). But if you’re short on time or have long distances to cover, flying is the way to go.
Budget airlines offer the cheapest fares within Europe. While travel agents can book some of these inexpensive flights for you, it’s best to do it yourself (since you need to make choices on flight times while you’re booking). Reserve your flight on the Web or by phone, using your credit card to pay.
To get the lowest fares, book long in advance. Cheap seats sell out fast, leaving the pricier seats for latecomers.
Virgin Express offers flights starting at around $100 between London, Rome, Madrid, Barcelona, and more. If you’re flying into or out of London, consider bmi british midland. Even without a comprehensive search, if your timing is right, you can stumble across some incredible, it-must-be-a-typo promotional deals: A tour guide on my staff booked a flight from London to Amsterdam for just $10 on easyJet. Ryanair flies from Frankfurt to Pisa for as little as $12. Even after you add taxes and airport fees, these flights are an eye-popping value.
For more information on inexpensive airfares for flights originating within the UK, visit cheapflights.co.uk, or search for a variety of budget European airlines on www.skyscanner.com, or www.whichbudget.com.
Unfortunately all flights originating for the UK now attract an extra passeneger duty, since the tax was doubled in February 2007. The charges are:
Economy class flights in Europe, including internal UK flights: £10
Business and first class flights in Europe: £20
Economy class long-haul flights: £40
Business and first class long-haul flights: £80
European airlines such as Thomson, Lufthansa, Air France and KLM offer competitive fares. There’s a catch: often you must buy your transatlantic flight from the airline in order to take advantage of its intra-Europe budget fares. But it can be worth an extra $100 for an overseas flight in order to save on flights within Europe. In some cases, you purchase an “air pass” (for $300-$400)—a set of three or more flight coupons, each good for one nonstop flight. Be aware that with any air pass, a flight will “cost” two coupons if you need two connecting flights to reach your destination. Check with your travel agent for details.
What’s the Catch?
With cheaper airfares come pitfalls. These budget tickets are usually non-refundable and non-changeable. They’re strict, too: when the ticket says to board 30 minutes in advance and your watch is two minutes slow, you may be turned away. Some airlines take only online bookings, so it can be hard to track down a person to talk to if problems arise (like lost or delayed luggage—pack light to avoid checking your bags on budget flights). Remember to check baggage restrictions. For instance, popular Ryanair charges $7 for every kilo (two pounds) over 15 kilos. If you’re packing an extra 15 kilos, a dirt-cheap $10 flight skyrockets to $100.
You’ll find the best deals flying out of an airline’s hub. But keep in mind that budget flights sometimes use obscure airports. For example, Ryanair’s England hub is Stansted Airport, the farthest of London’s airports from the city center. Ryanair’s flights to Frankfurt actually take you to Hahn, 62 miles away, and their service to Copenhagen, Denmark lands you in a different (though nearby) country: Malmö, Sweden. These are still safe and legal airstrips, but it can take money and time to reach them by public transportation.
For most of my traveling life, I never would have considered flying point-to-point within Europe—it simply wasn’t affordable. Budget airlines and the Web have changed all that.
While I still recommend calling direct to book hotels, I have to admit that when it comes to arranging for a quick last-minute flight, that kind of thinking is, well, so last millennium.
Adding up the costs
When exploring low-cost airlines, be creative. For example, let’s say you need to get from Amsterdam to Rome. After a quick search you may not find quite the flight you need, but you discover that Virgin Express flies to Rome from Brussels for $80. It makes good travel sense to take a 2.5-hour train ride from Amsterdam to Brussels ($30 second-class) to catch the 2.5-hour flight to Rome. The train from Amsterdam to Rome would have wasted 20 hours of your valuable vacation time and cost you $250 ($230 second-class fare plus $20 for an overnight berth). The train-plus-flight connection gets you there in a third the time (including transfers) for less than half the price.
Unlike most US airlines, all of these low-cost European airlines offer one-way flights without a cost increase or penalty. Consider linking cheap flights, either with the same or different airlines. If you’re traveling from Barcelona to Copenhagen but can’t find a direct flight, fly from Barcelona to Brussels and then Brussels to Copenhagen. On Virgin Express, you can leave Barcelona after breakfast and get to Copenhagen by dinnertime for under $100.
Rick Steves
More sources of ideas for finding cheap airfares:
Discount Travel How To Find Cheap Airfares
Cheap Airfares Helping Save The World
Top resources to get a cheap flight
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cheap flights
Posted December 14, 2008 
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