CHEAP
AIRFARES TO EUROPE
Bargain Air Fare Search
Finding
discount airfares to and around Europe requires some comparison shopping.
Travel sites often offer the same seats at about the same price, sometimes
the airline offers the
best
deal, but there are some unique discount airlines to consider.
FINDING
BUDGET AIRFARES
Find the best airfares for your next getaway!
BookingBuddy Top
Travel Deals Newsletter.
Fly to Europe at
up to 50%
discount with Lessno 
EconomyTravel.com finds cheap low air fares to Europe with a multi-destination
interface.
Condor and ThompsonFly are
low cost airline alternatives to the Ryanair and EasyJet.
Condor offers the advantage over the more well known discount airlines
of flying into major airports at Lufthansa gates. LTU is
another airline familiar to Germans as a long haul tourist airline and
has new discount flights from the US to Germany, connecting with Air
Berlin for flights throughout Europe. Austrian
Airlines a
specialist airline for Austria and the German Alps. BravoFly is
a French shorter haul airline.
One-way trips around Europe? Europe
By Air $99 per flight to routes all over Europe, no charge
for changes.
With
RyanAir or EasyJet, If you're trying
to fly legs between two different cities, they don't each go to the
same ones, so you might have to switch
around choosing a "low cost" airline option. And as outlined
below consider baggage fees. RyanAir now charges £5.00 per checked
bag but a maximum of 15 kilos per passenger. Over 15 kilos they charge
an additional £5.00 per extra kilo.
EasyJet allows
20 kilos per person and has annouced they will
start
charging
for all checked bags at £2 each. Easyjet only allows one carry-on
item, whether that's a purse, a briefcase or a bag.
Caution about baggage weight restrictions article below.
BEWARE
RYANAIR AND OTHER DISCOUNT FARES
Tickets might be cheap but watch out for baggage charges
While larger
carriers like BA are getting competitive, Discount Euro air carriers
like Ryan
Air, EasyJet and Condor can
be an inexpensive way to get around Europe when your budget is
stretched or you want to get
just that much extra out of your European journey. But beware of those
excess baggage fee bumps!
If you’re stopping in London for two weeks but want to hop over to Rome
for the weekend, Ryan Air can get you there and back for a 14 dollar ticket.
Or if the only ticket to Berlin from New York is $1,800, you can fly in and
out of London on British Airways for $400 and take Easy Jet to Berlin and back
for only an extra $100.
But there are things to take into consideration when making your clever bargain
plans. These airlines utilize secondary airports which are often farther away
from the city than the primary terminals. So should you be planning to transfer
from a major airline like United or British Airways, you will have to transfer
from one airport to another which can take a few hours and cost twice as much
as your bargain discount airfare. And on arrival in your destination, a long
expensive cab or train ride to the city of your dreams. So think about the
additional transportation costs when making plans.
Budget Airfare Tip - Travel light!
Ryanair offers their discounted rates
with allowance for one carry -one item and maximum checked baggage weight
of 15 kilograms per
bag per person, which is about the weight of one 12 x 24 regulation carry-on
loosely packed or one small Schnauser with wet fur. Should you want to bring
your ski outfit and boots in a portmanteau, the luggage surcharge may cost
as much as a non-discount seat. So you might as well grab a local and take
them with you so they can carry your bags.
One tip: pick your ports. I was taking a trip to Milan to catch
the Italian Grad Prix and had a choice of flying into Bergamo,
the closet airport available or Brescia, about an extra 20 kilometers away.
I went to Brescia and was glad to discover that the waiting line to board
the Bergamo flight was 60 people deep, all complaining about their extra
baggage charges, the gate to Brescia had two lonely souls waiting. And since
the tickets are non-refundable, it’s best to not miss your flight because
you’re stuck in a snakeing waiting line of crying children. So, arrive
early, and plan on a four hour transfer across town from Heathrow. And check
the baggage rules before you buy a ticket.
EasyJet's prices
are higher than Ryanair, but you're more likely to get hit with
extra fees on
the latter. EasyJet allows 20 kilos per passenger while British Airways
allows 23 kilos, but has instituted a standard £40-60! flat
excess baggage fee.
Price
Comparison Discount Airline Ecomony Fares - Nice/Milan area to
London.
35-85 Euro on EazyJet from Nice to Gatwick
1-18 Euro on RyanAir from Bergamo (Milan) to Stansted plus 40 Euro landing
fee (41-68 Euro)
62 Euro on British Airways Milan to Heathrow
RyanAir is
the cheapest but with transfer costs, higher airport fees
and getting to departure it may be worth it to take BA, especially
if your trying to catch a connecting flight and
need a specific flight instead of the lowest fare. If you're going
to secondary airport like Midlands, the discount carriers might
be a little better. © Bargain
Travel Europe
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articles are copyrighted and the sole property of Bargain Travel
Europe and WLPV, LLC. and may not be copied or reprinted without
permission.
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