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Bargain Travel Europe guide to Europe Travel on a budget for budget vacation holiday destinations, cheap airfares, airline deals and secret spots missed by travel tours.

CHEAP AIRFARES TO EUROPE
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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

 

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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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