One of the best things about living and traveling in Europe is how easy – and inexpensive – it is to fly from country to country. Often fares are advertised for €1! While flying is inexpensive, it’s not THAT inexpensive! There are so many new, cheap airlines in Europe it can get quite confusing. Prices DO start at extremely low points. As you get nearer to your projected date of departure, if you have not booked your ticket, the flights DO get much more expensive. So book early and you’ll find INCREDIBLE savings. We’ve flown to Sofia, Barcelona, Madrid, London, recently – all under €100 roundtrip!
So what about those €1 fees on RyanAir? Yes they do exist. But then you have to add in taxes, airport fees, luggage charges, a credit card fee, etc…. but the price can still come in under €30 one way. How do you find out who flies where? Try one of these sites:
So how can these flights be so cheap?
First, the cheapest tickets are nonrefundable, non-changeable, and have to be purchased well in advance. Customer assistance is somewhat lacking. And very importantly, you must be on time! RyanAir closes their check-in gates about 40 minutes before a flight (so those same folks who checked you in can now head to the gate and check you onto the plane!). Once the gate is closed – you WILL NOT be getting on that plane… so be early! And if you miss your flight you will be buying a new ticket on the NEXT flight, at FULL PRICE!
On a budget airline you will pay for everything. Okay, it’s true – RyanAir is floating the idea of charging for toilet usage on flights. If anyone will do it, RyanAir will be the first to crack the toilet-barrier! No, it hasn’t happened yet. But on a budget airline you will pay for food, drinks, checking in your luggage, paying with a credit card, getting an exit row seat, getting on the plane first, etc.
You also pay fines if you exceed the luggage limits. Luggage limits are TIGHT. On many Euro-airlines, you limits are allowed 20 kg for checked luggage and 10 kg for carry-on. (CHECK your specific airline!). Last week we flew Vueling to Barcelona. Pre-checking a bag for one person for a roundtrip cost us €20. We were allowed 20 kg ber pag. Any weight over 20 kg would be charged at €8 per kilogram. So it can get very expensive.
You can “pre-purchase” your checked luggage when you book online. If we had waited till we got to the airport, we would have paid €30 instead of the €20. So when you book, plan ahead! Once in Barcelona, my wife went espadrilles and clothing shopping. Four pairs of shoes and multiple outfits later we were destined to be over our 20 kg limit. So we used a small carry-on bag, stuffed it with shoes, carried it on, and managed to cram it in the overhead!
Our worst luggage experience happened many, many years ago. On one of our first trips to Europe we were scheduled on the Orient Express from Venice to Paris. It was to be our 25th wedding anniversary celebration. Unfortunately, the Orient Express folks cancelled our reservation and we were left stranded in Venice. I found an airline with seats for €49 from Venice to Paris.
Yet when we arrived to check-in, dragging our huge luggage, we were far over the limits. (That’s what happens when you’re used to flying US-flagged airlines internationally). So our “excessive” luggage fees were €350! Well, I asked if I could BUY A SEAT to put my luggage in – NOPE. Then finally frustrated, I asked where the DHL Shipping Center was so I could “mail” my luggage to Paris – it had to be cheaper. At this point we did what you do in Italy – WE NEGOTIATED! The Gate Attendant and Supervisor agreed to put our luggage on the plane for €80 – Done deal. Of course, we paid… in cash! Hey, this is Italy!
So if you plan on taking a low-cost carrier in Europe, plan ahead, purchase in advance, and PACK LIGHT!
Many times, in order to get the best prices you’ll have to leave and arrive at early and late times. We have arrived in Paris close to midnight and departed Rome at 6:15 AM. So make sure you factor in the cost and mode of transportation to get you to and from the airport. Often these flights, although cheaper, will have higher “transport” costs! And frankly these “arrival/departure” transportation costs may be more than your plane tickets so do your research BEFORE you book that cheap flight to an airport that arrives after everything is closed.
Another factor in the transport cost is where the airport is located. Many of these smaller airlines travel from airports you’ve probably near heard of. And although they advertise Barcelona, Paris, etc., check the fine print. RyanAir’s “Paris” airport location is 60 miles from the city – same thing in Barcelona! Their “Frankfurt” flight arrives in Hahn, almost 70 miles away. Again, the cost and availability of transport to/from the airport may offset the cost savings – or perhaps may be too inconvenient for you.
So who do I book with?
There are too many to list! Here are a few of the Budget Airlines in Europe – And these are certainly not all of them! But this will give you an idea of where some of them fly to and from. For even more options, check out the “who flies where” links above. The descriptions of these airlines below primarily come from their website info… so know that this is their “advertisement,” not my validation. This list is current as of January 2012 and there are many more out there, but these are the larger players in the Budget Airline Wars. Here you go!
Aer Lingus
A huge airline based in Dublin. They often have some of the cheapest flights – including those “across the pond.” These folks are always a great resource.
Air Baltic
Currently, airBaltic operates direct flights out of two Baltic State capitals – Riga, Latvia, and Vilnius, Lithuania.
From Riga, Air Baltic offers direct flights to Aalesund, Almaty, Athens, Amsterdam, Baku, Barcelona, Bergen, Berlin, Billund, Brussels, Copenhagen, Chisinau, Dubai, Dublin, Dushanbe, Dusseldorf, Gothenburg, Hamburg, Hannover, Helsinki, Hurghada, Istanbul, Kaliningrad, Kiev, Kuopio, London, Linkoping, Milan, Minsk, Moscow, Munich, Nice, Odessa, Oslo, Oulu, Palanga, Paris, Rome, Simferopol, Sharm-el-Sheikh, Stavanger, St. Petersburg, Stockholm, Tallinn, Tashkent, Tampere, Tbilisi, Tel Aviv, Tromso, Venice, Vienna, Vilnius, Zurich and Yerevan.
From Vilnius Air Baltic offers direct flights to Copenhagen, Milan, Munich, Riga, Stockholm and Tallinn.
Air Baltic also operates direct flights between Kaliningrad and Copenhagen.
The airBaltic fleet currently consists of 28 aircraft – 2 Boeing 757-200, 10 Boeing 737-500s, 6 Boeing 737-300 and 10 Fokker-50s.
Air Berlin
Air Berlin is a German low cost airline based at Berlin Tegel airport with other main hubs located at airports in Düsseldorf and Nuremberg. Air Berlin was founded in 1978 and nowadays it is the second largest airline in Germany. In the last few years it has taken over several airlines and integrated them into the Air Berlin group. The airline was twice named the best low cost airline in Europe and it also won the award for world’s best low cost airline in 2006.
The airline operates international flights to major European cities or holiday resorts and domestic flights between German cities. Even though Air Berlin offers low cost flights, it serves in-flight refreshment and provides newspapers on board. The airline also has a frequent flyer program called topbonus. Unlike many other low cost airlines, Air Berlin offers guaranteed connections via its hubs.”
Air One
January 13th was an important date on the calendar for Italian air travel: the new national airline took to the air. From January 13, 2009 Air One and Alitalia merged their networks, fleets and organizational, commercial and administrative structures – not sure what that will mean for Air One, who used to have great service….. We will also see what happens to their prices. Most Air One folks still work at Air One and most Alitalia folks are still working (for now) at Alitalia – ‘Nuff said.
Air Comet
Air Comet (formerly Air Plus Comet) is an airline based in Madrid, Spain. It operates scheduled long-haul services from Madrid to 13 destinations in Central and South America, as well as services in Europe. Its main base is Madrid Barajas International Airport, Terminal 1. The airline works together with well-known airlines such as Air Europa and Aerosur in a variety of codeshare agreements.
Atlas-blue
Atlas-blue, a fully-owned subsidiary of Royal Air Maroc (RAM), was incorporated on 28 May 2004. It has international regular schedule service between the Moroccan cities of Marrakech and Agadir to different European countries. In a first phase this service includes the French, Italian, Belgian, Dutch, German and British markets. Atlas-blue seeks to broaden their scope in the coming five years to include other European countries. The flights are open to foreign tourists as well as to Moroccan expatriate nationals and local residents
Avro
Avro is the UK’s leading charter flight-only company. In business for over 20 years, they have become the number one provider of charter flight seats to the travel trade, selling over one million seats every year.
Flying to: Alicante, Almeria, Antalya, Arrecife,Banjul, Bodrum, Bourgas, Cancun, Catania, Chania, Dalaman, Deer Lake, Dubrovnik, Faro, Heraklion, Kefalonia, Larnaca, Las Palmas, Lefkas, Luxor, Mahon, Malaga, Montego Bay, Murcia, Mykonos, Naples, Orlando, Palma, Paphos, Preveza, Puerto Plata, Pula, Sanford, Sharm El Sheikh, Venice
Baboo
A Swiss airline based in Geneva, Baboo Flies to Bordeaux, Biarritz, Valencia, Ibiza, St-Tropez, Toulouse, Nice, Lugano, Florence, Venice, Rome, Naples, Viena, Bucharest, and Athens.
BelleAir
BelleAir was born in May 2005 in Tirana, ALBANIA; and from the 1st of March 20 it launched flights in connection between Albania and Italy, as the first Albanian low-cost airline company. The directional headquarters are in Tirana, ALBANIA. In this geographical location BelleAir chose Tirana as the appropriate hub, with the intentions to create links with Pristina, relying mostly on the ethnic traffic.
Our mission is to increase the market represented by routes that link the North-West of Europe with the South, South-East of the Balkans with destinations to Albania and Kosova, becoming the favorite company for direct trips west – East.
The connection of 18 Italian destinations with Tirana in a goal already achieved successfully from BelleAir. Belle Air is connecting twice daily Tirana with Pristina. Also BelleAir operates 3 flights a week from Pristina to Liege.
Blue1
Blue1 has been a Finnish SAS Group airline company since 1998. The three colors of Blue1 reflect the company’s values: white and blue represent the company’s Finnish roots and identity while the silver represents the ideals of exquisite, modern Finnish design.
From Finland you can fly with Blue1 from Helsinki, Vaasa, Tampere, and Turku directly to Stockholm. From Helsinki, Blue1 has a nonstop connection to Copenhagen as well. Blue1 also operates direct routes between Helsinki and Gothenburg as well as Oslo. Additionally, you can fly Blue1 nonstop to quite a few European destinations. From the Scandinavian hubs, Stockholm, Oslo, and Copenhagen your connections could not be better to Europe, the USA, and the Far East.
Blue Air
Blue Air is the first Romanian airline that operated low-cost flights with 100% Romanian private capital. The company flew for the first time on Aurel Vlaicu International Airport (located at 10 km from the city centre) on December 13th, 2004.
Now flying to: Barcelona-Reus, Barcelona-El Prat, Constanta, London-Luton, Paphos, Berlin Tegel, Thessaloniki , Naples, Catania, Bucharest , Milan-Bergamo, Madrid, London- Stansted , Stuttgart, Lyon-St. Exupery, Paris-Beauvais, Turin, Verona , Valencia , Arad, Bacau, Cologne, Brussels, Malaga, Bologna , Lisbon, Rome – Fiumicino, Larnaca, and Sibiu.
Blu-express.com
Blu-express.com is the only low-cost airline based in Rome’s Fiumicino airport. It is a young, dynamic and enterprising airline which relies on the experience of Blue Panorama Airlines – the second long-haul fleet in Italy and the first European company to order Boeing’s new 787 Dreamliner. Our offer is a mix of new and exciting proposals, all “made in Italy”. Blu-express.com offers the best cost-services balance, for tourism as well as for business travel. They are currently flying to Rome, Catania, Turin, Palermo, Lamezia Terme, Aena Ibiza, and Nice.
bmi and bmi baby
bmi is the second largest airline at London Heathrow. From our Heathrow hub we operate services in the UK, Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia, Africa and from our Manchester hub transatlantic to the USA and Caribbean. Book low cost flights to destinations such as London, Edinburgh, Brussels, Amsterdam, Chicago, Barbados, Tel Aviv and Cairo.
Brussels Airlines
Brussels Airlines is the leading airline group flying to and from Belgium, offering its customers a safe, reliable, punctual, caring and innovative service with a smile.
In Europe, Brussels Airlines has flights to Athens, Barcelona, Bari, Basle, Bergamo, Berlin, Bilbao, Billund, Birmingham, Bologna, Bristol, Brussels, Bucharest, Budapest, Cagliari, Catania, Copenhagen, Faro, Florence, Frankfurt, Geneva, Gothenburg, Hamburg, Helsinki, Kiev, Krakow, Larnaca, Lisbon, Ljubljana, London, Lyon, Madrid, Malaga, Malta, Manchester, Marseille, Milan, Moscow, Munich, Murcia, Naples, Newcastle, Nice, Nuremberg, Oslo, Palermo, Palma de Mallorca, Paris, Porto, Prague, Riga, Rome, Seville, Southampton, Split, St. Petersburg, Stockholm, Strasbourg, Stuttgart, Toulouse, Turin, Valencia, Venice, Vienna, Vilnius, Warsaw, Zagreb, and Zurich.
Cimber Sterling
Flying primarily out of Copenhagen, the Cimber Sterling fleet consists of modern and comfortable turboprop aircraft of the type ATR 42-300 and -500 seating of 46 passengers and ATR 72-500/211 seating up to 68 passengers; all members of the new generation of regional short sector aircraft. For regional flights Cimber Sterling operates Canadair regional jet from the manufacturer, Bombardier Aerospace Inc. of Canada. The A/C is a CRJ 200LR seating 50 passengers. For long international flights, and the most popular flights, Cimber Sterling use Boeing-737 Jets. The Boeing 737-700 seats 149 passengers.
Click4sky
All-in-one pricing and cheap flights make this airline popular. They advertise that on a roundtrip purchase all taxes, luggage, and fees, are free!
Now flying to Prague, Ruzyne, Amsterdam, Athens, Barcelona, Belegrade, Berlin, Bologna, Bonn, Bratislava, Brussels, Budapest, Cairo, Cologne, Copenhagen, Dublin, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hannover, Helsinki, Istanbul, Kosice, Krakow, Ljubljana, London, Madrid, Manchester, Marseille, Milan, Munich, Oslo, Riga, Rome, Sofia, Split, Stockholm, Stuttgart, Tallinn, Thessaloniki (Salonica), Venice, Vilnius, Zilina, and Zurich.
ClickAir
ClickAir has its corporate headquarters in El Prat de Llobregat (Barcelona). It commenced operations on 1 October 2006.
ClickAir flies to destinations in Spain, the British Isles, Continental Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. The company operates from its base at the El Prat airport of Barcelona, the point of departure and destination for the large majority of its routes. In recent years, ClickAir has steadily opened further domestic and international routes from Valencia, Malaga, Seville, A Coruña and Bilbao. In the autumn of 2007, ClickAir was selected as the Best Newcomer at the World Low Cost Airline Congress held in London.
Condor
Condor Flugdienst is an airline based in Germany. It is Germany’s largest holiday airline, operating services to the Mediterranean, Asia, Africa, North America and the Caribbean. Its main base is Frankfurt Airport, with a hub at Munich Airport. It flies all throughout Europe! On 10 February 2008, Thomas Cook confirmed it would buy Lufthansa’s. The takeover gave the Thomas Cook Group sole ownership of Condor, ending 48 years of Lufthansa involvement in Germany’s biggest charter carrier. (from Wikipedia)
Corendon
Corendon Airlines is a Turkish registered aircraft operator. Flight operations started in April 2005. Main flight destinations are Amsterdam, Eindhoven, Brussels, Paris, Strasbourg, Marseille, Rome, Tirana, Tel-Aviv.
easyJet
One of the largest of all “budget” airlines in Europe, the airline was founded by Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou in 1995, and he and his family remain major shareholders in easyJet PLC . The airline is based at Hangar 89, a bright orange building adjacent to the main taxiway at Luton Airport. In an industry where corporate HQs are generally considered to be the ultimate status symbol, it is the very embodiment of the easyJet low-cost ethos. They fly ALL OVER Europe! They have some of the highest luggage allowances of any European budget flyer. Always a great place to start (or finish) your search.
Estonian Air
AS Estonian Air is Estonia’s national carrier with 17 years of experience, owned by the Estonian state, SAS Group and investment bank AS Cresco. The home base of Estonian Air is Tallinn Airport. Currently the Company operates scheduled services to 21 destinations in Europe and in 2007 Estonian Air had charter services to 53 destinations.
The goal of Estonian Air is to be an air-bridge between Estonia and rest of the world, offering to the customers a stable and punctual, safe and client-minded service and opening their perspectives. Currently flying to: Tallinn, Brussels, Copenhagen, Hamburg, Helsinki, Kiev, Kuressaare, London-Gatwick, Milan, Minsk, Moscow, Munich, Oslo, Paris, Stockholm, Vilnius.
Flybe.com
Flybe.com is the biggest regional airline in Europe and has the following dimensions: 13 Countries, 190 routes, 36 UK airports, and 30 European airports.Following the successful acquisition and integration of BA Connect in March 2007, the route network is 70% domestic UK, 20% European business and 10% European leisure destinations.
Flybe.com has major bases at Birmingham, Southampton, Belfast City, Manchester, Jersey, Guernsey, Inverness, Edinburgh and Glasgow. It is the largest scheduled airline at Birmingham, Manchester, Norwich, Exeter, Inverness, Southampton, Isle of Man, Belfast City and the Channel Islands. Flybe.com operates out of more UK airports than any other airline.
Flyonair
Flyonair is a young and dynamic company; our core business is the aviation marketing which we restlessly carry on by studying, promoting, developing and selling routes wherever this is reasonable and sustainable. Our aim is to allow more and more people to make use of air travel since this makes movement easier and cheaper
Flying to: Berlin, Bologna, Brussels, Bucharest, Catania (Sicily), Katowice/Cracow, Kyiv, Lviv, Marrakech, Milan-Malpensa, Naples, Nice, Olbia (Sardinia), Palermo (Sicily), Palma de Mallorca, Paris, Pescara, Pisa, Prague, and Turin.
Germanwings
Flying to : Ankara, Antalya, Athens, Barcelona, Belgrade, Berlin-Schonefeld, Bologna, Bucharest, Budapest, Cologne-Bonn, Corfu, Corsica, Crete, Dortmund, Dresden, Dublin, Dubrovnik, Faro, Hamburg, Ibiza, Istanbul, Izmir, Katowice, Kavala, Kos, Krakow, Lamezia Terme, Leipzig, Lisbon, Lourdes, Madrid, Malaga, Mallorca, Marseille, Milan, Moscow, Munich, Mykonos, Nice, Osijek, Prague, Pristina, Pula, Reykjavik, Rhodes, Rome, Rostock, Sarajevo, Skopje, Sofia, Split, St. Petersburg, Stockholm, Stuttgart, Thessaloniki, Tirana, Toulouse, Verona, Vienna, Warsaw, Zadar, Zagreb, Zurich, Zweibrücken
Globespan
Globespan is a subsidiary of The Globespan Group. The Globespan Group has been operating for over 30 years, predominantly as a tour operator offering services to Canada. In May 2002 the company operated its first Globespan flight, from Edinburgh to Nice. Globespan now operates flights to 26 destinations worldwide. The airline operates a huge choice of flights from Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Durham as well as transatlantic flights from a variety of other UK hubs including Manchester, Gatwick and Belfast.
Flights to/from: Orlando (Sanford), Belfast, Glasgow, Calgary, London-Gatwick, Manchester, Hamilton, Dublin, Edinburgh, Vancouver, Dublin
Helvetic.com
Helvetic.com focuses on direct, non-stop flights to attractive destinations, to which until today no direct flights from Zurich are offered. As our guest, you will benefit from a significant time saving, a high level of travel comfort and no more stress from changing planes with all of the associated risks which occur in large airports. Flying from Zurich primarily to Brindisi, Jerez, Lamezia Terme, Ohrid, Obia, Pula, Rijeka, and Skopje
Intersky
Intersky (Intersky Luftfahrt GmbH) is a low-cost airline based in Bregenz, Austria. It also flies to Berlin (Berlin-Tegel Airport), Cologne/Bonn, Dresden, Hamburg, Munich, Münster/Osnabrück, Naples, Nice, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Rotterdam, and Split but on a variable and seasonal schedule.
Jet2
Jet2.com has been flying commercial aircraft for 30 years, exclusively under the name, Channel Express (Air Services). Nearly 40 routes alone are offered from our headquarters at Leeds Bradford Airport. Jet2.com also has bases in Belfast, Manchester, Edinburgh, and Blackpool.
This airline flies to Albert (The Somme), Alicante, Almeria, Amsterdam, Avignon (Provence), Barcelona, Belfast, Blackpool, Budapest, Chambery, Corfu, Cork, Crete (Heraklion), Cyprus (Paphos), Cyprus (Larnaca), Dalaman, Dubrovnik (Croatia), Düsseldorf, Edinburgh, Faro (Algarve), Geneva, Ibiza, Jersey, Krakow, La Rochelle, Lanzarote, Leeds, Bradford, Majorca (Palma), Malaga, Manchester, Menorca, Milan, Murcia, Newcastle, Newquay, Nice, Paris, Pisa, Prague, Rhodes, Rome, Salzburg, Sardinia (Olbia), Sharm El Sheikh, Split (Croatia), Tel Aviv, Tenerife, Toulouse, and Venice.
Jet4you.com
a title=”Jet4you” href=”http://www.jet4you.com/static/en-GB/index.html” target=”_blank”>Jet4you.com is the leading private low-cost airline in Morocco! Our first commercial flight linking Paris Orly to Marrakech took place on 26 February 2006. Since then, Jet4you has offered frequent flights from Morocco’s major cities to numerous French destinations.
Our goal is to extend our network to other European cities and to serve 1.5 million passengers by 2010. Our services are designed for customers in search of good value for money, and targets European tourists and Moroccans living abroad or who want to visit Europe.
Lot Polish Airlines
Lot Polish Airlines in the most effective and innovative way meets the transportation needs of individual and corporate customers flying to and from Poland. It does so both in terms of quality of service and value for money, thus becoming the “first choice carrier”. Customer loyalty guarantees a continuous growth of operational income and maximum return on shareholders’ equity.
Meridiana
Starting on the 16th of November 2007 Meridiana made its entry in long-haul flights by flying to New York with a twice-weekly schedule operated by Eurofly (owned by Meridiana). This date is a milestone for Meridiana which this year celebrated its 44th year of activity.
Now flying to these cities through Meridiana or Eurofly: Amsterdam, Athens, Barcelona, Bari, Bologna, Cagliari, Cairo, Cancun, Catania, Chisinau, Colombo, Dakar, Florence, F.Ventura, Lamezia, Lampedusa, London, Madrid, Maldive, Mauritius, Milan, Mombasa, Moscow, Mykonos, Naples, New York, Nice, Olbia, Palermo, Pantelleria, Paris, Pristina, Punta Cana, Rome, Santorini, Seychelles, Sharm el sheikh, Tel Aviv, Tenerife, Trapani, Turin, and Venice.
Monarch
As well as being one of the UK’s major providers of low-cost scheduled flights from bases at London Gatwick, London Luton, Manchester and Birmingham airports, Monarch is a key supplier of airliners to the tour operating industry. Monarch was recently named as ‘Leisure Airline of the Year’ in prestigious travel industry awards.
Flying to Alicante, Almeria, Barcelona, Birmingham (UK), Faro, Gilbraltar, Gran Caneria, Ibizia, Lanzarote, Larnaca, London-Gatwick, London-Luton, Malaga, Murcia-San Javiar, Manchester, Mahon Menorca, Palma de Mallorca, and Tenerife.
Myair.com
Flying to Bari, Bologna, Brindisi, Cagliari, Catania, Foggia, Genoa, Milan Orio al Serio, Milan-Malpensa, Naples, Olbia, Palermo, Reggio Calabria, Rimini, Roma, Torino, Venice, Amsterdam, Athens, Barcelona, Brussels, Bucharest, Casablanca, Geneva, Ibiza, Istanbul, Madrid, Marrakech, Munich, Paris, Sofia, Vienna
Niki
Since November 2003 – when Niki was established – the fleet of Airbus aircraft and the number of destinations have been steadily increasing. airberlin has had a 24% share of Niki Luftfahrt GmbH since the start of 2004 – the cooperation between airberlin and Niki marked the first European low-cost airliner alliance.
Currently Niki flies to Egypt: Hurghada, Luxor , Marsa Alam, Sharm el-Sheikh and Europe: Innsbruck, Salzburg, Vienna, Paris (Charles de Gaulle International Airport), Frankfurt, Munich, Nuremberg, Samos, Thessaloniki , Milan, Rome, Lisbon, Moscow, Arrecife, Fuerteventura, Lanzarote, Palma de Mallorca, Tenerife, Stockholm, and Zurich.
Seasonally, Niki also flies to Graz, , Linz, Chania, Corfu, Heraklion, “Nikos Kazantzakis,” Kefalonia , Kos, Rhodes, Reykjavik, Madeira, Ibiza, and Malaga.
Pegasus Airlines
Pegasus Airlines was established in 1990 as a joint venture between Aer Lingus, Silkar Yatirim and Net Holding, with its head office based in Istanbul. In 18 successful years, Pegasus Airlines has become a leading charter airline in Turkey.
The airline operates charter flights from Turkey to 99 destinations in 17 countries. The airline today flies from Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen International Airport to Adana, Ankara, Antalya, Bodrum, Dalaman, Diyarbak?r, Gaziantep, Hatay, ?zmir, Kayseri, Malatya, Mardin, Trabzon, Van, Lefkosa,, Stuttgart, Munich, Dusseldorf, London, Amsterdam, Zurich, Copenhagen and Tel Aviv.
RyanAir
Probably the major player in low-cost fares. RyanAir often offers incredible prices to many destinations. Their airports can be hard to get to… but the price is always right! Avoid ALL the extras that RyanAir tags on. But this site is always one of the first places I look to get a price comparison!
SkyEurope
We fly to many exciting destinations in 19 European countries. Welcome to the world where cheap flights do not compromise quality; welcome on board SkyEurope Airlines, Central Europe’s first low cost low fare airline! SkyEurope Airlines flew its first passenger on 13 February 2002 and since that time has become one of the most popular low cost airlines in Central Europe, carrying over 3.7 million passengers each year.
To prove its popularity among customers, SkyEurope Airlines has been recently voted Eastern Europe’s best low cost airline in Worlds Foremost Low Cost Airlines Survey by SkyTrax Research of London. With its headquarters and technical base in Bratislava (Slovakia), SkyEurope Airlines also offers cheap flights from/to Vienna (Austria), Prague (Czech republic), Košice (Slovakia) and Poprad/Tatry (Slovakia).
Including flights to: Bratislava, Copenhagen, Olbia, Kosice, Dubrovnik, Palermo, London-Luton, Foggia, Paris-C. de Gaulle, Prague, Geneva, Paris-Orly, Vienna, Genoa, Pisa, Ibiza, Poprad, Alicante, Istanbul, Amsterdam, Kosice, Reggio Calabria, Athens, Larnaca, Rimini, Barcelona, Lisbon, Rome, Bari, Sofia, Bologna, Madrid, Split, Bratislava, Malaga, Thessaloniki, Brindisi, Manchester, Turin, Brussels, Marrakech, Venice – Marco Polo, Bucharest, Milan-Bergamo, Venice – Treviso, Bourgas, Milan-Malpensa, Cagliari , Munich, Zadar, Casablanca, Naples, Catania, and Nice.
Smartwings
Smartwings is your low-cost airline with an attractive location in the heart of Europe – at the Prague airport. It is from here that we fly to attractive destinations all over Europe. We have a modern fleet, well-qualified staff, and we guarantee the highest standards of safety. Flights all over Europe, from as little as €43 including taxes and surcharges.
Now flying to Madrid, Prague, Palma de Mallorca, Thessaloniki, Barcelona, Las Palmas, Chania, Ibiza, Paris, Rome, Heraklion, Larnaca, Malaga, Zakinthos, Budapest, Rhodes, Ostrava, Dubai, Tenerife, and Moscow.
Spanair
A Star Alliance member, Spanair, is a Spanish airline was founded in December of 1986. It was formerly entirely owned by the SAS Group (Scandinavian Airlines). Flights began at the end of March 1988, and since then more than 104* million passengers have flown with Spanair.
Currently flying to Madrid, Barcelona, Milan, Palma, Bilbao, Valencia, Malaga, Gran Canaria, Tenerife, Menorca, Ibiza , La Coruna, Alicante, Santiago de Compostela, Lanzarote, Asturias , Granada , Fuerteventura, Rome, Algiers , Almeria, Lisbon, Zurich, Dusseldorf, Porto, Stuttgart , Geneva, Oslo, Warsaw, Philadelphia, Vienna, Hamburg, London, Bangkok, Riga, Basel, Hannover, Aalborg, Gothenburg , Aarhus, Stavanger, Berlin, Prague, Nuremburg, Bucharest, Helsinki, Bremen, Bergen, Vilnius, Venice, and Banjul.
Transavia
In summer Transavia flies to some 90 and in winter to some 35 destinations in France, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Germany, Egypt, Morocco, Tunesia, Madeira, Canary islands, Majorca and Turkey.
Transavia is a low-cost airline. Because you only pay for the basic service, the fare for the flight itself can be kept low. You yourself decide whether or not you want any extras that you then pay for. Generally speaking, the earlier you book the lower the fare.
TUIfly
In summer 2007, the TUI AG Group in Germany owns 48 aircraft, which means that TUI operates the third-largest German fleet after Lufthansa and Air Berlin, carrying more than 12.5 million passengers per annum. TUIfly offers flights to 80 destinations in 17 countries, at low fares and in the customary high quality. TUIfly will be expanded into an international airline sales brand and will in future provide a central online travel platform which offers additional travel modules for business and holiday travelers. TUIfly headquarters are at Hanover Airport.
VLM
From its first day of operation (February 1992), VLM Airlines has built a reputation as a regional business airline, offering time-saving connections between major economic centers in Europe. Primarily based out of London, VLM Airlines is now owned by Air France-KLM group and cooperates with Cityjet (a fully owned subsidiary of the Air France-KLM group).
Vueling
A Spanish airline whose first commercial flight (Barcelona-Ibiza) took place on July 1, 2004. The original fleet was comprised of 2 new A320′s, and the daily routes offered flights from Barcelona to destinations like Paris, Brussels, and Ibiza. Now flying to: Alicante, Amsterdam, Athens, Barcelona, Bilbao, Brussels, Granada, Ibiza, Jerez, Gran Canaria, Lisbon, Madrid, Malaga, Malta, Minorca, Milan, Naples, Nice, Paris, Rome, Santiago, Seville, Tenerife, Valencia, Venice
Windjet
Windjet is an Italian low-cost airline based in Catania, Sicily. They were founded in June 2003 and are currently the 4th largest Italian airline (by passenger volume).
Flying to: Catania, Palermo, Milan-Linate, Roma- Fiumicino, Venice, Forlì, Parma, Verona, Pisa, Torino, Barcelona, Bucharest, Moscow, Paris – Charles De Gaulle, Samara, St. Petersburg
WizzAir
The first flight took off on 19th May 2004 from Katowice. Today WizzAir has 10 operating bases in the region: Katowice, Warsaw, Gdansk and Poznan in Poland, Budapest in Hungary, Sofia in Bulgaria, Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca and Timisoara in Romania and Kyiv in Ukraine, offering flights on 120 routes.
Durrently flying to: Barcelona, Belfast, Bologna, Brussels, Bucharest, Budapest, Cluj-Napoca, Cologne/Bonn, Cork, Doncaster/Sheffield, Dortmund, Amsterdam-Eindhoven, Frankfurt, Gdansk, Glasgow, Gothenburg, Katowice/Krakow, Kiev, Liverpool/Manchester, London, Lübeck/Hamburg, Lviv, Madrid, Malmö/Copenhagen, Milan, Naples, Odessa, Oslo, Paris, Poznan, Prague, Rome, Simferopol, Sofia, Stockholm, Timisoara, Tirgu-Mures, Treviso/Venice, Turku, Valencia, Varna, Warsaw, Wroclaw, and Zagreb.
More sites for info on budget travel, budget airlines, etc.
- Attitude Travel – Low cost Travel Intelligence in 2012
- Student Travel - Even if you’re not a student, check student travel agencies. These offer budget fares to non-students as well. Any city with a university probably has such an agency. STA Travel, Tel. 800-781-4040. Primarily transtlantic savings.
- airdeals.com
- allcheapfares.com
- flycheapabroad.com
- CheapOair.com
- Cheap Tickets.com
- economytravel.com
- Expedia.com
- Fare Buzz
- flights.com
- Flight Network.com
- justfares.com
- Mobissimo
- Momondo
- Orbitz.com
- Terminal A – Experts on Flights: Often have great prices on European flights. Only problem id the prices are in GBP.
Airfare Watchdog: One of the most comprehensive websites for hidden fare reductions
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Packing aids can help reduce your load – and your stress. There are many, many packing aids available. Luggage straps, packing cubes, compression bags, baggage tags, luggage scales, and TSA locks are just a few examples of packing aids. For more travel aids, head to our Travel Store, Magellan’s Travel Supplies, or look in amazon.com. Non-USA Guests can search for travel-related items at amazon.co.uk.
Packing aids can help reduce your load – and your stress. There are many, many packing aids available. Luggage straps, packing cubes, compression bags, baggage tags, luggage scales, and TSA locks are just a few examples of packing aids. For more travel aids, head to our Travel Store, Magellan’s Travel Supplies, or look in amazon.com. Non-USA Guests can search for travel-related items at amazon.co.uk.
Let Me Coach You, if you’re looking for travel assistance or some help creating an iitinerary! If you want to build your own vacation, please feel free use the information in the articles of the Ron-in-Rome website to help plan your next trip. If you need consulting, head to the Coaching page; For a list of all articles on this website, head to the Postings page. Or use the SEARCH Box, on the top right of each page!
Header: Rome Airport – Photo by Lx
Helpful information. Fortunate me I found your site unintentionally, and I’m surprised why this coincidence did not took place earlier! I bookmarked it.