Airplanes

One of the best things to happen to European travel in years has been the recent explosion of low-cost no-frills airlines operating out of Britain. For decades, most air travel in Europe was controlled by national airlines who, because they were virtual monopolies, could effectively charge what they liked, and the customer could either take it or leave it.Well, those days are over. Along with competition from the low-cost carriers, the plunge in air travel after the September 11 attacks was too much for the weakest national carriers. Sabena, Belgium’s national airline, actually went bankrupt, and Swissair quit flying entirely (though a new national airline, Swiss, was set up a few months later).

Other carriers are fighting to survive against the smaller, more responsive no-frills airlines; British Airways has even dramatically slashed its European fares in a bid to recapture some of the market from its rivals.New no-frills airlines are starting up all the time, but some of the longest established are listed in Basics #4 on p.229. Some pointers on these airlines:

. The vast majority of their flights are from smaller airports, such as London Stansted, or from smaller cities, such as Bologna, Lyon or Faro. Check out exactly where you’re flying to, as some airports served by the no-frills carriers are a long way out of town: you might think you’re flying to “Bologna", but in fact end up landing in Forli, 60km from Bologna. The extra money (and hassle) spent on transport from Forli to Bologna may or may not be worth the saving you make on the flight.

- The no-frills airlines are much easier to deal with on the Web than on the phone - in fact, their goal is to sell 100 percent of their tickets online if possible. As a result, all of these airlines have excellent websites.
- While almost all low-cost airlines advertise ridiculously low fares, such as ;£10 from London to Spain, these are usually available only on the Web, only at odd times, and only in limited supply. Don’t believe that you can always get a £10 flight from London to, say, Italy, any time you want. You can’t.
- Even though you make a reservation on the Web and don’t get a ticket, you still need to bring either printed itinerary or a confirmation number at the airport. If your airline needs a printed itinerary, you should have a printer handy when making the reservation.
- For really cheap tickets, avoid flying on Fridays, Sundays, and holidays, and outside the peak summer holiday months. You’ll get the best prices if you book well in advance, though it’s also worth keeping an eye on the airlines’ websites for news of their special offers, which is where you get the truly great deals.

No-frill bargains aside, you will find that planes are still a bit more expensive than trains. Airplanes are very useful, however, for special cases, such as flying to remote locations that would otherwise involve lengthy and complicated travel. For example, a plane trip from London to the Greek Islands compares very favorably with the same trip by train - it costs about the same, but takes four hours as opposed to the better part of two days. This is a slightly special case, where flights are regular and cheap, and the destination is hard to get to by train and boat. If you are planning a long round trip to a specific destination, take the time to calculate how much it will cost you in incidental fees (port taxes, departure taxes, etc), time and travel days, and/or train pass days. If time is short or the routing is long and complex, it just might be worth your while to fly. See Chapter 6, “Getting around,” for more on this.
Even before the Internet boom, the center of cheap European flights was London, and some truly amazing deals can still be found among the multitude of discount travel agencies located there. If you’re thinking about going to Greece or Turkey, on to Israel or to ‘ Egypt, or even just Spain or Portugal while on your European trip, consider flying into and out of London. There are a number of ways to track down these cheap non-Internet flights. Time Out, a London magazine, always has a lot of ads for cheap flights, as does the Evening Standard, a London newspaper. However, perhaps the best (certainly the cheapest) sources for cheap flights are the freebie magazines, most of them aimed at Australian and New Zealand travelers. They are available from self-service bins and budget accommodations all over the city, and contain ads from discount travel agencies for flights all over Europe and the world. Of these, TNT, specifically geared to the budget traveler, is the best. In the States or Canada, copies may be available at large bookstores or at Tower Records. Failing that, the TNT address is: 14-15 Child’s Place, Earls Court, London SW5 9RX, England (®020/7373-3377). Send away for a copy well in advance of your trip, and see if some of the available flights fit your plans and your budget. These will change by the time you get there, but at least you will get an idea.

Also, remember that many of the best deals are last-second, standby, or some other wrinkle on normal air travel. If you are in London prior to flying home, you may find an incredible deal and be able to spend the last week of your trip in Israel rather than in London. It’s worth calling around to the discount agencies on arrival in London (see p.229) to check this out.