UK and European Flyers - How To Save Yourself a Fortune on Air Travel

The cheapest way to fly around the UK and much of Europe is by budget airline .  

How cheap?

Take a look at this selection of one-way airfares from RyanAir’s website on 19 ^th May 2003:
 

Dublin to Edinburgh	€19.99 (approx. £14.20) *
London Stansted to Glasgow	£2.99 *
Glasgow to Stockholm	£2.99 *
Glasgow to London Stansted	£0.50 *
Brussels to Glasgow	FREE *
* You have to add on taxes (approx. £10) and book at least 14 days in advance.

Now those are seriously low airfares, so why on earth are they so cheap?  
 

A quick guide to flying ' Budget' ...

Discount airlines like to keep things simple.   Their objective is to fly you from ‘A’ to ‘B’, quickly, efficiently and, of course, safely.   (Safety is one cost they never cut back on so don’t worry!)

You don’t have to join any clubs or apply for any special membership programs to get the cheapest seats – you just have to book early.

Fare prices are based on supply and demand.   Initially, seats will be offered at super-low prices to attract customers.   As the bookings increase and the flight begins to fill up, the fare will rise.  

You can reserve your flight instantly online using your credit or debit card.  
 

You get what you pay for...

Before you go ahead, you need to understand what you get – and don’t get – for your money, and how the airlines keep the price down:  

(The following general guidelines apply to most budget airlines.   Be sure to check each individual airline’s terms and conditions online for specific details.)

  “No frills” airlines cut the cost of air travel through a variety of methods:

• They don’t include meals or drinks (although you can buy them separately on board if you wish)

• They prefer Internet booking to reduce administration costs

• They don’t issue paper tickets.   Instead, you’re given a booking “confirmation number” which you give to the check-in agent at the airport

• They only sell one-way flights.   You can get quotes for return trips, but you have to buy two separate tickets for the outward and return flights.   They don’t sell “return tickets” and the outward and return journeys are often wildly different prices.  
  
  The same applies if your journey involves two separate legs.   For example, if you want to fly Geneva to Edinburgh, you may have to fly Geneva to London Stansted, and then London Stansted to Edinburgh.   You would have to buy two separate tickets, one for each leg.   And the same again for the return journey - four flights in total.  

• They don’t arrange baggage transfer between flights, either on their own or other airlines.   So if you are booked onto two flights, you must collect you luggage after the first flight and check it in again for the second flight.  

• They don’t issue refunds.   However, they are surprisingly flexible if you want to change your flight…
  
  You can transfer to another flight (and sometimes even transfer your ticket to someone else).   You’ll pay more, though: usually a £15 admin charge, plus the difference between the price you originally paid and the cost of the current fare.  
  
  

How to save even more on those budget airfares...

• Plan ahead.   The fares system is based on supply and demand, and the lowest fares get snapped up first.    For some of the special offers, you need to book at least 14 days in advance and sometimes 28 days.  

• Book online.   Although the budget airlines have call centres, you’ll pay a £5 surcharge for telephone booking.

• Get your arrangements right first time.   The cost of changing your flight
  can wipe out any savings originally made.  

• Pay by debit card if possible.   Because the fares are so low – and the credit card company’s charges comparatively high – the airlines will make a credit card surcharge of around £4.

Note – Most credit cards automatically protect you against default should the merchant not deliver the goods; although you have to wonder whether you need this protection for airfares costing a few pounds.   However, if your credit card offers built-in travel insurance when you use it to purchase travel tickets then it's probably worth using.   Check your card issuer’s terms and conditions for details.

  Click here for Part 2 of the budget airlines guide and meet "the players"...

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