Transport > Europe > Flying > Low-cost air travel in Europe
Air Travel within Europe
Deregulation within the European Union came into effect around 10 years ago and has set the ball in motion for lower European airfares. With new low fares, flying can be cheaper than taking the bus.
Airlines such as London Luton based easyJet, Irish carrier Ryanair plus many others like Air Berlin, German Wings, Niki and Vueling are behind the move to force the established carriers into a competitive marketplace. Secondary airports such as London's Luton Airport, Rome's Ciampino and Frankfurt Hahn have experienced record growth as new airlines secure landing slots.
Like any competitive deregulated industry it is the consumer who wins. The bureaucratic state-owned monopolies now have to come into line with the more resonable prices being offered by the new operators. Established companies have matched the prices offered by the new airlines and on the popular routes the air traveller is spoilt by choice.
It is possible to fly for less than the price of the return bus fare on popular short-haul routes from London to Ireland, Scotland, Belgium and the Netherlands. Longer European flights can work out a lot cheaper than travelling by bus or train. If you're going from London to Barcelona, Munich, Rome or Athens you would be crazy not to fly.
With many of the new cut-price airlines, the low advertised price applies to only a fraction of the seats, when the bargain seats are sold then the price goes up. However if you are prepared to book well in advance then there are plenty of bargains.
Although this new breed of airline is renowned for cutting costs, safety is never compromised. Even if the airlines wanted to cut corners, they couldn't get past the strict regulations which govern the aviation industry in the European Union. Of course, flights in the former Soviet Union are a bit more exciting.
Which airline flies where
Flycheapo.com and SkyScanner are two excellent online resources for bugdet European air travel. Either of these websites is an excellent place to go to find out which airlines fly a particular route. Once you know which airlines fly the route you're interested in you should check the prices and book your flight on the airlines' own website.
The following tool from SkyScanner lets you find out which low-cost airlines fly to specified routes:
You can also use the following map to see which European routes have direct flights on budget airlines:
Alternatively you can search and book flights using the following tool:
Taxes and fees
When checking the prices make sure that the prices quoted are inclusive of tax as some airlines quote very cheap prices exclusive of tax that work out a lot more expensive once additional charges have been added.
Ryanair is notorious for advertising really cheap fares (advertised fares as low as 1p are not uncommon) and then slugging the traveller with all sorts of fees, charges and taxes so an advertised £3.79 return trip between London Stansted and Reus (near Barcelona) can end up costing £77.46, and that's not even counting the bus fare to the airport.
Fortunately the trend among other low-cost airlines has been to advertise fares inclusive of taxes and charges. This means that booking with other airlines such as Air Berlin, easyJet, flybe, German Wings, Niki or Sky Europe has more transparent with the airline quoting the price without these hidden charges.
Despite this trend, many airlines now charge a fee (ranging from £6 to £12) per checked in bag, an extra fee to score the best seats on the plane and a credit card transaction fee of around £3 to £4 per booking.
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