Europe Air

[btcctomtb Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close btcctomtb]

Listening to the Clark Howard show tonight he mentioned a few websites for Inter-Europe Air. So I ran home and checked them out and was wondering if anybody has experience with Ryanair.com - Book your cheap flight, hotels, car rental with ryanair.com or easyJet.com - book cheap flights, hotels and car hire online

I did a quick search from JFK to London Found flights to STN for 09/06/2008 -09/13/08 $718.00 R/T P/P on Kayak (America Airlines) and flights to Madiera on Easy Jet from STN to Madeira Funcha R/T P/P @ about £80.00 If I check New York Direct to Funchal The best price I am finding is about $1200

Did another search from STN to Rome Ciampino 05/11/2008 - 05/18/2008 on Ryanair.com - Book your cheap flight, hotels, car rental with ryanair.com and total cost P/P R/T under 8.00 GBP

Anyone ever use these sites? Can Americans use them?

Gotta Love Clark Howard He is the master of CHEAP. I am hoping to visit Europe for the first time this year or maybe next year. Now I am thinking it is affordable

[Carolinian Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Carolinian]

That information has been here for months on our own links directory, not only for Easy Jet and RyanAir, but for quite a few other European low cost carriers.

Check out TS4MS links at Timeshare Forums - Timeshare Links Directory

Yes, European low cost carriers are a great way to fly cheap. Two weeks ago I flew to Geneva with a stop over in Rome, using Easy Jet and Wizz. I have used LCC's Easy Jet, RyanAir, Sky Europe, Wizz, Germanwings, and Aegean, and have tickets booked in the Fall on MyAir and will likely be on Air Baltic in April.

Yes Americans can use them, quite easily. Bear in mind the baggage limitations, although EasyJet has the most generous cabin baggage allowance in Europe. I always travel light, so that has never bothered me.

[nicklinneh Member Find all posts View Profile Close nicklinneh]

My family and I flew Ryan 2 summers ago and it was fine for us. But you must realize in advance there are many restrictions that you may not want to put up with.
1. as mentioned earlier there are baggage wt restrictions; the penalties are high. Don't expect to say "my bag is 50# but my husband's is only 30#"; expect to drag your underwear out of your bag in the middle of the floor and load it into his until your bags are 40#/40#.
2. when they say check-in 45 min. before flight, this does not mean 44 min. they will shut the window and you will not fly. I think if you are in the line it's OK.
3. don't expect to fly in to an airport that's just a cab ride away; expect to take a bus or train in to the main city in many cases (Stansted at London is not too bad, stay at the cattery- they'll pick you up and deliver you; bring cash)
4. bring your own snacks/food onto the plane; anything they sell is horribly expensive.

If you can stand all the above, they have some very attractive prices, mostly early or late flights. And I imagine, since it is point-to-point and return, there is 0 lost luggage, unless yours didn't get on at the origin.

Now, for a chuckle. If you have a broken knee and your cast is bent, GOOD, normal fare. If your cast is straight out,
you pay 3 fares, one for you and two for your leg.

Happy travels, Ken

[Carolinian Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Carolinian]

You do need to look at the baggage policies and airport locations of each LCC> Ryan is undoubtedly the hardest to deal with on each front.

The best LCC from my experience is Easyjet, which is more likely to fly into the main airports, and has the most generous cabin baggage allowance of any airline in Europe. I love the latter since I try to carry on all of my luggage.

Sometimes the minor airports are actually more convenient than the main airport. In Bucharest, for example, Banaesa, used by most LCC's is 30 minutes closer to the city than Otopeni, the main airport.

For Paris, most LCC's use CDG, the main airport, or Orly, which is close in to the city and at least as convenient as CDG, but RyanAir and Wizz use Beauvais, which is really in the boondocks and very inconvenient.

[x3skier Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close x3skier]

bmiBaby is my favorite. They fly to the "main" airports and has more a "main line" operation. They are also part of the Star Alliance still AFAIK so I can get FF miles as well. Their sales are just as cheap as Ryanair, etc but I prefer their service better. Less hassle and nicer operation. Have four 30 pound tickets in Aug from Heathrow to VCE.

Cheers

[Keitht Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Keitht]

One other thing to be aware of with many of the LCC's is that if you book flights from say Dublin to London and then onward from London to Prague they will be considered as 2 totally seperate contracts. If the first flight is delayed and you miss the onward flight - tough. You may well have to pay for a new ticket for the next available onward flight and not get a refund on the original ticket.
Arrive late for checkin and you won't get on. I actually approve of that rule as it minimises delays to passengers who have made the effort to allow time for potential holdups on the way to the airport.

[Linda74 Member Find all posts View Profile Close Linda74]

I have used Cheap Flights from Budget Airlines with WhichBudget.com to find low cost intra european flights...

You do have to watch baggage allowances and be willing to pay your way if the flights don't mesh....as in one is cancelled and you are stuck overnight