CHEAP AIRLINES EUROPE

Europe has a number of low cost airlines, the largest and most established being easyJet, Ryanair,
germanwings and Air Berlin. These airlines have stirred up air travel within Europe by dramatically cutting fares.

The European Open-Skies Treaty of 1992 blew the lid off the system in place before,where national government would restrict access to their airspace to expensive 'flag-carriers', such as British Airways or Lufthansa. This enabled airlines to fly anywhere theywished in the European Union without government approval.

Ryanair was the first airline in Europe to try this model, and now have many followersoffering low fares across the continent. These are boom times for cheap air travel in the European Union, with fares on some routes as low as €10 (£7, US$12) one-way including tax (though average fares for international flights are around €80 one-way).

Tickets and pricing

Most discount airlines in Europe sell their tickets exclusively over their website or the phone, and tickets are not available via travel agents. Most are ticketless; you simply turn up at the check-in desk with your passport and confirmation number. A credit or debit card is mandatory for booking tickets. Most discount airlines sell their tickets as single journeys only. If you want to fly return you simply purchase two singles, and there is no
requirement to spend Saturday night at the destination, as with many traditional carriers.

The pricing structure is complex, with fares fluctuating strongly according to demand, often on an hourly basis, and the same rule "get as much money as a traveler is ready to pay" that invented by traditional carriers. There are no hard rules for obtaining the cheapest fares. In fact, fares can vary from as little as £1 or £2 on special promotions,right upto £500 - such as a London-Geneva return flight, during the Feb half-term
weekend (winter holidays in most of the schools).

The following will however increase your probability of obtaining cheap fares:

Do fly in mid-week
Do fly early in the morning or late at night
Do fly in low season (Spring and Autumn)
Do make use of sales. These sometimes appear 3-5 weeks prior to departure, however
this is by no means guaranteed.
Don't fly during public holidays.
Don't book your ticket less than two weeks in advance

Restrictions

Discount airlines are often much more strict about their fares. For example, while in traditional airlines they usually allow some baggage over the weight limit, WizzAir will charge you €6 for each kg over the limit. Also, some airlines have lower limits than the usual 20 kg. A few kilograms of weight can double your ticket price. Check your terms carefully and weigh your luggage before a journey.

Food is usually not served during the flight, or it is available for a fee. It's best to bring your own food and water (though with the new EU security rules, you can only carry liquids in bottles of maximum 100ml. It seems to be possible to bring an empty bottle through security and fill it up at a toilet - whether this is useful depends on the quality of the water there. Alternatively, buy bottled water after security check.

In-flight entertainment isn't normally provided either. Again, bring your own (laptop, music player, book or magazine)--although electronic devices are not allowed during landing and takeoff, as they are not with traditional carriers.

Most discount airlines try to lower airport fees, so they often use smaller and more distant airports, sometimes quite far away from the city they state they fly to. For example Paris Beauvais Airport is some 90 km from Paris, bus costs about €13 one-way and it takes about 1h15 to get to Paris (taxi would be €130-150 one-way).

Discount airlines do not wait for late running passengers. Idle plane waiting for a passenger costs money. Check in desks shut promptly at the advertised time. If you are one minute late, they will not let you check in. Also, if you do not get to the boarding gate in time, you may find the plane gone and your luggage sitting on the ground. In these circumstances you will not get a refund, but you may get a transfer to a later flight if there
is room.

Many airlines have changed their schedule with as little as week before departure, so the flight is up to 10 hours earlier/later than in the original reservation (this applies to: easyJet, hlx.com, SkyEurope, AirBerlin and some others). Options they typically give are: accept the change; re-book on a different flight (normally you still have to pay the difference in ticket price but no fee); or accept a refund. Note that purchasing another ticket with either that airline or another at a week's notice may be very expensive relative to your original
purchase. When flying low cost it is always better to have good cancellation policy from the supplier connecting with the flight (next flight in your itinerary; hotel at your destination; car rental at the destination airport etc).

Many discount airliners are "point-to-point" airlines, and do not sell connecting tickets if you need to take two planes to reach your destination. This means you might need to collect your luggage and check it in again for the next leg of the journey. Another risk is that several low cost carriers do not take responsibility if you miss your connection, even if your connecting flight is with the same airline. This could force you to purchase a new
ticket for the next flight. Some low cost carriers will help you out though, so check their rules and extremely high expectations.