If you think that one U.S. dollar can’t get you anywhere in Europe these days, think again. Ireland-based RyanAir is an airline that advertises flights from London to Oslo, Norway; Dublin, Ireland; Berlin: or Milan, Italy, for a fare of about $1 plus taxes.
RyanAir is just one of a myriad of low-cost, no-frill airlines that have popped up all over Europe, changing the options for budget travelers. For prices that often beat train tickets, or even the cost of getting to the airport, travelers can now fly wherever they want to go.
In 1997, deregulation opened the door for more smaller airlines like RyanAir. More recently, changes in the European Union and decreased travel after the Sept. 11 attacks have both contributed to an explosion in the number of no-frills airlines. There are currently over 60 airlines throughout Europe that use the bare-bone strategy pioneered by Southwest Airlines in the U.S.
Lauren Wong, a Thurgood Marshall junior who studied in Barcelona, Spain, last year, said that she flew EasyJet, another low-cost airline based in the United Kingdom, when she was traveling in Europe.
“Besides the prices, I liked that it was quick,” Wong said. “One time I was unable to fly back to Barcelona from Paris and so I had to take the train. It took forever and cost just as much as a flight.”
For students in America planning a trip through Europe, using low-fare airlines has many perks compared to the trains. For example, plane tickets can be bought on airline Web sites with credit cards at any time, anywhere. Also, most no-frills airlines use electronic tickets, so losing your tickets is not an issue.
Jeff Skacel, a Marshall freshman, is going to Europe this summer with his girlfriend. He is city-jumping exclusively by airplane.
“I found that the airline’s Web sites were much easier to use than that of the trains,” he said. “It was hard to figure out the train schedules, routes and reservations.”
Brian Schaefer is a senior at John Muir College who visited 18 countries while studying in Denmark. Schaefer was more philosophical about why he thinks flying throughout Europe can be a better option than the Eurail Pass that many American travelers in Europe buy in the States for over $400.
“The Eurail encourages an American way of travel. To make it a good deal you need to go, go, go,” he said. “It’s a good way to see Europe, but not to experience it.”
Schaefer recommended flying to a city and spending the saved travel-time getting to know the city.
Regardless of how one likes to travel, the proliferation of low-cost airlines is a good thing for all travelers in Europe. Airfares have become so cheap that train companies are feeling the pinch and have started to lower prices.
Here are some things to remember if a traveler is considering low-cost airlines:
Some carriers fly to airports that are quite far from the city. Check the cost and time it will take to get from the airport to the heart of the city.
There is no Orbitz.com that can search all the discount airlines in Europe, and many of the airlines have limited routes. It can take a long time and a touch of creativity to take full advantage of the low-cost flights. A lot of airlines have hubs at the different airports in London. Try and avoid having to make the journey from one airport to another. It is costly and time consuming.
For more information, visit the “Cheap Flights” section of the London Guardian — http://travel.guardian.co.uk. For a list of low-cost airlines around the world, visit http://www.lowcostairlines.org. To search several airlines to find the best fare, try http://www.applefares.com.
