Diagnosed with an aggressive cancer of the right lung on my 58th birthday (14th July) So not really ...
Diagnosed with an aggressive cancer of the right lung on my 58th birthday (14th July) So not really in the humour for writing much at the moment, although I *WILL* be back before too long...Ken
Member since:06.12.2000
Reviews:678
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~ ~ I got a bit of sad news this past week. An old aunt of mine in Scotland has died at the ripe old age of 78. So not too many tears, as she had a good, full life, and she’s now off to a better place. But sad never the less, as she was my last aunt or uncle from a grand total of sixteen from both my mother’s and father’s side of the family. So there is a real feeling on my part of a complete generation now having passed away. The funeral is this coming Thursday, so the beginning of the week saw me busy on the Web trying to find myself the best possible deal on both my airfare from Dublin to Edinburgh, and for car hire once I arrived.
~ ~ My normal airline of choice when flying to the UK is the indigenous Irish carrier, Ryanair, who advertise themselves as THE cheap fare airline. Not in this instance though, as they don’t fly into Edinburgh, and the nearest airport I could get to my destination was Prestwick south of Glasgow, which is on the other side of the country. Aer Lingus are the main carriers to Edinburgh, but
to be frank, I had a dreadful experience with them a little over ten years ago, when I was trying to get to Scotland (for yet another funeral) quickly and cheaply, and the best offer they could come up with was an unbelievable £330 (old Irish Punts) return. So ever since then I have been disinclined to give them any of my business whatsoever, at least when there is any kind of option available. I wasn’t even aware that the Edinburgh route had opened up to competition, to be honest, and wasn’t relishing the prospect of either getting the ferry over with my own car, or driving to Belfast and flying over from there. So I was surprised to discover (using Google, the marvellous search engine) that another cheap airline, “GO”, have recently started up on this route. And I was even more pleasantly surprised when I logged onto their site and checked out their prices. A totally incredible price of only €49.95 return (£30.50 Sterling), including all airport taxes and an insurance surcharge.
~ ~ “GO” started out their existence as the cheap flight option from British Airways, but are now an independent carrier in their own right. The site is incredibly simple to navigate, with none of the complicated rigmarole that you have to go through with some of their competitors. While I love Ryanair, I have to admit that they fall down badly in this regard, and you would nearly need a degree in Computer Science to work out some of their fares and schedules. With “GO”, you simply fill in your airport of departure, and where you want to fly to in two drop down boxes. The same procedure is followed for the day of your departure, and when you wish to return. Then you hit “find the cheapest fare” button, and voila, all your options for the two days you choose are clearly and concisely displayed, with an all in inclusive price beside each flight. You can hit the “back” button on your browser if you want to then compare prices for different days, in order to find your cheapest fare. Be sure to compare some different options if your travel itinerary is flexible. If I had returned home on the Sunday, for example, which was my original intention, it would have cost me an extra €72.50 (£44.36 Sterling) as compared to flying on the Saturday, which is the option I went for. “GO” are based at London Stanstead, and within the UK they fly from Belfast International, Bristol, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Newcastle. And, off course, from here in Dublin in the Irish Republic. They aren’t simply UK based though, and fly to a wide range of Continental airports as well. Here’s a wee list for you.
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Alicante Barcelona Belfast International Bilbao Bologna Copenhagen Edinburgh Faro Glasgow Ibiza Lyon Malaga Milan Linate Munich Naples Newcastle Nice Palma Mallorca Prague Rome Ciampino Venice Marco Polo
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So if you are after a cheap option to fly to Europe, then you are spoiled for choice with “GO”. You even get a further £5 (Sterling) discount for booking online with them, although this is already calculated into the fare quoted. One other thing to look out for. Even on an internal UK flight all passengers must carry some type of photo identification, such as a passport, photo driving licence, or student or ID Card. I presume that this is an extra precaution they have instigated in response to the atrocities of September, 11th. Once you have decided on what flights you want, then you are transferred to a secure server, where you do the usual with your name, address, telephone number, and credit card details. Your booking is confirmed within 5 minutes by email (at least, mine was), which you then print off, and present at the check in on the day of your flight. By the way, you don’t have to worry that you will be flying on an old World War Two Dakota, as “GO” have a fleet of 18 modern Boeing jets.
~ ~ So with my travel arrangements made, that only left me to find a cheap car hire. Guess what? I managed to do this through a link on the “GO” site as well. I’d been running a separate window to search for car hire, and had managed to come up with a Ford Fiesta for £111 (Sterling) for three days, when I spotted the link on the “GO” website. Again, simple and easy navigation and booking was the order of the day. At Edinburgh airport, they have an arrangement with a crew called “Holiday Autos”. Five minutes later I had a small Ford Ka booked at the incredibly low price of only £76 (Sterling) for three days, inclusive of everything other than my fuel. There is also a link for hotel and guesthouse accommodation, and it looks every bit as good, but I had no need of this on this trip, as I will be staying with relatives.
~ ~ If there are any hitches during the trip, then I’ll keep you all informed by updating this opinion on my return to Dublin. But on price and ease of booking alone, this cheap flight airline “GO” gets a very high recommendation from the “mad cabbie”.
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BTW, some of the boxes here don't apply yet, but I'll fill them in on my return.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
I know this company has recently been taken over by EasyJet, but there is not doubt that these few carriers have revolutionised the price of flying both domestically and the more popular destinations around the EU.
Sue
alflavor 06.03.2002 22:06
Great op, may try next time I fly! AL
Marchant 04.03.2002 12:40
Sorry about your aunt - she's had a good innings by the sound of it. "Go" looks as though it could be a very useful site - Thanks. Mike
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Feb 26th, 2002
very helpful by (100%):
