How I used to envy the Americans. Cheap, frequent flights meant they could take inexpensive, short breaks at the drop of a hat, whereas we Brits always seemed to make such a song and dance about booking a trip abroad.
Then came the revolution – the no-frills revolution. EasyJet followed fast on the heels of Ryanair, with British Airways getting in on the act with Go and KLM with Buzz. The early destinations were obvious: Dublin, Glasgow, Paris, Malaga. And suddenly Brits had joined the jet set.
Stelios Haji-Ioannou, easyJet’s amiable founder, set himself up as a kind of Robin Hood of the skies, pinching customers from overpriced mainstream services and popping them over to Paris for a song. He and his fellow entrepreneurs hit a nerve with the public and suddenly the holiday scene had changed for ever.
Five years is a long time in air travel, and these days we can choose not only mainstream destinations, but romantic hideaways in many hitherto undiscovered (by the British, anyway) corners of Europe.
We have flown Buzz and Go to Lyon, easyJet to Amsterdam and Ryanair to several French and Italian destinations. (Carcassonne and Montpellier are especially to be recommended.) All were adequate for short-haul flights and although we experienced some minor delays, we thought they were still good value.
And there are new additions to the stable all the time. Bmibaby recently started services from the East Midlands to destinations which include Geneva, Alicante, Copenhagen and Milan.
But beware. Planning still is vital. Don’t make the automatic assumption that no-frills airlines are cheapest. The point is that as a flight fills up, the price rises. No two people sitting next to each other are likely to have paid the same price.
Our last trip to France (Montpellier) cost a total of £114 for the two of us, which was fantastic value for a bank-holiday weekend. The return legs actually cost £8.99 (plus tax). Cheaper than a theatre ticket. But we planned in advance and when friends wanted to join us at the last minute the same flights would have cost a thumping great £200 each. Needless to say, they deferred.
In fact, it is always worth checking with scheduled airlines for special deals. I flew to Madrid on BA for considerably less than it would have cost on easyJet.
Check out the prices for yourself at: Easyjet: http://www.easyjet.com/en/ Ryanair: http://www.ryanair.com/ Buzz: http://www.buzzaway.com/ Go: http://www.go-fly.com/ Bmibaby: http://www.bmibaby.com/
Hi there
I personally have a love-hate r-ship with Ryannair - i love their prices but i hate their service!
kate
chinnyli 15.07.2002 19:27
Yep definitely notice the price difference when you book closer to the time you want to fly! Thank goodness I usually book long in advance, or time my holidays around special offers :)
Dragonone 01.07.2002 14:28
I am waiting for the first no-frills longhaul operator as that is how we go one holiday - good opinion!
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Jun 22nd, 2002
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