Scoring Cheap Flights in Europe

Orbitz, the latest and most controversial addition to the online travel arena, may be generating buzz for its ability to corral low, Internet-only airfares on a single site. But for a growing number of Web-savvy, Europe-bound travelers, the real buzz is coming from a London-based airline called Buzz (https://www.buzzaway.com)--along with rival budget carriers Ryanair (https://www.ryanair.com), Go (https://www.gofly.com) and EasyJet (https://www.easyjet.com), whose flights often don’t show up on Orbitz or other online agencies.

With most of their tickets sold through their Web sites, these low-cost, low-frills airlines can be a boon for Americans who have booked flights to London and want to extend their travels in Europe.

“In many cases, especially to less popular destinations of the sort that discount airlines often embrace, you’ll save money and have more direct routes,” says Ed Hewitt of the Independent Traveler (https://www.independenttraveler.com), who addressed the trend in a recent online column.

Earlier this month, for example, Buzz was advertising one-way fares between London’s Stansted Airport and Milan, Italy, for about $116 round trip, including taxes. But the deals are even more eye-popping during the low season. Last January, Irish airline Ryanair was offering Web buyers flights from Stansted, Ireland’s Dublin and Shannon, and Scotland’s Glasgow airports to 32 cities in the British Isles and on the Continent for $1.46 to less than $30 each way. Of course, those kinds of bargains come with some substantial catches.

As one reader pointed out in the “Flying Within Europe” section of Rick Steves’ popular online forum, the Graffiti Wall (https://www.ricksteves.com/graffiti), low-cost carriers fly into secondary airports that may be farther from the city center or offer fewer transportation options.

“We discovered that our Ryanair flight from ‘Beauvais Paris (BVA) to Prestwick Glasgow (PIK)’ is not what it seems,” said one Graffiti Wall posting. “[Beauvais] is a small airport somewhat near, but definitely well outside, Paris. Beauvais itself is a small town one hour by train to get to. This is an unexpected inconvenience as we were planning to spend our last night in Paris.”

The lead prices promoted on the airlines’ Web sites can be frustratingly tough to book. Last month, for example, Britain’s Advertising Standards Authority ordered Buzz to submit future ads for scrutiny after upholding a complaint from a traveler who was unable to book a cheap fare to France. And a flood of inquiries after a recent EasyJet promotion prompted the airline to advise Web customers that “our Internet servers have been unable to cope with the unprecedented level of demand.”

What’s more, “low-frills” means just that: no seat assignments or meals, strict baggage limits and a sometimes chaotic boarding.

“Many discount airlines fly their routes only once a day,” notes Hewitt. “As a result, check-in and boarding can take much longer than it would for larger airlines at big airports where flights leave every few minutes. Especially in Europe, where folks’ sense of personal space sometimes differs from ours in the U.S., [boarding] can resemble the running of the bulls.”

For an excellent overview of which discount carrier flies where--including tips for booking online and a recent comparison of prices on routes from London throughout Europe--check out the London Guardian’s special travel section, “Cheap Flights” (https://travel.guardian.co.uk/cheapflights).

Electronic Explorer appears once a month. Laura Bly welcomes comments and questions through e-mail, lsbly@aol.com.