=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This article was sent to you by someone who found it on SF Gate. The original article can be found on SFGate.com here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=3D/news/archive/2002/05/14/f= inancial1016EDT0063.DTL ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Tuesday, May 14, 2002 (AP) Flying in Europe just got cheaper DANIEL MICHAELS and MICHELLE HIGGINS, The Wall Street Journal (05-14) 07:16 PDT (AP) -- Jet-setting in Europe is on sale. A fast-growing crop of budget airlines is offering surprisingly low fares this summer, including some that make the U.S. discount carriers look like price gougers by comparison. Want to fly from London to Venice? Earlier this week, British carrier Go was offering a one-way ticket for $22. For just $8 more, travelers can fly one-way between Paris and Geneva on easyJet. Last weekend, Ireland's Ryanair advertised one-way fares as low as $9 between Frankfurt and Milan, though the cheapest of the cheap seats can be hard to snag. While low-cost airlines have been around for a while in Europe, the pric= es this summer are so good because the upstart carriers are expanding so fast, they're competing directly with one another. Before, they spent more of their energy stealing passengers from traditional airlines. In the past year, Ryanair added two hubs in Brussels and Frankfurt. EasyJet recently started serving Paris and Athens. There are also new carriers popping up, such as bmibaby (get it?), which launched just a few months ago -- making it the fifth low-cost carrier in the U.K. alone. The cut-rate carriers have grabbed around 10 percent of Europe's traffic, causing havoc for traditional carriers, which are losing money and customers alike as Europeans trade down to the cheap fares. The bargain fares this summer should be welcome news for U.S. travelers, since so many international carriers have cut back drastically on trans-Atlantic flights, making it tough to get cheap seats to Europe in the first place. Of course, there's no such thing as a free lunch. Many low-cost carriers are so cheap, in fact, they make people pay for snacks. There are other hassles, too. Booking periods can be limited for the cheapest of the cheap seats (just three days for that Ryanair $9 fare). Still, many fares are cheaper than a seat on Europe's bullet trains, not to mention faster. Comparison-shopping for the actual tickets can take some legwork. None of the big budget carriers has a U.S. toll-free number, and most aren't listed on the biggest Internet travel sites like Expedia.com and Travelocity.com. However, there are a few Web sites that can be used to shop. Easyvalue.com, a sister company of easyJet, compares prices on discount flights originating in the U.K. Europebyair.com searches 21 airlines and offers a "flightpass" valid for 120 days allowing travelers to country-hop in Europe for $99 per one-way flight. One independent site, www.aerfares.net, specializes in searching the low-fare companies. Some U.S. travel agents have begun to book on budget airlines. But since they don't make any commission from the carriers, many can't be bothered. All the major carriers have Web sites with English versions. The low-cost carriers have advantages other than price. For example, flying midweek is usually no problem because they don't require a Saturday night stay-over. They do give new meaning to the term airline peanuts. Consider: EasyJet is asking $82 to fly from London Gatwick to Amsterdam Schiphol on May 31. The same itinerary on British Airways runs $416. But low fares exact a price in other ways. Ryanair, the cheapest of the bunch, flies from tiny airports that can take 90 minutes to reach from downtown Brussels, Frankfurt or Paris. Until recently, its Frankfurt airport, Hahn, was a U.S. Air Force base. Bmibaby's hub is hours outside of London. Other carriers such as easyJet use more mainstream airfields. That makes it more popular with business travelers, but book in advance because easyJet's ticket prices rise sharply as the departure day approaches. Europe's more established carriers are fighting back. British Airways has a "Visit Europe Pass" to more than 180 destinations. Price depends on the number of flights and the mileage of each flight, but can be as low as $60 from London to Paris. All the cut-rate carriers fly modern fleets, mostly Boeing 737s. All of them have sterling safety records, so maintenance and security seem to be one area where they don't skimp. But nobody will mistake their in-flight service for a traditional airlin= e. Most don't have assigned seating. On most carriers, in fact, part of the flight attendant's job is to wheel a cart down the aisle selling everything from phone cards to bus tickets into town. The Cheap Seats Europe is overflowing with low-cost airlines and some superb bargains th= is summer. But the upstart carriers do have idiosyncrasies. Below, a rundown of the main players: Carrier/Web site -- Ryanair www.ryanair.com Strengths -- Big network touching 57 destinations; some of the lowest fares; frequent flights particularly in U.K., Ireland, Belgium and Frankfurt Weaknesses -- Some of its airports are far from cities; minimal in-flight service (expect nothing free, even coffee) Carrier/Web site -- easyJet www.easyjet.com Strengths -- Operates from mainstream airports; large network with 45 routes among 17 cities; frequent flights (eg: 10 a day London-to-Amsterdam) Weaknesses -- Book way in advance because fares climb quickly close to t= he travel date; minimal in-flight service Carrier/Web site -- Go www.go-fly.com Strengths -- Good in the Mediterranean coast region; flies to the Continent from three U.K. airports (London Stansted, Bristol & East Midlands); uses mainstream airports; even flies to Prague Weaknesses -- Smaller network; less frequent flights than others -- only two per day from its hub (London Stansted) to each of Rome, Nice and Barcelona Carrier/Web site -- Virgin Express www.virgin-express.com Strengths -- One of the few budget carriers to have assigned seating; snacks such as small sandwiches served on board; two-class service (though business class only gets a bigger snack and free drinks, not more legroom); uses mainstream airports Weaknesses -- Fares tend to be higher, sometimes approaching full-service carriers; planes are older and the fittings generally appear more worn; hub is Brussels -- not a top tourist spot Carrier/Web site -- bmibaby www.bmibaby.com Strengths -- Just getting started, so offers some good promotional fares (best deal: Milan, Copenhagen or Munich for as little as 25 pounds one-way) Weaknesses -- Among the smallest low-fare carriers, with only one hub -- East Midlands Airport, smack in the middle of England (near Nottingham) Carrier/Web site -- buzz www.buzzaway.com Strengths -- Flies from London Stansted to 15 cities around France and four domestic routes inside France; uses smaller jetliners than others so it feels less like a bus Weaknesses -- Limited network -- Stansted is its only hub; flies only to France, Germany and Spain Sources: the companies; WSJ research * - Sample Web fares for June 14, including taxes and fees: Ryanair: Venice to London Fare: $17 easyJet: Paris to London Fare: $16 Go: London to Edinburgh Fare: $25 =20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2002 AP