On the Wings of Low-Cost Carriers: Traveling in Italy, Europe and Beyond

How would you like to grab a hop from Catania, Sicily to St. Petersburgh, Russia for about 20 euro? Or maybe you’d like to jet from Brindisi, Italy to London for 18 euro plus tax. This is not the stuff fantasies are made of. These are real prices and actual trips and you could be the next traveler jockeying for a seat at the check-in counter.

RyanAir (www.ryanair.com) started a landslide in Europe. A combination of out-of-the-way departure points and no-frills flights for mere pennies translated into mega-bucks for RyanAir, which has casually worn the mantle as the “big daddy’ among low-cost airlines for the last several years.

“Well heyâÂ?¦if they can do it, so can we…”

In Italy and many other countries it didn’t take much effort to jump on the bandwagon. Windjet Airlines, VolareAir and Eurofly are currently riding the wave of success in Italy. In fact, while the country’s national Airline Alitalia is currently flying about as low as it can go due to never-ending strikes, high ticket-prices and a general perception of poor service, the “other guys” are quietly taking care of business. Adding hubs, increasing routes and laughing all the way to the bank.

So what does all that mean to you? It means my friend that you need to re-think your next European or worldwide vacation.

For example – Eurofly (www.eurofly.it) offers flights to Italy-New York (or vice-versa) for about 300 Euro (roughly $425.00). Not bad for a starter. Now this when the fun starts. Switch carriers when you arrive in Italy and pick a destination: Want to jet to Scotland? It’s Ryanair for 8 euro baby. London? How does 18 Euro sound? Malta? Meridiana (www.meridiana.it) for 29 euro. Bucarest in July? 20 euro courtesy of your friends at Windjet.

Not to shabby and you even have change left over for a hamburger.

The trick to low-cost travel? Schedule..scheduleâÂ?¦and schedule some more. In other words, it really helps if you can plan ahead because low prices are based on availability. The earlier you book the better off you’ll be.

The logical comeback to all this good fortune is usually. “Fine, I spent 20 euro on a ticket to England, but 300 euro on a hotel!” Puh-leaseâÂ?¦! Here’s a little trick I learned a longtime ago when it comes to hotels: the really inexpensive hotels rarely advertise on the web. O-k, maybe you don’t want to spend your time in a 2-star hotel, but apart from sleeping at the end of the day, how long are you going to actually be in your room? Don’t tell me you flew all the way to Scottland toâÂ?¦watch CNN in bed. So, pack light and devote your first few hours to finding a cheap hotel. They ARE out there, They are easy to find and you will save yourself some serious bucks. That’s money you COULD be using to buy knick-knacks or whatever.

There are no secrets here. I didn’t glean this information of some crusty old parchment I found in the Sinai. Plug in “low-cost airlines. London for example and stand back. You’re only responsibility as an educated consumer is to do your homework and plan your trip. And one other thing:

Don’t forget to send me a postcard.