Flying is not easy. Just getting to the airport, parking, ticketing, checked bags, security, and top it all off with an $11 burger and rarely places for the kids to play. In our experience flights are also the biggest cost to travel. We track deals and manage miles as best we can but still our biggest expense. In fact, in the coming weeks we will be purchasing 4 round trip flights to Paris. (More on that to come.)
Budget airlines, however, have been making the news a bit more lately so we thought we’d join in that conversation. Beyond the allure of low prices, there are two main ways budget airlines could help you and your family travel abroad: getting you to Europe (for us, anyway) and getting you around Europe.
To Europe
Iceland’s Wow and Norwegian Air can get you from some US cities to Europe quite cheaply, which, for us, is the name of the game. Some rates are less than half of the traditional airlines but fees and restrictions are their business model. Our family sticks with the major airlines, simply waiting for prices to drop or miles to clear milestones. Traveling with kids, or simply as human beings, we try to make it as humane as possible. Price, yes, but shortest duration we can afford. No seven-hour layovers or flying standby. Just get us to our awaiting Airbnb ASAP.
However, if you live on the east coast and can catch a flight to Portugal for $300, my goodness, please do it!
Within Europe
We do have some experience here. Dan used both Ryanair and Easyjet when he backpacked Europe. Ryanair from Stansted (1 hour transfer from London’s Heathrow) to Prague on original flight out of US, and Easyjet from Berlin to Tallinn, Estonia a month into the trip.
The Ryanair flight was to save money but was a bit harrowing getting out of Heathrow, transferring and then through ticketing in order to make that one flight out that night. No frills but he was a backpacker so no complaining!
The Easyjet flight was “because I could.” Ah, the days of no responsibility. Dan heard about Easyjet, searched online and found a 13€ ticket to Tallinn and took it. After fees it was nearly 20€(!) but still worth it to a bearded, long-hair traveling alone.
If you want to split your trip into multiple destinations, as we like to do, we recommend trains for <4 hours but think you should consider flights in order to save your precious time. Trains are so connected and comfortable and kids love them, they’re hard to beat. We’ve gone from Amsterdam-Paris, Madrid-Sevilla-Madrid, Venice-Florence-Rome all with the kids. But if we wanted to add southern France, for example, to Paris next year, we’d probably look into saving time with low-cost budget airlines.
Just don’t forget to consider the following:
- Value of time
- Even a 1-hour flight requires ticketing, security, boarding, deplaning, etc. often adding hours and headache
- Fees, fees, fees
- Pack your own snacks, water bottles, and check the weight of your bags carefully
- we take this luggage scale with us on every trip; a lifesaver
- Secondary Airports
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- They are connected to main cities but might be as far as an hour away, requiring transport time and cost
Talk soon,
Dan & Betsy
Here are some more tips and lists of low-cost carriers from Wikitravel and (the master) Rick Steves.