A guide to budget airlines
Get the low-down on the best no-frills airlines. Plus find out about the extra costs, from onboard snacks to changing flight names, dates and times
We all know that EasyJet (www.easyjet.com) offers bargain-basement flights from 12 UK airports to destinations all over Europe from Amsterdam to Zurich. But this orange-winged wonder is just one of many airlines that whisk you away cheaply, each with variable amenities like assigned seats, food and drink, and flexibility on changes. Surf the websites below for next-to-nothing specials, and you might find yourself flying to some of Europe's hotspots for less than the bus fare to your local leisure centre (minus taxes, charges and airport fees, of course). These are listed in order from practically nothing to merely cheap.
Tip: When booking flights, enter your flight requirements into www.skyscanner.net to search all airlines at once (including budget ones), to get a range of prices.
£ - some flights £10 or less
£ £ - one-way flights £20 or less
£ £ £ - return £40 or above
RYANAIR www.ryanair.com; 0871 246 0000
Destinations: From 18 airports in the UK and six in Ireland to airports in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Holland, Ireland, Latvia, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Norway, Sweden
Seating available: One class, no seat numbers
Rates: From £Free
Food: Snacks and drinks available to purchase
Flexibility: Flight dates, times and routes are changeable for a fee of £15 on their website or £20 on the phone, plus any difference in flight cost, up to 12 hours prior to departure on the internet or three hours on the phone
WIZZ AIR www.wizzair.com; +48 22 500 9499
Destinations: London Luton to Poland and Hungary (and from there to major European cities including London, Rome, Paris, Athens, Copenhagen)
Seating available: One class; there are no seat numbers
Rates: They have 100,000 seats up for grabs for €1, lots more at €19,99 (not including taxes, fees or charges); but an average one-way fare from London to Warsaw and Budapest is about €40 (£27)
Food: Snacks and drinks available to purchase
Flexibility: There's a charge of €25 to change the date of your flight, which can be done up to three hours before the flight
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