EuroCheapo's Budget Air Travel Articles

Berlin's Hauptbahnhof
Arriving in Berlin's new and very central Hauptbahnhof. Photo: Tom Meyers

Should you fly or take the train around Europe? It depends…

By Tom Meyers— A few months ago I had to make a key decision while planning a trip from Paris to Berlin. Plane or train? I could take a €50 budget flight on easyJet and be there in about two hours. Or I could take the TGV to Germany, and then board an ICE train » Read more

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Posted in Airlines, Ask the Cheapos, Berlin, Budget Air Travel, France, Germany, Italy, London, Paris, Practical Info, Spain, Train, transportation, Trend Update
Island Flights: Flying around Scotland and Ireland

Island Flights: Flying around Scotland and Ireland

Last week, we looked at multi-sector hops across Arctic Norway and beach landings on Barra in our review of unusual European scheduled flights. Now we follow up with comments on some of the really small aircraft used on regular island flights around Scotland and Ireland. Shetland Several of the smaller islands in the Shetland archipelago » Read more

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Posted in Airlines, Airports, Alternative Transportation, Budget Air Travel, hidden europe, Ireland, plane, Scotland, transportation, United Kingdom
Airline Baggage Fees for US to Europe Carriers

Airline Baggage Fees for US to Europe Carriers

By Tom Meyers— When flying between the United States and Europe, you probably know that it’s best to pack light. After all, the less luggage you have to haul around town the better. For Cheapos, there’s one more obvious reason to keep the amount of luggage to a minimum: checked-baggage charges. Pre-”Great Recession,” many transatlantic » Read more

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Posted in Airlines, Airports, Budget Air Travel, Practical Info, transportation
Spring 2011 Aviation Update: New airline, routes and charges

Spring 2011 Aviation Update: New airline, routes and charges

Europe’s spring airline schedules came into effect last week, so in this travel brief we take a look at what’s new in the skies over Europe for the 2011 peak season. A new airline takes off from Vienna Our prize for the zaniest airline name in the new schedules goes to People’s Viennaline, a start-up » Read more

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Posted in Airlines, Airports, Budget Air Travel, Denmark, easyjet, hidden europe, Kosovo, Macedonia, plane, Ryanair, Switzerland, Vienna
Booking a Flight: The Etihad Airways Factor

Booking a Flight: The Etihad Airways Factor

Can you remember the days when booking a plane ticket was fun? That happy anticipation of a journey in the making, the prospect of stopovers in distant cities, the growing realization that for just a few dollars more it might even be possible to detour via Manchuria or Manchester. Cast back to the days of » Read more

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Posted in Airlines, Budget Air Travel, Europe, Germany, hidden europe, Munich, Trip Planning
Amsterdam: Tips for navigating Schipol Airport

Amsterdam: Tips for navigating Schipol Airport

Schipol Airport in Amsterdam gets its name from its former days as a large lake where ships easily sunk from bad weather – the translation literally means “ship hole” (insert joke here).  It’s the third largest airport in Europe and in the world for international passenger traffic. To help keep you afloat, here are some » Read more

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Posted in Airlines, Airports, Amsterdam, Budget Air Travel, City Transportation, Netherlands
Car Rentals: How to calculate the “real cost” of renting a car in Europe

Car Rentals: How to calculate the “real cost” of renting a car in Europe

  How much will it really cost you to rent a car in Europe? You know that the price you see on car rental websites isn’t the final cost—as it doesn’t include insurance, gas and other incidentals. But how much are those extra charges?  On past trips, I’ve made the mistake of underestimating these other charges, imagining » Read more

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Posted in Budget Air Travel, cars, Money Matters, Practical Info, transportation, Trip Planning
Paris: Finding budget flights to and from Paris

Paris: Finding budget flights to and from Paris

Everybody loves Paris. The French capital is one of the world’s top travel destinations and a perennial EuroCheapo fave. Getting to the City of Light remains a primary goal for many visitors to Europe, first-time and veteran alike. France has no low-cost airlines of note, but there are several budget airlines that serve Paris. Here » Read more

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Posted in Air Berlin, Airlines, Airports, Budget Air Travel, City Transportation, easyjet, France, Paris, Ryanair, transportation, Warsaw
Travel Tips: 10 ways to travel Europe for under $1000

Travel Tips: 10 ways to travel Europe for under $1000

Don’t let the fear of expenses get in the way of a trip across the pond. When done right, touring Europe can be cheaper than traveling through North America. If I can manage a four-month jaunt for under $1500, you can manage a two-month trip for $1000 or less. Here are 10 ways to make » Read more

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Posted in Alternative Accommodations, Budget Air Travel, Cheap Souvenirs, Europe, Money Matters, tips, Travel Smarts
Flights: How European budget airlines engage with Twitter, part 2

Flights: How European budget airlines engage with Twitter, part 2

Following Airfarewatchdog’s lead, I looked at how easyJet, Ryanair, Wizzair, and Air Berlin engaged with Twitter back in March. Here, I extend the treatment to four additional European low-cost carriers: Germanwings, Jet2, Transavia and Vueling. Germanwings Germanwings uses its Twitter account to publicize promotional sales, announce contest winners, and occasionally provide direct customer service. Sample » Read more

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Posted in Airlines, Budget Air Travel, Budget Deals, transportation