EuroCheapo's Budget Air Travel Articles

May 04   Allegiant Airlines is one of North American aviation’s most underreported success stories. The airline flies to a select number of popular vacation hubs from several relatively remote and seriously underserved destinations across the United States. Allegiant’s model is genius. It is the only vacation destination player at most of its traffic-starved airports. For residents » Read more

Apr 27 When I left you last week, it looked as if I would make it out of Europe’s volcanic ash cloud nightmare more or less unscathed. Last Tuesday, my flight from Chisinau, Moldova to Istanbul was scheduled to take off as planned, while my mother’s flight to Milan was canceled outright. My flight ended up leaving, as » Read more

Apr 20 At first, the very idea that a plume of volcanic ash could force the closure of airspace seemed ludicrous. Until a few days ago, clearly, I knew nothing about the power of volcanic ash. Volcanoes of the world, hear this: I and millions of others stand corrected, now and forever. Never again will we doubt » Read more

Apr 06 It’s an article of faith among observers of European budget airlines that once the recession has lifted, the inevitable mergers have been negotiated, and the resultant dust has cleared, there will be just a few low-fare airlines remaining. Those airlines that have muscled their way into a dominant position in particular markets will survive; the » Read more

Mar 30 I loved Airfarewatchdog’s recent summary of the Twitter feeds of six US airlines so much that I’m applying the treatment to four European low-cost carriers: the behemoth (Ryanair); the Teutonic giant (Air Berlin): the cheap-and-cheerful colossus (easyJet) and the Central European upstart (WizzAir). We’ll start with Ryanair, the boldest and biggest of the four. Ryanair » Read more

Feb 03 It has become fashionable for minor airports across Europe to seek prominence through association with major cities that are often many miles away. And airlines that serve these minor airports, largely because of their cheaper landing fees, are happy to join in the game. Exploring Allgäu from “Munich West” Canny Cheapos know that Germany’s Frankfurt » Read more

Nov 23 Every traveler has been there: You touch down in an unfamiliar city and feel immediately discombobulated. Getting out of the airport, sleep-deprived, with all of your luggage in hand is one thing—then you’re faced with the sometimes gargantuan task of figuring out how to get into town. Some of us jump in a taxi—and pay dearly » Read more

Jul 21 Two weeks in the Nordic countries visiting friends in familiar cities and discovering new territory required me to rely heavily on airplanes as well as trains to get around. I took five flights during my trip: Stockholm to Helsinki; Helsinki to Copenhagen; Copenhagen to the Faroe Islands; Faroe Islands to Copenhagen; and Copenhagen to Stockholm. » Read more

Jul 08 Nice is home to many annual concert series, including the world-renowned Nice Jazz Festival in July and the International Festival of Military Music in October. If you’ll be in town toward the end of the summer and don’t feel like shilling out Euros to see a star-studded line-up (or if French military fanfare isn’t your » Read more