The town of Lübeck, not far from Hamburg. Photo by lokenrc.

By Nicky Gardner and Susanne Kries—

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 Hahn airport is nowhere near Frankfurt. Likewise, one discount airline has now decided that the name “Memmingen Allgäu” airport just does not have the necessary appeal, so styles the airport “Munich West”—slightly to the surprise of folk locally who are all too well aware that their regional airport is not near Munich at all.

The cachet of a big city name has become important. So much so that it obscures the fact that the communities which lie on the very doorstep of those airports are interesting destinations in themselves. The name “Munich West” is misleading, and hides the fact that the Allgäu region, so close to the airport, is a stunning area of Germany well worth visiting.

Discovering lesser known gems in Germany, Italy, and beyond

Girona Airport. Photo: Lorentey

But as airlines and airports create their own mysterious cartographic realities, sensible travellers exploit these secondary airports to visit spots that really are well served by them.

If you fly to what Wizz Air or Ryanair euphemistically call “Hamburg-Lübeck” airport, you will land a long way from Hamburg but happily very close to Lübeck. The medieval center of one of northern Germany’s most historic and engaging towns is just an eight minute train ride away from the airport (which has its own rail station).

And the same argument holds for other secondary airports across Europe. If you are bound for Barcelona, don’t be seduced by the publicity that suggests that Barcelona Girona Airport is close to Barcelona. It is not! But Girona, just twenty minutes away on the bus, is really worth a visit in its own right. It boasts a particularly well preserved medieval Jewish quarter.

Few of those who jet into Orio al Serio airport near Bergamo, Italy have any intention of visiting Bergamo, just a ten minute bus ride from the airport. No, the airlines market the airport for its rather remote proximity to Milan. Yet Bergamo is an absolute gem, and for first-time visitors to Italy an infinitely better introduction to the country than Milan.

Exploit the system

So does anyone really fly to Frankfurt-Hahn on purpose? Well, they should. The out-of-the-way airport, utterly inconvenient for Frankfurt, is just ten miles east of the most beautiful stretch of Germany’s Moselle Valley.

For those in the know, the wayward cartographic fictions of Europe’s discount airlines throw up a few unusual travel opportunities.

Susanne and Nicky run a Berlin-based editorial bureau that supplies text and images to media across Europe. Together they edit hidden europe magazine. You can read more of their writing in their regular e-brief and in the Notes section on their website.

Popularity: 4% [?]

Norwegian Air Shuttles from Warsaw to Malaga? Photo by Valter Jacinto

By Nicky Gardner and Susanne Kries in Berlin—

The liberalization of air traffic across Europe has created some improbable flight patterns and routes in recent years. As such, it always pays to learn more about major and smaller air carriers and their proposed routes. After all, the flag an airline flies no longer dictates which route it serves. Norwegian Air Shuttle, for example, now offers a year-round service on the Warsaw (Poland) to Málaga (Spain) route.

Here’s a quick look at some improbable routes making “airwaves” in Europe:

Lufthansa from Milan, Italy

The German national carrier, Lufthansa, offers plenty of flights from Milan to Germany. No surprise there. But the German airline has this year also launched non-stop services from Milan’s Malpensa airport to Rome, London, Lisbon, Madrid, Paris, Budapest, and Bucharest.

Why? Alitalia’s financial troubles encouraged non-Italian airlines to enter the Italian market and Lufthansa didn’t waste a moment in establishing its Milan base. With similar intent, the Austrian carrier Air A!ps has been trying its luck on Italian domestic routes, operating a hub out of Perugia airport.

Lufthansa connects Milan to Europe. Photo by caribb

Aer Lingus at London Gatwick

The Irish carrier Aer Lingus, still jealously guarding its independence from avaricious Ryanair, has this year developed a very visible presence at London’s Gatwick Airport. Aer Lingus now offers direct service from Gatwick to a dozen non-Irish destinations including Munich, Vienna, Vilnius, and Bucharest.

Air Berlin in Spain

An unlikely dominant carrier on the Spanish island of Mallorca is not a Spanish airline at all, but Air Berlin, which this winter offers non-stop flights from Palma de Mallorca to more than a dozen other Spanish airports alone, not to mention a galaxy of direct links to Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Portugal.

True devotees of utterly improbable flights in Europe can fly with Syrian Arab Airlines from Berlin to Vienna or opt for Kuwait Airways as an unusual carrier for a non-stop flight from Paris to Rome.

Know how to go

Finding out about these unusual air routes is not always easy. Who would have guessed that Air Malta would offer direct flights from Catania airport in Sicily to Geneva, Munich, or London?

The timetables published on airport websites are a good source of information, but for a comprehensive guide to all scheduled air routes the undoubted authority is the subscription-based OAG service. Those reluctant to splash out on an OAG subscription can find some decent listings at the Alternative Airlines website.

About the authors: Susanne Kries and Nicky Gardner are regular contributors to EuroCheapo and together edit hidden europe magazine.

Popularity: 11% [?]

By Tom Meyers in New York—

Like many of our readers, I’m heading to Paris this summer. And like other procrastinators, I haven’t booked my flight yet.

I’ve been holding off because airfares to Europe from the US continue to slide — even for summer travel. However, my trip is now just weeks away, so the time has come to whip out the plastic and book it.

Flying the OpenSkies

Imagine my happy surprise this morning when I logged into Gmail and saw this Google advertisement displayed at the top of the page: (Gotta love that creepy, targeted advertising!)

The ad states: “Openskies 1st anniversary - flyopenskies.com/NYC_Paris - Special business class offers NYC Paris roundtrip for only $550.”

This wording seems unambiguous enough. OpenSkies, the business class-only airline that flies between New York, Paris, and Amsterdam, is celebrating their first anniversary by offering New York to Paris roundtrip flights, in business class, for $550.

The offer seemed remarkable, although not inconceivable. After all, the Guardian reported yesterday that British Airways, which operates OpenSkies, is considering selling off or shutting down the airline. Perhaps this was some sort of promotion intended to fill up their planes.

The rest of the story…

When you click through, however, you discover…

Wait a second: The “$550 roundtrip” immediately becomes a “$550* o/w based on a r/t purchase”? How can that happen?

To be sure, I tested their rates with my dates (July 20 - August 3). A $550 cheapo seat was available for the outgoing flight, although the return seat was a hefty $1,930. If I returned a day earlier, however, I could score a $662 seat (and yes, another $550 return seat would be available if I pushed back my return date several days). In the end, that “$550 flight” turned out to cost $1,328.

Calling OpenSkies…

Thinking that I had perhaps misread, or at least misinterpreted, the ad, I called OpenSkies to discuss the matter.

I explained to the friendly reservation agent that I was calling because I had seen an advertisement for a “New York to Paris roundtrip for $550.” His response:

“That’s right. Let me have a look. (clicking) I think that’s per sector. Hmmmm. (more clicking) Not really for a return flight, is it?” Nope. “Yeah, it’s $550 one-way based on a return basis. That’s what it says here.”

Here, being on their website. “But what about this ad you’re running?” I asked.

“It’s unfortunately not correct. I haven’t seen the ad myself. But it’s based on a return purchase.”

What to do?

We’re left wondering what to think. Was this a simple instance of clumsy wording? Had I misread the ad? Are there $550 roundtrips somehow available on the carrier (unbeknownst to their reservation agent)? Or worse, was this deliberate “truth-stretching”?

In any case, this Cheapo thinks that OpenSkies should stop running the ad.

Ironically, I think that their one-way $550 sale is actually quite interesting. They should simply inject their ad with accuracy by making one simple switch: “Special business class offers NYC Paris only $550 o/w”.

Granted, I probably wouldn’t have clicked. But at least I wouldn’t feel duped.

What do you think?

Do you find this ad misleading? Should we know better as consumers and just ignore “too good to be true” offers? Did we misunderstand the ad in the first place? Let us know in the comments section below!

Update: A final laugh

To top it all off (literally!), when we took this post live at 1 PM EST, a familiar advertisement ran at the top of the page…

The irony is soooo “2.0.”

Popularity: 7% [?]

In the spring of 2006, I was able to score some super-cheap tickets on Ryanair for a last-minute getaway to Barcelona from London, where I was living. It had been a great weekend, made possible by my low-cost flight. I booked a 6 PM flight in order to extend my holiday as long as possible, pushing off the reality of the next morning’s workday. As long as I was in Barcelona, I was on vacation!

The tickets were basically free—I only had to pay the airport tax. The catch? I had to fly into and out of two less-than-central airports, London’s Stansted and Barcelona’s Girona airport. It was worth it, right?

What follows is a diary of my flight experience en route from Barcelona to London.

4:30 PM: I arrive early at the airport for a 6 PM flight. We all know you have to get to the gate before the other passengers in order to snag the best seat.

5:00 PM: Shortly after check-in, an announcement is made. The flight has been delayed an hour.

Ok, some extra time to score a panini at Girona’s atmospheric café. (In the above photo, do I look like I’m ready for take-off?)

Tip: Stock up on food, just in case. Girona’s airport café closed at 9 p.m. I’m glad I grabbed a sandwich when I did. Others would not be so lucky.

7 PM: A second announcement. The flight has been delayed for another hour. All assembled groan and pull out iPods, books and approved electronic devices. One nearby traveler starts clipping his nails over a waste basket, violating all manner of social codes (are clippers even allowed on airplanes?).

8:15 PM: A third announcement. Drum roll, please: The flight has been delayed for another two hours. The announcer says, with a tinge of exhaustion in her voice, “We hope to leave by 11. Thank you for your patience.” The thought of work the next morning was beginning to make me vaguely nauseous.

Around 10 PM: Boredom sets in. All other flights have taken off. The airport feels empty, save the other poor souls flying to Stansted. With hardly anyone around, I attempt to fit myself, horizontally, into a row of seats in any way that could lead to sleep. I am not successful.

Above: Nothing happening under flourescent lights.

Tip: Bring back-up diversions. That could mean catching up on your trip journal, watching all the TV shows you earlier loaded up on your iPod, making progress on that novel, or even flipping through some celeb mags. In short, have something to do. I had packed “Madame Bovary,” which only helped put me to sleep.

11:30 PM: All other flights have left the Girona airport, and there’s still no sign of our airplane. The 20 Stansted-bound passengers are told we will not take off until after midnight. No excuse is given.

Tip: Make friends…if there are any out there. At some point after midnight, I found myself chatting with a couple from Los Angeles. A bottle of vodka became open. (Glad they took advantage of Duty Free when it was open…hours ago.) I pass up a shot (work seems ludicrously close), but others around happily partake. The mood lifts… and distorts.

1:30 AM: We take off, nine hours after my arrival at the airport.

Tip: Know when to go! Turns out there’s more than one good reason not to check any luggage on a budget flight. If you’re delayed, you could risk missing the last bus out of the arrival airport.

2:30 AM: We arrive at Stansted and immediately there’s a mad dash for the bus to London. And for good reason: The last one leaves the airport at 3 am (and sometimes earlier, depending on reasons I couldn’t quite understand). If you miss the last bus, you have to get a taxi, which can cost upwards of £60, or wait until 7 am when the buses start up again. I make the bus.

3:30 AM: I’m dropped off at Marble Arch on Oxford Street. What’s my name? Who am I? And how do I get a taxi? Work the next morning was, well, another story…

In the end, this experience didn’t deter me from flying on budget airlines. Over the next year, I’d often take cheap flights, including easyJet and Aer Lingus, for quick getaways. But I learned something about flexibility that long night in Girona.

Read another Cheapo’s tale of a long night in Stansted. Got a good airport story? Leave a comment or send us a note.

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