Has anyone had any experiences with either airline? We are looking at flying from Munich to London on either of these but I didn't know if it would be worth it. Also, they fly into Stansted. Where exactly is this airport in relation to downtown London? We've only flown into Gatwick so I'm not familiar with it.
Thanks!
We've flown both airlines with no problem but we flew Air Berlin most recently from Dusseldorf to Berlin. It was a great flight. EasyJet might be more strict about luggage size.
Stansted is a nice, small airport and the National Express bus takes you to Victoria Station (about 1.5 hour trip) where you can take the Gatwick Express train.
Here' is the website for airport info: http://www.stanstedairport.com/
I love EasyJet! I have flown with them and found their staff to be friendly, the plane clean, and the flight on time. No problems at all. And yes, the National Express can take you right into London from Stansted. If you want to buy tickets in advance, their website is www.nationalexpress.com.
Stansted is northeast of London and is the farthest airport from the city. There are cheaper ways to get to London from Stansted than taking a National Express coach. For all your choices, go here and/or here.
Hi Karen,
Are you flying home from Gatwick or staying in London? When we flew into Stansted we planned our trip so the we spent the last night of our trip in London near Victoria Station. We were able to go to the British Museum and do a few things in London before departing for Atlanta the next day--we took the Gatwick Express to the airport.
Sharon - We will actually stay in London for 5 or 6 days before flying home. The only reason we have been into Gatwick was because we flew BA and they only fly into Gatwick from Atlanta.
What hotel did you stay in near Victoria Station?
Hi Karen,
We stayed at the Cartref House on Ebury Street--an easy walk to/from Victoria Station. We loved the neighborhood. Cartref House-London
Hi Karen,
No experience with Easy Jet, but my European friends always urge us to book with AIr Berlin whenever possible. Our first trip with AB is booked right now so will let you know how it goes. Also, if you don't mind a connection, you could look at Germanwings. We flew this airline several times last year and were very happy. You may also want to look at www.airlineequality.com for airline ratings and some definite opinions on each of those airlines. Stansted was a great airport to fly into. The transition through immigration was easy and we were out the door very quickly. (Just a tip, make sure to read the signs when going through immigration. We followed the masses off our flight without thinking and quickly realized we had to go through the non-EU line instead.)
Just flew easyjet last week from Gatwick to Prague and had absolutely no problems. We had a very early flight so stayed that night at a hotel next to Gatwick which was very convenient. I would definitely recommend them. I would plan to go ahead and pre-pay for luggage as you pretty much have to check in everything but stll worth it.
I've flown with both, Easy jet many times, and this summer Berlin - Zurich with Air Berlin. I love Easy jet they are amazing, I also found Air Berlin quite good as well. I would just book which ever is cheaper. Also both have weight limits of 20kg, but easy jet has no weight restriction on hand luggage, so as long as it fits the size and you can lift it you can carry on as much as you like.
If you go to the easy jet website, they have a tab that says to/from the airport. They will give you a link to easy bus a shuttle that easy jet runs from Stanstead to central London. You don't really have to buy the tickets in advance but it does guarentee your seat and is often cheaper if you pre pay online.
I flew Air Berlin twice in the last month, great airline!
We flew Air Berlin a couple weeks ago. I was expecting a "southwest" type of experience, not sure why. I was very impressed with them. The airplane appeared new, nice leather seats, even seemed better than our international flight with United! As you enter the plane they offer you free newspapers and magazines. We had a good laugh over our selection with included Playboy magazine!
We bought 20 of those bargain fare tickets on Air Berlin's website for travel from Paris Orly to Munich in June 2009. They worked beautifully. Check in was a breeze, nice plane, orderly boarding and on-time PLUS a free snack. All for about 25 Euro per person. The flight was about 1.5 hours as compared to a 7 hour train ride. Air Berlin was wonderful.
