Low Cost airlines

http://www.easyjet.com http://www.vueling.com http://www.rynair.com A few things, they're only "low cost" when you book well in advance. The price goes up automatically as the plane fills up. They charge extra for things like extra baggage, priority boarding, water, peanuts, and even printing out your boarding pass for you, so read the fine print carefully. If you're late to the airport and don't make the strict cut-offs for boarding, your tickets will be worthless. Ryanir is notorious for using airports well away from city centers.

I have used Vueling, Tuifly and AirBerliner,, all were fine, I didn't fly on AirBerlin, hubby did( but I bought the ticket) and he said they were so strict on luggage weight that he saw a young fellow unpack stuff out of his bag and wear layers and layers of clothing to make the cut off( apparently did not want to pay the extra fees) With most low cost airlines they will give you the option to pay for a piece of luggage online ahead of time,, take it, its always cheaper then getting to the airport and finding your bag is over weight or dimensions, and they are pretty strict about it.

Michael meant www.ryanair.com. You can look at a list of which budget airlines cover which countries at www.whichbudget.com. I have flown EastJet and Ryanair, and have had no problem with their services. You do have to make sure that you carefully read their websites and understand their rules for luggage limits, check-in times, etc., or you could find yourself facing additional charges or a need to check a bag that is overweight.

If Steve was referring to "low cost airlines" in general, then yes, they can be very useful and a good, inexpensive option - as long as you know all the pitfalls (some of which were mentioned above) up front. There are many "discount" airlines. They all have a lot of potential gotchas that you need to be aware of. If Steve was referring to one specific airline that's purportedly named "Low Cost Airlines, Inc." (i.e. that's what's supposed to be painted on the planes) - like if somebody on ebay was offering to sell me a cheap ticket from Minneapolis to London on Low Cost Airlines Flight 001 - then, yeah, I'd be pretty suspicious, too.

There is an organization of low cost carriers, ELFAA, or European Low Fare Airline Association. Nine or ten members including EasyJet, RyanAir, Vueling, and Wizz. GermanWings, BerlinAir, and TuiFly are not members.

That is the strange thing.. It just says Low Cost and doesn't say which airline it is.. I don't trust it that is for sure..

Steve, where did you see this?

on edreams website Marseille to Madrid 7/29/2012 Steve

It appears that the edreams website is using that as a generic term, not the name of an airline. I searched similar flights through Kayak, Expedia, Cheapoair, and Travelocity and came up with flights ranging in cost from $82, fees and taxes included to $126 on airlines like Vueling, Spanair, and others in the "low cost" category. In my opinion, I would be more worried about the reputation of the website, since it doesn't appear that they go overboard in giving you details about the taxes and fees, or the details of what airline they are quoting you.

According to the search engine skyscanner.com, Ryanair is the only budget airline that flies non-stop between Marseille and Madrid. The fare (including taxes and fees) for 29 July is €45.99. However, be aware that Ryanair will charge you heavily if you exceed their luggage number, weight, or size limits. If you fly either Vueling or Spanair, you'll have to make a connection in Barcelona and the fare will be higher. Those airlines also have strict luggage number, weight, and size limits.

Two search engines for low cost EU airlines. www.skyscanner.net www.dohop.com