Hey there you veteran Europe-ophiles,
Until coming to Fodors to plan our London/Paris trip I had never heard of either of these airlines. And never even considered flying between London and Paris... would have previously always taken the train. But this time money and time are a consideration, since we're bringing along a set of parents and my toddler. Then again, train travel is so charming and sometimes easier because you don't have to check in 2 hours early and wait in an airport, etc.

Each approach has pros and cons and at this particular moment in time I'm leaning towards flying rather than taking the chunnel. (Ask me tomorrow I may have a new thought about this.)

But, my question is, of the two, are they about the equivalent in terms of safety, service, carryon rules, etc? I did notice that easyjet had some extremely low fares, like 30EU per person, which seems so amazingly low I can't pass it up. Then again, sometimes you get what you pay for. Does one have really dirty old planes held together with duct tape? (Just kidding here... just wondering if there's a hitch with those low fares.)

thanks for all the great info available here.

~kat

Both have excellent safety records.

BMI is a well-established international carrier that just happens to have some cheap routes.

EasyJet is a Europe-only airline that is no-frills all the way.

The main drawback of EasyJet for the London-Paris route is that it flies out of Luton, which I think is a little more difficult to get in and out of than Heathrow (but ask me after this summer when I try both of these out and can compare).

You'd have to check the carry-on rules. I suspect BMI's are a little less stringent.

I think BMI has free drinks, and EasyJet does not.

Will, thanks again. Your advice on previous posts is one of main reasons I checked these guys out and I couldn't believe how great the prices were! It's hard to pass up since the chunnel is so expensive.

Now, do you know, with those flights do you need to be there 2 hours in advance and go through customs and all that? That might be the only drawback I can see... making it essentially a longer travel time than the chunnel which puts you right into Paris.

~kat

Yes, you do have to be there at the airport 2 hours earlier. Anything less is cutting things too close for comfort (in my opinion).

You are supposed to be there at least 1/2 hour prior for the Eurostar.

If you do buy the plane tickets online, make sure everyone's name is exactly correct.

For Easyjet flights out of Luton Airport 1.25 hours if plenty of time. Of course if you are taking the Thameslink train you should allow a little extra time. I fly Easyjet about 20 times a year. IMHO, there is little difference between flying out of Heathrow or Luton. Sure there is either Heathrow express or tube to Heathrow but check-in times are longer and the airport much bigger so it pretty much negates any advantage over tube+Thameslink or bus to Luton.

By British standards, bmi has a poor safety record.

That is to say, it had one crash in 1989. Since then, to the best of my memory, no British-registered, passenger-carrying, scheduled flight has had a fatal accident or been the subject of a 'successful' terrorist attack. So EasyJet - which is a relatively new airline - currently enjoys a perfect safety record. Touch wood.

In other words, as in any civilised country, you can take safety as a given for any airline. For 40 mins flying time, you'd have to be potty to care about service or the quality of the seat upholstery. But both are OK, though part of Easyjet's often lower prices comes from the absence of seat allocation, catering etc.

If time is a consideration, and you're travelling from central London to central Paris, no plane can make sense. If you're connecting from an intercontinental hub, EasyJet doesn't fly to Paris from Heathrow, Gatwick or Stansted.

City centre to city centre, planes make sense only to save money. Easyjet isn't necessarily the cheapest on every flight (even BA and Air France can undercut them), and getting to Luton might actually be quicker than getting to Heathrow or Gatwick, depending where you're starting from. And while Luton's basic, Heathrow does have the odd drawback too (like 60 million other passengers and London's worst punctuality record)

There's no general rule. Just work out what works for you. And don't waste too much energy on the problem: all the airlines, and Eurostar, will get you there in roughly the same time, with roughly the same reliability.

BMI allow seat reservations, Easy Jet do not as far as I am aware. Both reasonable quality cheap and cheerful. No free food, but most flights are max around 2 hours or so within Europe if you can't not eat for 2 hours then its a shame. BMI and easy jet fly from many airports and not just London so us western and welsh people can go to Cardiff or Bristol Airports for many flights.
One point to remember with Easy Jet is that the fist 50 or so to check in get the first 50 or boarding numbers these numbers are the first called through to the plane therefore choice of seats is easy then, but if you check in late don't expect to sit with you travel companion.They also shut the gate 40 mins before take off and you will not be allowed to board after this time.


Muck

Hi, not that I've flown between London and Paris myself -- but do factor in the costs of getting to Luton as well. A bus service can be around 15-20 pounds per person, and that's a nonnegligible part of your costs. When I was considering using some of these low-cost airlines myself, I frequently would end up thinking that the money spent was not necessarily worth the additional time needed.

Flying absolutely is not going to save you any time. If you count the time spent getting to the airport, checking-in, waiting, flying, claiming baggage and getting into the city. That very short flight to Paris becomes a 3+++ hour endeavor, compared to the 2 hrs 15 minutes from Waterloo to Gare du Nord. And with the airport transit costs, are the savings that big over Eurostar?

Just to correct a couple of Mucky's points.

Easyjet is no frills, BMI is not - BMI is the same standard as you would expect from, say, BA. You get food (albeit a sandwich on such a short flight) and free drinks, including alcohol. You also get seat allocations, which may be a deciding factor if you have a large party of people plus children. However, even on Easyjet if you have children they let you board first.

I would always fly with BMI over Easyjet, but then that's because I find Heathrow much more convenient for my location. And the staff are very nice.

And the sandwiches are actually quite good.

Sorry Kate I shouldn't have assumed everyone would know I meant BMI baby, which IS a no frills carrier arm of BMI and is NOT like BA. Of course children go on first providing they are under around 5 or 6 generally is that not the same as all airlines, I am of course talking about Mr businessman and Mr and Mrs Average. Who Will be in the first 50 if they check in first.

Muck

BMI is very rigid about baggage allowance (just as strict at Easyjet). They will charge you if your bags are even just over the limit. They also make you go to another counter to pay, rather than pay where you check-in.

They also do not permit you to check-in more than 2 hours before your flight. This can be annoying if you have a lot of time to kill while transferring flights, and have a lot of luggage. This 2-hour limit is not mentioned anywhere on the tickets, or in any correspondance I received from BMI.

I fly BMI about once a month, and I would classify it as a budget airline with false aspirations. Aside from seat assignments, it has nothing over easyjet and ryanair.

I missed the note about BMI baby. I have not flown BMI baby. All of my comments are for the grown-up BMI. I shudder at the thought of flying a lower-budget BMI. I only fly BMI so I can earn United miles.