Booking Flights Within Europe
Nov 26th, 2010, 01:06 AM
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Booking Flights Within Europe
Hi!
I am currently living abroad in Dublin and am planning a few different trips throughout Europe. In March/April I am going down to Italy and Greece and am in the midst of looking for cheap flights.
What are the best websites to use? (So far I am using Ryan Air, Aer Lingus, Easy Jet, Sky Scanner).
When is the best time to book inter-Europe flights? (i.e. will I get a better deal if I wait until the month before or should I book now?).
Thanks for any tips!
Allie
I am currently living abroad in Dublin and am planning a few different trips throughout Europe. In March/April I am going down to Italy and Greece and am in the midst of looking for cheap flights.
What are the best websites to use? (So far I am using Ryan Air, Aer Lingus, Easy Jet, Sky Scanner).
When is the best time to book inter-Europe flights? (i.e. will I get a better deal if I wait until the month before or should I book now?).
Thanks for any tips!
Allie
Nov 26th, 2010, 01:21 AM
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Those are also the sites that I use.
I find that booking ahead is the cheapest. Generally its first come first serve - i.e. only a few seats are at the cheapest price, so the sooner you book the more likely you are to get those seats.
Ryanair sometimes has great seat sales, but I find they are never for hte dates I want (i.e. weekends) but keep your eye out for those as well.
I find that booking ahead is the cheapest. Generally its first come first serve - i.e. only a few seats are at the cheapest price, so the sooner you book the more likely you are to get those seats.
Ryanair sometimes has great seat sales, but I find they are never for hte dates I want (i.e. weekends) but keep your eye out for those as well.
Nov 26th, 2010, 04:07 AM
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1. As a general rule, the further ahead you book the better. This is virtually ALWAYS the case on low-cost carriers like Ryanair and Easyjet, where the chance of a late sale is, under normal circumstances, always lower than the likewlihood prices will start to drift up.
2. Whether current circumstances are normal in Ireland is highly unpredictable. But Ryanair are probably at least as likely to cancel flights with low bookings as to slash prices on them. Remember: Ryanair see wimpy management fads like "customer relations" as downright immoral, and stranding people just proof that you can't make an omelette without breaking a few (and always someone else's) eggs. Above all: don't assume a recession means permanently declining prices. Unsentimental businesses like Ryanair are just as likely to decide the right strategy is to make more money on fewer passengers
3. In the British Isles, a good way of seeing whether a third-party website is any use is to input a dummy trip to a popular destination like Pisa or Palma de Mallorca. If it doesn't show a Ryanair flight, there's a high chance it's useless (many third party sites exclude low-costs like Ryanair: excluding the world's biggest international carrier is a pretty good sign of ostrich-like insularity).
4. Non-British websites also often exclude charter operators, which can easily undercut both conventional airlines and low-cost operators. The easiest way to see who else operates from a British Isles airport is to go to the airport website. On tne Dublin one (www.dublinairport.com) , http://www.dublinairport.com/gns/fli...-airlines.aspx gives you a list on the interactive map: click on "tour operators" for a further list, though this currently shows only winter charters.
2. Whether current circumstances are normal in Ireland is highly unpredictable. But Ryanair are probably at least as likely to cancel flights with low bookings as to slash prices on them. Remember: Ryanair see wimpy management fads like "customer relations" as downright immoral, and stranding people just proof that you can't make an omelette without breaking a few (and always someone else's) eggs. Above all: don't assume a recession means permanently declining prices. Unsentimental businesses like Ryanair are just as likely to decide the right strategy is to make more money on fewer passengers
3. In the British Isles, a good way of seeing whether a third-party website is any use is to input a dummy trip to a popular destination like Pisa or Palma de Mallorca. If it doesn't show a Ryanair flight, there's a high chance it's useless (many third party sites exclude low-costs like Ryanair: excluding the world's biggest international carrier is a pretty good sign of ostrich-like insularity).
4. Non-British websites also often exclude charter operators, which can easily undercut both conventional airlines and low-cost operators. The easiest way to see who else operates from a British Isles airport is to go to the airport website. On tne Dublin one (www.dublinairport.com) , http://www.dublinairport.com/gns/fli...-airlines.aspx gives you a list on the interactive map: click on "tour operators" for a further list, though this currently shows only winter charters.
Nov 26th, 2010, 05:04 AM
#6
SkyScanner.net shows budget carriers, regular carriers, flights within and without Europe. That I know of, no airline is excluded. Some sites in the US such as Expedia and even itasoftware exclude budget carriers. Would YOU fly on the "world's largest international carrier" (which has apparently found every conceivable WW II airfield in Europe and persists in calling those destinations "close" to major cities)if it received such consistently poor service reviews as does Ryanair? If I had a choice I sure wouldn't.
Nov 26th, 2010, 08:48 AM
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<i>many third party sites exclude low-costs like Ryanair: excluding the world's biggest international carrier is a pretty good sign of ostrich-like insularity</i>
Actually, it is only a pretty good sign that Ryanair doesn't want 3rd parties selling their tickets, nor do they necessarily want to encourage comparison shopping. That Expedia and ITA, for example, don't show Ryanair is because Ryanair doesn't list their flights in GDS systems. Other travel websites are screen-scrapers, meaning they pull information from the individual airline/travel agent sites much as you would, and then aggregate the information (note that they can include Ryanair only with prior written consent). Both GDS-based systems and the screen-scrapers have their advantages and their disadvantages.
An extreme example of airline control over their distribution channels is Southwest. They carry more domestic passengers than any other airline and carry almost 60% more passengers than Ryanair. Yet, you can't see their flight prices on Kayak (they will show you the schedule). You also can't see the flights on SkyScanner (at least the American page) This, of course, is to prevent shoppers from comparison shopping and reduce distribution costs. They have fought in court to keep their flights off of 3rd party websites. Frankly, I'm surprised that Ryanair allows the screen-scrapers to link to their site.
There also remains the question of whether offering Ryanair flights benefits the website you go to. They all make their money by receiving a commission or some other compensation from the airlines themselves. I seriously doubt that Ryanair is overly generous with the compensation, such that it simply may be a business decision to not offer flights from some carriers.
As to the OP, SkyScanner or Kayak would be good aggregators to start with. I also use Wikipedia to find the destinations and carriers for an airport, both to find where I can get to readily, but also to find carriers that operate a route and then go to their website to book.
Actually, it is only a pretty good sign that Ryanair doesn't want 3rd parties selling their tickets, nor do they necessarily want to encourage comparison shopping. That Expedia and ITA, for example, don't show Ryanair is because Ryanair doesn't list their flights in GDS systems. Other travel websites are screen-scrapers, meaning they pull information from the individual airline/travel agent sites much as you would, and then aggregate the information (note that they can include Ryanair only with prior written consent). Both GDS-based systems and the screen-scrapers have their advantages and their disadvantages.
An extreme example of airline control over their distribution channels is Southwest. They carry more domestic passengers than any other airline and carry almost 60% more passengers than Ryanair. Yet, you can't see their flight prices on Kayak (they will show you the schedule). You also can't see the flights on SkyScanner (at least the American page) This, of course, is to prevent shoppers from comparison shopping and reduce distribution costs. They have fought in court to keep their flights off of 3rd party websites. Frankly, I'm surprised that Ryanair allows the screen-scrapers to link to their site.
There also remains the question of whether offering Ryanair flights benefits the website you go to. They all make their money by receiving a commission or some other compensation from the airlines themselves. I seriously doubt that Ryanair is overly generous with the compensation, such that it simply may be a business decision to not offer flights from some carriers.
As to the OP, SkyScanner or Kayak would be good aggregators to start with. I also use Wikipedia to find the destinations and carriers for an airport, both to find where I can get to readily, but also to find carriers that operate a route and then go to their website to book.
