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-   -   Has anyone flown Blue Air airlines? (https://www.fodors.com/community/europe/has-anyone-flown-blue-air-airlines-668851/)

Sher Jan 9th, 2007 08:04 PM

Has anyone flown Blue Air airlines?
 
I am trying to help a friend with a flight from Paris(it isn't from Orly or CDG, but that will not matter to her) to Bucharest in August.

They will be visiting with friends in Paris and will join a cruise beginning in Bucharest.

I searched the low cost carriers and Blue Air actually has a good flight from Paris to Bucharest for E1(plus taxes and fees of course).

I know nothing about this airline and I am sure she doesn't either.

Any comments?

WillTravel Jan 9th, 2007 10:20 PM

Do they want a one-way flight, or do they want a return flight?

I phoned up the call centre to discuss one-way flights. You can buy them from the call centre, but not for the 1 Euro + tax rate. It's about 100 Euros more to buy a one-way ticket, so in that way they vary from the usual low-cost carriers.

I've asked them a couple questions by email, and they were quick to respond, and the call centre lady was very good too.

Sher Jan 10th, 2007 05:30 AM

WillTravel. They actually want only a one way flight. And I noticed that you can only book round trip on the Internet, which gives the least expensive flights.

I am going to suggest that they contact the call center. Even for E100, this is much less expensive then the other things I have been checking. Some of the rates on Kayak and ITA for the one way flights have been over E200 for the same flight.

So even if they pay E100, it seems like a bargain. They are also having a friend look into train travel for them, but with the distance I think they will be looking at that cost or more. Also, it is a long trip by train.

Thanks for your input. I am going to suggest they contact them by phone. She may call the French center since she is French and is starting from Paris.

lincasanova Jan 10th, 2007 05:43 AM

canīt you book round trip cheaper and not use the other half?

Sher Jan 10th, 2007 05:48 AM

Yes, they could book round trip and throw one portion away. I know people do it, but that is their call.
Unfortunately, this morning the lowest fare is not available anymore.
My suggestion was for them to call one of the call centers since WillTravel says they are so easy to deal with.
I also suggested flying into Bucharest at least one or two days ahead of time. I wouldn't want them to miss the cruise because of a missed connection.

Thanks.

WillTravel Jan 10th, 2007 07:19 AM

She could also fly from Brussels (actually Charleroi airport) or Cologne, if she doesn't want to leave from Paris. Beauvais airport is a long way outside Paris (although only an hour bus ride or so from Porte Maillot), so this might not be as ridiculous as it seems to use one of the other two I suggested.

What I meant was that if you go through the booking process to get the full price for a roundtrip ticket, you can see what the ticket price plus tax price is for each way. With the promo prices, on several routes, it works out to about 1 Euro fare + 54 Euros tax, each way. When you call the call centre for a one-way ticket, the total price is 154 Euros (in the case I was calling about it was Bucharest to Cologne).

She could also fly Wizz Air from London, if she wants to go to London first. A one-way ticket is readily available then.

Sher Jan 10th, 2007 03:20 PM

Hi WillTravel.
I did go through the whole booking process and buying two round trip airfares (even when one is only E1) turns out to be E260 total. That would be the total and she would only use the Paris-Bucharest part.

Her trip with her friend starts in Paris and she is spending several days there, or maybe even a week or more. So I don't think she would want to go from any other country. She says going from Beauvais is no big deal.

The E1 fares outbound are gone. That makes the total price more. It is now E32. So you see it adds at least E60 on to that cost. So a E200 round trip yesterday is E260 today and if the return E1 fares disappear, she will be looking at over E300. This is for both of course and round trip. At this rate, one way tickets are going to be cheaper.

On ITA software, the least expensive one way they are posting is E247 per person.

Well, I did the best I could.

Suzanna Jan 12th, 2007 05:59 PM

Hi Sher:

I am new to this forum and when I did a search on car rental from Economy Car Rentals in Portugal, your post came up regarding your planned rental from them. What was your experience with them, would you recommend them?

Thanks for your help.

Sher Jan 12th, 2007 07:22 PM

Suzanna. Unfortunately, I was unable to use them. But at least two people that I know of have used them and have been very satisfied.

I am sorry I cannot give them my own recommendation.

I can say that they are quick to answer questions by email and I even called them.

They are a broker, you realize, and will place you with a car company such as Thrifty or Auto Jardim (which is a Portugese company).

Good luck and let me know how they were.

Suzanna Jan 13th, 2007 09:33 AM

Thank you for the quick answer. I am comparing them against CarJet for a trip in May. I will post a reply after I come back.

Can you be notified when a reply is addressed to you?

Sher Jan 13th, 2007 12:58 PM

Suzanna. I think you can pick that option when you register, but you need to check.

I used Carjet and found them very good. The only thing is the coverage is much better with Economy. Well, I wouldn't be able to say it is better, but it is more reasonable be that it is included in the cost and not an extra expense.


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