fall06

I've never flown from central London to central Berlin but will need to do so in a few weeks.

I'd like to leave on Wednesday evening, and my choices on Easy Jet are a 19:55 flight from Gatwick (arr 22:45) or an 18:50 from Luton (arr 21:35). Ryan Air has an 18:35 from Stansted (arr 21:20).

My questions are:

(1) Are both airlines equally reliable? (I must get to Berlin that night.)

(2) Which has the best transfer from central London to the airport?

(3) If I am above weight on my luggage, do I just pay an extra fee at check-in?

(4) How long will it take to get to my hotel in Berlin (probably Mitte area). Will I find any place open for a bite to eat at that hour?

Thanks so much for your help.

Dukey

Cannot speak for Ryanair but for Easyjet they will charge you for any excess weight at check-in. Friends of mine had to do this for an ATH-LGW flight last year. What's worse..they had to go to someother part of the terminal to actually pay the money..but it was their own fault as we warned them about the weight restrictions but they refused to listen.

I wasn't aware that either one had a transfer from central London other than what is normally availabe: National Rail or the coach services.

Cannot help you with Mitte-specific info as I usually stay elsewhere.

In my own experience, Berlin tends to be a late night sort of place. Are you planning to take a taxi from the airport?

fall06

Dukey,

Thanks. I was figuring on a taxi from the Berlin airport at that hour.

Can you give me some idea of when should I leave London to make those flights at that time of day? When I used the word "transfer" I meant to cover all possibilities: Should I take a train? A coach? I've never done this before.

The weight restrictions are worrisome. I will be traveling in Europe for two weeks. Should I look for a regular carrier?

Thanks again!

JoeTro

I have flown and liked both. Check the websites for info about how to get from the Berlin airport to the city center. RyanAir has information on this for all cities to which they fly. I'd guess that both Easyjet and Ryanair use the same airport, so the tranfer would be the same. Sometimes Rynair has their own shuttle to the city center; not sure if this is true for Berlin. I think you can take the S-Bahn?

JoeTro

There are trains to Gatwick and Stansted from London. I can't recall about Luton as I've never been there from London itself. However, I think it's more out of the way than Gatwick or Stansted. Check out Gatwick Express and Stansted Express.

Since you will be gone for two weeks, I'd guess that you'll be over weight. Check out opodo.co.uk for European airlines like BA or Luftansa. Maybe AirBeriln will work as well? I'm not sure what their baggage limits are.

LJ

Ryanair (out of Stansted) is very reliable .

You can easily go to Stansted by train from central London.Leave at least 2 1/2-3 hours lead time for your flight . Do check ahead to synchronize train times so you don't get nervous.

You will pay if you are above weight and you will need extra time and money if this is the case. (Part of the low fares are trying to keep weight down and I don't know how the recent no carry-on policy will have impacted these discount airlines. See the website-they keep it up-to-date.

Others are better on the Berlin end for info.

Good luck!

fall06

Thanks for the all the responses. Air Berlin has the same weight restrictions, so I'm going to experiment over the next few days to see what 20kg of luggage looks like in the bag I intend to carry. Maybe I can do it!

Having to leave Central London 3 hours before the flight is the real kick in the head.

One more question:

Is it highly recommended that I book these flights in advance for a midweek afternoon/evening flight, or do most people just show up to buy a ticket at the counter?

JoeTro

Please, please, please book in advance. You'll get the best rates that way!

alanRow

< do most people just show up to buy a ticket at the counter? >

Most people book several MONTHS in advance. If you buy on the day you'll probably pay more than with a "regular" airline. Many of the low cost carriers only allow on-line or phone bookings so you can't "just turn up"

BTW do check the "regular" airlines from Heathrow & Gatwick as their prices can be very competitive especially at short notice

As for your original question, the easiest to get to is Gatwick via a Southern Trains - em - train from Victoria or a First Capital Direct train from several stations in London.

The cheapest is to go to Luton Airport with Easybus from Baker Street.

All the low cost airlines will charge for excess baggage, though with the current security problems most are allowing you to be slightly over on your hold luggage IF you don't have much hand luggage

PatrickLondon

Ryanair and Easyjet fly to Berlin Schönefeld, which was the East Berlin/DDR airport and further away from the centre. The S-Bahn takes nearly an hour to get to central Berlin, but there are regional trains taking about half an hour: last trains around 11pm. Air Berlin flies to Tegel, which is more central, in what was West Berlin; there is no direct train connection but express buses, taking 15 minutes to Zoo station or 25-30 minutes to Alexanderplatz.

Micheline

Try kayak.com. I found some very good fares on BA from London for my trip. They allow 23kg. I am using Ryan Air for my return so I can only bring 20 kg.

fall06

Thank you for all this precise info!

I really do want the close-in airport, and I will book as far in advance as possible.

Is Ryan Air 15kg or 20kg?

If I can grab one of the cheaper BA flights (thanks Micheline!) I certainly will, but the cheap one is on the early side.

Does anybody have any feeling about whether the Stansted Express is better than the coach to Stanstead? If train is more reliable, does it makes sense to have a hotel near Liverpool station? I'm thinking I will stow my bags at the hotel during the day, then pick them up on my way to catch my flight. If so, any recommendations for a hotel in Holborn?

(The alternative is to stay near Marble Arch and catch the coach.)

Thanks again for all this help!

JoeTro

I'd say the train, just because you can't be sure what traffic will be like via the coach ... of course there could be train issues too!

Dukey

I would be surprised if you found fares on Opodo that match those on Ryanair or Easyjet IF you book now.

Why wait? The longer you wait, the more expensive the fares will be.

alanRow

< I would be surprised if you found fares on Opodo that match those on Ryanair or Easyjet IF you book now. >

Ryanair 24th Sep - 2nd October : 98.61 GBP return
BA 24th Sep - 2nd October : 93.90 GBP return

fall06

Thank you, JoeTro. That was my instinct but I'm glad to have you confirmation.

Believe me, I would book this flight immediately were it not for a business associate needing a few days to clear his calendar. But I feel in a much better position now to move immediately when the light is green.

Thanks again for all your help!

W9London

BA running sales for several destinations including Berlin for Nov 1-30 Apr, GBP39 one-way. departure from Heathrow to Tegel. If you're flying in a few weeks time, your fare may be higher.

Out of London, Luton is the furtherst away, you get there via coach. Stanstead is about 45 min by train from Liverpool St Stn. Gatwick is 30 min by train from Victoria.

Agree with PatrickLondon that Tegel is much closer than Schoenfield. AirBerlin from Stanstead to Tegel may be more efficient in terms of transfer to/from airports, if the flight schedule works.

fall06

Thanks, w9London. Even though the BA supersales are not in my window, the fares are still competitive (within a pound) with what Air Berlin is offering.

We still haven't booked, and in terms of efficiency, it's a toss up. I'm figuring that we will need to get to the airport sooner if we choose Heathrow because security and logistics. On the other hand, if we chosse Stansted, we will have to add time getting to Liverpool station.

In any event, I really apprecaite everyone's help. We will book in the next 24 hours and live with whatever our decision is.

Carolina

Air Berlin is the most reliable of the budget airlines.

fall06

More reliable than British Airways?