With trying to plan a fall trip to my beloved Italia, I have become frustrated with the high fares I'm seeing. Has anyone actually booked a roundtrip on one airline t/f the US to London and then hopped over to Stansted airport and taken Ryan Air somewhere in the EU. How did it work out?

We did the same thing to Edinburgh, then Paris, then Rome on our honeymoon. We used Easyjet and it was great. Way cheaper and very convenient. Just watch the cost of transportation to and from the airport. Low cost airlines tend to be in airports that are farther out of the city.

The small airports can often be very straightforward and easy compared to the huge ones most American tourists see. I have taken two Ryanair flights last year. I left at least an overnight in London on each side of the trip, because of the slight risk of something going wrong. I saved at least $500 Canadian x 2 and I got to incorporate London into a Scandinavian trip.

Was amazed at how many EasyJets were at the Nice airport last week. I hadn't considered them before but their prices look very good!

I like your title, buongiorno, catchy! Now there's a good idea, isn't it? Hmmm, -go to Stanstead and hop on a low-cost to somewhere else. One could presumably save a great deal by doing this.....thanks for that!

You should also look into flying BA out of London to Italy. Depending on your destination, you may not have to change airports, as many BA flights go out of Heathrow and some out of Gatwick. BA is very competitive on inter-European flights and it will save you the transfer and possibly hotel costs in London. Besides BA usually has about 10 flights per day to each destination, so there is always a good back up in case something goes wrong.

For good idea on USA-London fares try <b>www.1800flyeurope.com

www.britishairways.com</b> and choose UK as the country of residence. That way you will be able to look up flights from London to ?????

<b>www.whichbudget.com</b> will give you a good idea of which budget airline flies from/to.

Have fun planning!

Also BMI from Heathrow to either Venice or Milan. The flights are not too badly priced.

You might also want to consider flying into Paris and taking Volare to Rome from Paris Orly.

See www.volareweb.com

I did that in Feb and it was great! I flew from Stansted to Rome for 38 GBP RT. The key to getting the cheap fares is to book well in advance. The prices generally increase as you get closer to the actual date you wish to leave. Also, travel light. They will penalize you for excessive baggage weight.

In fact, this is really the only way I will do Europe from now on. I will fly to London so I can get my London fix and then use London as a jumping off point for the rest of EU.

I flew Ryanair to Sweden, and they were just fine.

Be aware of their luggage provisions, though! It could be very costly otherwise.

I've flown Standstead to Rome and then from Venice back and its like flying Southwest here. They do fly in and out of smaller airports but I didn't have a problem with that. You do need to keep in mind the additional cost of getting to the other airport to see if its truly cost savings. Sometimes its cheaper to stick with one of the major carriers into the bigger airports becuase transport will be cheaper. One thing to note, is that if you miss your flight (as I did) they charge you 40GBP per person to rebook on the next one if its available. I still came out ahead even with the cost of the Standstead express train and the missed flight fee by at least $400-$500.

Just did that last year. Family of four from Stansted to Pisa round trip $58.00 each. The Stansted Express was more expensive than the flight. We were very pleased with Ryan Air.

Ryanair....Oh, it is a love-hate relationship.. I love it because, yes, last time I got 10 euro round-trip ticket Brussels-Milan, it is clean, it is comfortable and it is always on time...

I hate it, oh, let me count the ways:

- always flies off some remote airport (that is how they can afford those low-priced tickets; they pay lesser fees than at major airports), sometimes nowhere near the city they feature as actual destination (so count on up to an hour's trip to wherever you think you are landing). And, yes, count the money for getting there and back...

- you cannot change the tickets! Nowadays they changed that, you can alter your itinerary, but...An itinerary on a round trip Brussels-Pisa, that cost 40 euro, was changed with a penalty fee of 200 euro...So, go figure..I could've flown from Zaventem instead of Charleroi and, on some airlines, even gotten a biz-class ticket.

- you better (!) show up an hour in advance, cuz they will close the counter 45 min prior to flight and have been known to close earlier without notice, which brings me to...

- overselling tickets... They swear they don't, but..How come one time 20 people, including myself, were stranded after not making that 45 minute cut-off, only to be told there are only 2 seats available on the plane, for an extra charge stated above.

- seats are not numerated, and I do not understand why...I mean, they go through the trouble of printing the boarding passes and all- how hard can it be?! So, be prepared for a mad-dash by large crowd of fellow-passangers to get the seat you normally would want.

- you are allowed 1 piece of luggage that cannot be more than 25 kilos, or you pay! To the tune of 6 or 8 euros (I forget) per extra kilo. This works for the Europeans going over-weekend, but Americans coming on a 3 week vacation, with the necessary luggage for that kind of stay, get hosed...So, pack light..

If none of this changes your mind, by all means, fly away...Caveat Emptor...

PS. Ira is right..If going to Italy, also check out Volare..BMI is good too from UK.

Yes, it bears repeating, but check BMI, BA, and the other carriers also. With time spent getting to the other airports (and money, presumably -- tube is always avilable for Heathrow), the other bigger carriers can be just as competitive. I flew from Amsterdam to London one-way for about 85 Euros, and I flew Olympic from London to Athens for about $170 (one-way). Not great fares, of course, but not outrageous either. If flying to London is cheap enough, it's worth considering, but you'll have to spend a lot of time researching prices and flight schedules.

We are doing just that next week, flying into Gatwick, changing to EasyJet (at Gatwick, not sure why everyone mentions Stanstead - this is so much easier) to go to Amsterdam. On return, flying Nice-Gatwick on EasyJet, staying over one night, flying home from Gatwick.

I agree with the last post one of the best ways to work these itineraries is into gatwick from the US (I think Continental Delta and Perhaps American fly into Gatwick) and then out of Gatwick on a cheap flight with EasyJet.

However, while this is a great connection Easyjet fly to fewer destinations from Gatwick than are available from Stansted.

True about the destinations from Gatwick. We are flying American into Gatwick (which means a change of planes in Dallas). We knew where we were going on the continent (into Amsterdam and back from Nice) and so were able to make our connections work using Gatwick.

As an aside, we have flown EasyJet before (Gatwick to Mallorca, Barcelona to Gatwick) with never a problem. You do have to be aware of luggage weight restrictions, however, which are quite a bit lower than the international airlines.

Regarding the weight allowances, note that RyanAir's 15 kilos allowance is quite a bit less than EasyJet's 20 kilos allowance.

&quot;The key to getting the cheap fares is to book well in advance. The prices generally increase as you get closer to the actual date you wish to leave.&quot;
Not always true. In January fllew from Brussels to Dublin. 4 of us 4.99 euros plus tax for $80. total. boked 2 monthes ahead, went 1 cent 2 weeks later.

Wow! It is 15 kg, isn't it (just checked)! I stand corrected, though I have gotten away with more, in the past..

Like 25 kg is not bad enough, this is just ample weight allowance for a bathing suit and slippers.. practically..