rkkwan

Recently, I see a lot of threads in this forum with titles like "Will I make the connection?" Mostly about their tight connection between flights from N. America to the UK, and then from Stansted/Luton to Europe via Easyjet or Ryanair. Apparently, many people are attracted to the low fares on those budget airlines. However, before you book you should really think about the connection in London, if you're not planning to visit that city. It may not be the best idea. Here are some issues you need to think about:

1. The money you actually save. While some fares start from a few £, they don't apply to all flights. The one you're interested in may be £19.99, £28.99 or even higher, each way. Add the tax/fees of 10-15 GBP per leg, you're talking up to 80-90 GBP for a r/t. Remember 1£ = $1.85.

And then consider the cost of transfer. Heathrow to Stansted by coach is £18 o/w or £24 r/t. Gatwick to Stansted by the fastest train means Gatwick Express (£11 o/w) + a trip on the tube (£2.30 to Tottenham Hale) + Standsted Express (£14 o/w or £24 r/t); total over £50 r/t - that's $90!

2. Time. Give you some examples of transit times. Heathrow - Stansted is 90 minutes by coach (or 15 minutes on Heathrow EX, + switch to tube + 45 minutes on Stansted Express); Gatwick to Standsted is THREE HOURS by coach, or 30 minutes on Gatwick Express, switch to tube to Tottingham Hale + Stansted Express. Heathrow to Luton is 80 minutes by coach, Gatwick to Luton is 2.5 hours by coach, etc... The only direct rail link between London airports is the Thameslink train from Gatwick to Luton, which takes 90 minutes + shuttle bus to terminal. Add the time you need to get through immigration/customs, and the 40-minutes mandatory check-in time for Ryanair, and you're talking about 4-5 hours just for switching.

So, instead of arriving at your destination early in the morning on continental Europe, you're now arriving late in the afternoon, if not evening. Whole day wasted for your outbound journey. And on the way back, most flights leave London for N. America late morning or early afternoon. That means you cannot make the connection by leaving your European city that morning. Instead, you spend another half-day travelling back to London, and then spend a night near the airport.

3. Cancellation policy and refunds of the low-fares. Since you're on two tickets, if your first flight arrives late and you miss the connection, you need to buy another ticket. And there are some reports about the low-fares changing your schedule - again, buy a new ticket. So, all that savings can be gone with a thunderstorm in Chicago or Atlanta, for example. Plus, you'll be worrying about all your connection, how much time you have left, etc...

4. Other considerations... And some of the cheap flights being mentioned here to London on this board is via New York or Toronto only. So, for some people, it could mean the difference between a non-stop flight (like IAH-AMS or ATL-FCO), and one that has 3 legs plus a lengthy airport change in London.

Bottomline - Is it worth it?

rex

No doubt about it. When lemons are cheap, you really shouldn't make a lemon chiffon pie, unless you actually want a lemon chiffon pie. And you still have the cost of the eggs, the sugar, the flour.

But were you going to make some kind of pie anyway?

The best way to make use of Ryanair is to spend an enjoyable day or two in near proximity to one (or both) of the airports they fly to/from.

If you don't want that - - if it's macadamia nut cookies you really want, then buy the macadamia nuts, even if they cost twenty times more than the lemons on sale.

Best wishes,

Rex

Grasshopper

Good point. I made the longest day of the year (6/21) unbelievably long last summer by completing one of those cheap trips I strung together. I was in 5 airports that day and went through security 4 times! Not pleasant. The hardest part was the transfer from Gatwick to Heathrow. In hindsight, it wasn't worth the savings.

Marilyn

Another problem: The strict weight limits on carry on for these economy airlines (and for British Air as well) make them out of the question for my photo gear toting Phil Flash.

flanneruk

There's another argument, too, for rkkwan's point.

The cheapos have really terrified the majors. We often find flights to mainstream Europe on conventional airlines from Heathrow or Gatwick are just as cheap - occasionally cheaper - on BA, bmi or the old-fashioned Continental national carrier (like LH, AF or AZ) as the cheapo. And while Old Aviation never offers £1 fares, the £70 return Heathrow-Rome deals (£59 to Bari this week!) are such good value, it's plain silly to spend 3 or 4 hours on the M25 on the off chance you get there in time to catch the flight that's ten quid cheaper.

PLUS: most destinations over 100 minutes from London often offer even better value through 3rd country connections. We always find Austrian, KLM or Czech offer huge savings to Romania over BA or Tarom - and often KLM or LH offers savings to Italy. But they still start off from Heathrow.

So hats off to Easyjet and Ryanair for doing more than anyone else to improve BA and the rest of Old Aviation.