How to Get Cheap Flights to Destinations in Europe

Heavy competition in the airline industry has driven fares down to almost nothing (no tax, no airport fee). You can score tickets as cheap as 1 euro or 1 pound. I don’t remember when many of friends started asking me for advice to find cheap flight tickets to destinations in Europe, and I did. This article condenses all my researches, tips and two-cent I gave people over the years so they can get the most out of their money.

1. Subscribe to promotion emails from low-cost airlines to instantly know about their sales. Some of these promotions often end quickly.
2. Book in advance, at least 2 or 3 months, especially for flights between popular and non-hub destinations. Sometimes you can still get almost the same low fares buying tickets only 2 or 3 weeks ahead, but this usually works for flights departing from/to major destinations or flight hubs that operate more flights.
3. Buy point-to-point tickets if you can be flexible with time especially for flights to/from a non-hub destination. For example, instead of flying directly from city A to C. You fly from A to B and from B to C where B is a hub destination. The price for flying direct with major airlines can be more than double. This was one of my travel routine when I wasn’t hurried to get somewhere. While Prague is a popular destination in Europe with my flights coming in and out, it is not on the same level of hub cities like London, Brussels, or Frankfurt where there are more low-cost flights. The prices for two tickets plus other expenses incurred while waiting for the next flight can be cheaper than a direct ticket. For example, my most common routes are Prague-Brussels/Charleroi-destination. This is also a good option if you want to check out another city during your trip.
4. Pack light and say no to check-in luggage unless you plan to go on a huge shopping spree at your destination. All low-cost airline imposes a fee for check-in luggage, and some even charge for carry-on that use to be free of charge. The fee for a check-in luggage can vary from carriers to carriers, 15 EUR for Ryanair. Paying at the spot is 35 EUR (Ryanair). I’ve always traveled with “one” carry-on (backpack or luggage that can fit into a luggage-size check). A standard size is 55x40x20 cm and 10kg max (6 kg in some, no limit with easyJet). Your 40, 45-liter backpack or a regular roll-on should not have any problem to fit in if not overstuffed. Pay attention to the new horizontal luggage-check container which used by more airlines these days. What fits comfortably into a vertical box might not fit in the horizontal one because the vertical system allows the length to exceed 55 cm as there is no cover on the top while the horizontal system restricts the length to exact 55 cm. Please check the website of your carriers for the specific sizes.
5. Pack 1 carry-on though you can bring as many as you wish, just make sure that they are all bound/packed as one. (See above for size). Low-cost airlines (especially Ryanair), due to high competition and saving on operational cost, are getting stricter in enforcing their 1-free-carry-on policy. At Brussel-Charleroi, you can’t get into the luggage/passport control area if you have more than one item (including your camera bag). I saw people with two small bags are stopped while those with one bigger luggage are let through. Paying at the register for a piece of check-in luggage will cost more than if you have booked it while buying the ticket.
6. Opt out of extra, non-necessary services to avoid additional fees. Do you really want to board the plane a few minutes before everybody else and pay an extra 8 euro for a priority boarding pass? Are you that bad at time management that you need an SMS reminder for another 1 euro more? Search and buy travel insurance elsewhere for a fraction of the cost. As for cancellation fee, I’ll be honest. I missed 3 flights due to an airline’s bankruptcy. I canceled a few more because of work. But it probably won’t often happen to you, so you don’t need to pay for a cancellation fee. If the airline cancels the flights, they will put you on another the flight for free or return the money.
7. Payment/card processing fee: It’s difficult to avoid this fee. Most airlines charge about 5 euros or more for payment with credit cards. Wizzair lowers it down to 2.5 euros if you pay via direct banking which is free of charge in Europe. (Sorry to American tourists.) You can avoid the payment fee if you have one of the cards eligible for a free transaction from the airlines e.g. Visa Electron, Prepaid Mastercard, etc. Different airlines have different requirements. Most of the time I pay these fees because I’m either ineligible to apply for these cards, or it’s too much of a hassle to get these cards. The last option which I used successfully many times with Sky Europe (already bankrupted) is buying a travel voucher. You don’t pay processing fee if you pay with a voucher. Sky Europe let you use multiple vouchers for one booking (good to use up the remaining balance on one voucher with a new one). Ryanair does not. You can use your voucher once. You will waste whichever balance you might have left on your voucher after paying for the flight. Imagine when you book a return point-to-point tickets for 2 people (Prague-Brussels-Riga), You will save 40 euros if you are eligible for the free payment option.

Low Cost Airlines Europe

Home base: Home city/country of the airlines. That means there are more flights and destinations to/from this city/country.

– BmiBaby: Home base UK. Fly to Czech, Denmark, France, Greece, Netherlands, Scotland, Spain, Switzerland.
– Click4Sky: Home base (Prague, Czech). Low-cost child of Czech National Airlines, CSA.
– Clickair: Home base (Barcelona, Spain). Fly to Czech Rep., France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Switzerland.
– EasyJet: Home base (London, UK). Fly to Czech, France, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Scotland, Spain, Switzerland, and many more.
– FlyBaboo: Home base (Geneva, Switzerland). Fly to Czech Rep., France, Italy, Spain.
– Germanwings: Home base (Cologne/Bonn, Germany). Fly to Austria, Czech Republic, England, France, Hungary, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, and Turkey.
– Jet4you: Home base (Spain). Fly to cities in Northern Africa.
– Jetairfly: Home base (Brussels, Belgium). Fly to many destinations in Central America and Caribbeans.
– Ryanair: Home base (Dublin, Ireland). Other bases (Brussels-Charleroi, Belgium, Frankfurt-Hahn, Germany). Fly to many destinations.
– Smartwings: Home base (Prague, Czech). Fly to Denmark, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, UAE.

Search engines to track Europe cheap flights

– Whichbudget: Not an airline but a website where you can check for available airlines (low-cost included) between your destinations. I like the interface because I don’t have to choose both destinations. Usually, I choose a destination and check to see airlines from and to this city.
– Skyscanner.net: Not an airline but a website which displays fares for a one year period between two destinations. From here you can filter out the months for cheapest fares.

– Kayak.com: good search engine but not very optimized for European flights because it usually searches from major carriers and excludes above budget carriers.
– Monmondo.com: similar to Kayak. I started using this website more often. Always got the best deals for international flights between Europe and the US.

Know of any good tips. Please leave them in the comment area or send me an email.