1.
Card fees
EasyJet:
charge around £5.25 | $7.10 | €6.20
per person, per flight when you use a debit
or credit card to book (they also add a 2.5%
credit card loading charge too). If you have
a Visa Electron card, however, you won't have
to pay this fee.
Ryanair:
impose a £5 | $7.10 | €5.60 'administration
fee', payable by anybody using a debit or credit
card to book online. The charge applies both
ways, so it'll add £10 | $16.45 | €11.20
per person to the cost of your flights. They
don't charge if you are using a MasterCard pre-paid
charge card.
Flybe:
charge £4.50 | $7.40 | €5 to pay
on plastic unless you're using a Visa Electron
card, and it'll be £5 | €5.60 | $8.20per
person, per flight if you're using a credit
card.
Aer
Lingus: charge £5 | $8.20 | €5.60
per person, per flight for using any credit
or debit card except Visa Electron.
|
money.co.uk
tip: Get
a prepaid card so that you can avoid costly
transaction charges. These work like debit
cards but aren't linked to your bank account;
instead you top them up with the credit
you need to make your purchase. Check
which type of prepaid card the airline
that you plan to travel with lets you
use to book fee free & apply for your
card online.
Make
sure that you choose your prepaid card
carefully as many apply costly transaction
charges and top up fees. Doing so will
mean you save a significant amount by
avoiding airline booking fees.
|
2.
Check-in fees
Jet2:
will charge £6 | $9.90 | €6.70
for you just to check in at the airport, although
this drops to £2 | $3.30 | €2.25
if you do it online.
Ryanair:
offers free online check-in on some flights,
and charge a small sum on others. If you check
in online and forget to bring your printed boarding
pass, expect to pay £40 | $65 | €45
per person per way.
| money.co.uk
tip: Check-in
online. Some budget airlines like bmi baby
and the Eastern European Whizz Air don't
charge at all for online check-in. Just
remember to print out the proof! |
3.
Seat reservation Fees
Jet2:
charge a seating fee of £4 | $6.60 | €4.50
per person, and this doesn't even guarantee
you seats in the same area as your travel companions.
Flybe:
charge a seat reservation fee of £6 | $9.90
| €6.70 per flight or £15 | $24.70
| €16.90 for a more spacious emergency
exit seat.
EasyJet:
charge around £7.25 | $11.90 | €8.15
for various types of "Speedy Boarding" options
to get you onto the plane quicker. We recommend
deselecting these options when booking online
in order to save money, since it rarely reduces
waiting time by more than a few minutes and
the plane won't leave any quicker regardless.
money.co.uk
tip: Don't
bother with these; they're basically
a waste of money. Most budget airlines
fill their planes up like buses (on
a first come, first serve basis for
the best seats) so the reserved seats
count for very little in reality.
|
4.
Changing the name on your ticket
Easyjet:
If the name on your ticket isn't identical to
the one on your passport, EasyJet insist you
change it for £30 | $49.35 | €33.70
online or £40 | $65 | €45 at
the airport.
Jet2:
will charge you £27.50 | $45.20 | €30.90
if you miss out your middle name but it
appears on your passport.
Ryanair:
charge around £125 | $205 | €140
to amend the name on your ticket, so remember
to include your full name as it appears on official
documents.
money.co.uk
tip: Check,
check and check again. Just because
your friends call you 'Hazza' doesn't
mean the person at the check-in desk
will.
|
5.
Baggage limits and charges
Flybe:
limit you to 10kg for hand luggage, and will
charge you £11 | $18.10 | €12.40 for
a mere 15kg of hold luggage.
Aer
Lingus: you'll pay £12 | $19.70
| €13.50 per item of hold luggage
for flights around Europe, this increases to
£36 | $59.20 | €40.50 a piece on
flights to the USA.
Easyjet:
If you try to take more than your allotted amount
of luggage (currently 20kg) onto an EasyJet
flight, you have to pay £25 | $41.10 | €28.10
at check-in or £40 | $65 | €45 at
the boarding gate for them to take it from you
and put it in the hold.
| money.co.uk
tip: For
short breaks, consider taking hand luggage
only but make sure this meets not only weight
but also dimension guidelines (Ryanair are
particularly restrictive on the size of
hand luggage). |
6.
Telephone booking premium
Ryanair:
charge £20 | $32.90 | €22.50 for
over-the-phone bookings.
EasyJet:
lets you book by phone for "free", but the call
will be charged at an extortionate rate. It
is easy to rack up a hefty bill using this method.
money.co.uk
tip: Book
online. Even if there isn't a specific
fee for booking by phone, the cost of
the call will be greater than the equivalent
internet use.
|
7.
Cost per kilo of overweight bags
Ryanair:
will set you back £20 | $32.90 | €22.50
for every kilo your luggage is overweight, and
their rules state that 'no pooling of baggage
allowance is permitted' so it's not possible
to share your unused allowance with others in
your party.
EasyJet:
will charge you £10 | $16.45 | €11.25
per 1kg your luggage is overweight.
Flybe:
charge you £12 | $19.70 | €13.50
for every additional kilo over the meagre 15kg
bag limit.
| money.co.uk
tip: Weigh
your bags carefully before you set off for
the airport. Put as much in your hand luggage
as possible, but remember that liquids over
a small amount (usually 50ml) and certain
sharp toiletries will need to go in the
hold. |
8.
Sports equipment
Ryanair:
will charge £40 | $65 | €45 online
or £50 | $82.30 | €56.25 at the
airport for any large sports equipment or musical
instruments you want to take onto the plane.
EasyJet:
will sell you extra weight at a discounted rate
for sports equipment and musical instruments.
This is £18.50 | $30.40 | €20.80
when you arrange it in advance, or around £30
| $49.34 | €33.70 at the airport itself.
| money.co.uk
tip: Buy
the extra weight online in advance if you
absolutely need to take this kind of luggage.
Otherwise, consider renting abroad or getting
there by other means (train or coach). |
9.
Final tips and pointers
Jet2:
By default Jet2 adds extra hold luggage, a 'sit
together' fee of £4 | $6.60 | €4.50
per person included on a booking, insurance
for everybody and a premium meal for every leg
of the journey. These expensive additions have
to be manually deselected during the booking
process. Also, be aware when checking out Jet2's
prices that they add a 'variable fuel charge'
of around £10 | $16.45 | €11.25 per
person, depending on the journey.
Ryanair:
counts Reus and Girona as 'Barcelona', despite
the fact they're both well over an hour away
by road. Be sure to factor in airport transfer
when calculating the best deals.
money.co.uk
tip: Read
every part of the terms and conditions,
and triple check every amount and detail
before pressing the 'ok' button to confirm
your booking on the website.
|
Twelve
things to remember when booking cheap flights:
1.
The
advertised price will nearly always go up. There's
always some sort of unavoidable levy or charge.
Some of Ryanair's best prices are genuinely under
£5 | $8.20 | €5.60, but most are
closer to £20 | $32.90 | €22.50 when
everything is taken into account.
2.
Booking and checking-in online saves the airline
money and it will also save you money as long
as you remember your boarding pass.
3.
If possible, stick to hand luggage. Apart from
the savings you'll make, it'll allow you to escape
the airport at the other end without delays at
the baggage carousel. Remember you won't be able
to take sharp items or aerosols - check your airline's
website for hand luggage restrictions.
4.
Double check all your details and dates. It is
surprisingly easy to get dates muddled (especially
if they're in the American mm/dd/yy format) and
it'll result in a hefty, opportunist fee to change
them. The same goes for names. Include all your
middle names and they won't be able to fleece
you.
5.
Don't bother buying priority booking or reserving
a seat if you're trying to save money. We've found
that it doesn't always work and isn't worth the
cash, especially if there's a bus transfer to
the plane.
6.
Always check the terms and conditions on the airline's
website. Their website is the only up-to-date
source of information, so don't trust third parties
with something as important as your holiday.
7.
Budget
airlines normally offer a point-to-point service,
which implies no commitment to get you to any
onward flights on time. If you end up at a peculiar
airport miles from town due to delays, you might
be in for a long wait for your next available
flight. Ryanair actually discourage people from
using their services if they're trying to make
a connection.
8.
Remember that cheap flights often end up at remote
airports. You might save £30 | $49.35 | €33.70
getting a flight to Reus, but getting over to
Barcelona will easily absorb that amount.
9.
Snack before you get on the plane, and drink plenty
of water. The average price for a bottle of water
on board seems to be around £1.70 | $2.80 |
€1.90.
10.
Fly in the early morning or late evening, on a
weekday. Aim to travel in the low season and definitely
avoid school holidays if you want to get the cheapest
deals.
11.
Budget airlines won't wait for late passengers.
The gates shut promptly and if you're not on the
plane, you may face a lengthy wait for your luggage
and you certainly won't get a refund.
12.
Don't ignore the traditional, non-budget carriers.
These are less restrictive than the budget airlines,
fly to major airports, generally have more comfortable
aircraft and might even be as cheap if not cheaper
than their budget equivalent.
