Ryanair and Easyjet continue to offer fantastic deals for hopping around Europe, but make sure to pay careful attention  to the details while booking or it will cost, sometimes a lot more.  Remember the golden rule of budget carriers: nothing is free.

Here are five issues to be aware of when flying on budget carriers, specifically Easyjet and Ryanair, that will help you avoid paying extra when you don’t need to.

Issue number 1:  Research where the airport is and how much time and money it will take to get there.

Budget airlines have been great for a lot of lesser known airports which generally do not have the same convenience in terms of transportation.  For the traveler this means more travel time and fewer options for reaching the airport.   Sometimes these airports take longer to reach than the flight takes to reach your final destination.

In Paris there is an hour difference in travel time between Orly, the Easyjet hub, which is a 30 min bus ride and Beauvais, the Ryanair hub, which takes about 1.5 hours to reach.  The cost of transport via OrlyBus to Orly is €6.50 while the ticket to Beauvais is €13.00.  Another issue to consider is that transport service between Paris and Beauvais is basically limited to bus service while Orly can be also be reached by Paris’s RER .  A cab to Beauvais runs greater than €120 but only ~€20 to Orly.

Comparison table between Paris Beuvais and Orly airports

Issue number 2:  Baggage is a revenue opportunity for the airline.

This is not an issue if you can pack less than 25lbs (10kg) into a carry-on, but after a purchase or two this does become something to consider.  Keep in mind that there will be a charge for exceeding allotted weight.  Don’t take it personally and get angry because this charge means revenue for the airline and the ticket agent must charge.  If you think you might need more bags then book them online because it will be less expensive.  A confusing term that Easyjet uses, for people from the US anyway, is “Hold Baggage”, which means “Checked Baggage” and not to be confused with “Carry-on.”  When booking on Easyjet remember that it is NOT necessary to  claim any baggage if you only have a carry-on. While Easyjet might use some confusing wording they are more flexible (’within reason’ is their term) about the carry-on weight while Ryanair will check to see and if it is over 10kg to charge the difference.

Issue number 3: Be prepared for the extra charges, there will be some.

Ryanair charges for not checking in online even if your citizenship does not allow you to.  Easyjet tacks on a fee for using credit cards.  So no matter what the ticket that advertised itself for €10 may turn out to have easily doubled and there is nothing to be done about it.  When booking with Ryanair, if  not an EU citizen, than you must prompt the “Airport Check-in” in the drop-down box which will add €5 to the ticket.  If you decide to tempt fate then you can claim to be an EU citizen but airport check-in will be necessary which assumes the risk of either having your ticket canceled (rare but possible) or more likely having to pay a €10 “change fee.”  This fee is refundable if you take the time to send in the refund and fill out the rudimentary yet annoying paperwork.  Another consideration is that just because you were not charged for something in one place does not mean that you will not get stuck with the same charge at another airport, especially if you are flying through Dublin, Ryanair’s home base.  On my last flight through Dublin all five of my traveling party got hit with extra baggage and check-in fees even though none of us were charged upon departure.  I feel that it is a safe bet to expect Dublin to be letter of the law, so if you are flying there and are not jazzed about using Ryanair then try Aerlingus, sometimes they compete with very similar rates.

Table comparison between Ryanair and Easyjet for extra costs

Issue number 4: Customer service

Calling customer service is not free so make sure to be careful while reserving.  Booking tickets on the wrong date (i.e. make sure the month is correct) is more common than you might think and changing the ticket many times is not cost effective.  Easyjet charges about  €0.15 per minute while Ryanair has different rates depending on the country ranging from €0.15 and maxing out at €0.87.  This includes the time you are on hold no matter how long.

Issue 5: Be prepared to be cramped and for a free-for-all.

Seats on Ryanair and Easyjet do not recline, which is good for the person behind you, because taking away this function allows for extra few rows and thus more capacity per flight. These budget airlines usually fill their flights to 90% or more capacity, so don’t expect your row or even the seat next to you to be empty.

The free-for-all occurs because there is no assigned seating which can create an uncomfortable bottleneck of passengers shoving themselves onto the plane.  This does not happen as much when there is a bridge but I have seen it get pretty intense when passengers are bused to the plane.  One strategy that can be used when being bused is to position yourself closer to the door so you are among the first off the bus and then onto the plane.

Finally, as with all travel these days just be prepared for the something unexpected and try to have a good attitude about it.  After all, if you are getting to take one of these flights chances are that you are going to a fantastic place and will hopefully experience new and exciting things and the flight is just bringing you there.  By preparing for your trip with these five issue in mind I am sure the process will be much smoother and enjoyable.

Happy Travels,

Chris

It was just a matter of time before mobiles would be ringing and beeping on airplanes and Michael O’Leary, Ryanair’s CEO, is unapologetic about it, saying, “if you want a quiet flight, use another airline.  Ryanair is noisy, full and we are always trying to sell you something.”  Ryanair is testing this system on 14 planes and Emirites already has this service on its Dubai / London route so we better get used to the fact that mobile will permeate the fuselage, but that may not be all that bad.

About the systems and costs: Companies that build these in flight mobile systems include Swiss owned OnAir (Ryanair’s provider) and British-based AeroMobile, which has fitted their systems into the Emirites airplanes.  AeroMobile charges about £200,000 (close to $400,000) to fit each airplane with its system.  Ryanair will be equipping 14 of its 160 something fleet, meaning that (assuming the £200,000 per system cost) the Irish airline should be spending close to £3,000,000, but we can assume that the savvy O’Leary drove down that price; so, let’s assume Ryanair fitted its 14 Boeing 747s for £2,000,000 which is not necessarily chump change, especially in this tight economy.  Each system allows up to 6 calls at a time (costing the user £2.00 per minute), unlimited text and Blackberry use and according to the OnAir website, Internet use; however,right now Ryanair is not advertising Internet connectivity.  Assuming, liberally and for the sake of simplicity, that Ryanair will take 50% from mobile providers’ roaming charges of the £2.00 per minute fee, then they will need to sell 2,000,000 in-use minutes to break even on the project.  Now assume that a plane can only sell this service for 10 hours a day (24 hours day – (grounded time+ ascent + decent)) that means that an average plane can sell 600 minutes and that by selling 100% of that inventory would generate £600, or £8400 for the 14 planes.  Thus, in the best of best case scenarios, the £2,000,000 assumed investment could be paid back in about 220 days.  But selling all those minutes to passengers who chose Ryanair based on price could be quite a challenge so they will have to figure out more ways to profit from this system such as music downloads, top-offs (for Americans that means recharging minutes for pre-paid phones) and possibly streaming in shows?

What I would like to see: It would be fantastic if Ryanair could digitize some of their on board magazine to enable passengers to download digital coupons, tickets to museums and or city transport tickets.  For example, an advertisement would instruct: “just text PRADA to 123 456 to receive a 10% discount at our Via Condotti store.” and voila you receive a promotional code or bar-code.   Ryanair is already selling language guides for £1.50 so this type of product may not be such a stretch plus they are about to have their full and noisy planes teaming with passengers able to buy lots of stuff with their cell phones which sounds like an O’Leary fantasy.  And also a passenger fantasy in that there will actually be something worth buying on an airplane in addition to the $5.00 Cokes and $7.00 stale sandwiches.

Who this would be good for: This type of service would be useful to everyone: the airline has a closed coupon system it does not have to worry about stocking, printing and distributing; advertisers have direct access to passengers getting ready to visit their city; paper is saved which reduces the weight of the airplane thus saving gas, money and creating less of a carbon footprint; moreover, the passenger has the benefit of possibly saving money on exclusive offers that can be distributed via airline only channels.  You see!  This system saves the world and whole airline industry.

The down side: Ryanair is taking a risk with this new system and for all of us it could mean unintentionally taking part in second-hand conversations.  Nevertheless, the pressure is on airlines to find more revenue sources to keep flying so let’s hope that some of these investments pay off.  In the United States this system seems to be a little farther off in that The Hang Up Act is currently before the House of Representatives and if passed would make it illegal, as in a crime, to talk over cell phones or VoIp.  However, if Ryanair and other non-US airlines can make this into a viable business model and “That Guy” does not have a loud conversation causing an “Air Rage” episode that gets filmed on a cell phone and is seen by 2M + people on YouTube then maybe the airline industry can make a buck while better benefiting us travelers.

Thanks for reading,

Chris

Ryanair has announced that there will be no more bookings for their flights via other websites. Actually, there seems to be some question as to if they will honor tickets booked through any site other than their own, so if you have booked on ebookers.ie, Rumbo, eDreams, Atrapolo or any other 3rd party site you might want to take a look at your reservations to see if they are still valid. According to the Marketing manager with ebookers.ie Steve Rice the reason for this move is that Ryanair wants to send more people through their website so they can push more non-flight travel products such as hotel bookings and car rentals.

Update October 3, 2008: On October 1, 2008 Spain’s Mercantile Court No 1 sided with Rumbo.com and has banned Ryanair from canceling tickets booked through the Spanish website.

Happy Travels

Skybus Airlines will cease all operations effective Saturday, April 5.

Skybus struggled to overcome the combination of rising jet fuel costs and a slowing economic environment. These two issues proved to be insurmountable for a new carrier.

We deeply regret the impact this decision will have on our employees and their families, customers, vendors, suppliers, airport officials and others in the cities in which we have operated. Our financial condition is such that our Board of Directors felt it had no choice but to cease operations.

Passengers holding reservations for Skybus flights scheduled to depart on or after Saturday, April 5, 2008 should contact their credit card companies to arrange to apply for a refund. More information for customers and others will be made available on the Skybus web site (www.skybus.com) as it becomes available.

All flights for Friday, April 4 will be completed. Passengers holding reservations on flights for Friday, April 4 should check in for their flight at a Skybus kiosk at the airport instead of the Skybus website.

Good luck to all the employees.

]]> http://ikangaroo.com/2008/04/04/april-5-2008-skybus-is-out-of-business/feed/ 0 http://ikangaroo.com/2007/12/27/skybus-stumbles/ http://ikangaroo.com/2007/12/27/skybus-stumbles/#comments Thu, 27 Dec 2007 18:10:40 +0000 Chris http://ikangaroo.com/2007/12/27/skybus-stumbles/ Hello Travelers!

It just wouldn’t be the Holiday Season without some news of how airlines could have done better; however sometimes travelers should just get a better idea of the risk they are taking by flying a budget, bare bones airline. Recently we reported about the introduction of a new airline based out of Columbus, Ohio called Skybus which is trying to bring the Ryanair model to US budget travel (i.e. cheap tickets upfront and then charge for everything else such as excess baggage, seat reservations, customer service, etc). Hey, if this is known and understood from the beginning then, no problem.  The Columbus Dispatch is reporting that Skybus had a rough Christmas because it had to cancel, due to mechanical difficulties, a total 18 flights on the 25th and 26th which affected an estimated 1000 travelers and will probably create a public relations nightmare for the young airline.  The main takeaway from this situation:  Skybus, like Southwest, does not have any alliances with other carriers to help it out when it gets into these types of jams. In short, there is no plan B.  However, unlike Southwest Skybus only has 9 airplanes which means that when 2 are out of service then they are loosing about 25% of their capacity.  Ouch!

As of December 27, 2007 Skybus has resumed its regular schedule. Bob Tenenbaum, a Skybus spokesman, believes that customers understand that problems happen and will continue to fly Skybus for its low fares.  Hopefully for all of us they will deliver on their promise and attract us because of their low rates instead listing low fares that a small percentage get and then giving nobody any service.

Let’s see how Skybus is able to handle this and exactly what kind of personality this airline has.  We are hoping for the best and with signs such as President Ken Giles spending time talking to and passing out business cards to passengers over the last couple of days things seem somewhat positive.

Moving forward Skybus has an excellent opportunity to make a lot of Buckeye Fans happy in it’s home base of Columbus.  But if it does not deliver then it might be its coup de grace. The BCS championship between Ohio State and LSU will certainly see a lot of fans take the flight down to the Big Easy via Biloxi-where Skybus lands. We checked today and the tickets are far from the $10 starting price which we assume to be a sign that flights are filling up with eager fans wanting to see the game or at least be in NOLA to drink in the…atmosphere, among other things.  Hey Skybus! Here is a challenge: get those Buckeye fans to the big game because if you don’t…

Game on and good luck Skybus!

Happy Travels

Delta Airlines has recently released a series of short videos which are supposed to raise consciousness of how not to be on an airplane. Complete with a cute name, Planeguage- I think that Plane Sense, Planetiquette or even Jetiquette would have been more effective names- Delta has produced 6 videos that show the typical scenarios encountered on a plane; however the skits never really make a point.

From a branding perspective these videos are silly because every time Delta’s Sky Magazine is shown it is being read by the person who is exhibiting the annoying behavior; the marketing team really thought that one out.

In the video Middleman, which is the one that has gotten the most comments on the Delta blog, a poor guy is shoved between two armrest hogs. After seemingly conquering his rivals for the rests he quickly loses them when ordering his drink. The consensus on the blog is that the middleman always gets the rests, but Delta does not drive this point home.

So is this true, does the middleman always get the armrests?

While we are on the subject of things not to do on an airplane, I would like to hear from you about ridiculous things that have happened to you while flying (on an airplane that is).

In my experience, besides being besieged by numerous crying and fidgety children, I once got seated next to a couple who were practically joining the mile-high-club in my adjacent seat. I thought that their affection would have abated after a few minutes or an hour, but they kept up the kissing, nuzzling, cuddling and whatever they were doing under their blanket the whole way from JFK to Geneva.

In another story of “don’t be that guy,” The Sydney Morning Herald is reporting that a German tourist on his way home from his holiday in Egypt downed a bottle of vodka rather then give it up before boarding. He almost died, but he got to keep his vodka, for a while anyway.

Kudos to Delta for trying to bring a little attention to this issue. Nevertheless, I am sure that no amount of awareness will make babies stop crying or kids stop fidgeting. However, with this said, this issue of etiquette is going to be even more important when cell phone use on airplanes becomes possible.

Thoughts?

Happy Travels,

Chris

In a time when airlines are taking a beating about everything from timeliness to kicking scantily clad co-eds of their planes, we have decided not to jump on the bandwagon and start railing against Skybus.  iKangaroo really hopes that Skybus can deliver on their promises and will flourish.  Nevertheless, we sympathize with the travelers who had their flight to Seattle canceled and had to cancel their ski trip, that sucks. 

To insure a positive budget airline experience consider these tips:

• Airines are in business to make money, so if they are charging $10 per ticket they have to generate revenue from somewhere.  Southwest does it by using off-the-beaten-path airports, quick turn-around time and other cost cutting efficiencies. Plus Southwest has a great fuel hedge strategy which has allowed them to keep their fuel costs below what other airlines pay.  JetBlue has cut overhead costs by homesoucing some its customer service function.  In addition to cost cutting strategies, budget airlines look for other revenue sources.  These sources can be creative such as Ryanair’s selling advertising on their food trys and Skybus’s charging $500,000 yearly to make their aircraft into a flying billboard; I wonder what Ladybird Johnson would think of that?  Mostly these revenue sources are created by charging travelers for everything.  A couple examples are Spirit charging for ice water and Ryan Air charging for customer service.  The best way to defend against these charges is to know that they exist.  Moreover, don’t expect to be able to sweet talk yourself out of these charges because the airline is counting on that cash and has already considered it as a part of their potential earnings.
• Airlines use less frequented airports to keep ticket prices down.  As a general rule these airports are more inconvenient to reach and offer fewer services, so research the airport before booking your ticket.  As Elizabeth explains in the post about her flight experience from Rome to Paris, landing at the Paris-Beauvais cost her and an extra 8 hours in travel time compared to Charles de Gaulle and Orly. For instance, Skybus’s airport in “Boston” is 50 miles outside of Boston which practically insures the necessity of renting a car or getting someone to spend 4 hours to pick you up and drop you off.  Remember to take these costs into account when assessing your options.
• Of course, we understand that none of this does any good if the flight is cancelled so hopefully Skybus will plan well enough make their new routs profitable.  We are especially looking forward to the New Orleans / Biloxi and Florida routs.

So, when booking your ticket from a budget airline be sure to research the potentially added costs, calibrate your expectations accordingly- remember that convenience is generally more expensive- and have a great time.  Budget airlines are a great option, and when used properly they can save money for more important things like food and nightlife.  And again, Skybus, we wish you the best and hope to hear a lot of great reviews in the future!

Happy Travels!

Where to buy: 

• www.skyroll.com 
• Men’s Warehouse
• S&K Menswear

Additional research:

• YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzoePV4jUlk
• Skyroll.com has video and in depth information about each product

Why not???  Isn’t that what we all think when we find a super cheap inter-European air ticket? That’s certainly what I thought when I booked my 120 euro round trip ticket from Rome, Italy to Paris-Beauvais, France.

Okay, so here’s the question: would I still have booked my ticket had I known that the Beauvais airport is as far from Paris as Trenton, New Jersey is from New York City? The Paris Beauvais airport is approximately 55 miles / 88 km from the city center, i.e. it’s an approximately 2 hour ride! Add some bumper-to-bumper Parisian traffic (20 minutes), add in a long line to buy a bus ticket (20 minutes), add in the wait for the bus (20 minutes), and then add the Metro ride to your hotel from the bus stop (20-40 minutes).

All in all: almost 4 hours of airport travel! Mind you, the plane ride from Rome was little less than 2 hours long, so the airport travel is twice as long as the flight.

And then…just imagine what happens if you oversleep, or you accidentally “underestimate” the traffic time, or the Metro time, or the shuttle bus time, and you miss your flight. Then what happens? Ryan Air might only send out 2 flights per day (and they will shamelessly charge you €75 to change your ticket). There is no way you can feasibly take a bus back into Paris, and there are no other airlines in Beauvais that fly to your destination. Granted all of this, you might end up spending two days in an airport with 1 gift shop, 1 restaurant, and 2 bathrooms.

What do I suggest? Make the investment! Fly to Orly or Charles de Gaulle. That extra 50-€75 will save you your sanity and approximately 8 hours in travel time.

Happy Travels,

Elizabeth