May/June 2007
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Smart Traveler Exclusive:
Low-Fare Transatlantic Flights
Text by Margaret Loftus Photo by Atlantide Phototravel/Corbis
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Upstart airlines offer routes from the U.S. to European cities like Glasgow. |
Airlines you may never have heard of could get you to Europe cheaper.
 n an era when one can fly from London to Rome for less than dinner for two at an osteria, it was only a matter of time until no-frills carriers started to dip their toes in the Pond—the Big one, that is. In recent years, a number of low-cost European carriers offering service to the United States have emerged. Indeed, the number of daily nonstop flights between the U.S. and Europe has grown by more than 20 percent in the last four years.
While some of the low-cost carriers (or LCCs in industry parlance) have been quietly serving popular European vacation spots, such as Florida, for some time, others are upstarts or former charter airlines looking for a piece of the competitive transatlantic action. "They are emulating the low-cost carrier model, using Internet distribution, low overhead, and a focus on efficiency," explains Craig Jenks, an airline industry consultant.
Eurofly, a former charter airline of Alitalia, launched service from New York's JFK to Bologna, Naples, Palermo, and Rome in June 2005, with round-trip flights starting at around $800. Last winter, the Scotland-based airline Flyglobespan introduced service from Belfast and Glasgow to Orlando (from $400 round-trip) and will fly from Liverpool to Newark starting this month. Air Plus Comet flies from New York to Madrid, with fares starting at $400 round-trip. The Germany-based Condor flies to Las Vegas, Orlando, Fairbanks, and Anchorage. A Las Vegas-Frankfurt round-trip is currently $428. The Netherlands-based Martinair flies to Miami and Orlando. Round-trip fares start at $696 for travel in May. And the Dusseldorf-based LTU is introducing service from German cities to Las Vegas in May.
These airlines aren't exactly Southwest with a continental accent. Legroom can be tight on these carriers, and don't count on VIP lounges and mileage programs, but there are no Southwest-style cattle calls, and food is available, albeit for a price, on some routes.
Still, the savings aren't always mind-blowing, says Jenks. "The market is so competitive that the general idea is to charge a bit less than the big carriers." In some cases, these so-called economy fares can actually cost more than tickets on major airlines. A search on LTU's website for a round-trip flight from New York to Dusseldorf in May, for example, turned up a fare of $570 for a nonstop flight compared to $538 for a KLM flight, with a stop in Amsterdam, found on Expedia.
And while the major travel sites include taxes in fare quotes, many European low-fare carriers quote fares without tax (taxes and fees can be found in the fine print). Moreover, some of the long-haul airlines stick to seasonal service: For example, Eurofly operates only from May to November.
Nonetheless, these new airlines are worth looking into and can end up saving you money under some circumstances, particularly if you live near or are traveling to their hubs, such as Orlando or Glasgow. Business-class fares can also be a downright bargain compared to the big carriers. On the JFK to Dusseldorf flight, for instance, LTU charges $1,448 (one-way) for a seat in the front cabin, while on Expedia, Iberia came in the cheapest (with a stop in Madrid) at $2,420. By slashing business-class fares, LTU director of sales Judith Kolakowski says the airline hopes to fill more seats with Americans, who are more inclined to splurge for the upgrade than Europeans. Another plus is that many of these airlines fly to destinations in Asia and Africa that are popular with vacationing Europeans. Eurofly and LTU both fly on to Kenya and the Maldives, for example.
Next steps: Visit LowCostAirlines.org for a listing of carriers to your destination. Before booking, check fares on the websites of no-frills airlines first (most search engines don't include low-fare carriers), then see what the legacy carriers have to offer. Remember that there are no connecting flights on low-fare airlines. Each segment must be booked separately; passengers handle luggage transfers between segments.
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