The European aviation industry is not all about Ryanair, Ryanair and Ryanair. There are dozens of carriers of various profiles and our intention is to try to present them to our readers.
Autumn 2010 is a pretty good moment to begin planning the summer season 2011 so let us look into three middle-sized airlines targeting some of the most popular leisure destinations.
Thomsonfly‘s roots can be traced back to Britannia Airways which in 2005 rebranded as Thomsonfly and is known under this name today. This carrier belongs among the greatest charter airlines. With its route network consisting of ca 87 destinations (both domestic and more remote located within 11 hours flight radius, like the Indian Goa) Thomsonfly meets the expectations of presumably all leisure travellers and holidaymakers, including those who either do not want to or cannot afford expensive trips. So if a journey to Mombasa or Goa does not suit your pocket, you will easily find something more accessible. Last minute flights from British airports to popular summer destinations cost around £30 for one-way. At the time of writing you can get hold of flights Newcastle – Malaga for £29.98 or London Gatwick – Malaga for £34.98. We are referring here to the final price. Or to be precise this is the final price of your ticket if you decide to leave huge cases at home and are OK with hand baggage and if you in addition do not feel like stuffing yourself with snacks on board. £29.98 for your trip to some careless days in some sunny parts is not bad!
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From the UK we are moving to the mountainous Austrian landscape. The next carrier we will briefly discuss is Austrian Lauda Air. This Vienna based carrier operates a modest fleet of seven aircraft but nonetheless belongs to Star Alliance along with some larger airlines. With this little impressive fleet Lauda Air serves some 56 destinations in 8 countries and it targets mainly southern European leisure spots, such as Corfu, Heraklion or Antalya. Mainly but not exclusively – with this airline one can also travel northwards, e.g. to the magical Iceland.
As for the average prices, the lowest all-inclusive airfares from Lauda Air start regularly at €79, like for instance Vienna – Antalya or Antalya – Vienna.
We stay in Western Europe but move to Charles de Gaulle Airport on whose grounds the third carrier – XL Airways France – has got its base. This French airline was founded in 1995 and originally operated under the name Star Airlines. XL Airways France target long-haul destinations in Middle-East, Africa and America but offer flights to some less distant spots in the Mediterranean and Europe as well. A few examples of destinations are: Cancun, Varadero, Las Vegas and Malaga.
Let us look into prices and promotions so that you know what to expect in term of travel expences. When it comes to these above-mentioned less remote destinations, you will not necessarily have to put up a fortune for your trip. One-way last-minute bargain tickets start at e.g. €39 for Paris – Ajaccio and Paris – Figari or €45 for Paris – Tunis which is hardly a big splurge. As far as the long-haul destinations are concerned, appropriately bigger amounts of money are involved. Examples from the recent weeks: Paris – New York from €399, Paris – Punta Cana from €599 or Paris – Varadero from €525. Well, the bigger the distance the bigger the airfare – it is as simple as that
We hope this article was helpful in terms of which airline to choose once you feel like getting some sunshine in warm parts in Europe or further.
Slawomir Budziak is interested in travelling mainly in aviation and interesting destinations. Author is also interested in low cost airlines and helps with the development of WhichAirline.com.
