Fly for 10 euro: all routes and the main rules of the low-coster

Today, four low cost airlines fly to London, Copenhagen, Sharjah (United Arab Emirates), Budapest, Berlin, Warsaw and other European cities from Kiev, Lviv and Kharkov. In October, they will be joined by the "Irishman" Ryanair, who has a very extensive network of routes (see the map) and really inexpensive tickets (you can fly to Europe for 10 euros). All this savings, however, may come to naught, if, for example, you do not register yourself and luggage on the airline's website. We will talk about these and other nuances. 

CHEAP TICKETS: WHERE WINGS RISE

In the most general form, the budget (loukoster, discounter) is called the airline, whose business model assumes the lowest possible cost of flights. Cheapness is achieved due to the fact that the ticket price includes a minimum of services. A good illustration of this approach is catering for a fee and a free seating in the cabin (the number of the chair in the ticket is not specified). I wanted something beyond this minimum - pay. However, there are exceptions.

"At AirAsia, for example, many services are free of charge: luggage - 1 seat (20 kg) and 2 pieces of hand luggage, seat selection, hot meals and soft drinks (and this on a 1.5 hour flight). On board the Airbus A320, the comfortable distance between the seats. Plus, landing and disembarkation through teletraps (usually at the loukosterov to the planes the bus is brought. - Ed.) ", Says airbloger Alexander Cheban.

It should be noted that along the way of reducing the number of services in favor of cheaper tickets are also many traditional airlines. Some of them, for example, began to offer a "no-luggage" tariff, ceased to include food in the ticket price, etc. (therefore, study the rules of transportation and tariff conditions on the airline's website - so you can save).

Another reason for cheapness is the minimization of company expenses. Low-costers do not have flights with docking, which saves the cost of overloading luggage. Thanks to online check-in for a flight, fewer personnel are required. In addition, only new, directly from the factory, aircraft are used. As soon as the time comes to put the car on routine maintenance, it is sold to other airlines, so it does not need to be spent on it.

WizzAir

Directions from Kiev:

London, Great Britain)
Vilnius (Lithuania)
Copenhagen (Denmark)
Bratislava (Slovakia)
Budapest, Hungary)
Larnaca (Cyprus)

Germany:

Hamburg
Hanover
Dortmund
Cologne
Frankfurt-Han (since August)
Nuremberg
Memmingen

Poland:

Gdansk
Warsaw
Wroclaw
Lublin (since August)
Poznan (since August)
Katowice

Directions from Lviv:

Berlin (Germany, since June)
Wroclaw (Poland)

Ryanair (since October)

Directions from Kiev:

London, Great Britain)
Manchester (Great Britain)
Stockholm, Sweden)
Eindhoven (Netherlands)

Directions from Lviv:

Krakow, Wroclaw (Poland)
Munich, Berlin (Germany)
Budapest, Hungary)
Eindhoven (Netherlands)
London, Great Britain)

Pegasus Airlines

Directions from Kiev:

Ankara (Turkey)

Flights from Lviv, Kharkiv, Zaporozhye:

Istanbul, Ankara (Turkey)

Air Arabia

Flights from Kiev:

In Sharjah (United Arab Emirates), from where flights are carried out in more than 100 destinations around the world

Vueling

Directions from Kiev:

Rome, Italy)
Barcelona, ​​Spain)

BAGGAGE: SAVE IF PAY FOR THROUGH THE SITE

As for the transportation of bags and suitcases during the flight, it is time to study the new rules. We are used to the fact that the "classical" airlines included in the ticket price the passage of one place of hand luggage and one piece of luggage (many have this rule preserved to this day). But more and more air carriers require a separate fee for luggage, and its size depends on different conditions.

For example, at airBaltic the cost of one piece of luggage (in the case of a direct flight and when buying a service at the same time as air tickets on the company's website) is 20 euros. If you will pay it at the check-in counter at the airport, then leave all 40 euros! The same amount you pay if the flight is docking. And if, God forbid, the "gate" will find out that your hand luggage exceeds the permitted sizes and should be carried as a registered baggage - be prepared to pay 60 euros. And this is almost the full cost of the air ticket (it starts from 80 euros).

Let's return to the loukosterov. At Ryanair it is possible to take for free one hand luggage weighing up to 10 kg plus a small bag. Baggage weighing up to 15 kg will cost about 15 euros. WizzAir has a small hand luggage (42x32x25 cm) - free of charge, a large item of hand luggage (56x45x25 cm) - 10-20 euros when buying a service through the site. If you settle this issue at the airport, it will cost 35 euros.

So to fly away for the vaunted promo 10 euros will only come from those who will travel quite light. By the way, experienced travelers, in order not to spend money on luggage, turn into "cabbage": they can, for example, put on top trousers on shorts, just a few T-shirts, etc.

TRANSFER: EXPENSIVE TO THE TICKET

One of the features of the business model of loukosterov - the use of less busy airports. That is, those that are remote from large cities or where the message is not too convenient. Hence the important consequence for the traveler: travel from the airport to the city at a cost may be more expensive than air travel.

Alexander Cheban gives an illustrative example: Skavsta airport is located 130 km from Stockholm (1.5 hours drive), the ticket price for the bus at the same time is 30 euros. The amount, if not smaller, is comparable with the cost of the air ticket. Or much more, if you were lucky enough to find a ticket of several euros. Another example: the journey from Luton to London (about 50 km) - about 10 euros. At the same time, the journey from the international airport to the center of the nearby large city is very often costing 5 euros.

VISA-CHECK: PREPARE THE PASSPORT FOR INSPECTION

At Ryanair there is a procedure visa check, which is clearly not available for other loukosterov. Its essence is as follows. All non-citizens of the European Union are required to present a passport either at the check-in counter or in a special window (depending on the airport). And only after receiving a mark on the boarding pass you can go to control the air safety and landing. Without it, you have every right not to let you on board, and the protests are useless - as in the rules of the airline this paragraph is clearly written, and on the boarding pass there is an indication of the mandatory control of the visa. And time to run back to the window for the ill-starred mark, most likely, is not enough ...

Therefore, in case of a trip with Ryanair, take more time to stay at the airport and do not be lazy to clarify about the control of the visa of the representative of the airline.

PURCHASE FOR A HALF FORWARD

Cheapness of services of budget airlines attracts many. But we must understand that for the low cost of tickets will have to pay the need to plan the trip in advance. "I flew in the spring" visas "from Kiev to Cyprus. I bought tickets for half a year ahead for 1000 UAH. If I bought them three months before the trip, I would pay 1,800 UAH, "says blogger Alexei Gavrilyuk.

However, cheap tickets can appear and a few days before departure, so you need to constantly monitor the situation on the sites of the loukosterov (subscribe to their dispatch) and always keep on the card the amount that allows you to quickly redeem the ticket and pay for luggage (promotional offers depart in a matter of minutes - without Exaggerations).