I remember being a student and hoping I could book a flight on Air India between Newark and Paris, which was among the cheapest ways to get to and from France back then. Today, it seems like budget options are the norm whether it’s scoring a low-cost flight on Norwegian or Level or waiting for a flash sale from your favorite airline.

New cheap airline routes to Paris

First, French bee, an airline that lays over in San Francisco on the way to Tahiti, announced it will begin brand-new service between Paris (ORY) and Newark (EWR), and the prices are pretty incredible. Almost unbelievable!

A one-way ticket begins at just $138 — no typo there! We played around with the website and landed a round trip ticket for under $300. Who’s ready to go? The flights begin on June 10, 2020, but bookings are available right now.

There are catches, of course, but budget travelers are likely used to these constraints by now. The “Basic” fare only includes a carry-on bag, but the weight is very generous at 26 pounds for your bag. If you want a little more for your money, you can upgrade to “Smart” which includes a checked bag (up to 50 pounds) and meals. Both classes include in-flight entertainment, PC and USB sockets at every seat, headrests with four positions, and LED ambient lighting in the cabin.

Corsair flights starting in 2020

Starting at the same time, in June 2020, Corsair, the French low-cost carrier to the Caribbean, will also fly between Newark and Paris. Prices and baggage allowances are comparable to French bee, though meals are included. Corsair already flies to Paris from Miami and Montreal, so this will expand the transatlantic routes that they offer.

Arriving and departing from Orly Airport

Also, it’s important to note that both airlines arrive to and depart from Orly, Paris’s smaller airport located south of the city. Don’t let this tiny detail deter you because there are plenty of budget options to get into the city. You can take the RER train in less than 40 minutes for €12.05.

Future of budget airlines

With so many options between Paris and Newark, it seems too good to be true, but time will tell. Will French bee and Corsair stick around and help keep the market competitive and prices low? Or will it go the way of my beloved Air India leg or more recently, Primera Air, which have both ceased to exist?

The post New routes to Paris: French bee and Corsair launch cheap flights appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

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Norwegian offers $240 flights from US to London

Questions over Gatwick services

With respect to its proposed Gatwick venture, Norwegian is facing a barrage of criticism from US-based legacy carriers and pilots’ unions who fear that the company’s low-cost model may threaten the cushioned comforts which they have enjoyed for decades. The coming weeks will reveal whether Norwegian really does get to launch its proposed routes from LA, Fort Lauderdale and JFK into Gatwick in July.

Even if it does go ahead, the Norwegian operation is merely a blip in the pond. We are talking about one Gatwick-based plane flying the company’s three US routes in and out of the airport—providing in total just six flights each week from the USA to London. The market for transatlantic flights is reshaping to reflect new patterns of consumer demand. Many punters nowadays want to fly direct to Europe from regional airports around North America.

Shortest transatlantic crossing: 4 hours

This summer sees a number of interesting new routes that tap regional markets. So British Airways this month launched a new non-stop route from Austin to London Heathrow, and Westjet will start the shortest transatlantic flights of the season on June 15 with its new route from St John’s (Newfoundland) to Dublin.

The ever-reliable OAG flight database shows a block time of 4 hrs 15 mins for the sector, so the 2000-mile route will require less than four hours in the air, barely enough time to enjoy supper and have a quick snooze before the plane is descending to touch down in Ireland. One-way fares start at $275 (Canadian dollars)—and that includes all taxes, fuel surcharges and checked baggage.

New daytime flights to Europe

Europe Airpost may sound more like the mailman than an airline. But this French cargo airline also carries humans. It’s an unusual choice for transatlantic travel, but this summer the airline offers the only daytime flights from Canada to Europe. Avoid the pain of an overnighter with Europe Airpost’s direct daytime flights from Halifax (Nova Scotia) to Glasgow and Paris. The service will operate in July and August only, using Boeing 737s with space for 128 passengers

From lesser airports direct to Europe

Many of the big airfare search engines may overlook useful carriers that could be just what you need for your routing. Casting around and checking individual airlines’ websites may reap handsome rewards. How many travelers from the Twin Cities or the Pacific Northwest would think of checking the Condor website for direct flights to Germany? But in fact the carrier has summer-season direct flights to Frankfurt from both Minneapolis-Saint Paul and Seattle—and, for that matter, even flies non-stop this summer from Fairbanks (Alaska) and Whitehorse (Yukon) to Frankfurt.

Basel or Riga? Why not fly direct?

Another carrier that features less prominently in the imagination is Air Transat, which from June thru September this year offers scheduled non-stop flights from Montreal to Basel.

Choosing a less-obvious airline may allow you to route directly to your chosen destination in Europe. If you are heading out of the Big Apple bound for the Baltic States, you might assume that there are no direct flights and opt to travel via London, Amsterdam or Copenhagen. But there is one airline which has reliably served the New York to Riga route for years—and that is Uzbekistan Airways. The flight time is just under nine hours on the airline’s Boeing 767.

Check out less obvious carriers

Opting for an obscure airline may bring advantages. The fastest schedules on the New York to Brussels route are not achieved by any US or European airline but by the Indian carrier Jet Airways which offers a daily flight from Newark to Brussels. If you are heading to Italy and, like us, you think that Middle Eastern style is hard to beat, then consider using Emirates’ new non-stop service from New York to Milan. Five different carriers compete daily on the route, four of them flying out of JFK and one from Newark. We think that Emirates is the best of the JFK options.

Singapore Airlines from the USA to Europe

On the busy route from New York City to Frankfurt, four different IATA carriers are in head-to-head competition, between them offering six non-stop departures every evening from New York. Our top choice is the least obvious one, namely Singapore Airlines which flies the flagship Airbus A380-800 on the route. It’s not the airline’s only transatlantic service. Another very useful link is the Houston to Moscow route, where Singapore Airlines jealously guards its enviable position as sole operator of a route that appeals to more than merely oil executives.

The post Flying across the Atlantic: Creative and cheap ways to get to Europe appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

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Creative and cheap ways to fly from the US to Europe

Norwegian is planning three new routes between Gatwick and New York, Los Angeles and Fort Lauderdale powered by the much-hyped Boeing 787 Dreamliner, known for its fuel efficiency that can let carriers lower ticket costs. Introductory prices will start at £149 ($240) each way for three weekly flights between London and New York,  £199 ($325) for two flights a week from LA and £179 ($290) for two flights a week from Fort Lauderdale. For a flight to Europe from the states in July, these are fantastic prices that Cheapos are sure to quickly scoop up.

There are a few catches, including a £30 ($50) service charge if you want “luxuries” such as a reserved seat, meal service and luggage storage, but all tickets do come with free in-flight entertainment. Who needs food or a carry-on when you have unlimited TV access, right?

But even with this extra fee, a total price of $290 is still almost unheard of for traveling to London during the height of the vacation season from New York. If Norwegian can keep their prices low, and the Dreamliner can overcome its shaky start to become a reliable aircraft, affordable flights to London will no longer be a dream of the past.

For more information, visit Norwegian’s website. Also be sure to search for flight deals to London in our budget flights section.

The post $240 flights to London rolling out this summer on Norwegian Air appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.