Travel blogs have been abuzz in the last few weeks in the wake of Iceland-based WOW Air’s announcement that they will be offering summer 2015 transatlantic flights starting at $99.

How is this possible? Is it really possible? There must be a catch, right?

Before we dive into the analysis of these deals, let’s take a moment to review Iceland’s recent and rather exciting low-cost passenger airline history.

Related: Creative and cheap ways to fly from the US to Europe

A little bit of history

Before there was WOW Air there was Iceland Express (2003-2012), which also flew transatlantic routes. The airline flew from Iceland’s Keflavík Airport (near the capital, Reykjavík, and the country’s main international airport) to Chicago, Boston, Orlando, Newark and Winnipeg.

Iceland Express ran the most irreverent in-house airline blog around and was a generally very appealing airline. The airline encountered serious logistics turbulence in 2011 when its operator abruptly terminated flight operations, and it turned to a Czech Airlines charter flight subsidiary for replacement aircraft. I flew the airline once after this shift occurred, and the experience was very uneven. The safety information on seats was in Czech, and the experience felt drained of any kind of branded Icelandic personality. It sort of felt as if the airline was in freefall; a few months later, Iceland Express was absorbed by WOW Air.

WOW Air was established in 2011. Like Iceland Express, it’s been cheeky from the start, though its brand has been more self-consciously stylish (just check out those flight attendant uniforms) and flashy than the older low-cost airline.

The transatlantic low-cost mini-boom

This year two airlines—Canadian low-cost carrier WestJet and Norway’s Norwegian—began selling inexpensive no-frills flights across the big pond for as low as $240 roundtrip. Let’s take a quick look at what the two airlines offer.

WestJet flew a seasonal route from Toronto via St. John’s, Newfoundland to Dublin this past summer, which it will reintroduce in 2015. This fall, deepening its reach into Europe, WestJet announced a Halifax-Glasgow route for 2015.

Norwegian’s assault was a bit broader from the get-go. The airline launched direct flights between four European gateways (Oslo, Copenhagen, Stockholm and London Gatwick) and several US destinations: New York, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Oakland and Los Angeles. (Note that Oakland can only be reached from the three Scandinavian hubs as of yet.) As this investigative piece by Patrick Collinson in The Guardian shows, a return journey at the lowest advertised fare is all but impossible to snag.

WestJet and Norwegian’s forays provide a context for understanding WOW Air’s new routes. All three airlines’ lowest fares are incredibly cheap, though they also go quickly. In the established tradition of low-cost airlines, they’re also perk-free.

So what’s the WOW all about?

WOW Air will operate flights between Baltimore and Keflavík (with connections on to Copenhagen and London sold as single fares) from May through October 2015; flights between Boston and Keflavík (and also on to Copenhagen and London) begin in March 2015. Starting outbound single fares are advertised at $99, while fares returning from Europe will start at $125.

Availability is the kicker. I searched about a dozen dates on WOW’s website to find available flights from Baltimore and Boston in the US and Keflavík, London, and Copenhagen. Every April itinerary I looked for was fully booked, and itineraries into the summer and autumn were all well over the lowest $99/$125 per-sector fare advertised.

The best alternative that I came up with: a $327 roundtrip from Boston to Keflavík. This is, it must be said, a very good fare, even with additional charges of $100 or so roundtrip. (It is also plainly over the lowest $224 return fare.) WOW’s lowest fares clearly went very quickly, so the early birds scored the best deals.

Last month, Jaunted published an exhaustively detailed report on nabbing a $99 fare, which came to $164 once additional charges and “perks” were taken into account, and did not include in-flight costs like food and beverages.

Speaking of perks and fees… 

Flying on today’s transcontinental low-cost airlines require a shift in attitude. For many major carriers, from Air France to American Airlines, everything—meals, snacks, water and a seat reservation—is included. So if you don’t consider it acceptable to shell out $4 for a bottle of water, then you might not be ready for the low-cost air experience, where everything extra will cost you.

Want to bring a checked bag? Expect a steep fee. Want to choose your seat so you can grab a window view? Be prepared to have your credit card ready. These fees can quickly add $25, $50 or even $100 to a one-way ticket. On the flip side, if you don’t need many comfort amenities and are just looking for a seat, airlines like WOW and Norwegian could be just up your alley.

Is it worth it?

Yes. Well, probably—with two big caveats. First, research actual (as opposed to advertised) costs. What other add-ons (checked luggage, meals, reserved seats, seats with extra legroom) will be charged on top of your base fare? How heavily will these charges add up? Will they transform an apparent bargain into an average fare?

Secondly, do you want to end up in one of the destinations these airlines serve? If not, price out your connection onwards. Is the resultant fare less expensive than a direct fare on a conventional airline? Do your research and think seriously about your goals and intentions as a traveler.

WOW Air, Norwegian and WestJet’s routes provide new ways to chart out budget-friendly transportation to Europe. For most potential customers, the resultant bargain will be higher than the lowest advertised fare, though it will probably still be less expensive than a legacy carrier fare.

View these fares as tools. They might work swimmingly; they might not quite cut it. But they’re now part of your cost-cutting arsenal, budget warrior.

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Matthew Kepnes, author of the Nomadic Matt travel blog, has recently published a new ebook, The Ultimate Guide to Travel Hacking, in which he demonstrates ways to “hack” your way to free or discounted international airline tickets.

We sat down with him recently to discuss his new book and glean some tips on finding cheaper tickets.

So, what, exactly is “travel hacking”?

A travel hacker is a person who uses loyalty rewards systems to gain hundreds of thousands of miles per year without traveling. It’s the art of using the airline or hotel programs to your favor by taking advantage of the loopholes and cracks in their program.

Travel hacking has saved me a ton of money from free hotel rooms to free flights. I’ve stayed at W hotels around the country for free, Hilton hotels, a week at a Courtyard Marriott in Hong Kong for free. With flights, I’ve flown first class to London, Hong Kong, and more with them. I have a lot of examples of using points for free travel.

When did you realize you were a travel hacker?

When I started spending Friday nights looking for flight deals and points.

Right… that’s pretty hardcore. You say you can remove money from the equation by using points. But don’t you really need money to rack up points?

Yes, but no more than you normally spend anyways. I use my everyday spending to meet the minimum spending requirements for the credit card bonuses. I time my sign-ups with big purchases. But there are a lot of ways to “fake” spending from using Amazon payments to Vanilla Reload cards. I explain it in detail in my book, but you can use these methods to fake the spending requirements.

Plus, airlines always have contest, promotions, and deals that allow you to earn miles.

This all sounds great, but won’t taking out more credit cards affect your credit score?

There is always a temporary ding in your credit whenever someone makes an inquiry, but the ding is only temporary and is gone after a few months. Having a lot of credit cards can help your credit score because it increases your debt to credit ratio. So, if you have $100,000 in available credit, but are only using 5% of that, that increases your score. I have a credit score of 791 despite constantly opening new cards.

I wouldn’t go open a bunch of new cards right before you apply for a mortgage, but if you aren’t doing that, why not use your credit score to your advantage?

Are there ways to be a travel hacker without using credit cards?

There are a few things you can do besides signing up for lots of credit cards: airlines have online shopping portals where you can earn up to 20 miles per dollar spent (on average, it’s 3-4) instead of just one when shopping in person; sign up for airline newsletters to watch for special promotions; and take part in every survey or contest, since companies give away miles a lot.

Have you ever taken a crazy mileage run?

I was going to take an overnight flight to Hawaii and then come right back, but Hurricane Sandy happened and cancelled that plan. I fly enough each year I don’t really need a “top up” for miles. I usually plan it out so I’m right over the wire for the highest level I need.

Can non-Americans “hack” their trip?

Yes, but it’s a lot harder. Canada is a good market and the UK is starting to have some really good deals and bonuses, but outside those two, there’s not a lot for people. What makes these countries good are the huge sign-up bonuses the credit cards offer, but you don’t get that in other countries because of tighter credit laws.

What’s the single most important piece of advice you’d offer to a reader in the process of booking a flight for an upcoming trip to Europe?

When it comes to booking flights to Europe on miles, I’d travel off-peak, because you can get rewards for as little as 40,000 miles. Plus, when you travel in the off season, every move on the ground is cheaper. It’s win-win.

Thanks for the tips, Matt.

Readers, what do you think? Is “travel hacking” for you? Do you use these methods to regularly score free or discounted flights to Europe? Do you recommend a particular loyalty program? Please leave a comment below.

The post Tips for hacking your way to free airline tickets from Nomadic Matt appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

That’s super cheapo, and not even unusual for Europe’s budget airlines, which have been known to offer tickets for as low as £1… or even free. How is this possible? And how can you score one of these tickets?

Know where to search

From the US, airfare on carriers such as easyJet, Ryanair, Wizz Air, Germanwings and others are not always easy to find, as they’re often not included (or at least highlighted) in the search results of the big airfare websites.

To find fares, go directly to the airline’s own websites. We do include them on our flights search on EuroCheapo, and we compare them to legacy carriers (such as Lufthansa and Air France) which sometimes offer tickets at comparable prices to the budget carriers.

Pay attention to the airport

To keep ticket prices low, budget airlines often use less-central airports that can take more time (and money) to get to. For example, in my London to Berlin example, easyJet’s flight takes off from London Southend Airport, which is 40 miles from London (farther than Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted or Luton). Ryanair’s flight, meanwhile, departs from Stansted. So in this case, you might want to spent a few euros more for the Ryanair flight.

For another example, consider many of Ryanair’s flights from London to Barcelona. They actually arrive into Girona-Costa Brava airport, 57 miles away from Barcelona. Although regular bus service between the airport and Barcelona is offered according to arriving and departing flights, mishaps (and unintended overnights) do happen.

Watch those baggage policies…

Many budget carriers try to recoup losses on very low ticket prices through sky-high charges for checked and carry-on luggage. Take special note of the baggage policies when booking, and consider your options. And be aware that some carriers charge less if you pre-pay for your checked bags.

Ryanair, for example, charges between €15-45 for checking luggage (up to 20 kg) when the bags are paid for in advance. If you forget and pay at the airport, you’ll be charged an outrageous €60-140 for the first bag and €105-160 for the second bag! There’s nothing sadder than watching last-minute luggage catastrophes at the Ryanair bag-drop.

…and those hidden fees

As my colleague Hilary Bown wrote last week on the blog, budget carriers famously tack on additional fees, including administrative fees, check-in charges, and credit card surcharges.

For example, Ryanair charges a €7 “administrative fee” per flight, while easyJet charges €12.50 per order (regardless of number of tickets). And they both add a surcharge for tickets purchases by credit card (Ryanair charges 2%; easyJet 2.5%).

Don’t forget to compare trains as an option

Europe’s high-speed trains often offer a compelling alternative to flying, especially shorter distances. For these routes (such as London to Paris, Paris to Brussels and Amsterdam, Barcelona to Madrid) the train might actually be faster once you add the time that it takes to get to the airports, checked in and through security.

And once you consider baggage fees and extra charges, a high-speed train could easily be cheaper, too.

Book in advance and snag a great deal

All caveats and hidden fees aside, Europe’s budget airlines can offer some incredibly good deals. If you book in advance, limit your luggage and follow the rules, very cheap flights are possible.

To read more about Europe’s budget carriers, visit EuroCheapo’s new budget flights search, which includes ticket prices on low-cost carriers like Ryanair and easyJet, and compares them to high-speed trains when they offer an attractive alternative.

The post Tips for finding cheap flights around Europe appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Our new search tool, which is powered by Momondo.com, quickly shows you the cheapest short- and long-haul flights between major European cities, and between North America and Europe.

What’s new?

EuroCheapo’s new flights channel has several new features that we’re excited about:

• Ticket prices for low-cost carriers: We’re now able to show prices and times for flights from carriers such as Ryanair, easyJet and others.

Our new flights search also includes Eurostar trains, when they compare favorably to flights. In this example, the Eurostar costs almost the same as the Air France and easyJet flights.

• Easy booking: Once you’ve found the carrier that works for your trip, we’ll pass you off to make your booking directly with the carrier (such as Ryanair, easyJet and Vueling) or with one of our reservation partners, including cheapOair, Bravofly and others.

• Flights vs trains: EuroCheapo’s new flights search also includes Eurostar train results alongside flights, when the train offers an affordable and convenient option. For example, when you search for London to Paris, results for the Eurostar high-speed trains appear next to flights from Air France, easyJet, British Airways, and others.

Check out our budget flights search for yourself!

Keep up in the air

In addition to launching our new flight search tool, we’re happy to be bringing on Hilary Bown, a Berlin-based travel writer, to regularly cover European budget airline news for us. Hilary will be posting weekly about the latest trends and developments with Europe’s discount airlines and most important airports.

Last week, for example, Hilary covered easyJet’s carry-on baggage guarantee (if you can call it a “guarantee,” that is!), and this week she examined the often overlooked and “hidden” costs of certain budget airlines.

Thanks, as always, for reading and using EuroCheapo. Together, we can afford to go anywhere!

The post EuroCheapo’s new budget flights search takes off! appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Cast back to the days of the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC — now part of British Airways), and the printed timetable reminded would-be travelers to Australia that “stopovers may be made at many cities in Asia at no extra cost.”

And passengers were invited to pay a modest ten percent of the flight cost at the time of booking, the balance falling due just prior to travel. BOAC even invited its customers to “fly now and pay later,” an arrangement where the fare was paid in monthly installments after the flight.

Booking flights nowadays can be deeply depressing. Gone are those happy interactions in an airline’s plush city center offices with a polite agent who has evidently over-wintered in both Manchester and Manchuria and clearly knows the merits and shortcomings of both. These were folk who really knew their stuff.

Mint tea and Turkish Delight

And what happens nowadays? We stagger from screen to screen on the websites of “SlyanAir” or “QueasyJet,” watching the fare we thought we had selected double or triple as we impertinently opt to take a change of clothes on our month-long journey, pay with a credit card or complete a booking.

That’s really evil, don’t you think? A fee to make a booking! BOAC never demanded that. Heavens, we can remember being offered mint tea and Turkish Delight at the office of one major airline, so evidently pleased were they that we had opted to book with them.

Of course, flight prices have plummeted relative to incomes and we, like the vast majority of would-be travelers, welcome the democratization of air travel and appreciate that low prices mean minimal service. So it is hugely impressive when we come across an airline that still handles bookings with calm courtesy and without stacking on a plethora of extra charges.

We had occasion a day or two ago to call an airline that flies to over sixty cities around the planet. No complex decision tree with a mechanical voice inviting us to “choose from the following options.” Merely the reassuring cool voice of an agent who slipped easily from Arabic to English, and evidently was fluent in several other languages besides.

No booking charge

The airline agent listened carefully and then quoted a fare (the same fare we had found online but which seemed too good to be true). She discussed options. “Had you thought of flying into Munich instead? It might be easier for you. I could take a look at what the onward train connections would be like for you.”

We thought we had died and gone to traveler heaven, all the more so when the agent explained that the fare quoted included every last cent. No booking charge, no fees for payment by credit card. This was one of those phone conversations where you end the call feeling that life is very, very good.

We’re now wondering if we could call Etihad Airways from time to time for therapy. If their flights are as good as their telephone agents (and, for that matter, their website), then other airlines should tremble in fear as Etihad extends its network. Perhaps things are just done differently in the Middle East. Whatever, it was a wake-up call, reminding us that booking a flight can still be fun.

Your positive airline experience?

We are now pondering whether there are any airlines in Europe that still offer the Etihad factor. Do tell us if you’ve found one.

The post Booking a Flight: The Etihad Airways Factor appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Today, increasing awareness of climate change has meant that budget air travel in Europe is often targeted as an environmental disaster. On the consumer side, passengers are overwhelmed by a huge number of fees and charges—for checking a bag, for checking in at the airport, for preferred seating, for using a particular credit card—all of which continue to creep upwards.

The stories told about low-cost carriers tend to focus on the distance of secondary airports from the cities they purport to serve, the rudeness of staff, the inflexibility of various charges and the difficulty in obtaining refunds for canceled flights.

People continue to fly budget airlines in great numbers, of course, but they’re not enjoying themselves. How could things be improved? How could a budget airline actually build a fan base?

Here are five suggestions for improving budget airlines in Europe:

1. Offer transparency in marketing and pricing.

An airport named after a city 100 km away does nobody any favors. Acknowledge location and market around it. Eliminate last-minute charges for the use of a particular credit card. While you’re at it, get rid of perks like early boarding that make embarkation so regimented and unpleasant.

2. Provide a carbon offset opt-out option.

Under this proposal, passengers would be able to click a box to remove the carbon offset option from their flights and save a euro or two. Some would do this. Many would not. Here’s a better and more radical idea: get tons of press by announcing that all flights will be carbon offset in their entirety.

3. Develop a simple, well-scrubbed aesthetic.

Budget airlines shouldn’t be grubby. They should be enveloped in simplicity, ease, and lightness. Colors should be gentle and music should be soft. Flight attendants should have nice uniforms that reflect the airline’s aesthetic. (They should also look rested, competent and pleased to be at work.) License a pleasant 30-minute electronic score for boarding.

4. Offer tasty snacks for purchase.

If ancillary income is the key, offer something worthwhile—tasty treats with some real relationship to the departure or destination city. Also, keep mark-ups in check. On-board mark-ups need not be extortionate.

5. Brand around location.

Souvenir items sold in flight shouldn’t be anonymous. Why stock the duty-free cart with items that can be found in any international airport when cute objets of local relevance make better gifts? Fill the in-flight magazine with the insights of interesting people who populate the route map’s destination cities.

Your recommendations

Can you think of other ways that budget carriers could improve their service? Do you agree or disagree with these points? Tell us about it in the comments section.

The post Flight Memo: 5 ways to improve European budget airlines appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Allegiant’s model is genius. It is the only vacation destination player at most of its traffic-starved airports. For residents of many of the catchment areas associated with these far-flung airports, Allegiant offers a cheaper and simpler way to get to popular holiday destinations.

A different kind of budget airline

Allegiant’s model has been quite successful, with the airline growing impressively over the last several years. In March 2010—the most recent month for which statistics are available—the airline saw a traffic increase of 16.4 percent over the previous March. Its load factor grew as well, though less dramatically, from 92.3 percent to 92.9 percent.

Charisse Jones pointed out in a USA Today article late last year that of the airline’s 135+ routes, it faces competition on just five. While this competition-averse strategy may advertise Allegiant’s vulnerability to more powerful airlines, the airline also has enormous room to grow. According to Jones, the airline has identified over 300 potential routes for future development.

Because Allegiant is focused on linking underserved airports with prime holiday destinations, it does not fly to many of the country’s biggest airports. New York’s three airports and Chicago’s two airports take no traffic from Allegiant, and neither do Miami, Atlanta or Houston. The only major airports Allegiant serves are Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Orlando, and all three are big hubs for the airline.

The Luck of Bismarck and Grand Island

Let’s gauge the impact of Allegiant on two markets.

Take Bismarck, North Dakota. Allegiant flies between Bismarck and Las Vegas and Phoenix-Mesa. The other airlines flying to and from Bismarck are Delta (to Minneapolis) and United (to Chicago and Denver). The routes flown by Delta and United are business routes, while Allegiant’s are leisure routes.

Or look at Grand Island, Nebraska, home to the Central Nebraska Regional Airport. Allegiant flies twice a week from Grand Island to Las Vegas and twice a week to Phoenix-Mesa. The only other airline flying to Grand Island is Great Lakes Airlines, which operates a route to Denver. Again, the Great Lakes link is a business route, while Allegiant’s routes are for holiday travelers.

For North Dakotans, Nebraskans and residents of many other states and regions, Allegiant makes air travel to popular vacation destinations easier, cheaper and far simpler than it would otherwise be.

An Allegiant for Europe?

The United States and Europe have very different transportation infrastructures and vacation allotments. For these reasons among others, it is difficult to imagine a precise mirror for Allegiant within the context of Europe.

These differences acknowledged, an Allegiant analogue for Europe—let’s call our new fantasy airline Euro-Allegiant—might fly from places like Aalborg, Leipzig-Altenburg, Lille, Lviv, Kaliningrad, Kuopio, and Wroclaw to holiday destinations like Chania, Fuerteventura, Larnaca, Luxor, Madeira, Monastir and Paphos.

Unlike Ryanair, which connects secondary, often minor airports to multiple destinations, Euro-Allegiant would link its far-flung airports to a limited number of vacation hubs. Euro-Allegiant would start small, fill in the gaps, link up otherwise unpaired destinations, dissolve routes if and when bigger airlines decided to move in and possibly even absorb local charter flight arrangements.

Would this model work in Europe? With some modifications, it just might.

The post Allegiant Airlines: Is there a market for a European Allegiant? appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.