The late bookers subsidise the early ones.
Without a
doubt, there are some real bargains in low fare flights but . . . .
The bargains are only at the
beginning when the flight first goes on sale.
There are no last moment bargains - the
price ALWAYS goes up!
You have to pay 100% on booking.
With the budget airlines there are no
in-flight meals.
Scheduled airlines (such as BA, Iberia and Monarch) provide the same
service as before but you have to pay for everything except tea and
coffee.
There is reduced or no "welfare" if the
flight is delayed or cancelled with a budget airline.
VERY IMPORTANT - Just recently
another problem has appeared. It would seem that there is a significant
surplus over demand.
Things were fine when EasyJet had little competition
for its Costa Blanca routes but now that has all changed.
Apart from a virtual declaration of war from its arch-enemy RyanAir the
scheduled airlines have now entered the game and are undercutting the
"no-frills" operators.
It is quite possible that there will be
closures or mergers in the near future. Most certainly BA and Iberia will
survive. Monarch EasyJet and RyanAir seem seem quite stable - but you
never know!
Some airlines (such as MyTravelLight, ThomsonFlights and Britannia Direct)
are owned by tour operators and have an ATOL-bond but this might not apply
to seat-only deals.
But what happens when
(not not "if" as it has already happened) a low fare
airline bellies-up? Quite simply millions of travellers are stranded
and/or lose their money.
Therefore to be on the safe side, always pay for your cheap flight with
a CREDIT CARD (and never a debit or charge card) -
even if it means paying a few £'s more when you book.
Please take note that VISA do not
pay low fare airlines until the flight takes off
- there's a message there somewhere!
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- only available if you have booked
holiday accommodation with VillaServers!
You must provide all necessary details,
name, ages, nationality etc. of the passengers.
The search is made and you are informed by telephone and/or email.
There is no charge if we cannot find
anything to suit. The charge otherwise is £7 per seat (£20 minimum).
Please note that low-fare airlines do
not pay commission to anyone. If fact, if you want to make a phone
booking, you are charged extra.
A travel agent will book also your flights, and charge you.
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The problem is that it is a chicken and
egg situation. You need to be completely flexible on dates and mid-week
flights are normally the cheapest. On the other hand you cannot afford to
book the flights and then find yourself without accommodation.
Additionally many Costa Blanca renters insist on Saturday changeovers.
The order is -
1. - Browse the accommodation, and
create a short-list.
2. - Do your research and find out
when you can book the cheapest flights.
3. - Decide on the accommodation and
ask for a provisional booking for (say) 3 days. Make it clear that you
are arranging flights.
4. - Book the flights and, hopefully
they will still be available at the price. You will have to pay for
these on booking.
5. - WHEN YOU HAVE SECURED THE FLIGHTS
- Firm up the holiday accommodation. Normally you would need to pay a
deposit of around 20% and the balance 60 days beforehand.
6. - Then book your airport
transfers and/or hire cars.
Speed is the essence of the whole
operation and a typical timescale is 24 - 48 hours only once started with
phases 2 to 4. This can be slightly difficult if you have to consult with
friends and/or family. Nevertheless, you can take your time with phase 1.
If you have not yet done this and are
interested in the Costa Blanca -
Whilst on the subject of accommodation:
Do you know about the VillaServers Private Villa Holidays? No? -
then please click here for
our Winter Sun and Summer Special Offers.
OTHER ELEMENTS - Don't forget to
tie up elements like car-hire (if required) or the taxi from the airport.
If the renters cannot help with these then it is easy enough to arrange
yourself.
Generally you will find that the taxi service from Spanish airports is
quite good but the driver will want to drop you off quickly and get back
to the airport.
Make sure that you have a map and/or clear instructions (in Spanish) to
the accommodation.
Hire-cars are easy enough. Most of the low-cost airlines provide
hire-cars but some of them are not so cheap.
VillaServers
will ALWAYS GIVE YOU A GOOD DISCOUNT (if you book the villa accommodation
with them) otherwise it is usually cheaper and better to book directly
with a car-hire company in the resort. If you don't know of one then
please click for our
Costa
Blanca Car-Hire Finder.
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You need pen and paper and, preferably,
a printer connected to your computer - otherwise you will need to make
lots of notes.
Always remember that speed is the
essence of the whole operation. The bargain flights can disappear in a few
minutes so you need to search, decide and book as quickly as possible.
1. Decide which airlines serve
your local and resort airports from the simple list. Make note of
the ones you intend to search.
2. Search each flight company list and leave the window open if the
offer is interesting - the hyperlinks open a new window.
It is quite safe to proceed to the point where you have to give your
credit card details and it does not really matter if you have given your
name and Email - the worst that could happen is that you go on their
mailing list.
Try to be as flexible as possible with dates and times.
Click for hints.
3. Then check back on each
window, inspect each result and decide which ones to go for on the
basis of flight times, cost and travelling to the UK airport - you will
probably end up with lots of options.
If you are happy with the price and have the accommodation arranged
then do it quickly!
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Try to be flexible with your dates.
The low-fare airlines price their
flights according to various parameters, which probably vary greatly
from one to the other. But basically they query -
Flight Popularity - This
depends on the number of seats sold on a particular flight compared with
another.
Public holidays e.g. Easter, Whitsun, the summer school break-up etc.
alway start out higher than other dates
Day of the Week - Obviously
weekends are favoured and there are always mid-week bargains - as little
as half the price!
Time before departure - Flight
prices never, ever go down - they always, always go up. It is just that
the popular dates go up quicker.
Actually the whole scheme a form of
physiological torture. "No-frills" airlines are supposed to be cheap
because they provide less and the customer always goes to a budget
airline to save money.
Some get real bargains but others, who leave it until the last moment,
actually end up paying far more than the old-fashioned charter flight.
Basically this is because the OFCF has virtually disappeared due to the
fierce competition from the "No-frills" companies. Even those OFCF's
than remain have been forced to adopt a low-fare booking model in order
to survive.
Finding a Bargain Price Flight depends on getting the timing right.
There is one simple rule - BOOK EARLY!
If you leave it - YOU WILL SUBSIDISING THE
EARLY-BIRDS!
It stands to reason -
The break-even, one-way fare UK to Alicante is (say)
£35 with average expected sales per flight of 150 seats - that makes
£5,250.
Adding taxes and security charge £25 to the return fare means that the
ticket has to be sold for £105 to break even.
How can they afford to do it -
£98.00*- BA (who
have higher operating costs than RyanAir) Gatwick - Alicante - Gatwick
in August 2005
£38.00* - RyanAir
Stansted - Valencia - Stansted in January 2005
*
Online price offers November 2006
The simple answer is - They can't and they don't.
The last moment price (2 weeks before) for the RyanAir
flight will be at least £150 and they will both be charging
£250 - £300 for August.
The late bookers
subsidise the early ones!
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Companies like British Airways,
Monarch and Iberia have joined the flight price war because they are
hurting from the competition from the low-fare companies. This is
good news for the travelling public.
Quite possibly, if you try to book August seats in June the fare would
take your breath away but you should find some great deals for early
bookings and off-season - and, of course, there's the "reduced-frills"
service . . . .
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