September 29, 2005
Aviation News (IX): The Reader's Guide to Cheapo UK Flights
Like everyone else - okay, almost everyone - we're just giddy with delight over all the new low-cost options available to Budapest-based air travelers. But like all revolutions, the discount airline uprising is sometimes as confusing as it is uplifting. We were thus overjoyed (and not a little touched) to open our in-box the other day and discover that one of our readers had gone through the trouble to do some actual research into the dirty details of the most important such route, from Budapest to the airports that collectively serve the British capital. So without further ado, we present to you the Andy Harvey Guide to Cheapo Budapest-London Flights, in its (nearly) complete and unabridged form.
Introduction:
Loathe them or hate them, English stag parties are here to stay, at least until they find some other place to be fleeced. However, there is a positive spin-off from their dubious presence - cheap flights. When I first arrived in Hungary seven years ago, there was little alternative to the Malév/British Airways domination of the Budapest-Heathrow route. Occasionally I would splash out on an indirect routing to my home airport, Birmingham, but then we were talking Ł200+. When Sky Europe arrived on the scene about two years ago, things started to change: Prices became more realistic and choice broadened. Now there are a whole host of airlines operating between the UK and Budapest. This has even prompted BA (and maybe Malév) to cut its prices, and indeed, BA can even be the cheapest option on certain days.
With this market dynamism in mind, and seeing as I am a cheapskate, I thought I would do some research on who's the cheapest on a given date, and reveal some fairly un-transparent practices by some of the operators. I chose to fly to London on March 2nd of next year, returning on Sunday March 5th. Plenty of time to do all those tedious chores in the UK and time left over for a piss-up or two. I checked out the following airlines (in no order of preference): Wizzair, Sky Europe, easyJet, Jet2, BA and Malév. Following are the results of my survey:
Wizzair
Wizzair flies to "London" Luton airport. London it definitely isn't, but that suits me, as I have to travel north from the airport. Connections are pretty good and there's a shuttle bus to the nearby railway station. Wizzair offered some pretty sociable flight times, see the screenshot. At face value, the prices were amazing too: Ft 990 return for the flights! However, delving a little deeper, there were some hefty surcharges: These surcharges bumped up the "bargain" fare to a - still cheap - Ft 15,410. Add this to the convenient flight times, and this is not a bad deal. The surcharges are openly revealed, though are much (and more questionably) higher than easyJet's.
There are a couple of additional caveats, however: one is a Ł4 charge if booking by credit card, and a 70p charge for some debit cards. You are not told of this until right at the end of the booking procedure. Also, when I last flew with Wizzair, I was called up at quite short notice and told that the flight I had booked had been cancelled. I had to take the next day's flight and this screwed up my train bookings in England. If you know British trains, the best deals are on specific trains and are non-refundable! I have contacted Wizzair's customer service email address twice. They didn't deem my messages worthy of a response.I don't recall if the actual flight ran on time, but I recollect that the in-flight service was pretty good. There was a coffee and cake combination that wasn't the usual cheapo rip-off.
Sky Europe
Sky Europe flies to "London" Stansted. Again, it isn't London, but connections to the capital are good, especially by train, though not cheap. Flight times were not good. I have done the 7AM flight and it's not fun. Sure, you get a full day in Blighty, but after getting up at 4:00 a.m., who feels like it? Also, getting back in to Ferihegy at 22:20 is not much fun either, especially if work's on the agenda the next day. Ft 5,280 was the up-front flight price. However, there was a huge bundle of surcharges totaling Ft 16,223, or more than the total cost of the Wizzair flight! Still, they were openly displayed, so nothing was hidden. I suppose Ft 21,503 isn't bad, but bearing the flight times in mind, plus Stansted's location, it doesn't look so good. The last time I flew Sky Europe, we got five minutes into the flight and returned "for technical reasons" only to find the whole gamut of the emergency services waiting for us! Cue one very long wait in the pre-renovated Ferihegy Terminal 1. It felt terminal.
easyJet
EasyJet flies the Budapest to London Luton route, the same as Wizzair. However, they offer more flights than Wizzair and also fly to Gatwick, Bristol and Newcastle, though unfortunately not Nottingham East Midland nor Birmingham. The flight times for my targeted period were OK, but the return options are not as friendly as Wizzair's. Who wants to leave Luton at 6:35 a.m.? Getting into Ferihegy at 8:25 p.m. isn't too convenient either, especially on a cold, dark winter Sunday.
Where easyJet really scores is price. See the screenshot. They charge a measly Ft 5,700 for taxes and charges. Who cares if they don't detail what these are! This brings the total cost to just Ft 13,128, which is slightly cheaper than Wizzair, though not such convenient flight times. EasyJet is my airline of choice. Sure, they have caused me delays - missing trains as a result, but they have never cancelled a flight. There are no debit card surcharges, but you do pay extra if paying by credit card. They do not have dubious promotions like some of their competitors, where the up-front price bears no resemblance to the final price. What you see is what you get. What you also see onboard is lots of gaudy orange, so avoid easyJet if you don't like orange.
Jet2
Jet2 flies to Manchester. Manchester is a long way from London, but not too far from my destination. The flight times aren't bad, and Manchester Airport has reasonable connections to the Midlands. €101.10 is about Ft 25,000, so they are at the top end of the price scale for the cheapos. I have never used them, so cannot comment on their service. They charge a hefty Ft 13,000 for surcharges.
BA & Malév
More as a way of comparison, I looked up BA and Malév. Surprise, surprise, their flights were identically priced. Only the surcharges differed - slightly. Malév even squeezed a Ft 1,000 ticketing fee! At the end of the process, their prices differed by less than Ft 1,000. They were both almost twice as expensive as the most expensive cheapo. Sure, they offer more flights and you get a free drink, newspaper and meal/snack, but these work out to be very expensive extras. From a personal point of view, Heathrow is not the best airport to arrive at. Plus, if anywhere is going to feel the heat of the extremist hordes, you can be sure LHR is high on the list! I have to say that I was surprised by BA's price. I have flown for as little as Ft 31,600 return with them. The fact that they have more flights means that they are occasionally the best option, particularly at holiday times. I chose them at New Year simply because they fly when no one else does.
Conclusion
So there it is, a snapshot of the best offering of the cheapos that offer flights to London. All prices were obtained on 20th September, 2005, five-and-a-half months before the actual flight. The "normal" airlines will claim that this is comparing apples and pears, and, in truth, they do have better back up and customer support. However, whether they are worth more than twice as much as the cheapos is questionable. The cheapos do have a habit of not being cheap when booking late. In fact BA and Malév will often be cheaper at short notice or when specials are offered, meaning that you should get on the email lists of all the airlines. But given the choice of paying Ft 13,000 or Ft 48,000 for ostensibly the same service, give or take a beer and a slice of pizza, I know who I'll choose. If you have to be somewhere at a given time, then choose one of the "normal" operators, as they have the back-up to transfer you to another airline, if necessary. If, like me, it's a leisure trip, take a cheapo.
Incidentally, to put things into perspective, my easyJet booking costs Ft 13,128, while the train connection on the other end costs Ft 10,080. Do the math and see which one is the real bargain. Get it while you can! - Andy Harvey
