No-frills battle it out over fares

Friday, 06 Dec, 2002 0

Europe’s no-frills carriers have launched a barrage of fare deals this month, with flights from as little as 33 pence.

Lufthansa’s no-frills offspring, Germanwings has launched a sale today of 50,000 tickets for £1 including taxes and charges, for travel between 7 January and 17 February. It started flying between London Stansted and its base at Cologne on December 1. It also offers flights from its base to Barcelona, Berlin, Madrid, Milan, Nice, Paris, Rome, Vienna, and Zurich.

Never one to shy away from a fares battle, Ryanair’s chief executive, Michael O’Leary is attempting to woo the German market by undercutting Germanwings with fares of 50 cents (33 pence) including taxes and charges on flights out of Frankfurt Hahn.

Mr O’Leary said: “Our offer has double the seats, double the booking period, more routes at half their price. Nobody beats Ryanair’s low fares in Germany, not in the past, not now, not in the future, not ever!”

The 50 cents Ryanair tickets are available until the end of today for travel between 19 December and 24 February.

The Irish carrier is offering flights from Stansted to other destinations in Europe from £9.99 each way including tax and charges. The only way to get this fare is to book early because the fares are limited to a number of seats. It is also not valid for travel on Fridays, Saturday mornings, or Sundays. Tickets must be booked by 12 December for travel 14 days ahead.

Buzz has entered the fray with its weekly seat sales on specific destinations from £5 one-way excluding taxes. It starts with Paris booked up to 8 December, then German routes booked between 9 and 11 December, and more French destinations for bookings made between 12 and 15 December. Certain flights are excluded from the promotion including flights booked for travel on a Friday and Sunday, which cost from £24 one-way not including taxes.

In the orange corner, is easyJet/Go, with various one-way deals for destinations in Europe. Prices start at £17.50 one-way to Venice, £20 to Naples and £22.50 to Majorca, Madrid, Barcelona and Nice. As with the other carriers, the only way to get these fares is to book early and not travel on popular days.

Read our previous stories:
21-Nov-2002 BA launches new no-frills offensive
14-Nov-2002 No-frills online bookings approach 90%
21-Oct-2002 No-frills carriers adopt subtle differences to survive