Help Needed on budget flights from London

[CathyCruises]

Hi All:

 

It looks like we will be heading to Italy in January and I have been doing the dreaded airfare search. It looks like the best bet is to fly to London (we can get there on American from San Francisco for $700) and then take one of the low cost carriers from there. I checked Ryan Air and we can fly to Pisa for what looks to be a VERY cheap rate, about 35 pounds for the two of us. I know that there are strict baggage restrictions, though. Are there other carriers I should check that a) maybe fly from Heathrow and b) are a little less strict on the weight limits?

 

If we do use Ryan Air out of Stansted, what is the best way to get there from Heathrow and how much time do I need to allow?

 

Also I have heard that it may be wise to actually buy a car in Europe if you are planning a long stay, then selling it before you leave. Does anyone have any experience with this? Sounds a bit scary but potentially very cheap.

 

Any advice much appreciated!

 

Cathy

[Oakman]

Check this website http://www.vayama.com first.I found $643.00 R/T San Francisco to Rome in January on Alitalia. I always use this website for International air.

[agabbymama]

Be very wary of booking two independent flights. I did this in Oct '08 for our cruise out of Rome. I found airfare to Paris round trip for $550 and thought I was home free. Was going to take the overnight train to Rome, then from Venice back to Paris. A couple of problems arose (no smoking on the train at all) and we would arrive in Paris at 9:30 as our plane for home was taking off (we could have waved as it passed). So then had to scramble and look for a flight from Paris to Rome/Venice to Paris. Found an Air France flight for $330 so $880 for full airfare. Not too bad.

 

Our luggage allowance on our international flight from LAX to Paris was 2 checked bags of 50 pounds each. Our luggage allowance on the DOMESTIC flight from Paris to Rome was 1 checked bag at 44 pounds.

If we had taken a second bag, the cost was an additional 50 EURO, or if our one checked bag had weighed 50 lbs the cost was an additional 150 EUR, so we were very careful to keep our bag weight at 44 pounds. It was extremely tough for a 3 week vacation, but we managed to do it. I left articles of clothing in hotels along the way, to make room for purchases made. And we took advantage of the laundry room on the Grand Princess.

 

So it is possible to do, but not very pleasant. In retrospect, I would just book direct flight to Rome. The cost savings wasn't worth the aggravation. Have a great trip!

[CathyCruises]

Thanks for the suggestions--I will check Vayama right away. The problem is that we are renting a house in San Gimignano, so Pisa is the closest airport, and after that we will probably make our way to Paris eventually, so we thought it would be easier to fly in and out of London--we could just take the Chunnel from Paris to London, something we've always wanted to do. If we get a round trip flight to anywhere else, we will have to backtrack at some point.

 

I know about the luggage issues, that may be the deal breaker for us since we will be gone for 6 weeks, but maybe it will be easier just to pack super light anyway. . .a real challenge!!

 

Cathy

[BMT]

Well, unless you want to fly at some stupid time, the low-cost carriers are not so low cost, when you consider extra costs for baggage etc. We use British Airways from Heathrow and no longer the low-cost carriers. You get what you pay for. Getting to Stanstead.........I wouldn't do it!! I pay £28 for each case above the 1 case allowance.

 

BA appears to fly to Florence from Gatwick - may have to change though, I haven't researched it.

[scottbee]

Hi All:

 

It looks like we will be heading to Italy in January and I have been doing the dreaded airfare search. It looks like the best bet is to fly to London (we can get there on American from San Francisco for $700) and then take one of the low cost carriers from there. I checked Ryan Air and we can fly to Pisa for what looks to be a VERY cheap rate, about 35 pounds for the two of us. I know that there are strict baggage restrictions, though. Are there other carriers I should check that a) maybe fly from Heathrow and b) are a little less strict on the weight limits?

 

If we do use Ryan Air out of Stansted, what is the best way to get there from Heathrow and how much time do I need to allow?

 

Also I have heard that it may be wise to actually buy a car in Europe if you are planning a long stay, then selling it before you leave. Does anyone have any experience with this? Sounds a bit scary but potentially very cheap.

 

RyanAir, just say NO.

 

Easyjet is a reasonable alternative, their fare is at least fare, with a flat €11 for a 20kg luggage allowance. However, in both cases, It's a lot of a hassle to get from Heathrow to Gatwick (or Luton, or Stansted).

 

BA fly LHR-PSA for $133 one way. Hard to beat that (vs Ryanair + transfer + stupid luggage fees).

[AmoMondo]

Hi All:

 

It looks like we will be heading to Italy in January and I have been doing the dreaded airfare search. It looks like the best bet is to fly to London (we can get there on American from San Francisco for $700) and then take one of the low cost carriers from there. I checked Ryan Air and we can fly to Pisa for what looks to be a VERY cheap rate, about 35 pounds for the two of us. I know that there are strict baggage restrictions, though. Are there other carriers I should check that a) maybe fly from Heathrow and b) are a little less strict on the weight limits?

 

If we do use Ryan Air out of Stansted, what is the best way to get there from Heathrow and how much time do I need to allow?

 

Also I have heard that it may be wise to actually buy a car in Europe if you are planning a long stay, then selling it before you leave. Does anyone have any experience with this? Sounds a bit scary but potentially very cheap.

 

Any advice much appreciated!

 

Cathy

 

I usually use BA because they have more generous baggage allowancdes and allow a fair bit of leeway if you are a bit over. However they fly to Pisa from gatwick not Heathrow.

[euro cruiser]

Also I have heard that it may be wise to actually buy a car in Europe if you are planning a long stay, then selling it before you leave. Does anyone have any experience with this? Sounds a bit scary but potentially very cheap.

I don't know anyone who has done this, it sounds pretty scary to me too, but I do know people who have done short term leases, which is a lot less than a regular rental. I think the mimimum period is four weeks, which you will meet.

 

Edited to add:

 

I went to the AutoEurope site to find information on the short term lease for you, but found instead info on their Peugeot buy-back program. Looks interesting: http://www.autoeurope.com/buyback_home.cfm

[roninrome]

UH... good luck buying a car in Italy - legally - unless you have the proper ID (Italian Carta d'identita, EU passport, etc.). The bureaucracy here is incredible and buying a car here, getting insurance, getting license plates, etc. is far different than in the States. The long-term lease is a far better alternative.

[Andym]

Try looking at http://www.whichbudget.com. Work fro Pisa backwards to find where the budget airlines fly from.

 

You can get to Manchester International for the same price as London and then can fly to Pisa from there

[Gardyloo]

I think you're over-complicating this. I can see fares from Denver to Pisa - AA to London, connecting to BA nonstop to Pisa, for $809 all in with a 4-week stay (not sure how long yours is.) If SFO or LAX are more convenient, the price is $30 - $50 more.

 

Believe me, switching airports in London to save ten bucks in airfare - which you may very well not do after baggage and other nuisance charges are added, not to mention the hassle of getting to Gatwick, Stansted or Luton - bag schlep, expensive bus rides etc. - is not a great way to start a vacation. Instead, check your bags all the way to Italy and enjoy a couple of hours at the Heathrow Mall.

 

As for car leasing, the best programs are offered by the two French companies, Renault and Peugeot. See http://www.renaultusa.com or http://www.autoeurope.com/buyback_home.cfm. Note both only offer a couple of pick-up points in Italy (Milan and Rome) so you'd need to see if that works with your schedule. Also they surcharge Italian pick-ups, so do some price comparisons too. It might be worth it to take the train up to Nice, collect the car and drive it down to S.G., then return it to Nice when you leave. It's all in the numbers.

 

Of course you can also buy a US-spec car in Europe and have it shipped home when you're done - there are good plans offered by BMW, Volvo, Mercedes and Audi. If you're going in January, though, timing would be tight. Pick it up in Europe, drive it while you're visiting, then the shipping home is included in the price. If you want to sell it when you get home, you can usually break even or close to it, since the European delivery price is substantially less than the US MSRP. Sort of like getting a classy rental car for free.

[Globaliser]

It looks like the best bet is to fly to London (we can get there on American from San Francisco for $700) and then take one of the low cost carriers from there.

Actually, if you're going to Pisa it's probably about the worst bet. The only thing that this might be good for is securing the lowest headline fare for your air tickets. But that's before adding in all the extra costs, including the cost of getting from Heathrow to Stansted (if you're going to do Ryanair), and baggage costs.

 

Have you discovered how much it would cost you to check bags on Ryanair? If you check just one 50 lb bag, you will pay about £190 per flight in baggage fees. Just how good does that £35 headline fare look now?

 

Your best bet is, as others have said, to connect at Heathrow. You would also be better off flying BA from San Fran to London, because then you will do a T5-T5 connection at Heathrow which is one of the easiest connections to make at any European hub. Even if you have to pay another $20 or $30 over the AA ticket to do this, it would probably be worth it.

 

If you want to fly to Pisa but back from London, don't forget to look at pricing an open-jaw ticket (SFO->PSA / LHR->SFO) and compare that to the cost of buying a straight round-trip ticket to London and adding on an extra ticket from London to Pisa. It might be the same sort of cost, but you would then get misconnection protection built in.

[jetwet1]

Hi All:

 

It looks like the best bet is to fly to London (we can get there on American from San Francisco for $700) and then take one of the low cost carriers from there.

Cathy

 

That's your first mistake, your actually better off flying directly to Rome through a city in the US, this is due to the tax system the UK has now implemented.

 

Also, DO NOT fly ryan air, while they are good at what they do, they are lousy when it comes to transporting a cruise pax, if you go through London take a look at going BA, normally the add on is only a couple of dollars more.

[Globaliser]

That's your first mistake, your actually better off flying directly to Rome through a city in the US, this is due to the tax system the UK has now implemented.

This is wrong for two reasons.

 

First, the "tax system" in the UK is no different from how it has been for over 15 years. What has changed recently is the level of tax charged.

 

And none of this affects anyone who is making a true connection in the UK (ie connecting using a single ticket). The UK's air passenger duty is not charged on transit passengers.

 

There are real disadvantages to connecting at a US point. The most tangible is that on the inbound flight to the US, you have to clear immigration and customs at the first port of entry. The time allowance you need to make for this means that you waste a lot of time on that half of the journey.

 

Also, it tends to tie you to flying US airlines.

Also, DO NOT fly ryan air ...

Something I've just read: Flying Ryanair is like buying beer in a pub for 27p a pint.

 

However, if you want a glass to put it in, that'll be £2 more.

 

If you want some head on it, it's another £2.

 

And if you didn't pre-order it online before you got to the pub, there's an extra charge of £3.50.

 

And you get whatever the cheapest beer was that the pub could find when scraping Europe's barrels.

 

I think it's time for a new CC signature.

[mjesf]

Hi All:

 

It looks like we will be heading to Italy in January and I have been doing the dreaded airfare search. It looks like the best bet is to fly to London (we can get there on American from San Francisco for $700) and then take one of the low cost carriers from there. I checked Ryan Air and we can fly to Pisa for what looks to be a VERY cheap rate, about 35 pounds for the two of us. I know that there are strict baggage restrictions, though. Are there other carriers I should check that a) maybe fly from Heathrow and b) are a little less strict on the weight limits?

 

If we do use Ryan Air out of Stansted, what is the best way to get there from Heathrow and how much time do I need to allow?

 

 

Here is the real reason why the whole land at LHR and go to STN to get a cheap flight is not a good idea.

 

This would be like flying into SFO on a transatlantic or transpacific flight and going to OAK to get a cheap flight on WN to somewhere along the lines of RNO, GEG or BOI. This would entail:

 

1. Arriving at SFO

2. Going through customs and immigration at SFO

3. Trekking to the SFO BART Station.

4. Riding BART all the way to the Coliseum / Oakland Airport Station

5. Taking the AirBART bus to the OAK terminal

6. Doing the whole checkin and security routine for WN.

 

Would you go through a hassle like that to start or end your trip?

[6rugrats]

Here is the real reason why the whole land at LHR and go to STN to get a cheap flight is not a good idea.

 

This would be like flying into SFO on a transatlantic or transpacific flight and going to OAK to get a cheap flight on WN to somewhere along the lines of RNO, GEG or BOI. This would entail:

 

1. Arriving at SFO

2. Going through customs and immigration at SFO

3. Trekking to the SFO BART Station.

4. Riding BART all the way to the Coliseum / Oakland Airport Station

5. Taking the AirBART bus to the OAK terminal

6. Doing the whole checkin and security routine for WN.

 

Would you go through a hassle like that to start or end your trip?

 

Yes, if I saved enough money I would. And I don't fly WN, but don't think you can compare them to Ryanair.

[Gardyloo]

1. Arriving at SFO

2. Going through customs and immigration at SFO

3. Trekking to the SFO BART Station.

4. Riding BART all the way to the Coliseum / Oakland Airport Station

5. Taking the AirBART bus to the OAK terminal

6. Doing the whole checkin and security routine for WN.

 

Would you go through a hassle like that to start or end your trip?

The above transfer would cost around US$9 for the BART fare. Heathrow > Stansted is GBP24 (US$38); Heathrow > Gatwick or Luton is GBP20 (US$32) per person.

[LHT28]

If you are going to Pisa then why not fly into Florence or Pisa

Pick up a lease car there (if possible) save all the hassles ...that to me is worth more than saving a few $$ changing airlines/airports etc...

 

check out all the add on costs of the cheaper airlines from LHR to what you can get in RT from USA

 

I like to use

http://matrix.itasoftware.com/cvg/dispatch/prego;jsessionid=C9AC19CBE38F2E8520BD11E3FAC81A30

[scottbee]

Here is the real reason why the whole land at LHR and go to STN to get a cheap flight is not a good idea.

 

This would be like flying into SFO on a transatlantic or transpacific flight and going to OAK to get a cheap flight on WN to somewhere along the lines of RNO, GEG or BOI. This would entail:

 

1. Arriving at SFO

2. Going through customs and immigration at SFO

3. Trekking to the SFO BART Station.

4. Riding BART all the way to the Coliseum / Oakland Airport Station

5. Taking the AirBART bus to the OAK terminal

6. Doing the whole checkin and security routine for WN.

 

Would you go through a hassle like that to start or end your trip?

 

Except LHR-STN is 4x the distance of SFO-OAK, it's even further than SFO-SJC

[jetwet1]

This is wrong for two reasons.

 

First, the "tax system" in the UK is no different from how it has been for over 15 years. What has changed recently is the level of tax charged.

 

 

Not being sarcastic here, but for the last 15 years has the UK government charged different amounts for different lengths of flights ? i.e. IAD over say SFO ?

 

You are of course correct about the connecting pax part, I completely forgot about that rule :(

 

Very true about FR though.

 

AZ is starting up LAX - FCO again non stop, maybe grab that one and then hop over to Pisa ?

[swigso]

Please deo not use Ryan Air.

They charge for everything, they have no desks at the airport so it is very difficult to sort anything out if you have a problem.

The baggage allowance is I think 15KG.

Their service is non existent, fly with them at your peril.

They are OK for a 2/3 day break with only carry on.

I would get a direct flight to Italy and I would not think about buying a car the train system is a great way to get around.

[personnext]

Here are Ryanair's fees (in GBP):

 

Online check-in: £5

Adminsitration fe: £5

"Priority" boarding: £4

First checked bag, max 15kg: £15

Second check bag, max 15kg: £35

Additional baggage or overweight baggage: £20 per kilo

 

You are only allowed one carry-on item. It cannot exceed 10 kilos. A purse, camera bag or laptop bag counts as your one carry-on.

 

So let's say you are taking four fairly full suitcases. That is probably about 20 kilos each. You will pay £100 in baggage fees and £400 in overweight baggage fees.

 

Still think you are saving money?

[Globaliser]

Not being sarcastic here, but for the last 15 years has the UK government charged different amounts for different lengths of flights ? i.e. IAD over say SFO ?

The APD has always had different rates for short-haul and long-haul.

 

The recent changes have introduced a more sophisticated zoning system for long-haul flights to reflect more closely the fact that there are some "long-haul" flights from the UK that are barely 7 hours long, and others that are 24 hours or so in duration.

 

However, London-IAD and London-SFO will still be charged at the same rate, because all destinations within a single country will be in the same zone.

[jetwet1]

To confusing for me at this time of day :D

[SelectSys]

Yes, if I saved enough money I would. And I don't fly WN, but don't think you can compare them to Ryanair.

 

Absolutely, WN prides themselves on both quality, friendly service and not having garbage charges for baggage and changing tickets. In addition, their on board coach seats are in general on par with anything in the market in terms of seat width and pitch.

 

To the OP, like everyone else I would not recommend this trip not as much out of a sheer dislike of FR but of the extra hassle associated with making the trek between LHR and STN. I would also check FR's rules regarding itinerary changes. Again, this could cause extra unanticipated expense. Also, don't forget the expense of ground transfers in the UK.

 

I am less picky than Globaliser regarding connections in the US versus Europe. It may be that you can get an hour shorter flight but you'll still pay on the back end clearing immigration and customs in your final airport. My own view would be to consider cost and frequent flyer affiliation as a key decision criteria. If you aren't part of a program, getting a frequent flier credit card (25k miles) and the miles associated with this trip (10k+) would be good for an off peak ticket to HI or the Caribbean on AA (35k).