Low-cost flights to France

[Frieda]

I'm looking for a flight to France towards the end of May ? we've been quoted over £500 for the 3 of us on a scheduled Air France flight, which will obviously add quite a bit to the cost of our holiday, but as I was browsing around I came across Ryanair who seem to do flights for as little as £4.99. Does anyone know how reliable these low-cost places are, whether it's better to book early or leave it til the last minute ? the last thing I want to do is to lose out on our entire holiday because the flight is cancelled at the last minute, but the thought of saving £500 is quite appealing.
Any tips here MUCH appreciated (we want to go to Bordeaux, Bergerac or Limoges)

We've used Ryanair and Easyjet quite a lot. They're usually good, but in day's gone by when easyjet only had a few planes, a breakdown could cause very long delays as no reserve aircraft. It's usually cheaper to book in advance rather than at the last minute.

Frieda, I have used RyanAir a couple of times, once we were delayed 4hrs each way and once on time each way. They are fine for short flights. Book asap I would say. I am going to Montpellier with them in July and they were half the price of BA. Also take the £4.99 thing with a pinch of salt, unless you are going next Thurs before 6am and coming back on a leap year they don't exist! What I mean really is if you want to go for a week you invariably end up paying more.

Other so called low cost airline

www.britishmidland.com
www.bmibaby.com
www.easyjet.com
www.buzzaway.com
www.go-fly.com

Some of these have been taken over by others now so links may be out of date, and they are from memory so may have got the .com bit wrong!

You could also check

www.expedia.co.uk
www.deckchair.com

which will search for cheapest scheduled flights for you.

Frieda, I have used RyanAir a couple of times, once we were delayed 4hrs each way and once on time each way. They are fine for short flights. Book asap I would say. I am going to Montpellier with them in July and they were half the price of BA. Also take the £4.99 thing with a pinch of salt, unless you are going next Thurs before 6am and coming back on a leap year they don't exist! What I mean really is if you want to go for a week you invariably end up paying more.

Other so called low cost airline

www.britishmidland.com
www.bmibaby.com
www.easyjet.com
www.buzzaway.com
www.go-fly.com

Some of these have been taken over by others now so links may be out of date, and they are from memory so may have got the .com bit wrong!

You could also check

www.expedia.co.uk
www.deckchair.com

which will search for cheapest scheduled flights for you.

Thanks, both of you ? that was really helpful. I thought it must be cheaper to book in advance, and waiting 4 hours or so at Luton isn't the end of the world (what I was worried about was being told "the flight's cancelled ? here's your £4.99 back", which obviously would be a bit galling. Presumably if that does happen, they put you on the next flight? )I'll get browsing!

I've used Ryanair and Easyjet and haven't had any problems myself. I've gotten very good deals but you do have to keep your eyes peeled for when the deals come out.

Mind you I've had friends who have had terrible experiences so it depends on how stress free you want your holiday to be. Pay more if you want gauranteed no stress or go budget if don't mind chancing it.

Don't forget the trains either. We trained it down (before we had ds) to Avignon and it was fantastic. Freedom to move around the carriage, loads more leg room etc etc. This may be a good way for you to travel and even though it takes a little longer really ins't too bad.

I can't remember the company I used to book the tickets but if you ring Eurostar they will tell yo uas the company is affiliated.

At the moment Easyjet have Tax free flights, which need booking by tomorrow. These save loads more too. I was looking at Paris flights in May at £40 a head!

Thanks, Crunchie and Meanmum ? I'll try them tonight!

A friend has just been moaning last week about how she has had her flights to France cancelled for the summer - something to do with one of the low cost airlines being sold/taken over?

Their website was down, she couldn't get through to customer services, there was supposed to be a special section of the website for those who had previously booked flights with the orginal company but at the time she phoned, her flights for four people had risen from 500 to 1200!!

Buzz had been taken over by Ryanair who have slashed some of the routes - although some may have been reinstated. Easyjet have now taken over Go.

Have used all budget airlines and, despite some delays sometimes, generally have no qualms about using them at all. The £4.99 fares do exist (I've had 00.02 fare) but that price will not usually include taxes etc - you need to check out the full price.

Also, you do need to bear in mind that the airport may be some distance for the designated destination.

If you're hiring a car, check that they actually have a desk at the airport. Suffered a nightmare from this last year, despite being told Hertz had a desk at Tours airport (they didn't!). Car hire co which always seems to have a desk at the airport is Budget (but their cars aren't the most desirable - they will give you a Twingo when Hertz gave me a Polo)

And definitely book as soon as you see a good price. Esayjet tend to start low and go up. Ryanair fluctuate, you need to check them a lot. But you're unlikely to get a cheap deal if you leave it late. Hope this helps

Wow, thanks, everyone ? I knew mumsnet would be a top place to go for advice!

Now, I've found a perfect flight to Bergerac via Ryanair, but I understand it's one of the routes recently taken over from Buzz. Our holiday co. have told us Ryanair has been cancelling flights all over the place (as you say, Tinker) and they couldn't comment whether I'd be safe doing this. If we couldn't get there at the last minute, we'd still be liable for the cost of our holiday. What do you think, folks? Should I go ahead and book it anyway? If they cancel, will they put us on the next flight (which might be in 3 days time)? Or would we be better off trying elsewhere? And if it all falls through, what would our likelihood be of being able to drive straight on to a cross channel ferry, not having booked? (By the way, it's nowhere near £4.99, as the ad suggests! Big pinch of salt, SamboM!)

I might try ringing Eurostar tomorrow anyway to see what the train options are, as Meanmum suggests. Why does it all have to be so complicated?

We've never had a problem getting onto a ferry at the last minute. Ferry's work the same way that they become more expensive the closer to the time you book but all in all I haven't found them to be exorbitant.

Ferry's are also fantastic as is the Eurotunnel just to Calais. The kids can run around on the ferry and there is a special play area for the kids which is great. Loads of options when it comes to food and just generally relaxing. Eurotunnel to Calais is good as you can get out of car and walk around and only takes 30 minutes from Dover to Calais. Also slightly closer to board if travelling from London than the ferry so round trip is shorter all up.

I would book the flights and risk it and if it all turns pear shaped on the day make the most of it, don't get stressed and enjoy whatever happens. Therefore, if you end up on the ferry look at it as an experience. I would justify a nice hotel on the trip down (if you aren't busting a gut to get to your destination) as compensation for not having been able to get on the flight.

I'm always able to spend money and justify why I should stay somewhere nicer than what I intended.

Frieda, I thought Bergerac was one of the flights which was going to be cancelled following Ryanair's takeover of Buzz - there was an article about it in a Sunday newspaper several weeks back. If they're still selling flights, I must be wrong!