When Budget Travel last surveyed the small, cut-rate airlines of Europe, they were relatively small companies-and almost all of them concentrated on flights from London to the Continent. In 2002, the established budget players (low-cost, no-frills airlines similar to our own Southwest or JetBlue) and a host of upstarts began to expand, establishing hubs across the U.K., Germany, France, and Belgium.
Suddenly, there's a vast network in which flights cost less-sometimes much less-than on the big, established carriers.
Today you have an inexpensive alternative to long-distance rail travel in Europe. By train, the far-flung corners of the Continent once took several days (and often well over $100 on high-speed lines) to reach. The no-frills airlines can get you there in just a few hours for well under a hundred bucks.
The maps below tell the story. Sample fares given are for one-way travel (the standard on no-frills) and do not include taxes. You can even compare prices on routes served by more than one of these new airlines at http://www.aerfares.net/.
