People
under 25 (and students under 27) can get
discounts of 50% on some Air Inter flights.
The most discounted flights can be cheaper
than long distance rail tickets.
IRISH AIRPORTS
Dublin
Tel. +353 1 814 1111, customer.relations-dublin@aer-rianta.ie
Getting there by road: The airport is situated
about 13 kilometres (8 miles) north of Dublin
city centre. Take the N1 North out of the
centre and follow the signs to the airport.
Getting there by coach:
Airlink Bus www.dublinbus.ie
AerDart Bus www.aerdart.ie
Air Coach www.aircoach.ie
City Bus Services www.dublinbus.ie
City Link www.citylink4me.ie
Cork Airport
County Cork, Tel. + 353 21 431 3131
Getting there by road: Cork Airport is 3
miles south of Cork city centre. Take the
South Link motorway (N27) from Cork and
follow signs for the airport.
Getting there by coach: Bus Eireann - www.buseireann.ie
Farranfore Airport
Fannanfore, County Kerry, Tel. + 353 066
976 4644
Getting there by road: Kerry's regional
airport is situated 16km (10 miles) from
Killarney. Follow the signs from Kerry.
Galway Airport
Carnmore, County Galway, Tel. + 353 91 755
569, Fax. + 353 91 752 8
Getting there: There are no bus services
but most airlines operate a coach service
to the Galway Rail Station in the city.
Knock Airport
Charlestown, Country Mayo, Tel. + 353 094
67222
Getting there: Knock International Airport
is located 6 km south of Charlestown, Co.
Mayo. There are no bus services from the
airport but there are taxis.
Shannon Airport
Tel. + 353 61 712 000
Getting there: Shannon Airport is located
25 km (16 miles) from the cities of Limerick
and Ennis.
Getting there by coach: Bus Eireann - www.buseireann.ie
BUYING A TICKET
Tickets between London and Paris and other
major centres around Ireland can be as little
as £5. Return tickets are usually
cheaper a good defence against immigration
officials who want to be assured that you
are going to leave the country. Get a ticket
with an airline that allows you to make
changes to the ticket without any problems.
If you are working or studying in Ireland
for more than one year you may wish to get
a one-way ticket and utilise the cheap tickets
out of London to come home.
Students or travellers under 26 years should
always ask for youth / student fares. If
you are flying from Australia or New Zealand,
ask about stopovers to break the journey.
Buying tickets with a credit card can double
your frequent flyer points and is an insurance
against dodgy travel agents. This way you
have time to check you have a ticket and
can cancel the charge if there is a problem.
If you are arriving late or departing early
check to see if the airport is open all-night
so you can catch some sleep on comfy sofas
before heading off again. Some places can
close down and public transport services
stop for the night.
AIRLINES IN IRELAND
Aer Lingus, Tel. +353 0818 365 000 (calls
charged at national rate) www.aerlingus.com
Ryan Air - www.ryanair.com
Easily the best discount airline for flights.
easyJet - www.easyJet.com
in the UK, 0870 6 000 000. in Spain, 90
229 9992
in Switzerland, 0848 888 222. in the Netherlands,
023 568 4880
in Ireland, 0825 082 508. in Greece, 967
0000.
OTHER EUROPEAN AIRLINES
ScotAirWays.Com - www.scotairways.com
CHEAP DEALS
Many of the cheap airlines cut their prices
by reducing services i.e you will not be
served meals or drinks. They also offer
online reservations which cuts out the commissions
normally paid to travel agents. Most travel
agents as a result will boycott booking
for these airlines. If you would like to
book using a charter or courier go to our
links pages for helpful links. Charter buy
blocks of tickets in advance and resell
them to consumers. Flights can be crowded,
inflight service compromised and schedules
can change at the last minute or be delayed.
Courier flights are a better way to travel
however it means you have very small baggage
allowance and it is usually impossible to
travel with a friend unless you can meet
up when you arrive. However the length of
your trip may also be determined by the
flight, you may be required to serve as
a courier on the return trip.
Auto
Europe can offer bookings from USA to
Europe.
For other cheap flights check the ads in
major newspapers, student newspapers and
the free / alternative press.
Ryan Air - www.ryanair.com
Ryan Air flies to locations all over Europe
and the United Kingdom from London Stansted.
For flexible travellers these cheap flights
are a big saving. However special deals
are offered only during certain periods,
check their website regularly for details.
Flights can be booked by credit card and
tickets are picked up at the airport. Ryan
Air does not refund cancellations and only
20 kilograms are allowed as weight allowance.
Usually one piece of hand luggage is permitted.
EasyJet
Also operates out of London but has more
limited flights than Ryan Air throughout
Europe. easyJet is a ticketless airline,
so all you need at check-in is your confirmation
number and positive proof of ID (a passport
for International flights). For Further
information visit the easyJet web site:
www.easyJet.com
TIPS
ON SURVIVING AIR TRAVEL
* Avoid areas with young
children
* Put a request in for seats with more leg
room (these are often reserved if someone
with a disability requests them)
* Suck on lollies or inhale sachets of eucalyptus
(both provided by the airline) if you have
ear trouble with ascent or descent.
* Bring an array of activities to keep you
occupied eg. Books to read, work to do,
letters to write etc
* Request to be moved if you can spy a series
of empty seats or request that the seats
next to you be left empty until needed
* Don’t hesitate to tell other passengers
if they are talking too loud when you are
sleeping, have their chair too far back
or are generally disrupting your comfort.
* Walk around the plane regularly for exercise
once the seatbelt sign is released. If you
hang around the hostess area long enough
you may even score a few perks – drinks,
visits to the cockpit etc.
* Get in early using the bathrooms as these
can deteriorate rapidly on some flights.
* Alcohol does not help with jet lag affects.
* If you’re hungry ask for more food.
There are often spare meals that are only
discarded.
