Ryanair's 250% increase in luggage fees

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The low-cost carrier has done it again. They have made it to the headline with yet another incredulous announcement. The fees for checked-in luggage will rise steeply, in some cases up towards the 250% mark.

In an attempt to make passengers travel with hand-luggage only, Ryanair is raising all their fees for checked-in baggage. If you only carry hand-luggage, weighing less than 10 kilo, you will not notice any differences. However, if you want to check-in your bags, the following will now apply;

Checking in 1 bag online: will rise from €10 to €15 per flight from next month, a 50% increase.

Checking in 1 bag at the airport: will rise from €20 to €30 per flight from next month, a 50% increase.

In an attempt to profit further, Ryanair is doubling the checked-in baggage allowance for each passenger. From having allowed each passenger a weight allowance of only 15 kg, you can now bring with you 30 kilos, as long as no single bag weighs more than 15 kilos. A strange turnaround from an airline that says that they want to get rid of checked-in baggage.

Checking in 2^nd bag online: will rise from €20 to €35 per flight from next month, a 75% increase.

Checking in 2^nd bag at the airport: will rise from €20 to €70 per flight from next month, a 250% increase.

If you bag weighs too much, you will now have to pay even more for the extra kilos as the excess bag fee is being increased from €15 to €20 per kilo. So, do note that if you have more than 1 kilo too much, you are better off paying the 2^nd bag charge online.

If you are travelling with checked-in luggage, the other airlines start to look like a more appealing offer, and possibly even a cheaper one.

Related posts:

• Budget airlines: Ryanair the European low-cost carrier
• Where to find cheap flights
• How to avoid paying Ryanair's credit card fees
• Why only one piece of hand-luggage?

Cheap car rental; car hire with Autoeurope is a great bargain!

Renting a car is a daunting task in many ways. Not only do you need to find a cheap bargain but also one that provides you with a good car and great insurance. Different car rental companies have different policies and it can sometimes be hard to know what is what. There are many different options as to how you want to make your car rental purchase. You can rent the car directly from the car rental company or you can go through a car rental broker. At particular times, one might suit you better than the other.

Autoeurope is a cheap car rental broker that also brokers for cheap flights, hotels, transfer services and similar. They have a wide network of car rental services around the world and brokers for car rental companies like AVIS and Dollar. They have many different car options, add-ons and insurances.

The following applies if you are renting your car from Europe, different policies applies if you are living elsewhere in the world.

Standard rate:

Take your pick from various sized cars, ranging from mini / economy to SUVs and convertibles. Chose a pick-up location that is convenient to you. Their pick-up locations are mainly in airports and downtown. Then chose the car that suits you. Do check what insurances are included but often you have the insurance you need for the car but personal injury covers are excluded. The rate also incorporates taxes and unlimited mileage.

Refundable excess:

There is an option to rent a car with a slightly higher price and then get a refundable excess policy. You will then be reimbursed for any excess paid to the supplier in the event of accidental damage. This means that you can then decline to sign-up for the supplier's additional excess reduction insurance when you collect your car rental. As with most insurances, there are exclusions as to what is included in this policy. For example, broken windscreens and damage done to the roof of the vehicle is not included. It is advisable to always double-check with the company as to the exact policies.

Gold rate:

The same applies for the gold rate as for the standard rate with the additional extras of 3 additional drivers and a tank of petrol included. This option is mainly open to Europeans renting a car in the US.

Guaranteed best rates:

Autoeurope provides great rates for car rentals but sometimes other providers are just that bit cheaper. Autoeurope then operates a guaranteed best rate policy. If you find a cheaper rate for exactly the same car hire as the one you have with Autoeurope, you can fill in a form and you will be reimbursed the difference. They might even beat the other price somewhat.

Voucher:

If you decide to rent the car with Autoeurope, you will receive a car rental voucher after you have paid the fee. It will include all the information needed and tell you with what car rental company you will be hiring the car. You have paid the rental in full, so all you have to do on the day is to go to the car company and hand over the voucher. Do keep your own copy so that you have it if needed when you return the car. This can provide useful if you already paid for a tank of petrol and they didn’t take note of that when you got the car.

Related posts:

• Where to find cheap flights
• Have you heard of Hotwire?
• How to avoid paying Ryanair's credit card fees

Budget Airlines: Ryanair the European low-cost carrier

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A few years ago the budget airlines started taking off and managed to get a fair share of the market. The most successful company, at least in Europe, is Ryanair. This Irish flight operator marketed themselves as the no frills airline and slashed prices of flying.

Their strategy certainly worked and even in times of recession, they have managed to hold their own. What did Ryanair do to become so successful and do we really like Ryanair?

I certainly use Ryanair when I fly within Europe and although they annoy me most of the time, they are so cheap that I seem to overlook all the hassle that comes with booking a flight with them. Ryanair cleverly uses pricing as their number one strategy. They have a very low basic price, and to increase their own revenue, they then sneakily add hefty fees to things like, luggage, check-in and credit cards. Even though it angers customers, it does seem to do the trick.

It is also important to know that it is only during certain weeks that their prices are very, very low. When they first introduce the routes and fares, they have a standard price. A couple of months before the date of the flight, they introduce their cheap fares. As they then sell their tickets, the rates increases. In the end, the rates they charge just a few days before the flight is due, are extremely pricy. At least in comparison to the ones a few weeks ago. It is very important to buy your ticket in advance, just not too many months before the flight date.

I will keep blogging about Ryanair, please comment on this and mention what annoys you and tips and tricks that you have come across. I will be blogging about those soon.

Related posts:

• How to avoid paying Ryanair's credit card fees.
• Have you heard of Hotwire?
• Where to find cheap flights.

Where to find cheap flights

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Cheap flights are available from many vendors and there are a few options to search for these. We all want a bargain flight and with a lot of research on the Internet, you might just be lucky.

So, one of the first things to do after you have decided that it is time to take that next trip is to book your flight. As this often is one of the more expensive parts of travelling, it is important to find a good deal. Where would you buy your tickets? Do shop around but more often than not the following conclusions are worth taking into consideration so that you don't have to spend too long finding that bargain.

1. If you are travelling within Europe andRyanair will take you to your destination, it is without a doubt the cheapest option to book with them directly. That is if you buy your ticket well in advance, mind you not too far away though as that can prove expensive too, don't travel with baggage and hold a VISA Electron. Travelling with Ryanair deserves a few blogs on its own so I will return to the subject.

2. If you are planning a trip further afield, then it will be cheaper to go trough brokers or travel agents rather than buying directly with the airlines. Shop around little but as there aren't that many good cheap sites out there, it won't be too much work. The standard brokers that I would use are Expedia, Ebookers, Lastminute and Gohop. There is one Irish agent however that always come up trumps for me and that is Travelpaths. I have booked many of my flights with them simply because they offer me value for money.

3. There is a 3rd option to consider if you don't mind being kept in the dark about the flight operator etc and that is to go and check out Hotwire. Hotwire provides flights, hotels and car rentals cheap but the snag is that you don't find out all the details until you have actually paid. I haven't yet tried it for flights but the hotel option works brilliantly.

Do you have any other recommendations? I would love to find out...

Related posts:

• How to avoid paying Ryanair's credit card fees.
• Why only one piece of hand lugguage?

Where to find a good car rental

The expression; it is a jungle out there fits perfectly when it comes to car rentals. It doesn’t matter if you are renting from a company themselves or through an online broker. It is hard and difficult to fully understand the prices and what you get for your money. When it comes to renting a car you need to know so much more than what kind of car you will be picking up. You need to make sure that you have all the relevant insurances, otherwise the rental if you have an accident will prove very expensive indeed.

The best option is probably to first familiarize yourself with the main car rental companies. There are a few big ones out there such as AVIS, Hertz, Dollar, Budget and Alamo. See what they offer in terms of cars, insurance policies, free mileages and any extras and what they do charge you. Once you know what you ought to get and how much it costs, then you can go on to the online broker sites and see if you can get a better offer.

There are even more brokers out there than you can imagine. Type in cheap car rental and you will have no trouble finding websites to visit. Are they all the same you might wonder? Of course not, they vary. I have only ever used one online broker, Autoeurope, and I can say that I have been happy with them so far. Perhaps you can give some tips as to other ones?

There are of course other ways of renting a car a bit cheaper. Do a combo for instance, when you book your flight or hotel, book your car rental then too. More often than not you will then be able to get a good package deal rate. Especially if you are using a broker site like Expedia or Ebookers.

I will get back to Autoeurope and their car rentals in more details later on. In the meantime, has anyone ever had trouble with them?

Related posts:

• Where to find cheap flights
• Have you heard of Hotwire?
• Budget airlines; Ryanair the European low-cost carrier.

Have you heard of Hotwire?

I don't write this blog to promote different companies but as I do write about things that I have experienced and used, I will of course be mentioning companies that I personally like. Hotwire is just one of many sites that I currently use and check when planning a trip.

Hotwire is a broker with a twist. They offer the usual; flights, hotels and car hire. The difference is that they don't tell you the name of the company that you are booking with until you have paid. It is so to say a bit of a gamble.

So, apart from the adventure of not knowing anything for certain, why use this site? Well, as they say themselves; because they are not advertising the name of the flight operator, hotel or car rental, they can indeed be cheaper than other brokers.

As with anything, there are times when they are a good deal cheaper and other times when you will find better deals elsewhere. You just need to double-check with a few sites as nothing is ever given.

I have only tried to book hotels trough Hotwire and I have been very happy with the outcome. Please note though that most hotel offers come without breakfast included. Something to think about before making that booking.

Have anyone of you tried Hotwire and found it beneficial?

Related posts:

• Tips for using E-tickets.
• How to avoid paying Ryanair's credit card fees.
• Where to find a good car rental.