Which Budget Airline

[Donpipez]

Hi Folks

Asking for help & advice again............

The last two Years we have booked package deals with Thomsons staying at the Mathraki in July.

Happy with the price I paid this Year & had a fab time but next Year I would really like to wake up to a sea view so with that in mind I am looking to book independently.

My question is regarding which budget airline to use, where to fly from & when do flights become available? (1st 2 weeks in July)

We live in Hull so our options would be Leeds/Bradford, Manchester, Newcastle or East Midlands flying with either Ryanair, Easyjet or Jet2.

I have trolled through the forum (as I do every day) and found some useful information but if there is anyone who could point me in the right direction I would be truly grateful (although I realise a number of members who could help me are probably sunning themselves in Arillas right now)

Thanks in advance

Neil & jill

[Truth]

Jet2 are not the cheapest these days BUT probably the best.  The other two are fine , Easyjet is probably the better of the two but are usually a little bit more expensive.  Depends on what sort of baggage allowance you want as well ?
Flights usually come out for next July around October time , I tend to start looking constantly around that time and book them as soon as I can for the best prices.

[ger]

you could always look at thomascookfly they had some pretty good bargains for this september (not any good for you i know!) but might be worth a look. otherwise my fav would be easyjet. if you book speedy boarding you are allowed a slightly larger carry on case, and we normally manage with that for a week.
ger x

[justphil]

We always do EasyJet, but from Bristol or Gatwick. We book within hours of release to get the best price. We book Bardis Sun Studios the year before, and are already "in" for 2016. They arrange our taxi transfer, so all we have to do is arrive.

We are here now, and this year for a couple, it has cost shy of £900 for three weeks. I would call that serious value for money!

Many of us on this forum help each other as much as we can. I will be happy to offer guidance when we get back on 1st of August. In the meantime, I am sorry. We are here and soaking up every minute this wonderful place throws at us!

Phil

[TerryW]

We have used Jet2 and Easyjet and we find Easyjet cheaper and better.

[annemarsh]

We have flown from Leeds and Manchester, using Easyjet,Jet2 and Ryanair, and to be honest we've been happy with all of them. Ryanair from Leeds tends to be cheapest (and easiest) for us , but simply compare them last minute before you book. This year we're going out from Leeds (Ryanair) and coming back into Manchester (Easyjet) purely because it worked out cheapest (even including extra taxi costs from Manchester) and gave us a lot more flexibility on dates.
I would suggest you check the accommodation availability first, then choose and book the flights ( - because the prices can rocket in just a few hours), then book the accommodation.
But it really depends on your priorities. This year we needed very specific dates so we booked the flights without even looking at accommodation because we felt that as long as we could get there, we didn't care if we had to sleep on the beach, just as long as we were in Arillas.....
Good luck.

[Truth]

I don't see you struggling to get accommodation early July so I would book flights as soon as they come out and worry about your room later , that's obviously just my personal opinion.

[Paul D]

Just to add to everyone`s good advice about flights - It seems booking flights first then sorting accommodation is the order of things.   However, we`ve done it backwards.  Booked our digs with a well known accommodation website allowing us to cancel if necessary, without penalty, really close to our travel dates.   Will be keeping a sharp eye out for flights when they become available.   If I can`t find what I need, then will see about doing the package deal option instead. 

               Paul

[soniaP]

Last year we flew with Thomas Cook from Manchester and this year easy jet from Manchester also. Easyjet flights out beginning of October and usually some kind forum member posts when they are out. The flights literally increase by the hour. We check flights then check accommodation availability and then book flights and then confirm accommodation. Most places will pencil you in until you have booked flights. Prefer Easyjet to Thomas Cook as we had a lot of same sex parties  on package tours to Kavos on our flight with Thomas cook and a policewoman got on flight before we even took off. Having said that Thomas Cook handled it really well and didn't serve a drink for about an hour and a half and then put seatbelt lights on for most of the flight.

[Donpipez]

Thanks for the help & hints folks - I must admit it didn't occur to me to use one of the accommodation websites - We do so all the time at home - unfortunately there is now no availability for the dates we prefer.
So.........from what I gather I can provisionally book accommodation and then wait to book flights later in the Year & the sooner the better.

Thanks Again

Neil & Jill

[Truth]

a lot of the "booking sites" for accommodation haven't release for Summer 2016 yet . 

[Donpipez]

Sorry Folks - Still having problems deciding which option is best!!

Firstly - I can book the Mathraki Studios again for July next Year with Thomsons flying from East Midlands for £963 which is more than we paid this Year but cheaper than flying from Manchester.

I have been quoted 65 euros/Night for the alternative accommodation which is approximately £47/Night depending on which rate you can get - This would then be roughly £660 for the two weeks (accommodation only).

To compete with Thomsons price I would then need to get 2 x return flights for roughly £150 each - Is this possible?

Secondly - It would seem from what you tell me the budget airlines release their flights in October - do they all do this at the same time or at different times - If different what do you tend to do? - Grab the 1st available flights or wait for an alternative from the competitors with the hope it may be cheaper but run the risk of losing the original?

Sorry for waffling on so long but after 40 years of travelling with tour operators it is all a little daunting

Thanks Again

Neil & jill

[Truth]

I doubt you will get a return flight for £150 in July and then , if you do , don't forget you will have to sort your own transfers if you do , another 50 ish euro each way ....
One rule applies with all of the budget airlines , they will go up and up within hours of release for a few days and then could go up and down in price over the following weeks and months periodically.
Which airline you choose to go with can only be your choice ....

[soniaP]

our flights this year were £189 each with Easyjet from Manchester. We then had 100 euros return for taxi transfer. I did delay for a few days after flights released and if I had booked them as soon as they were released they would have been about £150 each. Our accommodation for a studio for 2 was 300 euros for 10 nights. Hope this helps.

[ger]

there is a wedding taking place in marina in july next year, apparantly could be 150 plus guests, bear that in mind, could be that accomodation beginning of july will be limited.
ger x