Some companies specialise in selling low cost flights by buying inventory from airlines when they are short on bookings or cash. They then sell these on to travellers for less than you could get by going direct. Charter airlines can often give the best prices for this reason, howeer, the problem with these is that if there is a delay or a problem with the aircraft, its going to be a long delay, because they don't have spare, re-routeable aircraft available, and as they only have a couple of flights a day in each direction, the chances of you getting onto a different flight is limited.
Does Travelling on a Budget Airline Increase the Risk?
Not necessarily. The aviation industry is very strictly regulated and all airlines must meet very stringent safety, insurance and bonding requirements. So there is little difference between the airlines on this basis.
Where delays are concerned, the statistics indicate that the average delay times are not seismically different between the budget and other airlines. What is particualrly of interest, however, is the time the budget airline aircrat stay in the air. Because their turn around times are so short, they are constantly in use. Also, because they have so many flights to Alicante, any delays experienced can be minimal because they have often have other flights, which they can put you on. If anything, the temptation facing the budget airlines is more often whether it is easier to just 'cancel' the flight and redistribute passengers on other flight times, rather than to try and make up the delay in some more drastic way.
Time of Flights
Everybody wants to travel when its convenient to them. Yet by checking out dates a few days earlier or later, or by checking out flights during non-social hours, you can find fares are a lot cheaper. Our family recently saved £600 just by bringing our departure date forward by two days. That more than paid for the extra two nights stay!
Flight Duration, Check-in Periods and Clearing Customs
Typical flight times from London airports to the Costa Blanca are around the two hour plus mark. Most airlines in the UK and the Costa Blanca open their counters between two and three hours prior to departure. Many travellers from Alicante check i just an hour before departure, although giving yourself two hours is safer. The baggage handling in Spain isusually reasonably quick and puts the larger British airports to shame! Passport control and customs in Spain are pretty laid back, but they deserve respect as they have a lot of power to detain and search. They don't have much humour when it comes to the seriousness of their job, so we recommend avoiding any wise cracks!
Book Ahead!
It used to be the case that 'last minute' flights to the Costa Blanca meant lower prices. This is no longer the case. Nearly all the airlines now are giving discounts for booking ahead, as this helps their cashflow. So most will give their best prices for early booking.
