In Europe, Cheap Flights Come at a Price

WHEN Anne Van Lynden, a financial services executive who is based near Amsterdam, recently flew to Nice for a business meeting, she did not even check the schedules for KLM or Air France. Instead, she surveyed discount airlines that she knew could do the trip for less and picked Transavia, a Dutch line that got her to Nice for plus tax. On other trips around Europe, she has also used EasyJet and Ryanair, also low-cost carriers.

"They are generally cheaper than the full-price airlines, and I have never had a problem," she said.

Numbed by the rising cost of air tickets, American travelers like Ms. Van Lynden are increasingly aware of the vast web of European routes served by no-frills airlines.

But not all those airlines are included in United States Web sites like Expedia, Travelocity and Orbitz. That means travelers trying to save money must be more creative when they make plans. EasyJet tickets, for example, are only available on the EasyJet site.

It is not just booking the tickets that takes extra care. Travelers also have to pay attention to which airports these carriers serve. EasyJet's flight from Nice to Berlin, for example, leaves from that city's sole airport, but the two-hour flight does not go to Tegel, the Berlin airport from which most flights to the United States depart. Instead, it arrives in Schönefeld, which is about 15 minutes farther from the center of Berlin than Tegel, the city's main airport. So anyone hoping to make a connection to a plane bound for the United States had better allow an hour or so for the cab ride from Tegel to Schönefeld.

Keeping track of all the new no-frills airports is hardly easy. EasyJet and Ryanair are the best-known carriers flying around Europe, but there are many others.

HLX, which stands for Hapag-Lloyd, is a low-cost German carrier that flies all over Europe. And Meridiana, an airline that is mostly owned by the Aga Khan, operates widely within Italy but also flies to major European cities.

Meridiana has become increasingly popular with Europeans and is becoming better known to American travelers. Last year, the airline carried four million passengers, and this year that number had already hit 3.2 million by the end of August, said a company spokeswoman, Laredano de Filippo.

From smaller cities like Florence and Amsterdam, the larger carriers often require a plane change in Frankfurt or Paris; Meridiana does make a stop in Turin, but there is no plane change.

Checking in may be more tedious when using a low-cost carrier, but changing planes in major airports where delays raise the potential for lost connections and luggage can be even more aggravating.

Samantha Day, a spokeswoman for EasyJet, said that after the recent report that authorities had discovered a plot to blow up planes departing from England, the airline has gotten more strict about early check-in and baggage requirements. It used to close boarding 30 minutes before flight time and now closes 40 minutes before take off. It also recommends checking in two hours before flight time.

It allows passengers up to 44 pounds of luggage, but even if you are within that limit you will be charged for each additional bag.

"Airports are overloaded with luggage," Ms. Day said. "So we try to encourage passengers to use a single suitcase."