AirTalk.org

Joe Curry · Guest

FLIGHTGUIDE FAQ.

This FAQ gives details of where to find accurate and current
information about flights to and from Edinburgh Airport. The rapid
increase in the number of flights in and out of Edinburgh and the
number
of airlines using our local airport means that the information is
constantly changing.
Daily, even hourly, flight information is available from a number of
instantly accessible sources.

FINDING A CHEAP FLIGHT

The right ticket: Make sure you book European scheduled flights well
in advance and ask for the cheapest tickets, often called Pex or
Apex
tickets. You have to stay over a Saturday night, and the ticket
cannot
be exchanged or cancelled. For example, while the cheapest BA
economy
ticket to Paris cost around GBP88, the most expensive economy fare
on
the same flight is GBP306. Remember that with effect of 3rd Jan
1998,
all advertised airfares have to be 'inclusive' of all airport taxes
and other surcharges.

The right reason: Timing your journey carefully can also help,
especially on long flights. Fares may go up sharply on July 1st, for
example. Fly a day or two earlier and you could make big savings.
Cheap Christmas flights are a 'pipe dream' this is ultra peak season
and if you can avoid flying the week before and the week after you
will make considerable savings.

The right day: Flying on the wrong day of the week can put an extra
£30 on the ticket price. Weekend travel is more expensive for long-
haul flights.

Cheap Charters: The best deals are in May, June, September and the
first three weeks in December. A decent independent High Street
travel agent - not the ones tied to tour operators such WorldChoice,
Lunn Poly, Going Places, Thomas Cook etc.- will search all the the
operators for the best fares; but try also ITV Teletext pages 230
onwards. Skytext lacks updates and is not worth bothering about.

Cheap flight specialists: Old fashioned bucket shops have been
replaced by more reputable travel agents who offer cut-price
tickets.
Avoid agents like Travel Corner who charge booking fee's and
'dubious'
compulsory Insurance. Avoid also agents like Ace Flights who offer
limited airport availability, a good agent should offer flights and
connections from your local airport. Avoid the 'tied' High Street
shops who are owned by the Major Tour operators, these are Lunn
Poly,
Going Places, Thomas Cook, JMC and Travel Choice.

Fly Drives: Offer a 'free' car which isn't actually free. Most tour
operators charge compulsory insurance ranging from £160-£200 per
week
per car. You still get 'hit' for taxes and other charges at the car
hire desk. A £300 'fly-drive' should be costed at £600 per head and
you still have to pay for accommodation.!

DEPARTURES/DESTINATIONS:

What goes where and from? www.airlinefinder.com

World Offers: British Airways World Offers 0345 222 111 are
published
each month and offer cut-price fares on a wide range of routes.
Rival airlines often cut their fares to match, so if you cant get
the
dates you want with BA, try others on the same route.

CHARTER FLIGHTS FROM EDINBURGH
Pay a visit to www.directholidays.co.uk for the best selection of
charter flights from your local airport.

Or visit their Edinburgh branch 20 Queensferry St Edinburgh, EH2 4QW
Telephone 0131 226 2345

OTHERS:
www.cheapflights.com and www.dialaflight.com 0208 260 1106 for
availability and advice.

FLIGHT BUREAU - EDINBURGH
(0845 456 6359)

Specialist areas: Online booking, telephone and
email assistance flights (AT) flightbureau (DOT) com
Tailor-made itineraries, particularly USA, RTW,
Canada and Worldwide scheduled flights.

They also book charters and no-frills airlines for
people without Internet access.

They are fully IATA and ATOL-bonded, and include
Scheduled Airline Failure Cover on every non-charter
flight they book to protect customers.

Callers welcome at their Edinburgh office.No fee for
credit cards.

STA TRAVEL
(020-7361 6262)

Background: formed in 1979, trading in
Australia and the UK, and specialising in
student and young people's travel.

Specialist areas: independent travel for
students and young people, particularly good
for RTW and gap-year travel.

World Offers: British Airways World Offers 0345 222 111 are
published
each month and offer cut-price fares on a wide range of routes.
Rival airlines often cut their fares to match, so if you cant get
the
dates you want with BA, try others on the same route.

Check out www.flyglobespan.com for an increasing number of Edinburgh
flights.

Others:

www.easyjet.co.uk
www.ba.com
www.britishmidland.co.uk
www.bmibaby.com
www.flybe.com
www.scotairways.com
www.jet2.com
www.centralwings.com
www.germanwings.com

Continental Airlines have started 11 direct New York - Edinburgh
daily/twice daily services: Connections to cities thoughout America
and Canada.

www.continental.com - connections throughout the USA and Canada

Delta has announced a new daily direct route between Edinburgh
and Atlanta starting May 2006.

The new route will provide countless onward connections across the
Americas. Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport is the world's
busiest, carrying 84 million passengers a year.

From Atlanta, Delta flies more than 1,000 times a day to 200 cities
in 35 countries.

www.delta.com/global/uk/home/index.jsp

Other direct scheduled International flights:

www.easyjet.com
www.germanwings.com
www.finnair.com
www.lufthansa.com
www.sas.se
www.aerarann.com
www.airfrance.com
www.ba.com
www.aerlingus.com
www.klm.com
www.ryanair.com
www.flybmi.com
www.flyglobespan.com
www.centralwings.com

Direct Canadian flights:

www.airtransat.com

Do it yourself packages (advice).

http://link.toolbot.com/thisismoney.co.uk/58829

Insurance: Shop around for Insurance where you can get better deals
by shopping around. Try Club Direct on 01903 812345 but avoid
Options
Insurance or Inter Assurance Services, they may be cheap but they do
not like paying out - I'm speaking from experience here. Sad

Avoid any deals that are dependent on optional insurance and
likewise
with deals that require a surcharge if you have your own insurance.

Please note - all charter companies require you to have travel
insurance!

Folk worried about existing medical conditions should seek insurance
from Worldcover Direct on 0800 365 121

Booking Fee's and Credit Card surcharges: Are a nonsense, refuse to
pay them. Most operators will back down rather than lose business.
If
they do not, get a quote from an agent that does not charge these
'silly' extras. Booking fee's can range from £7 to £10 per person
and
credit card surcharges 1 to 1.5% per person. Tickets on departure
a further £7 to £10. TOD's are dependent on the airline and some
travel agents pass these charges to the customer.

Loss of revenue from insurance scams have made these surcharges
popular
with greedy Travel Agents.

Ceefax:

Flight arrivals information for a number of BAA airports is
available
on BBC Ceefax pages 440 to 455. This is regularly updated with
information from the BAA.

Teletext:

Flight arrivals information for a number of BAA airports is
available
on ITV Teletext pages 180 to 192. This is regularly updated with
information from the BAA.

Internet:

Flight arrivals/departures information is available on the BAA web
site
www.edinburghairport.com (Experience has shown that such information
is not
100% reliable.)

In addition, Reed Publishing/OAG, publishers of a commercial flight
guide which provides travel information including timetables
www.oag.com

Travel agents:

To arrange flight bookings and travel details, most travel agents
provide flight information over the telephone.
For security, book with an ABTA agent or, if non-ABTA, ensure that
you
get the name and number of the ATOL operator the agent is booking
with.

ATOL & ABTA:

More concerned with their paymasters in the travel trade than
consumers. ABTA will not consider complaints about bookings made by
telephone. I suppose that includes the Internet as well. It will
only entertain complaints about bookings made in travel trade shops
- disgraceful!
General inquiries and complaints should be addressed to:
55-57, Newman Street
LONDON W1P 4AH
Tel; 020 7637 2444

Web sites: http://www.abtanet.com
http://www.business.u-net.com/omegauk/atol.htm

Remember that the above are Industry Regulators and you should also
record your complaint with a copy of your documentation to your
local Trading Standards Office. Complaints must be lodged with your
airline or Tour Operator at the time of occurrence.

CAA:

General inquiries and complaints should be addressed to:

CAA House
45-59, Kingsway
LONDON WC2B 6TE
Tel; 020 7379 7311.... Fax; 020 7240 1153

Complaints and inquiries about British Airports are also dealt with
by the CAA. But please remember their industry regulator status -
they will quite often take the side of the industry member, before
even listening to the consumer complaint!

They also have a web site www.caa.co.uk

Documentation:

Visas, passports, health and safety are important aspects of travel,
especially for long-haul travellers who book at short notice. The
Foreign and Commonwealth Office provides safety advice on the 24-hr
recorded telephone number 0374-500 900. For more information, see
p208 on Teletext or visit the FCO s WWW site http://www.fco.gov.uk/.

Information desk:

Edinburgh Airport:

General inquiries 0870 040 0007

Joe Curry......ability (AT) zetnet (DOT) co.uk Updated 21/07/05

--
Edinburgh Airport,Scotland's most convenient/accessible
airport.
Scotland's most profitable airport with the busiest runway
http://link.toolbot.com/germanwings.com/73280
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http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Scottishairports/