We are lucky to live in an era when air travel is an affordable option for most people, rather than just the lucky few.

In the UK today, there is a long list of budget airlines, flying to all sorts of places from the traditional English holiday resort of Ibiza, to the almost unpronounceable (for the British!) Bydgoszcz in Poland.

These cheaper airlines fly mainly to European destinations, which is great if you are here from Europe and want to visit your friends and families. However, finding cheap flights to more distant lands is more difficult. But you can still find some good deals because it's such a competitive market.

Fortunately, rather than having to search for hours on different websites to find the best deal on your flight, you can now go to one place to find all the information you need.

Some websites give information (in 16 different languages) on over 24,000 budget flights around the world. All you have to do is either select where you want to fly from, or where you want to fly to. Once you've done that, the website comes up with a list of places you can fly to, or from. Simple!

Often these websites will not give you details of how much your flight will cost, but they will direct you to a selection of budget airlines that fly your chosen route, and so can help you save a lot of time and money.Start by looking in our "Find a..." section now.

However, it may be that cost is not the most important thing for you, and you'd prefer to fly directly, with more comforts or at times that suit you better. If this is the case you could book your flights direct with more upmarket companies, or use an online flight search which search flights from all of the main airlines.

This does have the advantage that you can be more flexible with which airport you leave from - because the budget airlines only operate from certain airports. You should consider this when choosing your flight, for example, if you are living in Manchester but have to go all the way to London Stansted to get a cheap flight, it may actually be cheaper to fly with a more expensive airline and leave from Manchester because of the cost of getting from Manchester to Stansted.

Internal flights

Flying within the UK really did used to be a luxury of the rich and famous. Now you can even fly between different British cities at a very reasonable cost.  The British Isles are so small that it is usually quicker to go by road, especially if you account for the length of time you spend in the airport as well as on the plane.

It can be worthwhile, though, if you are travelling almost the entire length of the country. For example, a trip from London to Glasgow, which will take 1½ hours in the air, at a cost of about £80, will cost you just over £100 by train and take nearly 5½ hours (applicable in Spring 2008).

So, if you're in a real hurry, flying within the UK can be an option, although you still need to take into account any onward journey you may need to take from the airport once you arrive.

Hidden extras!

When you are looking for your flight, watch out for hidden charges. Some of the cheaper airlines are known for quoting a price that doesn't include all the taxes and fees you might have to pay.

For example, one budget airline currently quotes prices without airport taxes and then adds them on when you make your booking. Then there is an additional charge of £6 for any bag plus a check-in fee of £3. If you are travelling on a return journey this means a total of £18 is added to the cost of your flight just for taking luggage. This is correct as at Spring 2008. Checked luggage is any bag that you have with you which needs to be put in the hold of the plane.

You may take hand-luggage bags (up to 10kg) on the plane at no extra cost. You can thus avoid both the baggage and check-in charge if you don't want to take anything but hand-luggage. Other budget airlines quote prices with all the optional extras included.

This does not necessarily mean that one is cheaper than the other - if you are looking for the cheapest option, be careful what you are actually comparing. 

Recent hand-luggage rules

As part of new restrictions at EC airports, you should remember that in order to take any liquids in your hand-luggage onto the plane, you must follow these rules:

Present the liquids at security control in a transparent re-sealable bag. Only one bag is allowed per person and all gels, pastes, lotions and liquids must be in containers that can contain no more than 100ml in volume. This means in you have a 1litre bottle with only 50ml of liquid in it, you will not be allowed to take this on board the aircraft.

What identification do you need? 

You will find that many airlines will now allow you to travel in Europe with a national ID card issued in the EU/EEA (EU/EEA= European Union / European Economic Area) rather than having to use your passport. But always check the terms and conditions of the airline you are flying with before you make any assumption. If no details are given it's best to take your passport anyway, and don't forget your ticket!

If you are searching for flights you can start by looking in our "Find a..." section.

By Matt Taylor

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USEFUL WORDS

Departures

check-in = the place where you go when you arrive at the airport with your luggage
boarding card = the card that they give you with the seat number on it

excess baggage = what you have to pay if your luggage is very heavy

hand luggage = the bags you carry on the plane with you

overhead locker = the place above your head where you can put these bags

runway = the part of the airport where the plane accelerates and takes off

flight attendants = the people who look after you on the plane (also called 'cabin crew' or 'stewards' (male) and stewardesses (female))

delay = when you have to wait for your flight until a later time for some reason

The Flight
The captain or cabin crew may say these things.  Check you understand the meanings:

"Please fasten your seat belt and put your seat in the upright position"

"May we remind passengers that there is no smoking now until you are inside the terminal building"

"The cabin crew are now coming round with landing cards" (cards you have to fill in when you enter certain countries)

Arrivals
landing = when the plan arrives on the ground

baggage reclaim = the place where you collect your luggage

go through customs = the final part of your journey when you must declare any taxable goods

GRAMMAR SPOT

Relative Pronouns

Useful for describing something/someone you don't know the English word for.  The pronoun defines the person, thing or place you are talking about. 

who/that - person or people

Flight attendants are the staff who/that look after you during the flight.
The captain is the person who/that flies the plane.

where - a place

Check-in is the place where you go when you arrive with your luggage.

What's the name of the place where lost luggage is kept.

when - a time

Landing is the part of the journey when you must fasten your seat belt and put your seat in the upright position.

which / that - a thing

Excess baggage is the fee which/that you have to pay if your luggage is too heavy.