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Europeans love to vacation, and thanks to so many low-cost airlines, they find it a bargain to fly between countries. these cheap flights are frequently more economical than trains or cars and certainly save on time. Here are a few of the more popular airlines offering great deals for European travel.

Air Berlin

Air Berlin is the Germany’s second-largest airline, with over 30 million passengers a year and flights to 136 airports. they offer many special offers at various times, such as a flight from Germany to Sicily for under $100. Weight limits for checked bags within Europe are limited to 20 kg and 6 kg for carry-on bags. Airports in Dusseldorf, Munich, and Berlin operate as hubs for Air Berlin, and they fly tomany southern European cities, as well as cities in the U.S. and other countries outside of Europe.

Ryanair

Considered to be the No. 1 low-cost airline in Europe, Ryanair serves over 70 million passengers a year and has some of the cheapest flights available. Flying to 167 airports, Ryanair has flights to most European cities. this Irish no-frills airline operates out of several European hub cities. You can only purchase these tickets through the Ryanair website or by phone, and sometimes the tickets are as low as a few euros plus taxes. For example, a round-trip flight from London to Milan in July is just over 50 euros, including taxes. Typically, the flights are out of the smaller airports as opposed to major ones. There are fees for checked bags, which must weigh between 15 and 20 kg, and the cost is around 6 euros per flight per bag. One carry-on is allowed as long as it does not weigh over 10 kg.

Easyjet

Easyjet flies to over 130 airports and ranks No. 2 in low-cost airlines based on the number of passengers, just under 50,000 a year. Carry-on luggage is free as long as it is small enough. There is no weight restriction, but the size cannot exceed 22 x 17.7 x 9.8 inches. Checked bags are not free, and there is a 20-kg weight limit of all checked bags combined. Easyjet’s hefty 10 euro per kg additional charge for any extra weight makes me think twice about what I am packing, as I have already had to pay for 15 extra kgs three years ago, when the charge was 7 euros per kg.

Easyjet has some phenomenal prices, as long as you are willing to pack lightly. For instance, you can fly from Paris to Rome for approximately 30 euros each way, depending on dates. The key is being flexible.

Europeans are used to traveling lightly, as opposed to their American counterparts, and they have learned that they can go just about anywhere for a good price. maybe we can learn something from them, especially if we want to keep traveling in today’s economy.

How to Find Cheap Flights in Europe

Sarah Spagnolo of Travel + Leisure magazine gives her tips for planning your summer vacation, including tricks when it comes to planes and road trips.

By Travel + Leisure

Traveling with kids doesn’t always feel like a vacation, but these tips for summer flights and road trips will make things easier for your family.

Plane travel

When/what to book: To pick the best seats for your family, consult a site like SeatGuru.com. Planes will be more full this summer than before, so book your flight early — six weeks or more is a good rule of thumb — to improve your odds of getting seats together. if you use social media, follow @airfarewatchdog and @smartertravel on Twitter to learn about last-minute deals. both carefully vet price drops and unadvertised sales. As for flying, Saturday mornings at airports are more quiet and flights can often be cheaper. Plus, the first flight out in the morning usually takes off on time.

Related: America’s best and worst Airports

 Plan ahead: United announced last month that they will no longer allow pre-boarding for families with young children and more airlines are following suit, so plan accordingly. if you have extra time before your flight, most airports have play areas that you can find out about on the airport websites or on a site like iFly.com. Purchasing an airline lounge day pass (usually around $50) will ease the stress of being in the airport with the family while flying coach — be sure to buy the pass online ahead of time to save money.

Know the rules: Remember that the new TSA rules mean that kids don’t need to take off shoes at security. to save money on checked bag fees, keep in mind that each person with a ticket gets to carry-on a personal item and carry-on size bag — even your 2- or 3-year-old! your stroller doesn’t count as an item as it’s checked at the gate.

For the car

Plan ahead: No matter where you are going, plan out your route in advance with scheduled stops every few hours. Try to work in something fun for the kids to look forward to at each stop as this will help break up the journey. Use Yelp to find local restaurants along your route, and download an app to help you find the cheapest gas along your route. As for hitting the road, getting up and out early is key — you’ll avoid traffic and kids won’t be as tired and fussy as they could be late in the day.

What to do in the car: Give your kids a fun assignment that involves them in the trip. for starters, ask them to help you plan and chart the course and check off what they’ve seen. Don’t forget games, videos, and snacks to keep them busy.

When to fill up? Once you find the places with the cheapest gas, be smart about when you fill up your gas tank: Gas prices rise around holidays and long weekends. so don’t wait until July 3 to fill the tank for your Fourth of July road trip. Fueling up can also be more expensive on weekends, so head to the gas station in the middle of the week.

More from Travel + Leisure

• America’s best Baseball Stadiums
• Disney’s best Original Rides
• London Insider’s Guide
• Social Media’s Coolest Travel Companies

Family travel tips for summer

Major car rental agencies tend to have an international presence and high brand visibility that is a result of their decades of service. they have branches around the globe and often offer franchise opportunities. All of these well-known brands coordinate international rentals through online services that allow renters to comparison shop before booking a rental.

Hertz is the largest global car rental agency with nearly 10,000 branches in over 145 countries around the world. It is also the oldest, having been established in the United States in 1918. One of the most interesting aspects of Hertz is its “Fun Collection” which allows people to rent racing and high-end sports cars. these cars are available at select airport-based Hertz rental agencies. Hertz also has a “Green Collection” for environmentally-conscious renters. these include hybrids and electric vehicles.

As the second largest car rental agency in the world, it has a major presence in North America, the Caribbean, Latin America, Europe, New Zealand, and Australia. Avis is often associated with airports because they are a major provider of car rentals for travelers, both business and leisure, who pick up their cars at the airport. In addition, the company opened the very first airport-based car rental agency.

Enterprise is part of the largest car rental network that currently exists in the world. the network includes Alamo Rent a Car, National Car Rental, and Europacar. Enterprise was established in 1957. With nearly 7,000 locations in North America, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Germany, it has a strong international presence.

Alamo is now owned by the Enterprise Holdings, the parent company of Enterprise Rent-A-Car, but it still operates as an independent cheap car rental business. It was established in 1974 and was the first car rental company to offer unlimited free mileage to its customers who were primarily leisure travelers. It currently has more than 1,000 branches in North America, Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe, Australia, Africa, and throughout the

Asian-Pacific area. Travelers can take advantage of nearly 160 self-serve kiosks across the United States. Approximately 15 million drivers use their services annually.

Along with Alamo, National Rental is a member of the Enterprise family. It was established in 1954 and now has over 3,000 branches in North America, Latin America, the Caribbean, Asian-Pacific, Europe, Australia, and Africa. they were the first car rental company to offer one-way car rentals, flat rates, and a frequent-renter program to customers. In addition to daily specials and regular discounts, customers benefit from larger agencies because they typically offer lower base rates. Customers who want cheap car rental rates prefer top international rental agencies.

Top International Car Rental Agencies

CLEVELAND – Have you tried to book an airline ticket lately? The prices are often $300 to $400. Gas prices are fueling airfares, along with more airlines consolidating, and fewer flights. The prices have travelers deciding if they should drive or fly. Even if you have to fly, there are still ways to save.

“We used to be able to go to San Diego for $205 or something like that. It’s almost double now,” said Marc Kovachick of Avon Lake.

5 On your Side looked at flights to eight cities during June and July. In our test, Akron fares averaged $365. Cleveland fares averaged $100 more.

“There are times Cleveland will compare favorably to Pittsburgh or Columbus. It’s not usually as comparable as Akron,” travel agent Donna Scicolone said.

Scicolone, of Astro Travel Leaders , said her clients are paying 6 percent more for tickets the first quarter of 2012 compared with the first quarter of 2011.

To save money, Scicolone said check fares at airports as far south as Columbus or as far north as Detroit. be flexible on your travel destination as well. there are still deals to some cities.

If you can fly early in the morning you might also save on the airfare.

Finally, don’t book your car, hotel and airfare a la carte.

“Sometimes you go to a package and an airline will have a bulk fare instead of a published fare,” Scicolone said.

Even business travelers are booking packages now to save their company money.

The Kovachicks saved money booking a package, but, still paid more than usual.

“If you want to fly you’re going to pay. We accepted that this year,” Marsha Kovachick said.

The Figueroa family won’t accept the higher prices at the airport. They’re accepting the higher prices at the pump.

“We come from Orange City, Florida,” Eric Figueroa said. “It’s a hard drive. Long trip.”

If you’re willing to spend hours on the road, it could pay off.

Myrtle Beach is a popular destination in the summer. On the dates we checked, flying a family of four would cost $1,864.

To drive a 2007 Honda Odyssey, AAA’s Fuel Cost Calculator put the cost at just $288 round trip.

“You have to enjoy the trip or you’re not going to do it,” Figueroa said.

Travel agents say $250 airfares will return. The million dollar question is when as another airline will complete its merger over the next two years. Coming up Live on 5, find out how the merger of Air Tran and Southwest will mean more options for Akron travelers starting in August.

———————- For more consumer stories, trends, and alerts follow Jenn on Facebook and Twitter.

Copyright 2012 Scripps Media, Inc. all rights reserved. this material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Gas prices, fewer planes, fewer airlines fueling expensive summer travel

A brand new app for comparing cheap flight has just launched. Jetcost is a website which looks at the best flight deals and they have decided to provide a smart phone application to help travellers find the cheapest flights for when they need to travel. Users can put in search criteria which includes things like names of airports, dates of travel, the type of trip, what class you want to travel and the number of people on the journey and it will come back with a list of flights in a handy comparison chart so it is easy to see what they cost and how they compare on other services.

It is a great service to have at the touch of a button as comparing the prices of flights can be very tiresome, especially on a small device like a phone. By having something which will do it quickly and easily for you, is such a great tool to have. The app has a selection of airline flights listed in it which include British Airways and it also has a selection of travel agents as well as other companies such as Lastminute, Skytours and Expedia which means that there are a good number of options for the travellers to look at.

If they decide that they want to book a flight, then they can easily make their choice on the screen and then go to the buying page of the particular company that is offering it. They can therefore very easily make a search and then a booking. The app is offered free and is available for iPhones at the moment.

New Flight Comparison App Launches