2017 has been a banner year for cheap flights around the world. In fact, overall prices for long-haul flights fell by seven percent. That’s great if you want to fly to Europe for the first time or finally see Bangkok’s famed street markets.
Over the last year or two airlines like WOWair, Norwegian, and AirAsia have been offering insanely cheap one way flights over the Atlantic for as little as $89 one way. Of course, there’s a big caveat here. Those prices rarely include seat assignments, onboard food or drinks, checked luggage, or even carry on bags. Still, if you’re willing to ride hard and fast over the Atlantic, you can now get there for less than a hundred dollar bill.
Well, 2018 is likely going to be even better. British Airways and Air France are officially getting into the budget airlines game with crazy cheap flights around Europe and competitive long-haul fares between the continents.
Air France launched Joon on December 1st. Their new budget airline is aimed squarely at “hipster millennials” and tech-savvy travelers. They’re already offering flights around Europe for $46 each way from Orly in Paris. By spring, they’ll have flights from Europe to South America and the Indian Ocean (Seychelles) for about $250 each way with plans to tackle the Trans-Atlantic market to the USA by summer.
British Airway’s Level started up last summer and aims at a broader base. They’re targeting millennials, families, and weekend warriors onto their well-fitted flights. They’re already offering flights between Europe and New York, Montreal, Boston, Los Angeles, Oakland, and Buenos Aires for as low as $149 each way.
What these big carriers seem to have caught on to is that there’s more to budget travel than just flights between Europe and America. Both have added South America and Asia to their destinations, opening a whole new world of exploration for budget travelers. And with at least two new airlines throwing their hat in the budget airfare ring, there’s sure to be some interesting price wars on our travel horizons throughout 2018.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BaB7o_qlbus/
(Via Travel + Leisure)
