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Good websites to book last minute European flights?

Anamya

Keeping it simple
Time of past OR future Camino
Frances (2015)
Portugues (2017)
Lebaniego (2019)
Hi there!

I just booked my leave for a Portuguese Camino in 2017, yay!
I love going and coming to my camino starting point by train, however, I will be a bit time constrained and may consider flying from Santiago de Compostela towards Barcelona to return back home in case the walk takes longer than expected.

Could anyone recommend good websites (or practical ways) to book flights while in Europe, in case I need it?
 
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Aena manages all of Spain's airports.
http://www.aena.es/en/santiago-airport/index.html

Aena websites show service providers and destinations.

You then go to the service provider website to buy a ticket.

Discount Airlines operate on number of seats available. The cheapest seats are those purchased before anyone else does. So the most expensive are those you purchase the day of travel but even then the price depends on how many seats are left.
 
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A slightly contrary view, based on my practice. I fly a fair bit around Europe and cheaper is always better. My experience is that comparison sites can list dozens (literally) of flights, >90% of which are unhelpful.
For cheap flights from SdC to Barcelona you are talking about Ryanair (ryanair.com) or Vueling (vueling.com). What I would do is go directly to these and check them out. I picked a random few days next May for instance and found Ryanair €22, 35, 30, 43 for different days in the same week SdC to Barcelona. You would have to add on extra for a bag.
You will find that even the very name Ryanair causes waves of anxiety to come over lots of people here in Europe! BUT I have flown more times than I can count with them and never had a problem. They are very cheap. They started a 'charm offensive' a year or so ago and have become much "nicer" and more accommodating.
What is practically useful, especially if you are on the move, is that the Ryanair app on your phone works extremely well. I don't myself use it for booking, but you can. But I use it for checking in and you can download your boarding pass which I have done every time for the past year, and you don't need a printed version. Until about a year ago every purchase was an entirely new transaction, but you can sign up now, and save your details, and the process is very straightforward.
Fares are rather fluid, so there is a big advantage in booking even a few days ahead, rather that within 24 hours of flying.
And if you are flying to connect with an international flight, try to fly in a way that would give you some leeway if the plane was delayed.
Just looked at Ryanair Lisbon-Porto in November - €9.99 Very hard to beat!
 
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Ahhh, another off topic but a suggestion for Ivar and mods.
Maybe open a subforum about different cheap airplane connections that pop-up here and there. For examples:
- this summer Iberia started flights from Madrid to Biarritz and this news was posted on this forum. I didn't use it but still good to know,
- I found Volotea very cheap from my nearby airport (Venice) to Bilbao and other airports on Camino del Norte,
- in April Transavia will begin to fly from Ljubljana (my hometown) to Amsterdam Schiphol three times a week for min.of 29€. Unfortunatelly no really cheap flights from Amsterdam to Spain to airports suitable for starting Caminos.

In many cases those opportunities are just seasonal and might not be there the next year. In 2009 for me the cheapest was Ljubljana (EasyJet) - Stansted (Ryanair) - Pau to get to SJPdP, in 2011 for the same destination it was Klagenfurt (don't remember the company) - Stansted (Ryaniar) - Biarritz, this year it was Venice - Stansted - Biarritz (both flights with Ryanair). So it is changing constantly as new connections are openning all the time.

I think this kind of info would be very useful for all of us and even more for our overseas forum members.
 
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I am inclined to agree with this. As you say the situation is ever-changing and it is not so easy to get all the information, and especially perhaps for people coming from outside Europe.
To get to Oviedo this year I chanced a late flight to Stansted from Dublin (Ryanair), arriving after 11pm, slept on the floor there, and got the first flight out to Asturias (Easyjet) around 7am. Very hard to look that up on a site, but it cost buttons and I would do it again!
 
I know, have slept at Stansted twice Very friendly airport for that because much of the infrastructure (shop, bars etc.) are open even through the night. Not so in Barcelona or Madrid.
 
KinkyOne said:
I know, have slept at Stansted twice Very friendly airport for that because much of the infrastructure (shop, bars etc.) are open even through the night. Not so in Barcelona or Madrid.
Click to expand...
Exactly - that is the kind of information which is really useful. It is an ideal airport for an overnight stop, but I struggled to confirm that before I went, but I am glad I did.
I will be in Stansted again next month on the way to........Ljubljana. For the marathon. Are you running??
 
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Ahhhh, you're going to run at Ljubljana marathon??? WOW, that's great. I'll send you PM otherwise mods will be furious
 
Flew Ryan Air yesterday - Stansted to Biarritz - & was much more impressed than3 years ago. Much more professional, no "fluff", just get on the plane, sit down, and off you go - arriving ahead of schedule! I failed to print boarding pass as they want, but no hassle, no addl charge.
Also - just discovered that on Google (which I don't usually use) when I entered the city I'm flying from & the city I'm flying to & type in "cheap tickets", I ended up with US$ 600 from Vancouver to London return. Booking one week out! I was flexible with dates, & Google kept suggesting different dates with cheaper and cheaper seats. But it might just be the cheap season...
 
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This is the old interface that travel agents used to use. It has most airlines and finds the combinations for flights and can be narrowed down by times, mileage, costs, etc. A few discount airlines are now omitted (Southwest) and the site is now owned by Google.

I'm a Mileage Queen and found out about this years ago on Flyer Talk, a site for Frequent Flyers who do mileage runs, simply to accumulate miles. It's possible to find the longest legs to get the most miles for the cheapest cost, which is what mileage runners look for. Can't purchase tickets here, it's just a tool to find the best ones that work. Then go to the individual sites to purchase.

Have fun shopping!
 
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That is good to hear. I think even those who dislike Ryanair will admit there has been a real improvement. The simple introduction of numbered seats has cut out a lot of the 'cattle market' element at boarding - although they are inclined to take your cabin bag off you now after the first 100 have boarded, and put it in the hold, but at least they don't charge you!!
 
This is quite off topic, but I can't resist .... It is a song/sketch about cheap flights, which doesn't mention any names, but fairly obvious who it is aimed at!!
Parental Advisory: some people may find some of the language offensive. Strangely the language sounds rather less offensive if you are in Ireland. (I think!)
See it here
 
@timr I thought of posting a link to that very song a couple of days ago but I was sure some delicate soul would ignore the health warning and be offended despite my best efforts. Folks - it is pretty rude but also very funny. Don't say no one warned you though
 
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@Bradypus In my defence I did dither..... but I hope the warning is adequate. There is a whole discussion to be had about the relative acceptability of 'language' in Ireland and other English-speaking countries, but not for here. I am from Liverpool, long time resident in Ireland, previously Nigeria, Kenya and Rome. Maybe too much rolls off me at this stage....
As Bradypus says, do choose whether to watch or not!
 
remember to delete your cookies before you start looking.... If you have searched the same route before and you go back the price will have increased a little to spur you on to book. Delete you cookies and hey presto the price has gone back to what ot was. Works on some airlines sites.
 
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Also needed when switching between search portals like Skyscanner and the airlines own web sites. Good reminder @simeon Thank You! Buen Camino, SY
 
@Bradypus By chance I was at a new production of Don Giovanni in Dublin tonight as part of Dublin theatre festival. Opera very rare in Dublin. I don't live in Dublin and it's even rarer anywhere else. It was in English in a new translation by (Irish novelist) Roddy Doyle. It came with a strong warning about bad language! It was a mixed bag, with plenty of profanity - the kind you would hear commonly in (almost) polite conversation in Ireland. I don't think it added a lot to the beauty of the music, but it did make the plot pretty transparent.
 
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Well, Roddy Doyle and profane - isn't that pretty usual?
 
Hey guys, thank our for all suggestions! good to hear about Ryanair and vueling, I found some 8 euro tickets with them that were almost unbelievable

I also think it would be useful to have an area to discuss cheap flights - I just got some very cheap ones from Canberra to Barcelona with Singapore Airlines!
(and I always clean cookies and search prices in incognito tabs, but the heads up is always useful!)

Btw, any good physical stores in Santiago to buy tickets? I know there is a renfe one in the middle of the old city, I was wondering if there is Alsa (buses) or maybe airlines offices in town as well.
 
@timr Your post about Irish opera and notions of 'acceptable' language started an odd train of thought in my head: ended up with "Father Ted - the opera". With the world-famous "horse" aria. Which of the triumvirate do you see yourself playing?
 
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Bradypus said:
@timr Your post about Irish opera and notions of 'acceptable' language started an odd train of thought in my head: ended up with "Father Ted - the opera". With the world-famous "horse" aria. Which of the triumvirate do you see yourself playing?
Click to expand...
Yes, sounds the logical follow-up for next year's Dubin Theatre Festival!!
 
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I mean that cheap fares do not hang around long. The site also features error fares that are usually honoured but are swiftly removed by the airline.
 
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