La Tania Flying Guide
All the Ski Flights information you need
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Carriers and routes change all the time - Go, Buzz, Duo, EUJet, BA Connect, MyTravelLite, Excel and FlyGlobespan have all disappeared. Note that many routes only operate in peak Winter season too.
You're all old enough to realise that schedules change frequently. This is just a guide to assist you and focuses on flights during the main part of the Winter season - many routes don't run in Summer at all and some don't get going fully until January with additional flights at peak holiday times.
Usually you're going to arrive in either Geneva, Lyon, Chambéry, or Grenoble airports. Turin Airport is also possible but at 4 hours and through the expensive Fréjus tunnel it's not really an option. There is also Annecy Airport where you can fly from Paris Orly Ouest and the option of flying in to the Altiport at Courchevel 1850 or Méribel if you're loaded! St. Etienne airport is no longer user by Ryanair from the UK (they fly their from Porto!) and there are occasionally flights to/from Paris Orly Ouest with TwinJet.
For further details of all the airports, their locations, travel times and transfer information including driving directions, car hire, private transfers, bus & rail links etc check out the La Tania Transfer Page.
Comparison Websites - may add on booking fees but good for checking multiple routes
skyscanner.net to compare the cheap flights on offer. It includes most of the low cost airlines and the map page is very useful in seeing where you can fly from.
travelsupermarket.com cheap flights finder has it's One Search technology to check multiple agents and airlines at the same time.
flightmapping.com displays all routes to everywhere from the UK.
The No Frills Operators - Now generally on sale from the end of March for the following Winter
easyJet
To Geneva daily from Bournemouth, Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Liverpool, Manchester, Gatwick, Luton, and Stansted. Plus Newcastle (daily not Tue), Belfast (daily not Tue/Wed), Leeds (daily not Tue/Wed) and Glasgow (Sat/Sun).
Also to Geneva from all over Europe such as Alicante, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Budapest, Crete, Dubrovnic, Hamburg, Ibiza, Madrid, Mykonos, Nantes, Nice, Malaga, Lisbon, Olbia, Paris, Palma, Prague, Pristina, Sharm El Sheikh, Copenhagen, Stockholme, Tel Aviv, Toulouse and Rome.
To Grenoble from Luton (Fri/Sat/Sun) and Gatwick (daily) with Sat/Sun flights from Stansted, Bristol, Birmingham, Edinburgh and Liverpool.
To Lyon from Gatwick (daily), Stansted (daily except Tue), Liverpool (Sat/Sun), Edinburgh (Wed/Sat), Bristol (Sat/Sun) and loads of European destinations including Biarritz.
Winter 2012 Changes above.
*On 12 Nov 2009 easyJet announced IATA sized hand baggage (56x45x25cm which is up from 55x40x20cm) and on-line check-in for those with hold baggage too.
Ryanair
Winter 2012 has RyanAir flying to Grenoble from Stansted (Tue/Thu/Sat) and Dublin (Sat). Later flight on a Thursday dep Stansted 16:50, dep Grenoble at 19:55 - may be a useful one.
Routes to Grenoble from East Midlands, Bristol, Birmingham, Liverpool, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Brussels were dropped in 2009.
They do still fly to St Etienne from Porto (Fri/Sun/Mon)!
Get in early and they still sometimes have those 1p each way flights plus at least £35 of taxes, charges, fuel supplements, additional insurance, security charges, airport upgrade fees etc etc then add on the hold baggage charges (15kg limit!), advanced boarding, manual check-in charges, ridiculous credit & debit card charges (£10 per return flight), food & drink and ski, snowboard & boots carriage fees.
Hand baggage has a 10kg limit last time we checked and they do get stroppy about exact cabin bag size, which is 55x40x20cm and not the IATA standard of 56x45x25cm. However playing the game by their rules and we did manage a GBL - EMA on the No Taxes promotion. €3.75 ALL IN (hand baggage only, on-line check-in, Visa Electron payment) on a Saturday in March 2009.
Sep 2009: Ryanair have increased their hold baggage and ski carriage charges again - if a couple just turned up at the airport without pre-booking a hold bag and boot bag each (with only 15kg allowance) plus 2 pairs of skis they'd be charged £320 !!!
Sep 2011: Now at the airport at peak times (like Christmas) 1st Bag £40, 2nd Bag (boots!) £80, Skis £50. Now that's each-way, so for 2 that would be a massive £680 !!!
Turin from Stansted could be an option if you're desperate - it's a 4 hour drive via the Fréjus tunnel (about another €25 each way if I remember rightly).
Winter 2012 Changes above.
To Geneva on Sat/Sun (Fri/Sat/Sun/Mon in Feb & March) from East Midlands.
Also to Geneva on Sat/Sun from Birmingham and Belfast City.
To Chambéry on Sat/Sun from East Midlands.
Winter 2012 Changes above, Grenoble looks to have been dropped as a destination plus departures from Cardiff and Manchester are no longer operating.
Flybe
(was British European)
To Geneva from (Wed/Fri/Sat/Sun) to Southampton, Jersey and the Isle of Man plus Exeter (Sat/Sun).
To Chambéry from Southampton (Tue/Thu/Sat/Sun), Birmingham (Sat/Sun), Exeter (Sat/Sat). Can be competitive on their mid week flights booked very early.
Beware of their ski length restrictions on certain flights:
Flybe use Bombardier Q400 (78-seat, twin-turboprops) and Embraer 195 planes (118-seat, twin-jet engine) so read the small print - they are limited in the number of sets of skis they can carry too so always pre-book sports equipment.
Winter 2012 Changes above, looks like routes from Norwich, Guernsey, Manchester, Newcastle, and others have been dropped.
Jet2 Use code WINTER10 for 10% off on flights until 24 March 2012.
To Geneva from Leeds/Bradford (Thu/Fri/Sat/Sun/Mon), Manchester (Sat/Sun), Belfast (Sat) and Glasgow (Sat/Sun).
To Chambéry from Leeds/Bradford (Sat/Sun), Manchester (Sat/Sun), Newcastle (Sat) and Edinburgh (Sat). Some additional flights at peak times too.
Changes for Winter 2012 above, looks like departures from East Midlands have been dropped.
Snowjet
To Chambéry from Gatwick (Sat/Sun) and Stansted (Sat).
Changes for Winter 2012 above, routes from Bristol no longer operating.
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Thomson Flights
which merged with First Choice Flights now really focus on charter flights. They had scheduled ThomsonFly services to Grenoble from Bournemouth and to Geneva from Doncaster and Coventry but basically they only fly to the Med, Canaries and Red Sea. There are lots of Thomson Charters going in to Chambéry now and flight only fares may be available.
Baboo fly from London City to Geneva generally twice a day Mon to Fri and once on a Sunday. Plenty of flights from £6 + taxes and charges = £78 return all in with free ski carriage. Business class and flexible ticket options too. Fly to Geneva from other useful places around Europe too, including Nice, Rome, Athens, St Tropez, Ibiza and Biarritz. Baboo flights are bookable 330 days in advance.
This service is being withdrawn - you can't book later than 7 Nov 2010.
New for Winter 2010 was a route from Oxford Airport (just off the A34 to the North of Oxford) to Geneva (Sat only).Prices from £180 return including taxes, charges, baggage and skis - note that like Flybe they use Bombardier Q400 planes (78-seat, twin-turboprops) so there may be limits on number of skis carried or ski length restrictions. Route confirmed for Winter 2011 with Saturday departures from OXF 14:30 and GVA 13:00. THIS IS NOT RUNNING FOR WINTER 2011.
Hapag-Lloyd Express - fly to Geneva from Cologne/Bonn. They fly to Cologne/Bonn from Manchester or possibilities exist to use in conjunction with GermanWings from Gatwick, Stansted and Edinburgh or Air Berlin from other parts of Europe.
With all of the budget airlines you've got to get in quick to get the cheap fares! Occasionally there are sales but easyJet will refund (with a voucher) any difference if their fare gets cheaper.
Major Scheduled Airlines Options - Usually bookable about a year in advance
fly from London several times a day to Geneva from Heathrow, Gatwick and London City Airport. Also to Lyon from Heathrow (daily). Winter 2010 prices started from Gatwick-Geneva at £82 return (inc all the extras).
Can often be cheaper that the no frills lot when booking at short notice or for flights on Saturdays a year in advance. They don't charge for seat reservations, credit cards, advanced boarding, hold baggage, manual check-in, snacks and skis / boards / sports equipment.
New for Winter 2011 are flights from London City direct to Chambéry.
SWISS International Air Lines UK - fly to Geneva from London City (6 daily - 4 daily from 10 Jan 2010)) and Manchester (Sat/Sun) with prices from under £100 return if booked early enough. From 10 January 2010 Swiss will operate daily Heathrow - Geneva flights up to 6 times a day. Also from London City, Heathrow, Manchester, Birmingham & Dublin daily via Zurich.
Always worth checking out their prices.
BMI UK
- fly to Lyon from
Heathrow and Manchester - daily flights available but sometimes via Frankfurt (or the Manchester flight via London). Weekend London - Lyon flights can very occasionally be under £80 return when booked well in advanced and linked from the bmibaby website.
Air France UK
- fly to Lyon from Heathrow & Gatwick direct. Decent fares also available via Paris from many regional UK airports.
Can sometimes use a combined rail/air ticket using the fast Paris/Lyon connection. Note the London City direct to Geneva has been dropped but replaced by Baboo.
Birmingham to Lyon direct up to twice a day is also often a cheap option - January 2009 deals from £7 + tax each way (around £38). Old School airline with no bag or check-in charges, good hold baggage allowance, free seat reservations and free alcoholic drinks too!
Blue Islands - Fly direct to Geneva from Jersey (Mon/Wed/Fri).
Lufthansa - via Berlin, Munich or Frankfurt from Birmingham and London.
KLM UK - via Amsterdam from some regional airports.
Etihad Airways - the national carrier for the UAE have started flying from Sydney to Geneva via Abu Dhabi. Very useful for all those Aussies who don't have to make that extra European connecting flight.
Matair used to fly (very small planes!) direct from South End to Courchevel 1850 Altiport in 2000/2001 - Their London type taxi is still in 1850 but the service isn't advertised anymore.
Holiday / Travel Agent Sites
- massive travel site with special offers on scheduled airlines and now searches charter deals too.
- consolidator with more offers on scheduled flights.