Differences between domestic flights in the US and Europe

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Differences between domestic flights in the US and Europe

Summary: Extremely low-fares on European domestic flights are leading many American travelers to abandon their Eurorail passes in favor of plane tickets. If you've never flown on a European domestic flight, things can be a little different from what you've come to expect in America. Here are the differences I've notices while flying around Europe (particularly Southern Europe): 1) expect lower prices; 2) don't expect to choose your seat far in advance; 3) the bus (or train) to airport has a good chance of having no or broken air conditioning; 4) don't expect organization; 5) security might feel a little more lax; 6) europeans push onto the airplane even when they have assigned seats; 7) europeans don't carry on much luggage; 8) seats are usually closer together; 9) european airplanes typically begin and end with elevator music; 10) as soon as the seat belt sign is turned off, all the belts come off; 11) food and water will cost money; and 12) if you fly the country's main airline, there will likely be an enormous number of flights for that airline.

Article created: Jun 30, 2007
Article by: Jeremiah Faith

One of the best things about traveling around Europe is that cities are so close together. This proximity has meant that most American travelers (particularly the young adventurous type with no money) buy train tickets and rail passes to get from place to place. More recently, Europe has experienced a huge increase in extremely (often unbelievably) cheap domestic flights. More and more foreign travelers (and Europeans themselves of course) are choosing to make bigger hops like going from Barcelona to Rome, rather than taking long train rides or focusing their trips to one area of Europe.

Traveling on European domestic flights can be a little different for Americans. I'm going to explain those differences here, so you know what to expect. Northern Europe is actually fairly similar to the US with regards to social customs, rules, and politeness. So the information below is more relevant to flights that leave from Southern European countries (e.g. Spain and Italy).

1) expect lower prices
Domestic flights in Europe are much cheaper than in the US. Even Southwest and Airtran aren't nearly as cheap as EasyJet or Ryanair.

2) don't expect to choose your seat far in advance
US carriers often let you choose your seat on the day you purchase your ticket. As far as I know, Vueling is the only European carrier that allows you to choose your seat when you purchase your ticket. If you have a domestic flight with non-budget carriers like Iberia and Lufthansa, you will be allowed to choose your seat when you check in for your flight (so check in early if you are particular about where you sit).

Budget carriers like Ryanair and EasyJet operate like Southwest in the US where you are in a boarding group and everyone pushes into the plane to find a good seat. If you are in the last boarding group in the US, you're probably going to get a middle seat at the back of the plane, and it's very unlikely you'll be sitting next to any of your friends on the flight. But we all expect this. However, it could easily happen on a Ryanair flight from Stansted (London) to Rome, that you are in the 1st group and you still don't find a seat next to your friend. The reason is that Mediterraneans have a more dog-eat-dog culture (unless you're their family or friends) and people don't follow rules very precisely. So in the flight I mentioned above, the 1st group would contain British and Americans from group 1 plus all of the Italians from all of the groups. Sure, the Ryanair employees will try to enforce the groups but they're not policemen. And the shear number of Italians trying to sneak by in earlier groups will overwhelm them.

So my advice if you are picky about your seats: 1) fly Vueling if you can; 2) if not, fly with a non-budget carrier and check-in early; 3) if you fly a budget-carrier, make sure you are in the first group, and don't be afraid to be a little pushy to prevent everyone from sneaking in front of you. Just make sure to keep your cool and smile (they'll be doing the same thing as the sneak in front of you). Typically, a hello (in English) or a smile precedes their hoping in line in front of you.

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