Thought you guys might be interested in this little trick to get a cheap fare.
Teenager saves £7.72 on his train journey from Sheffield to Essex by taking a PLANE via Berlin
From the good old Daily Mail. If you don't want to subsidise Paul Dacre, you can look at the original article here on MoneySavingExpert.
The exact figures are slightly misleading because the £7.72 saving includes lunch, which was cheaper in Berlin, and there was no need for him to travel to Berlin for the day (although, let's face it, who wouldn't if they had seven hours to spare?). But in terms of the necessary travel expenses, he's still cheaper flying through Berlin (if you look at the necessary travel costs alone, he actually saved £11.23).
Of course, the DM's comments section has gone into overdrive about rail fares being extortionate (and some of the comments about Mr Cox are truly vile), whereas the reality is that it's Ryanair's fares that were exceptionally good value in this instance. The £47 rail fare was a good price IMO (it appears to be an Advance ticket without railcard, although interestingly Mr Cox does qualify for a 16-25 railcard).
If you look into the details, they guy has saved £7.72, but had a seven hour layover in Berlin. It worked out well for him - he got to visit a city he's wanted to go to. It was a genuinely good deal for this young man, and I certainly wouldn't say it was in any way miserly. He had the time to do it, and actually wanted to do it. If I had the time, I would certainly consider it. Although I'd need to have the free time to do such a journey, and would be doing it more for the pleasure than for the meagre savings.
Of course, there's caveats here. Your luggage allowances are tighter on any airline than on the trains - if you can't get away with a carry-on bag, you have to pay for checked luggage which may eliminate the savings. The trip was made in January which is usually the cheapest time of the year for air fares, whereas rail fares are not quite as seasonal in their nature. This may simply not be possible in Summer. Budget airlines don't offer connections, so you need to have plenty of time to make your unofficial transfer. The environmental impact of this is also pretty shocking.
Any thoughts about this from you guys? Could you find a fare anomaly that would beat Ryanair? Would you do something like this to save a few pounds?
Teenager saves £7.72 on his train journey from Sheffield to Essex by taking a PLANE via Berlin
From the good old Daily Mail. If you don't want to subsidise Paul Dacre, you can look at the original article here on MoneySavingExpert.
The exact figures are slightly misleading because the £7.72 saving includes lunch, which was cheaper in Berlin, and there was no need for him to travel to Berlin for the day (although, let's face it, who wouldn't if they had seven hours to spare?). But in terms of the necessary travel expenses, he's still cheaper flying through Berlin (if you look at the necessary travel costs alone, he actually saved £11.23).
Of course, the DM's comments section has gone into overdrive about rail fares being extortionate (and some of the comments about Mr Cox are truly vile), whereas the reality is that it's Ryanair's fares that were exceptionally good value in this instance. The £47 rail fare was a good price IMO (it appears to be an Advance ticket without railcard, although interestingly Mr Cox does qualify for a 16-25 railcard).
If you look into the details, they guy has saved £7.72, but had a seven hour layover in Berlin. It worked out well for him - he got to visit a city he's wanted to go to. It was a genuinely good deal for this young man, and I certainly wouldn't say it was in any way miserly. He had the time to do it, and actually wanted to do it. If I had the time, I would certainly consider it. Although I'd need to have the free time to do such a journey, and would be doing it more for the pleasure than for the meagre savings.
Of course, there's caveats here. Your luggage allowances are tighter on any airline than on the trains - if you can't get away with a carry-on bag, you have to pay for checked luggage which may eliminate the savings. The trip was made in January which is usually the cheapest time of the year for air fares, whereas rail fares are not quite as seasonal in their nature. This may simply not be possible in Summer. Budget airlines don't offer connections, so you need to have plenty of time to make your unofficial transfer. The environmental impact of this is also pretty shocking.
Any thoughts about this from you guys? Could you find a fare anomaly that would beat Ryanair? Would you do something like this to save a few pounds?
