Pazzo per le low cost a spasso per l' Europa per quattro mesi

[marcogiov]

La vittoria al concorso del quotidiano inglese Guardian darà a un "drogato di low cost" la possibilità di sfogarsi. Sarà un "netjetter" e scriverà i suoi report. Ecco i suoi programmi:


The penny drops

Our fourth Netjetters are about to set off. After the initial excitement of winning, Nick has realised that his ambitious aim of conquering the budget airline route maps requires some careful planning. So he's been doing some essential research ... in the pub

Wednesday October 13, 2004

It's been two weeks since hearing that I have won Netjetters. I'd like to say that I have been making final preparations for leaving the country, but as you'll soon find out, that's not my way of doing things.
After already taking one year off, I was apprehensive about putting uni on hold for yet another year. I announced the news to my class mates via my tutor and was soon flooded with phone calls of people congratulating me. Quick to capitalise on Netjetters, I have been out every night letting friends and family buy me dinner and drinks! It seems that I'm finally starting to enjoy living in London and it no longer feels like the lonely and hostile city I was so quick to jet away from.

The excitement of winning Netjetters has been short lived though as my thoughts turn to the daunting task that lies ahead. I quickly became anxious at the thought of planning such a complex and bizarre journey. As far as I know, I will be the first person in history (and perhaps the last) to attempt conquering the budget airlines' route maps.

I've spent the past week browsing the internet and trying to learn all there is to know about budget airlines. Despite being a self-proclaimed addict, it seems that my knowledge of European low-cost airlines was somewhat limited to those operating to and from the UK.

After searching the web for information about cheap airlines, other than EasyJet and Ryanair, I have learned that almost every country in Europe has at least one budget airline. While prices can vary massively between the many airlines there are a clear six or seven that are prepared to give away seats in order to fill the plane.

So now I realise I can netjet into unchartered territories, such as Tromso and Oulu in Scandinavia and Finland, as well as a large number of destinations in eastern and central Europe.

I have divided up my four months of Netjetting into eight areas; Spain and the islands, the Baltic states and Russia, Scandinavia, the eastern Alps and the Adriatic, the Atlantic coast, central Europe and the route to Africa.

I will start off by catching the last of the summer sun, heading out on the first ever Ryanair flight to their new destination of Valencia. This flight without tax will set me back just 25p. From Valencia I will fly between Palma, Barcelona, Gerona and Alghero, before heading back to Stansted.

After relaxing in the sunny Mediterranean for two weeks, I will head to the Baltic region, flying between Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, from where I will make tracks for Moscow and St Petersburg by train. Returning once again to London, via Tampere in Finland.

After acquainting myself with below freezing temperatures in Russia, I will head for Oslo where I will begin my Nordic adventure. I will be flying between Norway, Sweden and Finland in the hope of seeing the northern lights, reindeer, huskies and maybe a bit of snow, using five different, recently discovered airlines.

Christmas will be spent in the Alps of Slovenia and in eastern Europe before jetting to Berlin for an evening of new year celebrations. Then in January, I will explore the Black Sea countries before heading back west to the Atlantic coast of Europe, exploring Portugal, Ireland, and possibly, if the budget stretches, the Faroe Islands.

February begins by jetting to the new budget airline destinations of central Europe: Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary, are all on the itinerary, before heading south via Spain to Marrakech in Morocco. My journey will end in rather the same style as it began, by flying back on the first flight to London from the new Ryanair destination of Seville, at the end of February.

After a week of celebrating and flirting at bars in London, keen on acquainting myself with at least one person from every country in Europe, my aim now is to find free accommodation everywhere. The enormity of booking so many flights, ensuring everything connects and that all flights are inexpensive, means that I have so far only been able to sketchily map out my trip.

I'm looking forward to hearing any suggestions or ideas from readers. This is to be a highly interactive adventure and so I encourage anybody who wants to join me on November 2 to Valencia to log on and book a seat for 25p. I will graciously accept any offers of accommodation, along with any ideas or suggestions of where or when to go.

Taking cheap flights and often landing in dusty airfields or airports initially intended only for cargo was once something that I prepared for so I wouldn't end up stranded, not knowing where I was. Now it's all part of the excitement. All I need to do now is get my injections and find a bag to stuff some clothes in. I'll have a few more drinks, and then I'll be off.

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Altre storie e approfondimenti su: Guardian Netjetters

[Steman]

Ehehehe, chissa' perche' quando ho letto il titolo del 3d ho pensato ad OLI...

[spantax]

...infatti ! Strano non ne sapesse nulla ! Si potrebbe far sponsorizzare da che ne so, l'Eco di Leno per esempio...

[Chris76]

Anche nel mio caso il primo pensiero, leggendo le prime righe del thread, è andato al nostro moderatore!

Oli futuro Netjetter con Ryanair?

Ciao,
Chris

[marcogiov]

Aggiungo la proposta del pazzoide che ha convinto la giuria.
Sarebbe bello se andassimo a incontrarlo quando passerà da BGY... Che cosa ne dite?



Nicholas, 21

Saturday September 25, 2004

Suffering from budget airline addiction I will take this opportunity to combine my bargain hunting talent and my aspiration to travel around Europe. I am curious about Eastern Europe and have a general desire to travel the less frequented tourist destinations, such as Siberia and Albania.

Throughout my four months I will have a base, Stansted Airport, from which I will do most of my travelling and some of my sleeping. I may return to base as often as twice a week at times, depending on what deals are around. It will be a second home. Instead of travelling around the continent by train as most travellers do, I will be doing things a little differently, travelling by plane with the aim of never paying more than £15 for any single flight, all booked on the internet, so I will be a true Netjetter for most of my journey.

The task I have set myself may seem an impossible one, but past experience gives me absolute confidence that it is realistic and achievable. I will use the £2,500 gift as my entire budget for this four-month adventure and will prove that travelling across northern, central and southern Europe, as well as northern Africa, Russia, Siberia and north-east Asia doesn't have to cost the earth.

Throughout my trip I estimate having to board between 15 and 45 planes and returning to London, the capital of cheap air travel, between 10 and 15 times, to make connecting flights only.

I will begin my travels by enjoying the sangria, sun and tapas of southern Spain, before continuing on a round trip of Morocco, through all the cities, before reaching Marrakech. Returning to Stansted by plane I will then take a trip to the mountains of northern Italy, combining it with a journey through Austria and Slovenia. I will then continue with a brief visit to Ayrshire in Scotland, via Bergamo in northern Italy. From Prestwick I will fly back to London where I may decide to make a few low-cost, consecutive day trips, before continuing my journey eastwards.

The second leg of my travels will take me to Tampere in Finland where my journey will continue either by train, boat or plane to Riga. While in Latvia I will spend considerable time planning ahead for a less predictable journey into Moscow. I will be blowing any remaining budget on more hops around Europe's low cost air network.

My journey will be a highly interactive adventure as I will encourage readers to study the budget airlines' route maps to help guide me on my travels. Also I hope readers will dig out the giveaway fares, as my trip will depend on this.

Previous travelling has taken me on 30 trips around the continent using only giveaway airfares. All have been successful and exciting, with a few offering a little more excitement than I bargained for. My goal in life is to completely conquer the budget airline route maps, leaving no destination undiscovered. Netjetters 4 will allow me to achieve this goal, while providing a healthy dose of entertainment never thought possible from such a visited part of the world.

[Worldclimber]

Se il forum di POL mi sponsorizza lo faccio anche io
vi prometto un trip report per ogni volo
e anche trip reports per tutte le località dove mi manderete
ci state?