Subject: Re: Obscure airports and fowl-ups
Ziners, Lucy --

Paris Charles de Gaulle, which is where transatlantic flights arrive and depart and is served by dozens of airlines, is about a half-hour from the center of Paris, about 40 minutes from our home on the Left Bank. Orly, which is for continental flights and is also served by many airlines, is less than a half-hour from central Paris (barely 20 minutes from our place).

This compares to at least an hour, if not more, to Beauvais, which is served, as far as I can tell, only by Ryanair. I doubt most Parisians who fly ever heard of it until Ryanair started flying (I didn't). (Lucy, when we flew Ryanair we were under the impression that Ryanair chartered the buses and the fare was included in the airfare to make up for the inconvenience of getting to such an obscure airport. The buses are scheduled to coincide with the Ryanair flights.)

Edinburgh's airport, meanwhile, is on the city's outskirts, maybe 10-15 minutes from Princes Street in the center of town.

Certainly when one travels on a budget, as most of us do, one often weighs cost vs convenience. I've said a couple of times on the Zine that my one experience with Ryanair was a disappointing one. I've decided the low cost was not worth the inconvenience. (We've also flown EasyJet, Ryanair's main competitor. EasyJet flies into major airports around Europe and its fares are very reasonable.)

Bons voyages! Evan in Paris