If you fancy a weekend outside of Barcelona, why not consider leaving the country? With a staggering 17 low-cost airlines operating from Barcelona’s El Prat airport, offering ludicrous prices as low as one cent, a weekend break in Europe can cost the same or less than a weekend away in Catalonia or Spain. And, with around 50 different destinations to choose from, there has never been a better time to escape the summer heat and enjoy the rest of Europe. The figures suggest that many people are already doing so. In the first half of 2005, almost 1.3 million people used low-cost airlines in Barcelona – a 12.5% increase on the same period in 2004. Easyjet, Barcelona’s first budget airline, recently announced that in the past nine years, it has carried 7.5 million passengers from El Prat Airport. In 2004 alone, it carried 1.6 million passengers – more than any other airport in Spain that the company flies from. According to the British Civil Aviation Authority, Ryanair and Easyjet have already captured more than half of all passengers flying between London and Catalonia and low cost airlines look set to overtake established operators on many other major European routes.

So what is the catch with these fares? For the most part, the price you see is what you get minus the airport taxes. Generally, low-cost airlines have undercut the competition through a variety of strategies such as choosing the most lucrative routes, paying their staff less than the major carriers and charging passengers for any extras. They also outsource all their maintenance and other non-core needs, sell most of their tickets online, fly only one type of aircraft and often use smaller airports that are further away from major cities that do not have shopping malls but do have cheap landing fees. 9-11 provided a further boost to budget airlines as many tourists figured that terrorists were more likely to hijack a major airline such as British Airways than a cheap one such as Ryanair or Easyjet. Increasingly however, low-cost airlines are adding stealth taxes that often seriously distort the advertised price. For example, Barcelona based airline Vueling charges an extra €6.95 per person per flight on payment. So simply by entering your credit card details for a return flight, you pay almost €13 extra for the privilege of paying. In some cases, this situation reaches extremes. New Italian airline Myair.com recently advertised flights to Venice from Barcelona for one cent but the whole story could only be found in the small-print at the bottom of the ad. Flights were one-way only, airport taxes (“starting from” €5.20) were not included, neither were “administrative fees” (€6 per transaction) and the imaginatively sounding “operation and security” supplement (€12 per flight) not forgetting the “increase in fuel cost” supplement (€11 per flight). This prompts the question where will all this end? Is it possible that one day, passengers will have to pay for toilets, cabin oxygen and the pilot’s outsourced babysitter?

The truth is, the final cost will only become apparent when you book online and reach the all important payment page when all extra taxes and charges will either be mentioned on the web page or will have already been added to the total. Also bear in mind that most low-cost special offers usually stipulate a specific booking period and travel period for which the offer is valid. For example, the offer with Myair.com had to be booked within 5 days and the flights had to be taken by the end of May. The other important factor to consider where you will arrive at the other end. One of the reasons low-cost airlines are able to offer such cheap air fares is because they fly to minor airports that cost them much less to use than major ones. For example, although Ryanair fly from Barcelona to London for as low as €1, the plane leaves from Girona Airport one-hour north of Barcelona and arrives at Stansted Airport. If you intend on using public transport at either end, count on paying an extra €19 for a one hour coach return from Barcelona Arc de Triumph to Girona airport and a further €35 to use the 45 minute Stansted Express to Central London. In addition, remember that with all low-cost airlines, you pay extra for any food and drink you consume on board which usually only consists of snacks such as crisps and sandwiches. When all these costs are added to the additional taxes, that offer for one cent might not look so cheap after all so it is always worth checking the prices of major airlines such as Iberia and British Airways.

But there is one crucial cost that you won’t find itemised on your bill and that is the one being paid by the environment through increased air traffic. The UN predicts that by 2050, aircraft will be responsible for almost 10 percent of global warming. Burning aviation fuel releases massive amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the environment, causing the Earth to heat up. Environmentalists estimate that a return flight from Spain to the US produces, per passenger, as much CO2 as a year’s driving by the average Spanish motorist. Whilst there are limits on the amount of CO2 cars are allowed to emit, there are no such restrictions on aircraft. There is no tax on aviation fuel either nor is IVA (sales tax) payable on ticket purchases. Simon Bishop of the Institute of Policy Research in the UK says that European governments have a responsibility to inform the public of the consequences of the air travel boom. “Lower prices have raised people’s expectations - we now all want to fly abroad for a short break, and do so several times a year but governments are doing nothing to inform people of the environmental impact of flying,” says Bishop. “The tax advantages airlines enjoy mean that, in effect, the aviation industry is being subsidised by billions of Euros.”

But for those undeterred by sneaky taxes and impending environmental doom, here are a few of the more unusual budget destinations accessible from Barcelona.

Billund (Denmark) - Sterling Airways (www.sterlingairways.com) - One of Billund’s most famous attractions is Legoland which features Lego mock-ups of various European cities – Gaudi would surely turn in his grave if he saw their version of the Sagrada Familia (although at least it was finished on time). The attraction is so big that you can even stay in a hostel in Legoland village. Down the road from Billund is the town of Give which features a zoo where animals can wander freely in a savannah style environment. It is one of the few of its kind in Europe although many visitors lose sympathy with the monkeys that steal hubcaps, windscreen wipers etc from cars. It is joked that the monkeys have more spare parts for a Ford Mondeo than any Ford dealer in Denmark.

Münster (Germany) - Air Berlin (www.airberlin.com) – Situated in the region of Münsterland and known as the “bicycle capital of Germany”, it is estimated that there are two bikes for every resident. Münster is home to several unique attractions including the world’s only Laquer Art museum and the Pablo Picasso Graphics museum. Münster also holds the distinction of having introduced the skateboard into Germany.

Blackpool (UK) - Easyjet (www.easyjet.com) – Northern England’s answer to Paris, famous for it’s 518 foot Tower which houses a Victorian ballroom and aquarium. More than six million tourists visit Blackpool’s 42-acre Pleasure Beach with more than 10 roller coasters. The surrounding Lancashire countryside also should not be missed including the Lake District which is one of England’s most outstanding areas of natural beauty.

[This article was first published in Barcelona Metropolitan. It was later posted on Nicholas Mead's personal blog, and is reproduced here with his permission.]

Original source: http://www.nicholasmead.com/?p=44