# Flying from Malaga to Bristol / Gatwick - twice a month



## Kenwhite77 (Aug 30, 2012)

Hi everyone,

I am just planning my move for December and something I will be doing is commuting to the UK twice a month initially.

My immediate thoughts is Easy Jet vs Ryanair?? Generally I fly Easy Jet but have looked at Ryanair and it looks like better value? In terms of getting the most competitive price am I better off block booking my flights for the next 6 months? 

Do

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In

In


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## Kenwhite77 (Aug 30, 2012)

Kenwhite77 said:


> Hi everyone,
> 
> I am just planning my move for December and something I will be doing is commuting to the UK twice a month initially.
> 
> ...


Excuse the odd bits at the bottom of my text, the text wasn't appearing on my iPad, must be a blip.


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

My husband used to do Gatwick - Malaga every week and he juggled between the various airlines ... Monarch, Aer lingus, easy jet. It really depended on the cost at the time of booking and the times/days he could go. His favourite was aer lingus. He would book for about 6 weeks in advance, and as a frequent flyer, they allowed him to change flights at no cost if he needed to

As a frequent traveller, you'll get a gold card/frequent flyer card with the airlines which offers various perks

Jo xxx


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## jimenato (Nov 21, 2009)

One or the other or sometimes both of us do Malaga/Bristol several times a year. The main choices are as you say with Ryanair usually having the edge on price at the moment. Look out for the occasional Thomsonfly charter as well. It really is a matter of looking at each option for the days you want to fly and choosing the cheapest on the day. Booking well in advance usually seem to get the best deal.


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## lynn (Sep 25, 2008)

My OH works during the week in London and comes back (most) weekends. We mainly use Gatwick, but do make increasing use of Stanstead, as Ryanair is regularly better priced. 
Generally speaking, booking well in advance secures the best deals. We do use Monarch and once he used Thomson (disaster, but that's another story). BA is usually too pricey (but he does use Friday evening - Sunday evening flights, which tend to be more expensive)
He's got an annual speedy boarding pass with Easyjet which means he now gets extra legroom seats at no extra cost and has been worth the inverstment. Monarch do a loyalty card with a few benefits, once you've done 2 return or 4 single flights in a year. AerLingus have now stopped the Malaga-Gatwick route. 
Timetables get more limited out of season, so being able to fly to a choice of airport can be of benefit. 
Travel hand luggage if possible. Transit times and time spent in the airport terminal is therefore kept to a minimum. Collecting hold luggage at Gatwick can add an hour or more to your commute.


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## jimenato (Nov 21, 2009)

Good point from Lynn re. luggage. 

It save lots of money and time if you can get away with hand luggage only - and this is easier on Easyjet as they have no weight restriction where Ryanair is a measly 10 Kilos (I think - best check). We usually manage it even though we have no UK base. If you have a base both ends it should be easy.


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## Kenwhite77 (Aug 30, 2012)

Cheers everyone, some goods points raised that I never even considered.

I have never flown Ryanair before but am I right in thinking if you have hand luggage you don't have to check in, you can walk straight through to departures with your printed boarding pass?

I am trying to figure out can I arrive 1 hour before departure time and make my flight comfortably. The less time I spend in the airport the better. I will of course expect to wait around in high season to get through security.

I am also considering changing my passport so it is electronic to save time when arriving in the UK getting through customs.

Is arriving 1 hour before take off cutting it fine?


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## lynn (Sep 25, 2008)

Kenwhite77 said:


> Cheers everyone, some goods points raised that I never even considered.
> 
> I have never flown Ryanair before but am I right in thinking if you have hand luggage you don't have to check in, you can walk straight through to departures with your printed boarding pass?
> 
> ...


...


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## lynn (Sep 25, 2008)

Kenwhite77 said:


> Cheers everyone, some goods points raised that I never even considered.
> 
> I have never flown Ryanair before but am I right in thinking if you have hand luggage you don't have to check in, you can walk straight through to departures with your printed boarding pass?
> 
> ...


Yes, if you're hand luggage and have checked in online and printed off your boarding card, you just have to go through security and straight to the gate.

One hour before departure is fine all year round in Malaga (security isn't usually too bad) but peak season, allow a bit more at Gatwick if at all possible. Check online before you set off for the airport to see if there are any delays to the flight (aena.es website is good).


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## Kenwhite77 (Aug 30, 2012)

lynn said:


> Yes, if you're hand luggage and have checked in online and printed off your boarding card, you just have to go through security and straight to the gate.
> 
> One hour before departure is fine all year round in Malaga (security isn't usually too bad) but peak season, allow a bit more at Gatwick if at all possible. Check online before you set off for the airport to see if there are any delays to the flight (aena.es website is good).


Thanks Lynn,

That is really good to hear.

Ken


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

lynn said:


> Yes, if you're hand luggage and have checked in online and printed off your boarding card, you just have to go through security and straight to the gate.
> 
> One hour before departure is fine all year round in Malaga (security isn't usually too bad) but peak season, allow a bit more at Gatwick if at all possible. Check online before you set off for the airport to see if there are any delays to the flight (aena.es website is good).


Yep - Lynn and I used to compare notes/flight prices and used to pack off the husbands to earn the money lol - and share in the tears when there were the delays .... ash clouds, strikes, snow at gatwick etc !!!!

Jo xxx


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## lynn (Sep 25, 2008)

jojo said:


> Yep - Lynn and I used to compare notes/flight prices and used to pack off the husbands to earn the money lol - and share in the tears when there were the delays .... ash clouds, strikes, snow at gatwick etc !!!!
> 
> Jo xxx


You'd have loved it a fortnight ago Jo, Monarch flight delayed for 8 hours. Supposed to fly 20.30 Sunday and was estimated 3.30am Monday morning. Managed to get OH on the Luton flight next day, but missed a day at work because it didn't leave till 12.30pm.
Regular air commuting means having to roll with the punches to put it mildly :-/


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

I used to do a weekly commute Prague - London and when we relocated to Spain Malaga -London.

My tickets were bought for me and although I initially used EasyJet I was switched to BA as the office that booked my flights considered scheduled airlines more reliable. There were a couple of occasions when EasyJet cancelled flights, true, but on the whole I arrived more or less at the scheduled time.

It depends really how important it is for you to be at a certain place at a certain time. There is also another factor to be considered....is there any likelihood that you may have to stay longer than expected? For example, a meeting runs over time, you find you have an appointment which is suddenly arranged the day after you were due to fly back....

That's where the budget airlines are not so good. As far as I know, none of them offers flexi tickets. Until they do that, they can't be said to be a good choice for business travellers. I don't know why they don't offer this facility as they are trying to attract business travellers.


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

mrypg9 said:


> That's where the budget airlines are not so good. As far as I know, none of them offers flexi tickets. Until they do that, they can't be said to be a good choice for business travellers. I don't know why they don't offer this facility as they are trying to attract business travellers.



Yes but my OH had a "gold card" from all the airlines he used, which is issued to frequent flyers. That entitled him to change flights within 12 hours as many times as he wished at no charge

Jo xxxx


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## lynn (Sep 25, 2008)

mrypg9 said:


> I used to do a weekly commute Prague - London and when we relocated to Spain Malaga -London.
> 
> My tickets were bought for me and although I initially used EasyJet I was switched to BA as the office that booked my flights considered scheduled airlines more reliable. There were a couple of occasions when EasyJet cancelled flights, true, but on the whole I arrived more or less at the scheduled time.
> 
> ...


Easyjet do a flexible. Monarch offer an insurance for £2.50 which waives any charges if you change your flight. If you don't use it, you get it credited to your account.


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## lynn (Sep 25, 2008)

Oh, and I'd recommend using skyscanner.net to search for flights.

....and one other tip - clear your cookies before booking. Prices can go down t
hen :-D


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

lynn said:


> Easyjet do a flexible. Monarch offer an insurance for £2.50 which waives any charges if you change your flight. If you don't use it, you get it credited to your account.


That's new and very sensible. But.....do these airlines do regular daily flights all year round?

I found that EasyJet don't fly Malaga to Stansted all the year round...I wanted to get to Norwich next month but the day I wanted to go there were no flights.

Some of the budget airlines fly only on certain days of the week...

Unless that's changed too....


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

mrypg9 said:


> That's new and very sensible. But.....do these airlines do regular daily flights all year round?
> 
> I found that EasyJet don't fly Malaga to Stansted all the year round...I wanted to get to Norwich next month but the day I wanted to go there were no flights.
> 
> ...


at the time, yes they flew all year round - altho I think Aer Lingus stopped. But I guess Malaga Gatwick is a popular route and therefore there were nearly always flights. I know that occasionally OH would want to arrive on a Saturday, but had to wait til Sunday and that the really early flights were cheaper, but it wasnt ever a problem

/jo xxx


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## lynn (Sep 25, 2008)

Winter timetables are not as comprehensive as summer, but then BA times are not convenient for my OH anyway... it's always a matter of best fit on times/cost really. 
I suppose for those commuters based the other side of Marbella, then there is always the option of Gib for flights. I've even met a guy who now always commutes out of Gib because he can dip under the radar for how many days he is in Spain if he flys into Gib and walks across the border to Spain (I neither recommend or endorse this behaviour lol)


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

lynn said:


> Winter timetables are not as comprehensive as summer, but then BA times are not convenient for my OH anyway...


Its cheaper in the winter tho...... and not as many er.......... noisy kids, seat kickers or holiday makers apparently!!!!

Jo xxx


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

lynn said:


> Winter timetables are not as comprehensive as summer, but then BA times are not convenient for my OH anyway... it's always a matter of best fit on times/cost really.
> I suppose for those commuters based the other side of Marbella, then there is always the option of Gib for flights. I've even met a guy who now always commutes out of Gib because he can dip under the radar for how many days he is in Spain if he flys into Gib and walks across the border to Spain (I neither recommend or endorse this behaviour lol)


I used to take the BA flight from Gibraltar to London....but soon switched to Malaga.

The problem is that if the weather is considered too rough to land you will be diverted to Malaga or even to Faro, I've heard.

My first three flights went as follows....

First one, low cloud at Gib, plane diverted to Malaga, passengers put on coach to Malaga. One of the three coaches broke down so we took off at around midnight instead of the scheduled 19.10 or so take=off time.

Second flight....from London to Gib...about to land when told unexploded wartime bomb had been found near runway.. circled for an hour then told 'All Clear'

Third flight...heavy rain at Gib, plane diverted to Malaga. Taken to Malaga in bus with no functioning windscreen wipers or demister and driver talking on mobile non-stop. 
Irate passenger furher distracted driver by telling him he was a dangerous moron.
Other passengers joined in. Driver kept talking and driving. I feared for my life..
Arrived in London a mere two hours or so after scheduled time.


I think I used Gib to London a couple of times after that but the uncertainty got to me and I switched to Malaga.

Then the whole business got tiring and boring and I remembered I was retired...so gave it all up.
London-Prague takes under 90 minutes and we lived a ten-minute taxi ride from the airport. It took me 45 minutes to get to Malaga and the same to Gibraltar plus a 2 and a half hour flight....


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## whitenoiz (Sep 18, 2012)

Could also consider Flybe from Southampton... four flights a week reducing to three then two depending on the season and no flights at all during February but its an alternative to the Ryan / Easy question. Decent staff at both ends of the trip and none of the Gatwick hassles...


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

whitenoiz said:


> Could also consider Flybe from Southampton... four flights a week reducing to three then two depending on the season and no flights at all during February but its an alternative to the Ryan / Easy question. Decent staff at both ends of the trip and none of the Gatwick hassles...


 Yes, we did a fewe Southampton flights, they tended to be a tad more expensive tho and their timing wasnt brilliant, but its a valid point. The airport is really quaint!!!

Jo xxx


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## whitenoiz (Sep 18, 2012)

> their timing wasn't brilliant


Rant Alert... Rant Alert!

That's my biggest beef with the Flybe service; flight departure times vary with the day of the week and invariably clash with the departure of the long haul coach services to Granada and Jaen. Until this year most daily flights departed SOU at 0705 and arrived AGP at around 1045. This tied in nicely with the 1130 Aeropuerto - Granada / Jaen coach service. It also meant that checking in for the departure from AGP on the return leg at 1145 could be comfortably achieved by using the 0700 coach from Granada. Not any more... Flybe could tailor the flight timings with a little more care... we don't all live on the coast.

A lot of the pax on the Flybe service are those that used to use the Granada-Gatwick Monarch service that was pulled in 2007 when Ryan blackmailed the Granada City Council and Granada Tourist authority with the promise of lots of extra pax and left no money in the kitty for Air Europa and Monarch both of whom pulled out of GRX shortly afterwards. The sick part about the Ryanair Granada experience is of course realising that the golden goose could not / would not produce any more eggs Ryan pulled out as well. Bunch of bl**dy vaqueros... Ryanair effectively killed GRX, I think we have just 6 flights a day now, all internal. It would not surprise me in the least to see GRX close pretty soon... 
Sorry for the thread drift but living just 15 minutes from GRX it really annoys me having to drive all the way down to Malaga, a 230 km round trip drive which I truly hate, when we have a perfectly good airport on the doorstep.
Rant endex. Rant endex.


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## Kenwhite77 (Aug 30, 2012)

whitenoiz said:


> Rant Alert... Rant Alert!
> 
> That's my biggest beef with the Flybe service; flight departure times vary with the day of the week and invariably clash with the departure of the long haul coach services to Granada and Jaen. Until this year most daily flights departed SOU at 0705 and arrived AGP at around 1045. This tied in nicely with the 1130 Aeropuerto - Granada / Jaen coach service. It also meant that checking in for the departure from AGP on the return leg at 1145 could be comfortably achieved by using the 0700 coach from Granada. Not any more... Flybe could tailor the flight timings with a little more care... we don't all live on the coast.
> 
> ...


I have considered Southampton but in Gatwick and Bristol I have access to a vehicle. 

I have discovered that easy jet are really expensive on the return flight to the UK, £40 to fly out, £160 to return, mix it up with two airlines and can save nearly £100.

I have saved nearly £300 when I fly out next month and at Christmas time I will save neatly £450 with easy jet trying to rip you off on one way.

It would appear to equate to around £100 on average for two ways and in high season is looking more like £200.

I may get it to £85 in low season but means the times are not convenient.

If I was to book 20 flights now for next year do they take payment immediately or 'x' number of days before travelling?

Does anyone ever fly over to the UK to Liverpool, I am a Liverpool FC supporter and appears just as cheap and quick to fly from Malaga to Liverpool than driver from Bath to Liverpool.

I am also left scratching my head further by internal flights, Malaga to Barcelona is really cheap, Malaga to Madrid really expensive. Yes I know I can use the train but it is three times more expensive to fly from Malaga to Madrid and cheaper for a return flight to the UK.



Ken


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## lynn (Sep 25, 2008)

Kenwhite77 said:


> I have considered Southampton but in Gatwick and Bristol I have access to a vehicle.
> 
> I have discovered that easy jet are really expensive on the return flight to the UK, £40 to fly out, £160 to return, mix it up with two airlines and can save nearly £100.
> 
> ...


This is where using skyscanner.net comes into it's own. It will give you prices for return flights using mixed carriers which as you say, are often cheaper. My OH rarely flys out and back with the same airline....

All monies are paid on booking. No 'deposit' pay later scheme for flights!

Tip: Block booking Easyjet means you will only pay the £9 booking fee once for however many flights you have. Just click on 'add more flights'. Unfortunately, this isn't possible with Monarch or Ryanair

Internal flights can be very cheap. I have flown to both Barcelona and Madrid for less than 50 euros return.... much much cheaper than the train.


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Kenwhite77 said:


> I have considered Southampton but in Gatwick and Bristol I have access to a vehicle.
> 
> I have discovered that easy jet are really expensive on the return flight to the UK, £40 to fly out, £160 to return, mix it up with two airlines and can save nearly £100.
> 
> ...


 My OH would book two or three at a time over the course of a few weeks and wouldnt necessarily use the same airline for incoming and outgoing. He used to spend a couple of hours every now and again trawling their various websites and pick a flight or two from one airline cos it would be cheap and the right time, then look for returns on the same basis. Sometimes, he'd find flights for 99p and would take them and work round them. In general tho, the flights both ways, were never more than about £50 each (inc taxes etc) - usually cheaper and as a frequent flyer, he could change them at no extra cost if he needed to. But there was no reall pattern to it. He;d just tell me he'd be coming in on a Monarch or whatever and at what time, which varied week to week

He never took luggage, so it was more like a bus service. He'd park the car in the UK at our daughters who lived in Redhill (close to Gatwick) and I'd pick him up, doing a drive by at Malaga - In fact it was the high light of my sons week when we'd park up at the bottom of the runway in Malaga and watch daddies plane come in. We'd then wait for the phone call to say daddys thru passport control and then drive to pick him up!!



Jo xxx


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## lynn (Sep 25, 2008)

jojo said:


> Lynn on the forum is a dab hand at finding and booking the cheapest flights, I hope she can add to this thread!!!!
> 
> Jo xxx


Me, or Xabia???


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

lynn said:


> Me, or Xabia???


You of course lol!! After I posted that, I saw you'd posted above me so removed that comment - now it looks really confusing - two blondes on a forum first thing in the morning eh??? 

Jo xxx


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

jojo said:


> You of course lol!! After I posted that, I saw you'd posted above me so removed that comment - now it looks really confusing - two blondes on a forum first thing in the morning eh???
> 
> Jo xxx


couldn't be me - I'm hopeless at that sort of thing

my daughter on the other hand is brilliant at it!


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

xabiachica said:


> couldn't be me - I'm hopeless at that sort of thing
> 
> my daughter on the other hand is brilliant at it!


Three blondes on the forum 

Jo xxx


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## Kenwhite77 (Aug 30, 2012)

jojo said:


> Three blondes on the forum
> 
> Jo xxx


Is yours natural Jo..... ;-)

x


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## carlnotts (Sep 13, 2012)

lynn said:


> This is where using skyscanner.net comes into it's own. It will give you prices for return flights using mixed carriers which as you say, are often cheaper. My OH rarely flys out and back with the same airline....
> 
> All monies are paid on booking. No 'deposit' pay later scheme for flights!
> 
> ...


Wow hadn't heard of skyscanner.net before, just had a look at the site and it can save me just over £100 to fly out in December & back in January, BARGAIN! Thanks for that.

Sent from my iPad using ExpatForum


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Kenwhite77 said:


> Is yours natural Jo..... ;-)
> 
> x


.... um it said "natural blonde" on the bottle lol!!!!

Jo xxx


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## Kenwhite77 (Aug 30, 2012)

jojo said:


> .... um it said "natural blonde" on the bottle lol!!!!
> 
> Jo xxx


That made me chuckle. 

X


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## Kenwhite77 (Aug 30, 2012)

jojo said:


> .... um it said "natural blonde" on the bottle lol!!!!
> 
> Jo xxx


That made me chuckle. 

X


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