You may want to control your instincts this winter and ignore the budget airline advertisements plastered on multiple billboards.

Budget airlines for charging extra for services you may not know about. Customers could end up paying 30% more than the advertised sums as a result of extra fees such as credit card charges.

The companies bmibaby, EasyJet, Ryanair and Jet2 were analysed in a study by Which?, in relation to four destinations: Paris, Rome, Malaga and Faro.

All of these companies charge extra for credit or debit card use and also for checking in luggage. Flying to Paris with bmibaby showed a 25% increase in price when both of these services were used and for Ryanair it meant £50 extra across all of its routes.

EasyJet had the smallest luggage and credit card charges out of all of the airlines, though this still means £26 – £38 extra. Ryanair’s charges saw tickets at 8 – 29% higher than what was advertised, so make sure you aren’t fooled by these advertisements and are aware of the credit card charges before booking.

It has been argued that these are essential rather than additional services and therefore, airlines should not charge for them. A holiday without luggage seems ridiculous, particularly at this time of year where skiing necessities fill the holds of many planes.

Also, the main way to book budget flights is over the internet, which means that it is virtually impossible to pay through another method than credit card.

30% of Ryanair customers use Visa Electron credit cards or debit cards to avoid extra card charges.

However, Ryanair seem to have realised and are therefore intending to charge for the use of the Visa Electron as of the 1st of January. So, if customers use this credit card in the New Year, £5 will be added per flight, per person.

Ryanair claim that the card charges are used to fund their website rather than as addition personal income. They also claim that the change in policy with the Visa Electron card has been prompted by the fact that the card is being phased out in the UK. It has been confirmed that after the 14th of December, Abbey will not be issuing this card to customers.

Mastercard pre-paid cards remain the only loophole. These are now the only way to avoid a booking fee with Ryanair.

Pre-paid cards are the opposite of credit cards seeing as you put money on them in advance and then spend it.

However, there can be charges for even applying for one of these. The Tuxedo PAYG Prepaid Mastercard, for instance, charges a £9.95 application fee and a 3.5% ATM charge. So, if you are thinking about applying for one so you can evade Ryanair card-charges in the future, make sure you compare cards to find the best one for you.

1. Purchase a package. Buy airplane tickets, hotel, and car rental together and often you can save when comparing individual prices.

2. Flying one way is great but also usually the most expensive. You can save money by opting for connecting flights.

3. Check neighboring cities. As an example, if you are planning on flying into Orlando, FL, be sure to check out prices for flights to Tampa instead, as these flights are almost always less expensive and usually not too far out of your way.

4. If you are not traveling out of the country, consider flying on one of the smaller airlines for the major carriers as you will usually save on the purchase price this way.

5. Be sure to use the Internet to check out last-minute discount fares on the airline’s main website. Start looking midweek for the upcoming weekend.

6. Be patient and wait for an excellent price to come up. But when you do see a great price go ahead and purchase it, so always have in mind what your definition of a “good price” is so you’ll be ready to grab it at a moment’s notice. You never know when those awesome prices will show up.

7. If possible, you should be flexible with your leaving and return dates. Sometimes if you just adjust your dates by as little as one day you can get a cheaper price. For example, leave Wednesday and return Sunday instead of leaving Tuesday and returning Saturday.

8. If possible, book your tickets directly at the airline’s main website. If you use a travel agency, even one online, they will charge you an additional fee. It will also be much more simple to correct any problems if you are dealing directly with the airline itself instead of a travel agency. Believe me, I speak from experience on this one!

9. Mornings are sometimes the best time to check for tickets, and Saturday and Wednesday mornings are good days to take a look for some great prices. And don’t feel you have to stay over on a Saturday in order to get a better price. In the past this was thought to be helpful but not so much anymore.

10. Don’t forget to sign up for frequent flyer miles. It’s quite surprising how often people don’t take advantage of this perk. Even if you fly different airlines, sign up for each airline’s frequent flyer program. The miles add up faster than you realize.

11. Flying one way? This doesn’t always work but be sure to check for round-trip prices as well as one-way since there are times where it is actually cheaper to fly round-trip.

12. If you plan to travel on a holiday, be sure to book your tickets well in advance. For one thing, you will have a difficult time getting the seats and dates you want if you wait until the last minute, but you also will save on ticket prices by purchasing early. However, be sure of your itinerary because if you have to cancel or change your travel dates you’ll likely end up forfeiting any savings you had made.

13. Make sure you always book your flights at least 3 weeks in advance. This will get you the best prices. The earlier the better in this case. Never buy tickets within 7 days of your planned departure if you can help it, as you will usually pay a significantly higher price.

14. Consider traveling on the so-called red eye flights. Check with your travel agent to see if you can save with these late-night flights. You can often save as much as 25% or more off the ticket price this way. You’ll miss out on seeing the scenery you might see during the day but you’ll be more likely to snooze your way through the flight and time will go by faster.

Swiss’s new fares, announced by chief commercial officer William Meany, include London-Zurich from £91 return, Manchester-Zurich £117 and Birmingham-Basel £135.
The airline said it was doing away with “old-school airline food” in favour of sandwiches, salads and crisps, which passengers will have to pay for from the beginning of October.

Swiss’s bankrupt predecessor, Swissair, traded on its luxury, promoting its leather seats, gourmet cooking, duvets and in-flight electronic casinos.

A spokeswoman said: “The market is getting increasingly price conscious and less product conscious.” She insisted that Swiss would be a “low-cost, but not no-frills” airline.

The carrier would still have a business class service with complimentary refreshments.

Swiss has suffered mounting losses since its creation from the ashes of Swissair and has been negotiating with British Airways to join the One World alliance, in the hope of securing its future.