Book Cheap Flights from Germany to the Rest of Europe

Europe has become a lot smaller these past few years. The demand for cheap flights in the old continent has seen a phenomenal rise in the number of no-frills, European budget airline start-ups. "New" European travel destinations are popping up here on almost a weekly basis while connections to the more traditional holiday locations have never been cheaper. And geographically speaking, you couldn't find a better centralized point of departure than Germany. Many tourists are now coming to this conclusion and coming to Germany first before connecting to further European destinations from here.

As you might know, Germans travel more than any other people on the planet. Generally enjoying 6 weeks of vacation per year, it is no wonder that the average German is simply wild about travel. And perhaps partly due to this fact, Germany is also quickly becoming somewhat of a convenient departure point for tourists of other nationalities interested in seeing the rest of Europe, too. And its location smack dab in the middle of Europe doesn't hurt matters, either.

The German Center for Tourism (Deutsche Zentrale für Tourismus - DZT) writes that not only do Germans travel more than any other nation, domestic tourism to Germany itself has also increased dramatically in recent years. It is expected to continue increasing this year, for instance, helped by the coming FIFA World Cup which will take place here this summer.

And although the Germans themselves may have been a bit slower at becoming online shoppers than other nationalities have, the online ticket sale market is booming in this country. And that includes the online ticket sale for budget airline flights. This has not remained a secret to all of the other European tourists out there, either. It is as easy as a click of the mouse to book an entirely affordable European vacation. And of the nations that provide the most visitors to Germany (DZT), the Dutch, Americans and British are now leading the pack in doing this. And this demand for cheap flights has opened up a market segment for any other traveler who wishes to book his or her flight from Germany - without necessarily even "visiting" there (although it would be an awful mistake not doing so).

A new style of travel has established itself. Tourists are no longer necessarily intent upon going on one or maybe two larger holiday vacations a year. Consumers now have the opportunity to grab cheap tickets for short-term stays at destinations near smaller European airports that weren't readily reachable a few years ago. Travelers can now escape for a long weekend or even regularly visit second properties that would have only been accessible to them only once or twice a year in the past. And all of this can be attributed to the current budget airline or low-cost carrier phenomenon.

A low-cost carrier is of course a discount or no-frills airline which offers its low fares in exchange for eliminating most if not all of the traditional passenger services we are used to enjoying. It originated in the United States but spread to Europe in the early 1990s and has enjoyed increasing popularity and success here ever since.

Because of these discounters, the days of are now gone when it was possible for major airlines to completely dominate European skies and determine their prices at will. Gone too are the once limited choices of destinations from which many travelers were compelled to choose from. "In the old days" you had to fly to cities you had no real intention of traveling to.

Today you can book a cheap weekend ticket from Berlin to Paris for under $100. Or how about a few days in Dublin, flying from Frankfurt for around $50? Of course in-flight meals, complimentary drinks or pre-booked seats are not possible when traveling for prices like this, but no one seems to be complaining about that yet. And with so many airline companies now offering cheap flights like this, and with the choice of interesting new destinations changing all the time, it's doubtful that these prices will be dramatically increasing any time soon - and don't hold your breath about any possible forthcoming complaining, either.

Most of these budget airlines like Easyjet and Ryanair are well known to you by now. They are also well established in Germany, but many new regional ones have popped up, as well; German Wings and Air Berlin among them. So whether you plan to visit Majorca, Istanbul, Pisa, Toulouse, Bilbao or Warsaw via Berlin (Schönefeld) or, say, Budapest, Oslo, Shannon, Sofia or Bologna via Frankfurt (Hahn), take a few minutes of your precious pre-holiday-planning time to visit a few of the sites listed below.

Not only will you be astounded at the money you will be able to save by having booked online, a whole new Europe will open up before your very eyes while doing so. And traveling by InterRail? Sure! What a fantastic experience. But, let's face it, it's much too expensive these days. And who's got all that time? Unless your German, of course.