# Does Anyone Know XL Airways France?



## GrayFal (Oct 22, 2012)

http://www.xlairways.com

"NON STOP FLIGHTS TO PARIS 

Starting May 26nd, XL Airways France will operate direct flights from SAN FRANCISCO, LAS VEGAS and NEW YORK to PARIS."


They can up in a search on cheapoair.com for non-stop NYC to Paris for $901.
Air France wants $1500.
Aer Lingus has one stop for $999 and would mean that DD would be on the same flight home as me.

I hesitate to book with an unknown airline - anyone ever heard of them, or used them???

This is the only reference I could find on TUG.
http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1306886&postcount=3


----------



## x3 skier (Oct 23, 2012)

Personally, I would never book an airline that undercuts fares by a large amount. Their economic model would be suspect to me, Spirit aside, and since they are unlikely to be part of an inter airline agreement for backup in case of problems, you could get stuck. Even the majors are on shakey ground.

According to Wikipedia, they have what I would call an "interesting" background having been bankrupt at least once and sold two or three times since 1996. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XL_Airways_France

OTOH, they may be a fine French airline not prone to strikes. 

Cheers


----------



## GrayFal (Oct 23, 2012)

x3 skier said:


> Personally, I would never book an airline that undercuts fares by a large amount. Their economic model would be suspect to me, Spirit aside, and since they are unlikely to be part of an inter airline agreement for backup in case of problems, you could get stuck. Even the majors are on shakey ground.
> 
> According to Wikipedia, they have what I would call an "interesting" background having been bankrupt at least once and sold two or three times since 1996.
> 
> ...


Thanks for your reply....I appreciate your opinion.


----------



## Carolinian (Oct 24, 2012)

x3 skier said:


> Personally, I would never book an airline that undercuts fares by a large amount. Their economic model would be suspect to me, Spirit aside, and since they are unlikely to be part of an inter airline agreement for backup in case of problems, you could get stuck. Even the majors are on shakey ground.
> 
> 
> 
> Cheers



That is not a concern I have.  Many of the LCC's do quite well.  RyanAir and EasyJet have often been more profitable than many of the majors, so their economic model works.  Both have had a higher market capitalization than the major flag carriers in their home countries for years.  RyanAir likes to boast that it has held the #1 position in on-time arrivals in Europe for quite some time, and every time they land on-time they play a recording of horse race music with a message of ''Another on-time arrival from RyanAir, the #1 on-time airline in Europe''.

When an LCC does go under, like SkyEurope did when they tried to blend LCC and legacy models too much and it didn't work, the other LCC's offer ''rescue fares'' at cheap prices to their stranded customers.  Ironically, the last time a legacy airline in Europe collapsed, Malev Hungarian last year, it was the LCC's that stepped in to rescue their passengers with cheap fares.  RyanAir and WizzAir were both involved in that.  It is good business.  RyanAir and WizzAir are now the top two carriers at Budapest's Ferihegy airport.


----------



## levatino (Oct 24, 2012)

My dear 80 year old friend is a francophile and a retired professor of French at Yale.

He flies XL, NYC to CdG often and has had uneventful results.  I picked him up at the airport last time he flew in September and his flights were fine and his luggage arrived without incident. 

I think you will find the airline similiar to a US airline.  You would have to pay additional if you want a preflight seat assignment however, as they are a budget model.


Paul


----------



## x3 skier (Oct 24, 2012)

Coming to the rescue of a failed LCC passenger in Europe by other LCC 's may work but I believe the OP was asking about the situation for flying from LAS to Europe where the situation is quite different. 

Easy Jet, et al model works Trans Europe but those who have tried it TATL have had a checkered past going back to Sir Freddie Laker. The legacy airlines bread and butter is TATL and they will react aggressively to protect it.  

Also the EU has much more passenger friendly regs than the USA. 

If I was flying XL Airlines solely in Europe, I would have less concern but I would not do it Trans Atlantic given the size of their fleet and past history. Even with the lower price, it would be too much of a gamble for me. If something happens either weather, mechanical, strike or at worst bankruptcy, an alternate way for getting to Europe from LAS could be problematical. One could buy travel insurance but that would likely eliminate any cost advantage. 

Cheers


----------



## Carolinian (Oct 24, 2012)

Probably the most successful TATL LCC has been Iceland Air, which has been going strong for decades, even before EasyJet or RyanAir were founded.  The German LCC Condor is another longstanding TATL LCC, that has been around for decades.

Of course, RyanAir has been making noises about getting into the TATL business for several years, and its current takeover bid for Irish flag carrier Aer Lingus is seen as the opening gambit in that move.


----------



## MaryH (Oct 27, 2012)

personally if the one stop on air lingus is the same price and your daughter can be on the same flight, I would personally be inclined to do that.


----------



## GrayFal (Oct 27, 2012)

MaryH said:


> personally if the one stop on air lingus is the same price and your daughter can be on the same flight, I would personally be inclined to do that.


Yes, that is what I decided to do - will just make all the travel arrangements easier coming home, the savings on the fare would be lost on additional costa getting to the airport separately.


----------

