Georgetown Independent

Issue date: 6/29/09 Section: Commentary

For students studying abroad in Europe, EasyJet and RyanAir have quickly become fixtures of vocabulary; these low-budget airlines provide a fast and inexpensive way to see everything from Prague's Charles Bridge to Buckingham Palace. Even though while I was studying in England this past year, I loved to make fun of the lack of jetways, the tacky highlighter yellow color of RyanAir interiors, and the fact that I actually flew on an airline called WizzAir, these quirky airlines are actually some of the things I will miss most about being in Europe. (In case you try to look up WizzAir after reading this article, the "i" is actually written upside down, but don't let that throw you off!)

The best and worst part about going to Georgetown is that you make friends with people from all over the country. As soon as I got back from being away from Georgetown for an entire year, the first thing I wanted to do was catch up with all my friends, but this would require me to travel to San Diego, Boston, Orlando, Omaha, San Francisco, Philadelphia, D.C., and New York and would cost me a fortune that I obviously squandered while traveling Europe (though at least not on flights). Even coming from my home in Chicago to Washington, D.C. for the summer cost nearly $200, which is more than my flights to Madrid, Vienna, and Budapest combined.

While I enjoy the complimentary soft drink as much as the next person, I am definitely willing to forgo this and many other mini luxuries in order to enjoy a reasonably priced method of transportation. Apparently, RyanAir is even undergoing negotiations to see if it would be possible to begin installing pay toilets on their aircrafts. But as someone who tries to avoid the dreaded airplane bathrooms as much as possible, this seemingly extreme measure is welcome if it will keep those 1 euro deals coming. Airlines such as this not only provide some incredible bargains, but they remain reasonably affordable up to the last minute, which is something that cannot be said for what might be considered U.S. budget airlines like Southwest or JetBlue.

I feel sorry for the friends I made back at Oxford who have promised to come visit me and have been concocting grand plans of sightseeing around America from L.A. to D.C. to NYC, because I'm afraid they will soon find out that it is prohibitively expensive. That, and the fact that there simply isn't the same kind of student travel culture here with the hostels, discount deals, and funny backpacks that are so prevalent in Europe. So I suppose I will just be sticking to the Chinatown bus system and spend the summer reminiscing about the glory days of affordable flying.

Reding is an Associate editor and a Government senior.

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