Does EasyJet really make a difference?
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Hürriyet Daily News
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Nisan 27, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL - Commuting between England and Didim? Cheap flights made it all possible and more Brits bought a home away from home and under the sun. But life for expatriates is linked to fluctuations in ticket prices, peak season fares and airline policies
Buying a home away from home brings its own problems. British home owners in Turkey complain about not-so-cheap air fares between Turkey and the U.K. Klaus Jurgens from Didim speaks for all in his column in Altınkum Voices:
"Flying home to Britain? Commuting between England and Didim? Well, when we discovered ’No Going Back’ on our TV sets, and after Easy Jet and Ryanair had made it all possible, more and more of us bought a home away from home and under the sun.
"I heard of people who literally shuttled between Italy and Spain and their home in the UK on a monthly basis and sometimes even more frequently. Turkey was a bit off the beaten track Ğ not from a tourist’s perspective but for regular travelers due to distance and related costs. Recently this seems to have changed or has it?
"So how do we get here: When my wife came to visit me in London quite regularly some years ago flying cheap was no option as she flew in from İstanbul, not Dalaman. Who took her there? Either BA or THY of course! Quality comes at a price as we paid around 280 pounds per return ticket."
Time consuming and expensive
"Then there was the option of going to the Netherlands and boarding a Corendon plane, which was time consuming and nearly as expensive once the total tally was presented. Charter airlines as such did not really service that important route.
"Flying to Didim via İzmir or Bodrum was a different matter altogether. Flights are cheaper than those linking the two metropolises but are seasonal and by charter. You may have to rush to the airport at 2 a.m. And then comes the big surprise: are they really cheaper?
"Easy Jet starts its much-anticipated Bodrum to England flight schedule. Let me explain: As most of our regulars have a flat or house in and around Didim we do not need charter flights with rooms attached. I checked EasyJet for the mid-summer period of this year and already today I was quoted a return fare of more than 300 pounds! Now take a family of four and you come close to paying a grand! Flying in and out every month? Forget it. Commuting every two to three months? Hardly possible. Got stuck? Most likely!
"So our place under the sun is linked to fluctuations in ticket prices, peak season fares and the fact whether there is a route that brings us closer to home in the first instance.
"It is a disadvantage for the region as other destinations may be more practical in terms of travel arrangements. It may be a decisive factor for where to buy a house or flat as we have to add the travel expenses over, let us say, a 10 year period if not longer.
"The next point I am unhappy about is that as far as airline managers are concerned there seems to be a misunderstanding about the actual size of the UK: How many Turkey bound planes take off from Belfast, Glasgow or Newcastle? If so how many of them continue to fly during the winter not acknowledging the fact that we have a large permanent community over here?
"Flying back and forth is essential. Yes, we all like it here as this is why we came in the first place. I do not believe that most of us only settled here because house prices in Didim were cheaper as in Spain or Cyprus.
"You all will have done your homework and informed yourself about country, people, climate, supermarket prices and other important factors besides the actual price of your property. So I do assume we have a large group of friends of Turkey residing in Didim!
"Having said that being friends of somewhere else should not imply that we forget about our real or previous home. While staying in touch with the UK by means of satellite TV and the Internet is easy, it is no substitute for the real thing.
"So we need reasonably priced tickets to make this happen in order to stay in close touch with both country and family. At the same time all of us become a kind of amateur ambassador Ğ we bring home memories, souvenirs and stories that hopefully entice others to follow in our footsteps which, in turn, will increase demand for airline seats, restaurants on location and improved infrastructure."
Klaus Jurgens can be reached at klaus.jurgens@gmail.com.
"Flying home to Britain? Commuting between England and Didim? Well, when we discovered ’No Going Back’ on our TV sets, and after Easy Jet and Ryanair had made it all possible, more and more of us bought a home away from home and under the sun.
"I heard of people who literally shuttled between Italy and Spain and their home in the UK on a monthly basis and sometimes even more frequently. Turkey was a bit off the beaten track Ğ not from a tourist’s perspective but for regular travelers due to distance and related costs. Recently this seems to have changed or has it?
"So how do we get here: When my wife came to visit me in London quite regularly some years ago flying cheap was no option as she flew in from İstanbul, not Dalaman. Who took her there? Either BA or THY of course! Quality comes at a price as we paid around 280 pounds per return ticket."
Time consuming and expensive
"Then there was the option of going to the Netherlands and boarding a Corendon plane, which was time consuming and nearly as expensive once the total tally was presented. Charter airlines as such did not really service that important route.
"Flying to Didim via İzmir or Bodrum was a different matter altogether. Flights are cheaper than those linking the two metropolises but are seasonal and by charter. You may have to rush to the airport at 2 a.m. And then comes the big surprise: are they really cheaper?
"Easy Jet starts its much-anticipated Bodrum to England flight schedule. Let me explain: As most of our regulars have a flat or house in and around Didim we do not need charter flights with rooms attached. I checked EasyJet for the mid-summer period of this year and already today I was quoted a return fare of more than 300 pounds! Now take a family of four and you come close to paying a grand! Flying in and out every month? Forget it. Commuting every two to three months? Hardly possible. Got stuck? Most likely!
"So our place under the sun is linked to fluctuations in ticket prices, peak season fares and the fact whether there is a route that brings us closer to home in the first instance.
"It is a disadvantage for the region as other destinations may be more practical in terms of travel arrangements. It may be a decisive factor for where to buy a house or flat as we have to add the travel expenses over, let us say, a 10 year period if not longer.
"The next point I am unhappy about is that as far as airline managers are concerned there seems to be a misunderstanding about the actual size of the UK: How many Turkey bound planes take off from Belfast, Glasgow or Newcastle? If so how many of them continue to fly during the winter not acknowledging the fact that we have a large permanent community over here?
"Flying back and forth is essential. Yes, we all like it here as this is why we came in the first place. I do not believe that most of us only settled here because house prices in Didim were cheaper as in Spain or Cyprus.
"You all will have done your homework and informed yourself about country, people, climate, supermarket prices and other important factors besides the actual price of your property. So I do assume we have a large group of friends of Turkey residing in Didim!
"Having said that being friends of somewhere else should not imply that we forget about our real or previous home. While staying in touch with the UK by means of satellite TV and the Internet is easy, it is no substitute for the real thing.
"So we need reasonably priced tickets to make this happen in order to stay in close touch with both country and family. At the same time all of us become a kind of amateur ambassador Ğ we bring home memories, souvenirs and stories that hopefully entice others to follow in our footsteps which, in turn, will increase demand for airline seats, restaurants on location and improved infrastructure."
Klaus Jurgens can be reached at klaus.jurgens@gmail.com.