this might interest some of you who may be thinking of traveling soon

Sofia echo Thu, Nov 05 2009

British budget air carrier EasyJet will offer ticket prices for all destinations with a 30 per cent discount for the period November 6-10, Dnevnik daily said on November 5 2009.

The discount will be valid only if clients purchase tickets within the five-day period. Reportedly, a total of 11 million seats are on offer for this promotion, of which 30 000 were allocated for Bulgaria.

Once the promotional tickets are purchased during the discount window, they will be valid for the period January 4-March 30 2010. All tickets will automatically be added to the booking system and will be valid for every flight, for every day, during the promotional period, Dnevnik said.

From Bulgaria, EasyJet operates flights to London, Manchester, Madrid and Milano.

[size=75:1fpsuids]Sofia echo 22 December 2009

Delays at Sofia Airport due to weather

Flights at Sofia Airport are operating with an average of 40 minute delay on December 22 2009, Dnevnik daily reported.

The delay affected both departing and incoming flights.

The most severely affected case was a flight bound from Sofia to London which departed with a seven hour delay.

Sofia Airport authorities have said in their defence that all delays, without exception, were to be attributed only to complications pertaining to weather conditions affecting other airports, and that everything at the Sofia airport was under control.

On December 21 2009, there were a number of flights which were severely delayed and had not managed to take off (bound for Sofia) but local airport authorities still had them labeled as 'delayed'.

A flight from Bucharest landed in Sofia on the morning of December 22 with a four hour delay, whereas flights from Frankfurt and Warsaw were coming in two hours late. Amsterdam, Prague, Dusseldorf, London and other flights also arrived with significant delays. Outgoing flights to Barcelona and Berlin apparently were also postponed with up to two hours because of complications in Spain and Germany, respectively.


Update

Easyjet cancels many flights across Europe, among them Sofia - London

The budget carrier Easyjet has cancelled a number of flights across Europe, a company media statement said on December 22 2009.

Amongst the cancelled flights are two from Sofia bound for London. The reason cited was "
severe weather obstruction in the United Kingdom"
.

In light of intensive and sustained snow fall and the subsequent cold snap across Europe, airports have been closed in a number of countries and thus a string of flights will not be able to depart until further notice.

The company advises all passengers to consult with the company website and obtain information for their specific flight before heading to the airport.

For complete information on all Easyjet cancellations,[url=http:
//easyjet.
custhelp.
com/cgi-bin/easyjet.
cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.
php?p_faqid=3708:1fpsuids] visit the carrier’s website[/url:1fpsuids]

Update

Flights from Sofia to Bucharest, Budapest, London Canceled

Flights from Sofia Airport to Bucharest, Budapest and some of those to London were canceled on Tuesday due to adverse weather conditions across Bulgaria and Europe.

Three air carriers – Bulgaria Air, Tarom and Malev – will not service their flights to the Romanian and Hungarian capital, while the low-cost Easyjet and Wizzair will not fly to London.

The delay in the taking off and landing of planes averages 30 minutes, the worst affected being the flights of Aeroflot and Bulgaria Air carriers to the Russian capital Moscow, which are running two hours behind schedule.

[size=75:3dc29p0x]novinite 12 March 2010

Budget Carrier easyJet Lowers Bulgaria Ticket Prices

EasyJet, the low cost airline, has announced a 30% reduction in ticket prices for flights from Bulgaria.

The reductions will apply to passengers traveling from the capital, Sofia, to all four easyJet destinations – Milan, Madrid, Manchester and London.

The online promotion opened on Thursday night, and will continue until Tuesday, March 16. The price reductions are effective for the period April 19 – July 15, 2010.

Tickets will cost from EUR 13,99 for a one-way flight, inclusive of all taxes. The reductions are automatically applied to online bookings made during the promotional period.

The easyJet web site is also featuring related travel promotions, including Europcar and the LateRooms hotel chain.

Sounds good but I wonder what it will cost for each extra gram of luggage you have

Cheap flights to Sofia

Sofia
If you’re looking for a long or short break to Sofia, then book a cheap flight with easyJet. Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of the mountain range Vitosha and is the administrative, cultural, economic, and educational centre of the country. One of the oldest capital cities in Europe, the city’s history dates back to the 8th century BC, when Thracians established a settlement here. Sofia has had several names in the different periods of its existence, and remnants of the city's millenary history can still be seen today alongside modern landmarks.

Historic landmarks include the 10th century Boyana Church (one of the UNESCO World Heritage protected sites), the Alexander Nevski Cathedral (one of the world's largest Orthodox churches), and the early Byzantine Church of St Sophia. More modern architecture is represented by the Bulgarian National Opera and Ballet, the Ivan Vazov National Theatre, the Rakovski Str theatre district, Slaveykov Square's outdoor book market, and the NDK, which is Southeastern Europe’s largest cultural and congressional centre.

Sofia houses numerous museums, among which the National Historical Museum, the Bulgarian Natural History Museum, the Museum of Earth and Men, the National Museum of Military History, the National Archaeological Museum.

Sofia currently enjoys a booming film industry as the filming ground of several international film productions. . Vitosha Boulevard, also called Vitoshka is home to numerous fashion boutiques and luxury goods stores and features exhibitions by world fashion designers. Sofia's geographic location, situated in the foothills of the weekend retreat Vitosha mountain, further adds to the city's specific atmosphere.

The city has also a huge nightlife scene with many different night clubs, live venues, pubs, mehani (Bulgarian traditional taverns), and restaurants.


Cheap flights from Easyjet in October from Gatwick to Sofia

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] ... wick/Sofia

Cheap flights from Easyjet in October from Manchester to Sofia

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] ... ster/Sofia

Prices look to good the be true I wish I was going over in October its cheap as chips as they say

Looks good to me

Oddy

Easy-jet reports 8% increase in passenger traffic in 2010

The British budget carrier Easy-jet has reported an eight per cent increase in traffic, corresponding to 3.7 million more passengers for the first nine months of 2010 as opposed to last year, Bulgarian media reported on November 2010.

Since 2007, when the carrier began flying to Bulgaria, more than 600 000 passengers used its services to fly to and from Sofia to four destinations in Europe - London, Manchester, Madrid and Milan.

For the year so far, about 49.1 million passengers have flown with Easy-jet. On a monthly basis, there was a 1.4 per cent increase of traffic in comparison to figures from last year.

One of Easy-jet's primary competitors, Irish budget carrier Ryan-air, launched direct flights from London Stansted to the Bulgarian city of Plovdiv on November 2 2010, with tickets starting from 27.99 Euro one way, Bulgarian media reported.

The new route will bring Ryanair’s annual traffic at Plovdiv to about 30 000 passengers, while sustaining 30 local jobs permanently in the process.

Until recently I used to fly to and from the UK very regularly. My carbon footprint does not bare thinking about. However, I vowed never to fly with Easyjet again. Whilst their flights do appear to be cheaper as a ticket as soon as you add other items such as food and luggage the price starts to rise. Coupled with that if you have ever flown out of Sofia through terminal 1 you will understand why it is cheap. My method of flying was outbound with Bulgarian Air and in with BA. Both carriers are competitive and on some occasions they were cheaper than Easyjet. The service on board is far superior and you get free drinks. The food does not run out and the crew are not trying to sell you everything. Oh and I forgot there are no scrums to get a seat. Only my personal thoughts.

EasyJet cancels Sofia-Milan flights

British low-cost airline EasyJet has suspended its flights from the Bulgarian capital to the Italian northern city of Milan, the Sofia airport's seasonal flights schedule shows.

The flights were terminated because the route proved unprofitable, a source close to the company said.

EasyJet, which launched the Sofia-Milan Malpensa destination in 2008, will nevertheless continue to serve its flights to London, Madrid and Manchester, according to the company’s website.

In March 2010, the Sofia-Milan route was also suspended by Italy's flag carrier Alitalia, but two months later flights between the two cities were resumed by the country's national carrier Bulgaria Air. The destination is currently served by two airlines, Bulgaria Air and Hungarian low-cost carrier Wizz Air.

Easyjets halts flights from Sofia to Madrid

British budget carrier Easyjet will cease all flights from Sofia to Madrid from March 10 2011, Bulgarian media reported.

Only two months ago, Easyjet halted its service linking Sofia to Milan in Italy. The company cited its desire to redirect its resources to other potentially more lucrative European markets.

The only carrier which will continue linking Sofia to Madrid will be Bulgaria Air, the report said.

Easyjet will maintain a regular service from Sofia to London and Manchester, and starting April 17 2011, the company will conduct three flights weekly to Manchester instead of two, while it will fly to London every day except Fridays, the report said.

We now use Easy Jet all the time

We used to fly with BA but they messed us about, cancelled flights, did not re-pay the cost ,call centre staff were rude, even the BA planes are old and tatty.

Easy Jet. The planes are all fairly new. They have the odd late departure or arrival but that rings true for any airline. As for the stampede for seats. Well book speedy boarding at least you get on the plane first and can take your pick of the seats. Always get the one's we want. Paying for extras, is not always that bad, as you get what you pay for. The real thing with any airline and cost is book early, plan ahead. During last years snow when Gatwick was shut the Easy Jet call centre could not have been more helpful, even paid our over night Hotel Bill with no questions.

Food. Sorry would rather pay a bit extra and get something edible. BA food is not the best and Bulgarian Air is OK if you like Ham &
Cheese. The drinks are not free they are part of the price of your ticket.

But you get what you pay for. To get from A to B safely is the main priority

Up till now i have always used BA ( except 1 very dodgy trip with Balkan holidays from Gatwick to Bourgas) mainly because from where I live in North London its easier for me to get to Heathrow, and terminal 5 is very nice, as is terminal 2 in Sofia, the journey for me to Gatwick is a nightmare through London, and Luton is such a rip off for dropping off and picking up.
I always book very early and the fairs are usually reasonable, plus you book in on line and choose your own seat. But I must be honest i could be tempted by the Ryan Air flights from Stansted to Plovdiv. We leave our car in Karlova in a friends garage, and we are usually picked up by relative in it. So Plovdiv would cut about an hour off of the pick up and drop off, and Stansted is good this end too.
So far I know a couple of people that have used this flight and they have been very happy with everything. I am a little wary of Ryan Air from various comments i have heard in the past and I don,t think any of these "
cheap"
flights work out so cheap after you add on all of the bits and pieces, but i am always happy to be proven wrong.

tonyb60 wrote:

We now use Easy Jet all the time

We used to fly with BA but they messed us about, cancelled flights, did not re-pay the cost ,call centre staff were rude, even the BA planes are old and tatty.

Easy Jet. The planes are all fairly new. They have the odd late departure or arrival but that rings true for any airline. As for the stampede for seats. Well book speedy boarding at least you get on the plane first and can take your pick of the seats. Always get the one's we want. Paying for extras, is not always that bad, as you get what you pay for. The real thing with any airline and cost is book early, plan ahead. During last years snow when Gatwick was shut the Easy Jet call centre could not have been more helpful, even paid our over night Hotel Bill with no questions.

Food. Sorry would rather pay a bit extra and get something edible. BA food is not the best and Bulgarian Air is OK if you like Ham &
Cheese. The drinks are not free they are part of the price of your ticket.

But you get what you pay for. To get from A to B safely is the main priority

Good job were not on an easyJet flight from Birmingham to Geneva on Boxing Day, you may have been one of the 37 passengers who were order off the plane by the pilot of face arrest. The pilot explained the the plane had been over-filled with fuel and was to heavy to take off. He offered £100 and overnight accommodation to anyone who offered to get off but couldn't be guaruateed a next-day flight to Geneva. Most of the passengers had booked the flight to coinside with their ski-ing holidays
Many of the remaining passengers thought they had escaped unscathed, but when they landed four hours later they discovered their luggage had also been taken off the plane to lighten the load. easyJet apologised and said an investigation had been launched

Can't always agree with your last quote Tony, you get what you pay for but I do agree that getting from A to B safely is the main priority :: What a cock-up