Flying in Hard Times

With the current economic crisis and financial difficulties being faced by many, some people will feel the need to cut back on the ‘luxuries’ in life.  For those of us who fly, are currently training, or intending to learn, this is a luxury that is likely to be top of the list of things we can no longer afford.

However, maybe you should consider the possibilities of how to keep flying, but for less.

So why not come to France and continue to fly over the beautiful French countryside in very unrestricted and unpopulated airspace.

But how is flying in France cheaper? (I hear you ask)

Firstly, even after taking into account the recently-reduced value of the British Pound, the average hourly rate for aircraft hire is much lower than in the UK. At the Aéroclub de Limoges, the fuel, local taxes and home-base landing fees are all included in this charge.

OK, no landing fees at Limoges is good but you will most likely be wanting to land elsewhere.  With a few notable exceptions such as Le Touquet and Deauville whose prices seem geared to the 'British' market, the most you would normally pay in France is around 10€, even at the larger airports such as Toulouse.

In the UK, you wouldn't even be allowed into an airport of that size.

Generally, when flying around the local area and landing at local airports, fees are either very low or not applicable.  I often fly to Périgueux (LFBX) for a couple of ‘Touch and Go’s’ and, whenever I ask for a ‘Full Stop’ landing clearance so I can come and pay the ‘minimal’ landing fee, the ATC Controller simply  tells me that ‘The landings are free today’ or ‘The landings are on me this time’.

Secondly, the Annual Membership fee at the Aéroclub de Limoges is just 90€ along with the FFA Annual Membership of 52€ which provides the obligatory level of public liability insurance.  However, your FFA membership allows free access to many pilot-related websites, including the Météo France weather service,  For a small additional fee, FFA membership provides 'personal (flying) accident' insurance cover of 10.000€.

Finally, with budget airlines Ryanair and Flybe, getting to France is incredibly easy and cheap with fares from as little as £0.01.  Ryanair have 4 new routes commencing in 2009 and will soon fly to Limoges from Bournemouth, Bristol, Edinburgh and London Luton in addition to their existing routes from London Stansted, East Midlands and Liverpool

With Flybe, you will be able to fly to Limoges from Southampton, Newcastle, Belfast, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Guernsey, Jersey and Manchester.

So, hopefully, those of you who were planning to give up flying for the time being can still do the thing that we all love most by coming to France.

Comments

[Gerry Bolger]

I would wholly support this account as holder of a UK PPL revalidating with Sue. The area is both beauriful and the facilities at Limoges are great and France is easier than one thinks to fly in.

Where it is hour building, gaining your PPL, I would strongly recommend Sue and Nearly Heaven.

And if you need somewhere to stay should Sue be fully booked, try www.maisonbojac.com where you'll get a discount saying you heard it on Francoflyers.