Monthly Archives: May 2007

Time to head back to Switzerland

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I’ve always enjoyed visiting Switzerland, and I guess it tops my list of places to head to to switch off, and get away from it all for a few days.

The only problem is that it is never quite as easy to get to as I’d like – especially with our “rules” about trying out as many different airlines and airports as possible, which make finding cheap flights to Switzerland a complete nightmare:

  1. Trying to work out flight combinations.
  2. Shall I get a Swiss Rail Pass before going?
  3. Am I going to do any biking? If so, will I take my bike with me – certainly not this time!

When I travel, I usually like to as many visit different places as possible, but sometimes I just want to get away, and stay a few nights in the same place. Even before running Flightmapping, I would rarely stay in the same hotel twice, and would always try our a different airline / routing over a tried and tested one.

However, when I spend most of my time looking into flight routings, sometimes it is nice to get back to a bit of familiarity. So even though I am finally getting to test out flights from Berne, I will be staying again at Balmers in Interlaken, which is often rated as one of the best hostels in the world.

There are still very few hotels or hotels out there that I have stayed in more than once. Last month, I managed to notch up a third visit to the Radisson in Manchester, but I guess that hotel will always feel special because of its historical assocations with the Free Trade Hall. This will be my fourth visit to Balmers – so I guess that comes as quite a glowing testimonial from someone with very itchy feet.

This time, I must finally make it up to see the stunning views from Bachalpsee. And I’ll make sure I’ve got the right walking gear.

Flight reviews to follow shortly:

  1. London Gatwick to Geneva (BA)
  2. Berne to London City (Darwin Airlines)

Cheap Flights – how much are they worth?

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It is a pity that Cheap Flights have chosen to stop working with affiliate sites like ourselves, but I am told they have some site modifications to make. They have made no secret of the fact that they intend to float later on in the year.

Cheap Flights published turnoved (according to recent travel trade press) is £18m. Profit margins are reported as being “healthy”, but have been previously reported as “around 20%”.

Their business model is largely based on some good “organic” search listings on Google, which are highly volatile – even that hallowed “#1 for cheap flights” has been knocked a few times recently. Cheap Flights is  a useful comparison tool on some routes, but the site provides no information about two of the largest airlines which actually provide cheap flights (Easyjet and Ryanair).

Sure, its a great domain, so if this business is really worth £200-250m, then that has to be great inspiration for all the other tavel websites out there. Assuming the 20% profit margin, their annual profits would be £3.6m, so we’re talking about multiples of 55 – extremely positive for an internet business.