Airport security: Mood lighting and music?

Europe has its own versions of JetBlue and Southwest, and these discount airlines can save you money when you want to hop around the Continent. The website EuroCheapo, best known for its guides to budget hotels and inns, has just launched a guide to budget airlines in Europe: eurocheapo.com/flight. On the left of this page, you'll find a column with a list of the 43 discount airlines in western and central Europe, from the ones you already know (easyJet, Ryanair) to the ones you've never heard of (Helvetic, for instance). Click on an airline name to read the review. Each review hits the pros and cons and runs down the routes that the airline offers. I particularly like how the site invites reader feedback on each airline's carry-on luggage policies. This is a weighty issue for Americans because U.S. airlines have more generous weight limits for carry on items than most European low-cost airlines. Of course, there's a fare search engine, too, powered by Wegolo.com. Like all search engines, it's not perfect, but at least this one allows you to compare the fares it fetches on the same screen with fares from major booking agencies such as Orbitz, Kayak, and so forth. I wish EuroCheapo made it easier to find their listing of routes by country. For example, if you to eurocheapo.com/flights/countries, you can scroll to the bottom of the page to see a box "find flights within Europe by departure country." You can click on a country (say, Ireland) and see a map of its major airports, all budget flights from Ireland (by arrival city and by arrival country). If you're like me, seeing the routes on a map is a faster, more intuitive way to figure out if one of Europe's low budget airlines could be of use to me as a traveler. Overall, kudos to EuroCheapo.

European bargains are elusive these days, as you know. Luckily, the blog Cheapest Destinations is running a series on how not to go broke while traveling in Europe this summer. Check out the especially strong advice in the three-part series, here. There's a price war on airfares between Newark and Geneva, with $750 (including taxes) a typical going fare for summer travel. Get the details. Attention Southwest fliers: Have you ever wanted to claim your A-group boarding pass up to 24 hours before your departure, while you were on the road without a printer to print out your boarding pass? Then use your cell phone or iPhone or Blackberry (and its Web browser) to check-in online, pretend to print a boarding pass and then, once you're at the gate, use a kiosk to "re-print" your boarding pass. Confused? It's an easier trick to pull off than it may sound. Gadling's Justin Glow has the lowdown.

BoltBus, a new super-discount express service operated by Greyhound, launched Thursday with service from New York to D.C. for $3. BoltBus joins a growing group of low-fare bus companies such as Megabus (which is expanding service like crazy), DC2NY, and various Chinatown buses. We took a ride on BoltBus yesterday and blogged about it here (we liked it, mostly). So can a $3 fare get you back on the bus? Share your bus experiences below!

To help offset the weak dollar and general economic gloom, Ciclismo Classico has introduced its own sort of stimulus plan: €200 in spending money if you book a bike tour by April 15. Each traveler will receive the €200 upon arrival at the first hotel on the itinerary. Among the list of eligible European tours is a new wine-themed route in western Sicily. Culinary and cultural experiences are a major part of all Ciclismo Classico's small-group tours, which are often led by locals. Veteran leader Enrico Pizzorni shared memories of stumbling upon Castelmezzano, set among craggy peaks in southern Italy's Basilicata region, in our 2007 Scouting Report. It's a smart time to purchase a package tour of Europe, whether from Ciclismo Classico or other operators, as the prices were likely fixed several months ago—when the dollar was stronger compared to the euro. (If the total cost of a package's components were recalculated today, it would be higher.) RELATED 10 Ways to Save in Europe and Affordable Europe: High Culture on a Low Budget