easyJet is a fine low cost carrier with an exemplary safety record. They fly an ultra-modern fleet comprised entirely of 737's. Painted bright orange. Sounds like Southwest? Well, in many ways it is a carbon copy.

If you don't mind flying Southwest on your domestic short-haul flights, then you will have no problem with easyJet on your European travel. Sure you might have to put up with less popular and more removed airports -- Luton instead of Heathrow in London, for example -- but with the excellent ground transportation options in Europe this is rarely more than a minor inconvenience.

Sometimes I think that easyJet gets unfairly criticized by a spoiled European audience (and I don't mean that in a negative way, mind you) for its lack of complimentary meal service. Many European flights offer some sort of meal service on even the shortest of flights. If you are used to this perk, then easyJet may leave a bad taste in your mouth, pun intended.

On the other hand, for we Americans who are all too familiar with getting absolutely nothing to eat even on three hour flights spanning reasonable meal times, the pay if you want a snack system will be a non-factor. And when you consider the exceptional prices offered by easyJet and its low cost cousins, I think forgoing a meal is a small price to pay (pun intended again).

Just remember to book early -- the sooner the booking, the less expensive the flight. Sometimes easyJet's flights are ridiculously inexpensive even with all the taxes that may wind up being three or four times the actual airfare. The only other piece of advice I'd give is to allow yourself plenty of time for a connection, especially with an airport transfer, because easyJet is draconian when it comes to reaccommodating misconnecting travelers. But I wouldn't think twice about flying easyJet while in Europe.