Back to school 2023: 30 tips for safe travel

For the back-to-school season, Pro Sky can help you plan your school or university trip. Whether you are a class of 30-40 students or a group of 50-100, we can advise you and offer the best flight solutions. Do you have a limited budget? Are you travelling as part of the ERASMUS programme? Do you prefer direct or indirect flights? Do you need budget support such as student vouchers? Fly with Pro Sky and we’ll be with you every step of the way from the moment you contact us!

22 destinations in 2024 for schools and students

For many of our customers, the destinations are often known in advance. In fact, there are partnerships with other school centres and language trips are organised between these institutions. However, in some situations, the country is known but not the city: you have a class of students learning Spanish and you want to organise a trip to that country. But you don’t have a partnership with a local school, and you just want to go on a cultural discovery trip. You’ll probably need some advice on which city to visit with your students.

The most popular countries for schools in Europe are:

• Dublin in Ireland
• Madrid and Alicante in Spain
• Hannover and Berlin in Germany
• Malta and Cyprus in the Mediterranean

Many school and university trips are self-funded by students and their families. Accordingly, keeping costs low is a high priority for many of our customers.
That’s why, no matter which educational institution you belong to, our Pro Sky teams, experts in group flights for schools and universities, will be able to advise you and suggest destinations that are accessible to you.

For the 2023-2024 academic year, we have prepared a list of trendy destinations with a rich cultural heritage, perfect for students or institutions on a limited budget:

1. Barcelona
2. Palma de Mallorca
3. Malta
4. Cyprus
5. Athens
6. Thessaloniki
7. Rome
8. Lisbon
9. Split
10. Budapest
11. Prague
12. Berlin
13. Amsterdam
14. Dublin
15. Agadir

Depending on the departure city, these destinations can be reached either by plane or by train. If you prefer to travel by train, you can book your group tickets with Pro Sky! Thanks to our SNCF accreditation in France and our partnership with Deutsch Bahn (DB) in Germany, you can enjoy the same benefits as if you were booking plane tickets.

All of these 15 carefully selected cities are full of high-quality Airbnb options as well as hostels. Choose from single, double or shared rooms with or without breakfast. Everything is on site and accommodation is affordable for those on a budget.

In terms of cost of living, these cities are famous for being courted by students and some are still being developed in order to attract new tourists. As a result, restaurants, bars and entertainment remain affordable. On average, Eastern European countries are 40% cheaper than France when it comes to eating out and drinking in bars. What’s more, these cities have a very strong culture, and the majority of activities will take place outdoors and most will be free or cost less than €10: guided tours, historical monuments or museums. Don’t forget your student card, which gives you discounts in European countries!

8 tips for schools and students organising their trips in 2024

Throughout your project, Pro Sky will provide expertise and advice to help you organise and book school and student group flights from A to Z. We will take the time to explain the differences between group and individual flights, advise you on cost and passenger management and help you choose the destination based on your requirements.

How to organise school trips for children: 5 tips

Organising school trips with children, young or old, always requires a lot of preparation. The earlier you start, the easier it will be to coordinate with management, colleagues and families. When you search for a flight on our site, make sure you have these five points in mind. This will give you a better idea of how to organise your trip:

1. Have the project and budget approved by school management.
2. If the trip is a language exchange, have confirmation from the partner school.
3. If the trip is cultural (not an exchange with another school), have an idea of the destination: you don’t have to decide, our teams are here to advise you.
4. Create a list of pupils and accompanying adults: this list does not need to be defined, only the number or at least an estimate of the number of passengers is required at this stage.
5. Ensure that all passengers (children and accompanying adults) have an identity card and/or passport valid for departure.

Unless you request otherwise, your dedicated project manager will suggest direct flights with scheduled airlines. This type of flight does not require you to commit to the number of passengers at the time of booking. We will select airlines that give you the flexibility to reduce or increase the size of the group at a lower cost. Convenience is the second reason we recommend regular airlines over low-cost carriers:

• Group check-in at the airport
• Group seat reservations
• In-flight snacks included
• No unnecessary connections
• More space between seats on the plane
• Rapid communication from the airline in the event of flight delays or cancellations, etc.

What’s more, in the event of delays or cancellations, your Pro Sky project manager will be on hand to find a solution and ensure that you and your group can travel safely.

How to make school trips affordable: 3 tips

As the head of the BDE (student union) or another school club, you want to organise a trip. Whether it is a club trip (sailing, kite-surfing, humanitarian aid…) or a cultural trip, everyone wants to go! And we understand that most students are on a tight budget when it comes to flying. But that doesn’t mean travel is impossible! Our teams have worked with student groups before and have experience in this area. All you need is the right support and a sympathetic ear to understand your project’s aims. And we’ll be there to make it happen. Here are three key tips to help you prepare as smoothly as possible.

Plan ahead

It’s a good idea to plan ahead: chances are you’ll be flying with a low-cost airline to keep costs down. These companies are notorious for their strict booking conditions. This means you need to know the exact number of passengers as early as possible. If you don’t, members who cancel will not be refunded. With this in mind, we can advise you on which airlines to choose: some allow you to change your seat up to the last minute.

Choose an affordable destination

Unless you’ve already chosen a destination for your first project (for example, a kite-surfing competition in Agadir), you’ll probably be looking for places where it’s affordable to stay, even for a few days.

If none of the cities presented in the first part of this article has convinced you, your project manager will be able to advise you thanks to a frequently updated database of destinations.

Financing your student group flight

Funding is another sensitive issue when it comes to organising a student trip. However, there is help available. According to the French government, if you are aged between 18 and 25, you can get student vouchers worth up to €250.

When you book your tickets with us, depending on the airline, we can arrange a payment plan where you pay a deposit and the rest later. This can be discussed with your Project Manager: anything is possible to make your trip an unforgettable experience.