In the past ten years the budget airline industry has transformed air travel throughout Europe and impacted on everything from our perceptions of distance to the very way we look at our weekend trips.
Flying from London to Rome, Prague or Budapest for a night out is no longer the reserve of the elite and the cheap fares of the budget airlines have done more to shrink the size of the continent for the traveller than any other single innovation since the invention of railways. Destinations have customised themselves accordingly, tailoring their entertainment options to meet with the demands of the new "Euro traveller," thus creating the nightlife equivalent of a fast food revolution.
For a variety of reasons Ukraine has yet to connect itself to this boom in the international budget airline industry, but while red tape and local protectionism keep Europe's legion of no-frills fliers out of the country, it is worth bearing in mind that Ukraine's internal air traffic network constitutes something of a budget industry all of its own.
The May holidays that are now upon us are traditionally the signal for Ukrainians to head off to warmer or more picturesque climes, and with air fares to Lviv, Crimea, Odessa and other Black Sea destinations still hovering just below the hundred-dollar mark for a return ticket many weekenders will opt to stay within Ukraine and take advantage of the extensive range of flights on offer to destinations all over Europe's biggest country.
This domestic network stands up favourably to comparison with almost any other country in Europe and makes exploring Ukraine an inexpensive joy, but it remains a hugely under-utilised resource among Kyiv's international community, many of whom shudder at the thought of flying internally. The simple truth is that many foreigners are still unconvinced over the relative safety of what they continue to regard as a Soviet-era internal air traffic network. Such attitudes remain despite the gradual phasing out of an ageing propeller-driven fleet and a general move away from the somewhat haphazard procedures that characterised the early post-Soviet period.
In reality, while many of the terminals you will encounter are dilapidated Soviet temples dedicated to the heroics of the proletariat and safety procedures seem stuck in the 1960s, there is little in the way of hard evidence to suggest that flying within Ukraine is actually any more or less dangerous than getting on a plane anywhere else in Europe.
First time fliers should certainly not expect to be greeted by beautiful young stewardesses or fed a decent meal, but if you're not unnerved by the prospect of gold-toothed bouffant botherers caked in blue mascara dishing out scolding hot beverages in tiny plastic cups and seating that appears to have been lifted direct from a Second World War bomber then there really is nothing to fear. Kyiv's golden age of internal air travel, when you could comfortably roll up to the airport fifteen minutes before take-off and bribe the pilot with a few dollars, may well have already passed but the county's domestic flight network remains a wonderfully economical and convenient way to explore Ukraine at a time when it is still one of Europe's relatively untouched regions.
Inevitably, this window of opportunity will not last forever. The real budget airlines will eventually arrive here, bringing Ukraine into the pan-European fold and leaving behind a trail of stag night debauchery and franchised fun, but thankfully in the meantime we can all still enjoy what is a specifically Ukrainian travel experience for prices that are hard to beat.
