May 7, 2004 -- For trips to France this fall, your lucky number is five. To celebrate their May 5th listing on the New York Stock Exchange, Air France is slashing fares for pairs of travelers heading to Paris between October 15, 2004 and March 2005.
For single travelers, their fares are nothing to crow about. But add on a second traveler, and something shocking happens. Or rather, it doesn't happen -- the fare doesn't go up. Here's how things shake out:
Originating Cities | Fare for One | Total Fare for Two | Fare Per Person |
New York, Newark, Boston, Philadelphia, DC | $505 | $510.05 | $255.03 |
Chicago, Miami | $555 | $605.05 | $302.53 |
Houston, LA, SF | $605 | $755.05 | $377.53 |
For couples traveling together, these fares are unbeatable, especially for October dates. Right now fall fares are artificially high, between $500-600 from the east coast. We'll see them drop sometime in September when the seasonal sales kick in. Still, $255 is an extremely low fare for a flight to Paris, on par with the best winter sales. We'd grab this fare if we wanted to go to the City of Light.
Remember to add around $90 per person in tax to get the real price you'll pay. Also, you can't fly on these fares between December 17-24, you must stay over a Saturday night, and you can't stay longer than a month. You must purchase by May 15 to get these fares.
To get these special fares, you'll have to call 800/237-2747 (be persistent, we had to wait through several busy signals before we connected). For full details, visit to www.airfranceus.com.
From Paris to Prague For Less
Paris makes a pretty good base for trips around Europe, as the city's two main airports (Charles de Gaulle and Orly) are both served by public transit and several low-fare airlines. (Ryanair flies into Beauvais, which isn't anywhere near Paris.)
Paris' biggest low-fare presence comes from EasyJet (www.easyjet.com), which offers discounted flights to the UK, Germany and Barcelona. Expect to pay around €75 ($90) including tax, roundtrip, for flights on EasyJet bought well in advance over their Web site. Volare (www.volareweb.com) will take you to Rome, Milan or Bari for about the same price.
The most exciting news at Parisian airports, though, is the arrival of new Czech airline Smart Wings (www.smartwings.net), flying twice a day to Prague for around €100 ($120) roundtrip. Many travelers say Prague is the "Paris of the East" -- this is your chance to decide for yourself!
Alas, none of the low-fare airlines let you book more than six months in advance, so you can't buy tickets for fall and winter yet. But we're pretty sure fares will remain steady, so feel free to plan that cross-European trip.