May 13, 2004 -- Spring is passing fast, and summer's almost here. We know you've been struggling to find cheap airfares to Europe for this summer, and a few of you are even planning ahead to the fall. So today, we're bundling together deals for the next four seasons.
Spring Into Savings With 1-800 Fly Europe
Last-minute travelers should feel rewarded by super-low May fares from 1-800 Fly Europe. These fares are truly excellent, and they beat other sales we've seeing around right now. Of course, the trick is getting the time off to fly to Europe with such short notice -- but we say do it if you can, because fares most likely will go up sharply after June 1.
Fly Europe's deals depart from New York, Boston, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Miami, Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, LA and SF and they go to London, Paris, Frankfurt, Munich, Amsterdam, Madrid, Rome, Milan, Brussels and Zurich. Fly Europe lists all of their sale fares on their Web site -- but here are some of our favorites. All fares are roundtrip, before the usual $100 or so in taxes.
- NYC-London or Brussels: $229 (!)
- Miami-London: $347
- Dallas-Paris: $347
- Chicago-Paris: $349
- Washington, D.C.-Rome or Milan: $359
- LA or SF-Paris: $359
Book these super-low fares by calling 800/359-3876 or going to .
A Summer to Save, if You're Smart
Deals for summer travel to Europe are few and far between, and all the experts we've spoken to have said the situation is going to remain that way. Thanks to the weak dollar, lots of Europeans want to come here, and thanks to the strengthening economy, lots of Americans are thinking of going to Europe. Cash-starved airlines are grabbing all the profits they can by keeping fares high.
To find low fares right now, you have to think a little out of the box. For instance, Air India's flights from New York to London in late June are selling for around $500 plus tax ($600 total) -- sure, that's high, but it's $75 under anyone else's price. Buy Air India flights through Expedia (www.expedia.com).
Icelandair's Lucky Fares are another a good source for reasonable (if not cheap) summer airfares. To get Lucky Fares, you must sign up for Icelandair's mailing list; go to www.icelandair.com/main/view.jsp?branch=784788 to sign up. They were updating their fare list as we went to press, but we're pretty sure you'll get some good fares from them.
You may also want to turn to Priceline. According to Priceline watchdogs BiddingForTravel, Priceliners have been able to get a $367 ticket from LA to London for July dates, a $480 ticket from New York to London for July, and a $376 ticket from Miami to London for July. Of course, you can't count on duplicating any past deals with Priceline, but it looks like they might have some great fares if you're willing to play their games. Find out more about Priceline at www.betterbidding.com.
Warm Up Fall and Winter
True early birds planning way ahead can find some treats from British Airways and Off Peak Traveler.
British Airways' current fall and winter sale brings fares down to what other airlines will be offering a few months from now. The fares aren't extraordinary, but they're good, and they're the best you're going to get if you're antsy and don't want to wait until the fall sales are announced in August.
BA's fall fares, for travel Sept. 2-Oct. 29, are (all to London, roundtrip, for Monday-Wednesday flights, plus around $100 tax):
- From New York: $326
- From DC: $386
- From LA or San Francisco: $466
- From Denver: $506
BA's winter fares, for travel Oct. 28-Dec. 17, are:
- From New York: $226
- From DC: $286
- From LA, SF: $396
- From Denver: $466
If you're interested, head over to www.britishairways.com/travel/offerus008/public/en_us.
Off Peak Traveler has the best fall and winter packages to Europe right now. Their fall packages, good for flights between Sept. 1 and Oct. 31, include (all packages assume double occupancy, and are before $100 tax per person):
- Three nights in London from $349
- Six nights in London from $449
- Six nights in southern Spain from $529
- Six nights in Paris and London from $649
For dates after Nov. 5, the 6-night Spain package falls to $429 per person, a great price at any time of year (and it's beating competitor Go-Today's base-price by $70 a pop -- not bad.)
All these prices are for flights from New York, but Off Peak Traveler offers 60 other US origination cities for $80-250 supplements. That's not an outrageous price; it's about the same as you'd pay if you bought your ticket to New York independently. Don't expect luxury in Off Peak Traveler's very basic class hotels, but hey, you can't beat these prices.
Buy your packages at www.offpeaktraveler.com/action/search?cat=127.