When it comes to airfare, a little effort can save you a bundle. Tickets sold by consolidators, couriers, and standby seating are good deals, but last-minute specials, airfare wars, and charter flights often beat these fares. The key is to hunt around, be flexible, and ask about discounts. Students, seniors, and those under 26 should never pay full price for a ticket.
Airfares to Europe peak between mid-June and early September; holidays are also expensive. The cheapest times to travel are November to mid-December and January to March. Midweek (M-Th morning) round-trip flights run US$60-$120 cheaper than weekend flights, but they are generally more crowded and less likely to permit frequent-flier upgrades. Not fixing a return date (“open return”) or arriving in and departing from different cities (“open jaw”) is usually significantly pricier than buying a round-trip. Flights between Europe’s capitals or regional hubs (Amsterdam, London, Paris, Prague, Warsaw, Zürich) tend to be cheaper than those to more rural areas.
If your European destinations are part of a more extensive globe-hop, consider a round-the-world (RTW) ticket. Tickets usually include at least five stops and are valid for about a year; prices range from US$1600-$5000. Try Northwest Airlines/KLM (☎800-225-2525; www.nwa.com) or Star Alliance (www.staralliance.com), a consortium of 16 airlines including United.
While agents specializing in flights to Europe can make your life easy, they may not find you the lowest possible fare—they get paid on commission. Travelers holding ISICs and IYTCs qualify for big discounts from student travel agencies. Most flights from budget agencies are on major airlines, but in peak season some may sell seats on less reliable chartered aircrafts.
Commercial airlines’ lowest regular offer is the APEX (Advance Purchase Excursion) fare, which provides confirmed reservations and allows “open-jaw” tickets. Generally, reservations must be made seven to 21 days ahead of departure, with seven- to 14-day minimum stay and 90-day maximum stay restrictions. These fares carry hefty cancellation and change penalties (fees rise in summer). Use Expedia or Travelocity to get an idea of the lowest published fares, then use the resources listed here to try to beat those fares. Low-season fares should be appreciably cheaper than the high-season ones listed here.
Basic round-trip fares to Europe range from roughly US$400-1500: to Frankfurt , US$450-1250; London , US$250-550; Paris , US$600-1400. Standard commercial carriers like American (☎800-433-7300; www.aa.com), United (☎800-538-2929; www.united.com), and Northwest (☎800-225-2525; www.nwa.com) will probably offer the most convenient flights, but they may not be the cheapest. Check Lufthansa (☎800-399-5838; www.lufthansa.com), British Airways (☎800-247-9297; www.britishairways.com), Air France (☎800-237-2747; www.airfrance.us), and Alitalia (☎800-223-5730; www.alitaliausa.com) for cheap tickets from US destinations to all over Europe. You might find an even better deal on one of the following airlines if any of their limited departure points is convenient for you.
Because of the many carriers flying from the British Isles to the continent, we only include discount airlines or those with cheap specials here. The Air Travel Advisory Bureau in London (www.atab.co.uk) provides referrals to travel agencies that offer discounted airfares. Cheapflights (www.cheapflights.co.uk) publishes bargains. For more info on budget airlines like Ryanair, see.
Those who travel light should consider courier flights. Couriers help transport cargo on international flights by using their checked luggage space for freight. Generally, couriers are limited to carry-ons and must deal with complex flight restrictions. Most flights are round-trip only, with short fixed-length stays (usually one week) and a limit of one ticket per issue. Most of these flights also operate only out of major gateway cities. Round-trip courier fares from the US to Europe run about US$200-500. Most flights leave from L.A., Miami, New York, or San Francisco in the US, and from Montreal, Toronto, or Vancouver in Canada. Generally, you must be over 18 (in some cases 21). In summer, the most popular destinations require an advance reservation. Super-discounted fares are common for “last-minute” flights (3-14 days ahead).
Traveling standby requires considerable flexibility in arrival and departure dates and cities. Companies dealing in standby flights sell vouchers, along with the promise to get you to your destination (or near it) within a certain window of time (typically 1-5 days). You call in before your specific window of time to hear your flight options and the probability that you will be able to board each flight. You can then decide which flights you want to try to make, show up at the right airport at the appropriate time, present your voucher, and board if space is available. Vouchers can usually be bought for both one-way and round-trip travel. You may receive a refund only if every available flight within your date range is full; if you opt not to take an available (but less convenient) flight, you can only get credit toward future travel. Read agreements and contracts carefully, as tricky fine print abounds. To check on a company’s service record in the US, contact the Better Business Bureau (☎703-276-0100; www.bbb.org). It is difficult to receive refunds, and clients’ vouchers will not be honored when an airline fails to receive payment in time.
Ticket consolidators, also known as “ bucket shops, ” buy unsold tickets in bulk from commercial airlines and sell them at discounted rates. Look for tiny advertisements in the Sunday travel section of any major newspaper; call quickly, as availability is extremely limited. Not all bucket shops are reliable, so insist on a receipt that gives full details of flight restrictions, refund policies, and tickets, and pay by credit card (in spite of the 2-5% fee).
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For 52 years, we have published the world’s favorite budget travel guides, written entirely by students and updated every year. With pen and notebook in hand and a few changes of underwear stuffed in our backpacks, we spend months roaming the globe in search of travel bargains.
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