Planning and Researching Flights to Europe
Assuming that you are like us and want to spend your hard-earned travel dollars in Europe rather than on getting there, you will probably fly coach. The range for flights to Europe is anywhere from $600-$1500. As stated in a previous post, approximately $1000 is a good starting point for planning/budgeting. I always feel better if I can get my airfare under this amount.
My approach is to use the consolidators (i.e., Expedia, Travelocity, Orbitz, Kayak, etc.) for my initial research. I start as soon as I have an idea of what my ideal flight plan is and when I want to travel. For example, I know that I want to fly into Berlin September 1st and home from Munich on September 18th. The consolidators do a good job of providing multiple options. Not all airlines participate with the consolidators so you may need to go to individual airline sites to research additional options.
Now you have your baseline fare or, in other words, the price to beat. Some of the experts say that the best fares are available 6-8 weeks out from your travel date so I usually try to book by then (my booking window). Between my initial look at airfares and my booking window, I will check fares on a weekly basis and if I find a fare that is really good, I jump on it. However, I do not book my flights to Europe through a consolidator unless it involves multiple airlines (more on this later). It is easier logistically to fly one airline and, if this works for you, it is better to go to the airline’s site to book directly so that there is less hassle if you need to make any changes.
Other considerations when researching flights:
- Round Trip vs. Open Jaw – Round trip is usually less expensive so if you can make your itinerary accommodate that, you can save some money. However, your dream European experience may not loop you back to your inbound airport. If this is the case, you actually come out ahead by flying open jaw (i.e., into one airport and out from another). You optimize your time in Europe and save the hassle and expense of having to return to an airport that is many miles away from your final stop. Caveat – If you are renting a car for your entire trip, you will incur additional fees if your inbound and outbound airports are in different countries.
- Timing – Keep in mind the time zone change. Europe is 6-10 hours ahead of us depending on where you are from and where you are going. Flights to Europe average about 8 hours so add on the time change and your flight that leaves the States late in the afternoon arrives in Europe mid-morning. Of course, this works in reverse on your way home. A mid-morning flight from Europe will get you home early afternoon on the same day. We travel from Chicago. Our approach is to get a late night flight (this makes it easier to sleep) which gets us to our destination early afternoon. We squeeze all the time in Europe we can so our return flights are usually mid to late morning (less stress in the morning) which gets us home by dinnertime.
- Stops – It is always easier to take direct flights but the cost differential can be significant. One stop isn’t too bad. We prefer to have that stop occur in Europe rather than our side of the Atlantic, especially if we have a late-night departure. The best fares we have gotten in the last several years were on Scandinavian Airlines (to Italy and Germany) and on Iceland Air (to France). These all required a stop. With SAS, you stop in either Copenhagen or Stockholm, both lovely airports with plenty to do. Iceland Air offers you the chance to extend your layover for up to seven nights at no extra cost providing a great reason to explore a place you might not otherwise. We took advantage of this on our way home from France and liked it so much that we are looking forward to doing so again sometime.
- Number of Airlines — It is just easier to book all your flights to Europe with one airline, especially if your journey requires a stop along the way. We learned the hard way that if you need to change airlines, and your stop is in Europe, you will need to collect your luggage and go through customs before changing planes. We didn’t realize this once and had to race across the airport in Madrid, barely making our flight to Zurich – not much fun, especially after an overnight flight with little sleep.
Getting to Europe is just the start. Your next step is to research how you are going to get around while you are there. Future posts will discuss the merits of driving in Europe and public transportation in Europe.
