Anyone taken advantage of last-minute cheap flights to Europe?

We did one this very weekend, three years ago!

We booked a direct flight from Philadelphia to Paris, supposedly arriving Friday morning and leaving Monday morning.

Unfortunately, just as we were leaving the house, the phone rang. Our flight had been cancelled due to problems with the plane. We were re-routed through Atlanta, where we had a really long layover (five or six hours, if I'm remembering correctly). So instead of arriving early Friday morning and having all day Friday ahead of us, we arrived late Friday and really only had Saturday and Sunday to play.

IMO, it's really only doable if you're on the East Coast and have a direct flight.

Last July (for July 4) I used site59.com to buy a ticket to London. I took the train between London and Paris.

The ticket was a little over $300 (for NYC).

I've done a few short trips (always a long weekend -- arrive Saturday, leave Monday) since last January -- usually to London and Paris, but three weeks ago I was in Belgium and Amsterdam and finished in Paris.

It's worked very well for me. But I planned these a little more.

Yes, I agree with you, elle. I've been wanting to do a long weekend in Italy, but the ticket is a bit pricier.

For my most recent trip, the cheapest ticket I could find was to fly to Brussels and out of Paris, so I tailored my trip that way. Milan/Venice, by contrast, was more like $550 and I had to switch planes.

Granted, my total transportation costs far exceeded $550.

We have done both Amsterdam & Paris this way, leaving on Wednesday/ Thursday night & returning on Monday. we take advantage of these offers whenever possible & try to connect them to a Holiday so we only have to take 1 day off work.

Thanks for sharing your experiences with these quick trips! A followup: what are the best online sources for news of these specials?

I got the site59.com recommendation here. But these days it doesn't like they sell airplane tickets only anymore (you need to pick a hotel or car rental in addition).

I'm on the AA E-savers list. So far this year, the only thing I remember seeing is a supercheap airfare to London (at under $300).

There're some very watchful posters here. They're usually kind enough to share what they've seen or come across by posting on Fodors, so that's also a good way.

We flew to Paris for a long 4 day weekend in October. No problem adjusting at all and we used delta vacations last minute deals. These are the same as travelocity and I think site 59. I would do it again in a heartbeat!

I saw an incredible deal today but couldn't act on it. I think it was DFW to LON on British by the end of April for $288. If my work didn't interfere I'd be packing right now.

Hi sera,

Just last month I took advantage of a NWA sale I heard about here on fodors and did a 3.5 day trip to Paris with a girlfriend. The jet lag ate me alive by the time I got back home, but I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

Register with www.travelzoo.com. They send you an e-mail every Wednesday with the top 20 travel deals on the internet for that week. These are often last minute bargains.

My sister emailed me this morning about deals on travelzoo for LAX-DUB on AA...since we go there often...but, when I plug in the dates (using THEIR dates) I don't get the fares the ad says.....these things frustrate me...they never seem to work.
Why?
Shadow