Drew

My family has decided to travel to Europe this summer and I was shocked to see most airfares from Charlotte to Paris are over $1200. What's the conventional wisdom of purchasing airfare. Should I wait and hope it gets better? Is $1200 each what I should expect to pay? I appreciate your insight.

elaine

Drew<BR>all I can say is, it depends. Summer is high season and there are fewer bargains.<BR>If you all are flexible on your dates you could see if you can get cheaper tickets through a consolidator, some specialize in last-minute bookings, but that could also mean that you won't be able to depart and return on the dates you have in mind. You might also want to see if you can do any better by looking at airfares out of New York (yes, I realize that would mean you'd still have to fly separately to NYC) or airfares that require a stopover in London or Frankfurt or Zurich. Get yourself on the email mailing lists for every airline you can find in the US and Europe. Icelandic Air, for example, often has lower fares from NYC to Europe, with a stopover.

Karen

Drew, I think it's too early. Someone posted a message after a conversation with a Virgin Atlantic reservationists that said it's better to wait till March.<BR><BR>Also, you might check with consolidators and keep trying closer to spring. Here's one I've used successfully a number of times and one I haven't used yet but was competitive.<BR><BR>http://www.1877femtrip.com/<BR>http://www.airlineconsolidator.com/<BR><BR>I would wait till closer to the time you want to go, but would keep checking every week to see if they are dropping the rates. You should be able to find airfares around $500-600 and possibly less if the planes aren't filling up like they hope. Good luck!<BR><BR><BR>

xxx

IMHO, I would think $500-600 for airfare in the height of the summer season is a dream, unless you are able to frequently monitor websites and purchase as soon as you see such an agreeable fare. Something I would factor in is that many airlines are cutting back flights --so how flexible can you be in your travel dates? Many people have to request and commit to vacation time early in the year. Those people may not have the luxury of waiting for airfares to drop. I think you have to factor all that in to your decision.

vita

I usually buy 1-2 months in advance but I don't travel in the summer. $1200 seems to high to me regardless.

Julian

$500-600 in the height of summer - I really don't think so. $1200 may be a little bit high but you are looking at something of that order. <BR><BR>Out of Charlotte, you can connect with a Paris flight from Atlanta (Air France or Delta), DC (United or AF), Boston (AF), Miami (American, AF or US), Toronto (AF or Air Canada), Philadelphia (AF or US), Cincinnati (Delta), Dallas Fort Worth (NorthWest), Chicago (United), Newark (Air India), London Gatwick (BA) or Frankfurt (Lufthansa). Focus on the fare for the transatlantic leg because that is where you will make the difference. That's a lot of choice but it will be expensive.<BR><BR>Yes, you could hang on for a lower fare, and hope that the airlines release chunks of new tickets at lower prices (it can happen) - but these flights are expensive because they fill up. It's a big gamble.

Sue

From Charlotte, I would assume that USAirways is your major carrier(?). I am going USAirways from PIT to CDG (having to change planes in PHL, which is a switch from when I booked it--guess they are cutting out direct flight) in May for $467. However, this fare was considered an &quot;Esaver&quot;, and I had to buy it in early Dec. Offer was good thru early June. If you can travel in May, early June, you have the best chance of getting a good fare, in my experience.<BR> If they didn't fill the planes, I would expect another offer to be forthcoming Feb-Mar, but with eliminating some flights, they may not have to. It's a different picture out there from previous years, I think. Good luck!

Ann

I usually find the best fares about 45 days from my departure date. However, I always keep an eye out before then because of sales.

susan

$1200 seems a bit high only because you are already on the East coast USA. But $500 during summer~ *dream-on*!!<BR><BR>I usually pay about $1200 but from Seattle, nonstop to London, and connecting thru to wherever (Amsterdam, Geneva, or Paris in the past) on British Airways, which is the best I've found for coach service on a long flight. Love those little tv's on the back of the seats!!

Thomas

topping

kate

Drew - I realize this isn;t the exact answer to your question, but try priceline and make a ridiculous bid and see what they counteroffer. But before going to Priceline, visit biddingfortravel.com for some great hints on how to bid and receive the price you want--good luck

xxx

I believe $1200 is alot for you to pay even in summer. I'm in California and the fares are around high $900's to $1,000 for that time of the year. I don't know if Lufthansa flies out of Charlotte but they seem to have good specials nowadays. You should probably wait another month or so to see if fares go lower or if there are any sales (summer is peak period and usually no airlines offer specials). However, with the way things are with the airlines, I doubt there will be any special fares during summer.

JJ

Drew, we are in the market for a trip from Charlotte to Paris this summer also (June). Last June we paid about $600 each. I can't pay $1200/ticket, even if it means we don't get to go. I'm going to wait and see. (Last year we booked through www.flights.com (U.S. Airways). Seems like prices get higher around the middle of June for the rest of the summer.

KatWoman

That is way to much! We paid $460 last summer traveling in June. I found flights from Jacksonville for $650 in June keep looking!

Karen

I think $1200 is far to high a price to pay from the EAst coast to Europe even in summer. Last year we had to pay $750 from Phoenix to Rome in August, and I thought that was too much. I'd suggest that after checking all the obvious websites: orbitz, travelocity, individual airlines, consolidators, etc. that you ask a travel agent to price a ticket from a consolidator that the agent knows and with whom the agent has previously done business. You have to ask the agent to check on consolidators or he will quote only airline prices. You may have to pay a fee for this service, discuss it beforehand.

xxx

Drew<BR>about the only thing going for you now is that there are still lots of seats available from CLT to CDG. The rest is a gamble. The fare generally spikes up late spring and then really reaches the height after around 6/14. Even looking at Expedia for the best prices, $1200 is the about best in July. I have some luck some year by booking flights at the end of the summer. But then, the rule changes every year. You need a conventional wisdom for this year, this summer.

Rachel

In years past (say 3-6 years ago, summer airfares to Europe did indeed drop somewhere around the middle of January or February). However, last year this did not happen, and I expect may not again this year. If you are flexible with dates, it would probably pay to wait awhile and see. My vacation is fairly set in stone, so I went ahead and paid the $1200+. Also if you have any desire to upgrade using FF miles, need to buy now (actually should have already done so).