I'm planning a 2 month trip to Europe next summer and really am looking (obviously) to keep it as inexpensive as possible, as I am a recent college grad with not a lot of disposable income, saving every penny I can now.

Correspondingly, I don't know whether it is wise to try to book my flight as far in advance as possible, or wait a while as gas prices appear to be on the way down, at least here in the United States (@ $2.30 today, down from $2.85 last week). Can anyone with experience or perhaps insight into the aviation industry provide me with guidance as to when the best time would be to purchase my ticket? Will the cheaper prices at the pump translate into cheaper flights anytime soon?

If it is relevant, I'm travelling in early/mid May and returning early/mid July.

Thank you very much!

Fuel prices have a greater impact on airline profitability than they do on ticket prices. Airlines have become better at controlling capacity and that has resulted in higher average ticket prices and more people on the planes. As for timing the purchase of your ticket, you just need to keep monitoring and then be ready to lock in when a decent fare shows up. If people on the board know where you are originating from and where you are planning to arrive and return from, they may be able to provide you with some useful advice. There are no hard and fast rules and there is a lot of guessing involved, but occasionally something really attractive can surface, too.

I'll be flying from Cincinnati to London, so probably Delta. However I'm not opposed to a connection in New York, DC, Boston, Atlanta, wherever on the east coast if it'll save $$$

Summer prices to Europe are higher than the rest of the year.

Learn what a good price is for your route, figgure out which airline/flight combination you would like to have, then start checking the airline's site(s) each day. When you see a good deal on a flight you like, pull the trigger right away. It could be gone in hours or days.

Goodluck.

Keith

I saw on the Internet today that the price of gas could go down to $1.15 a gallon. In the meantime, if you see a price for under $750, I'd grab it.

I'm wondering the same thing for a flight from Philadelphia, WDC or Baltimore to San Juan for next July. Did anyone fly this route this summer with a good deal? I'm seeing $300's - 400's now and don't know what would be the best price to jump on. Any experts out there? (If this should be a separate thread please let me know - I'd be happy to repost)

I wouldn't put a lot of faith in the price of gasoline as an indicator of airline fares. First, jets don't use gasoline; they use jet fuel and it is certainly conveivable that there could be a glut of one commodoty at the same time there is a shortage of the other. Second, they don't just pull the plane up to a service station and fill-er-up. Airlines are almost universally tied into relatively long term fuel contracts, so a reduction in jet fuel cost may or may not immediately reduce costs for a given airline. And finally, the airlines are quite competitive and what a competitor does has a lot more affect on ticket prices than the cost of fuel.

My immediate thoughts on seeing your question were that there are almost always good fares between the east coast (primarily NY/NJ) and London because there is a lot of competition. So rather than looking for a non-stop flight from Cincinnati, consider those that pass through one of the major airports on the east coast. If you have some other way of getting to the east coast, that may warrant consideration. It appears that none of the really low cost carriers fly out of Cincinnati.

You may have difficulty getting the very best fares if your trip will extend beyond 30 or 60 days. I don't know why, but I see that condition a lot in the rules for the lowest cost tickets. There are some agencies advertised on campuses that can somehow get around this rule, and you might look to see if they can handle you.

A rule that has worked for me is to buy no earlier than 4 months before the trip, and no later than 2 months before the trip. This is a general rule that has lasted through terrorism. crowded flights, and skyrocketing fuel costs. However, once in a while I do see a good price, often due to a special, outside of that time frame, but I personally would not wait beyond 2 months before the trip hoping for a sale; more often the fares will actually increase then.

So my suggestion would be to set a price that will elate you and watch for it to show up. If it shows up, buy immediately (good fares can disappear quickly). If you haven't come upon that price four months before your departure date, abandon that price and take the best you can find in the next two months.

Incidentally, London is not one of the places in Europe I would go to if I were watching my budget, but I know there is more to picking a destination than just the cost.

Which city would you recommend arriving in rather than London if I were seeking to keep costs low? Because of the amount of time between now and my scheduled trip, I'm certain I can adjust my planned itinerary accordingly if the cost savings is worth it.

Lowest fare in the trans-Atlantic market is New York (JFK/EWR) to London (LHR/LGW).

[Just last month, DL was selling those tickets for around $300 roundtrip in coach, $1,000 in business class; and the fare was partially matched by Continental. For fall/winter travel,
and those fares are gone now.]

I didn't mean to say that landing in London is expensive, but staying there is. I think the best buys now are in Eastern Europe, Portugal, and Spain. Venice is expensive. Many report Paris is expensive, but I found it reasonable, (perhaps I was lucky) with like results in Switzerland (we stayed in small villages that were quite reasonable). But the main consideration should be what you want to see. I'm saying if you would just as lief see Lisbon as London, Lisbon will save you quite a bit, but in two months, I expect you will be seeing quite a lot. Hosteling seems an economical way to go almost anywhere.

The best prices to Europe seem to be London, Amsterdam, Paris, Madrid, Barcelona and Berlin. Unfortunately, London and Amsterdam are expensive cities.