I'm planning to take a nephew to Europe for two weeks in late May this year and have been watching airfares for awhile.

The fares and routing are nuts - there are direct flights from DEN-MUC for $2,100 in Economy and $4,900 and up for Premium Economy!

And the flights with one or more stops are even higher, which makes no sense.

I've been paying between $1,500-$1,800 for Premium Economy flights from COS with a stop in Denver or Chicago to Zurich and Munich in the past few years.

I realize we're coming up on summer, but are people really paying these prices? I suspect it's AI at work. I've tried several things, including using a VPN, etc, but I just can't find a decent fare. Am I too late, or too early?

I've also been playing with dates, as I'm a bit flexible, but it doesn't seem to make a difference.

Thoughts?

Mel, do you find the same thing if you change your destination (e.g. Milan, Geneva, Venice)? It might be worth tweaking your plans if that helps. Good luck!

I booked premium economy on American from DFW to MXP (via JFK going and LHR returning) on May 6/24 for $2,097, but I booked that back in late June, shortly after it went on sale, and that price was pretty similar to what I would have paid going into Florence or Bologna for the same period. That's been my strategy in recent years -- book as soon as you can.

dreamon - yes, I've tried that too, but no joy.

twk - I don't usually book quite that far in advance, although 6-8 months ahead isn't unusual for me. I had no choice this time as had to see what nephew's school schedule was going to be. Is your fare for one person?

Thought you would have but clutching at straws. Two one ways? That’s usually more expensive but not always. Prices seem to be higher for us too. I think a lot of people travelling.

Hmm. I guess we lucked out. My daughter jumped on the upcoming nonstop BA flights STL-LHR for us a couple of months ago. Early May. I think we paid something like $550 return for basic ecomomy. Thrilled for nonstop after dealing with ORD for so long.

I am finding this also, looking for early May flights to southern France. Right now it shows figures a LOT higher than what we just paid recently for similar in the fall. I am hoping that a little more patience will pay off …

Me too kanadajin. All I can do is wait at this point. I've pretty much exhausted everything else, including one way tickets as suggested by dreamon. I hate ORD too, but will do if necessary.

What about a short flight within the US (somewhere with little demand), then flight onward to Europe. Or fly into Canada, then direct from there. Not ideal but worth a look.

Yes. One person.

I understand not every trip can be booked that early. I’m just saying that, for those wondering if they should pull the trigger as soon as their plans are set, or wait until closer to their departure, there doesn’t seem to be any advantage to waiting.

I recently booked AUS to LJU for around $2K in premium, in May. It seems odd that prices are so high from Denver. Good luck with that.

Prices from LAX to Italy in fall are actually cheaper than I thought. The prices that floor me are the cost of a rental car once i get there.

Pricing is crazy. Last year in May, I went non stop EWR to FRA in economy for $1,200 and booked in November 2024. I wasn’t happy then but this year looking for Spain in August, I wasn’t very smart. I found with one stop going and non stop back at $1,130 in economy and didn’t buy it as it was 11 months away and just released. Now the same flight is almost $2,000. I can get it down to a little less than $1700 non stop in economy both ways and still not sure.

I think the problem is the opposite. May is still early for most North American airlines flying to Europe.

I just did a search for July Den to Munich on United. Prices are about $1850 for premium

It's not like a hotel. If you fly off season the airline is likely using the plane on a different route.

The other thing is who is flying Denver to Munich May? It's likely heavily non discretional passengers. Business for example

Skyscanner is showing cheaper flights with IcelandAir and Alaska Airlines in second half May. Maybe worth a look.

Thanks everyone - I hope you're right Nick, that May is still early. As for who flies from Denver to Munich in May? Those of us hoping to get ahead of the summer mobs

I'm actually trying to fly from COS to MUC, which will involve a stop in DEN or ORD or elsewhere. I'm not too keen about the 2-3 stops and 7-8 hour layovers currently being offered, especially at these prices and knowing there are direct flights from DEN to MUC.

Just for grins I looked at COS-MUC for Sept as we're also planning a trip then, and the prices were very high, but just assumed it's too early.

Appreciate the feedback, I'll just have to wait and watch.

Just for info, I checked again today and I see that fares in May are slowly starting to come down - there is hope! (I also noted on the seat plan that not very many appear taken yet). I am careful not to search too frequently as I am perhaps naively hoping not to trigger their dynamic pricing algorithm. You may start to see some movement too Melnq8.

Excellent, thank you kanadajin.

Without getting too deep into the weeds, part of the problem with PE fares for trips that combine longhaul and shorthaul flights is that the shorthaul flights (like COS-DEN) don't offer PE, so the computers put you into a more expensive economy "bucket" for that flight, which can raise the total cost significantly.

​​​Overcoming this might mean separate ticketing for the longhaul and shorthaul portions (keeping in mind the need to provide a cushion for connections.). But it might be worth some "what if" explorations.

I booked a one-way flight a month ago, for May 4th, JFK - LHR, $334. Not bad, so I was unaware things were getting expensive. I booked one-way because a friend & I were leaving but not returning together & we wanted to get seats together on the same flight. Also, I wasn’t sure exactly when I’d return & planned to use miles when I did decide. All that to ask, as I think someone else mentioned, have you looked at one-way fares. My friend & I booked at the same time but each on our own computers. Might that have had an effect? Might single one-way fares be cheaper than 2 booked together? I don’t know but maybe worth a try to trick the system.