December/March open-jaw to Europe
 

Hi,

Thanks for all the help so far! I have a quick question about open-jaw airfare to Europe:

I'm traveling with a group of students to Europe in late December, traveling around for 2 weeks, then going to study in the UK for 8 weeks. I'm flying from LAX to Paris on Dec 28/29, and flying back from London to LAX on Mar 18/19. I'm also considering flying from paris to London on Jan 13, but may take the chunnel for this segment.

The cheapest airfare I've been able to find for a LAX-CDG, LON-LAX open jaw flight was $660, but that was 2 weeks ago, and this has increased to $690 (on cheapseats.com). Should I wait and see if prices decrease, or just purchase them now? I'm a little concerned about purchasing tickets 5 months before the travel date, but I really do want the cheapest fare possible. Is there any chance of finding a lower fare than this for winter/spring travel to Europe?

Thanks!

Yes, there is a chance. But there is also a chance that you won't find a lower fare. And there's a chance that prices will increase even more.

That may end up being about as good as you can get. That's the cheapest time of year to fly and I usually get from the west coast for $300 - $450 plus taxes. But in my experience the really low fares have a 30 day limit for the return flight. Since you need about 80 days I don't think the really cheap fares will apply.

Maybe some other fodorites will know how to book cheap flights for that long period.

Hm ok, I didn't know about the 30 day return limit. I will probably buy this within the next week.

You may want to try STA Travel. They specialize in student travels. You may not have to worry about the 30 day limit for student travel. They also have some deeply discounted fares for student and people under 26. They should be fairly easy to find on the web.