I've been checking out the prices for flights to Paris, and it's looking like to flycheap it's going to have to be done in May.

I found one flight for $482.52 yesterday, then I checked today and the cheapest I could find was $714.

Are differences of this magnitude common??

Also, was that first price (undre $500) about the best I can expect for a NYC to Paris flight??

Thanks in advance.

I'm curious, are you trying to fly within the next 21 days or beyond that?
Differences in this magnitute common?
Oh yeah, evidently they can change hourly and someone once advised for the best prices go online after midnight on Tuesdays...so get a cuppa tonight and play that game!

Travelocity notified me they have flights for $176 (BUT it does limit travel on weekdays...)

I'm rd/trip Phila to CDG for $390 in November...Airfrance but I want to travel on weekends

No, I'm not getting more vacation time until next year so I was planning on a trip in Summer '04.

I checked in June and July and the prices were ridiculous. That's why I settled on May.

I'm just curious what I pretty good deal for a NYC to Paris flight would be. Not looking for the deal of the century, just for a ballpark figure for what to look for.

$400 maybe??

Prices change all the time, so that's normal. I get noticed from Travelocity on DC-Paris and they just announced some real cheap fare about a week or so ago, but I forget the airline. However, I would bet anything you can get a fare cheaper than $500, you just have to be completely flexible. Those cheaper fares are in very late Fall or winter, so I don't see how May could have shown up as the cheapest time period for youi.

Christina

I should have been more specific. May wasn't the cheapest time for the whole year, it was the cheapest for the months I was hoping to travel (May-August).

Plus, I'm in such a hurry to return to Europe I don't think I could wait until the Fall before leaving, even if it does save me a few hundred bucks.

I didn't see your post that you were only looking in the summer. In that case, yeah, May probably will be the cheapest, and even that probably will have to be early May. YOu can run into sales but can't predict them -- usually they are less popular airlines who may be in financial trouble. If you don't mind waiting a while, I think something will probably show up. $500 is pretty cheap for peak season, however, but you might find $400.

The taxes are now $95-125, so once they are included, the days of $400 or less are exceedingly rare - - and perhaps almost non-existent for travel after March 31.

I think your chances of finding $450-500 again in the next month or two are pretty good. And yes, it might jump up again by hundreds of dollars in any given hour, when you find it again.

Best wishes,

Rex

Thanks very much everyone for your replies.

I guess I'll use $500 as my benchmark and consider anything I find under that a deal.

Just found a multiple-carrier (Lufthansa and United), one-stop (Frankfurt) flight from JFK to Paris for $416 at orbitz.

So I guess there are still some deals out there.

Good to know.

Hi kelston,

You are early for cheap fares for the Summer.

You should be able to find a flight for $500 - 550.

Yes, price swings of that size are not unusual. I recently purchased tickets for my mother BWI/CDG in May for $498, then it went to $640, then $458. It's now $630.

kelston
Autoeurope has some cheap fares on American between JFK and CDG but I don't know their end dates. You can call or email them - autoeurope.com
Mara

Oh, to live in a "hub" city..!

I was watching a fare (Apr04 to Rome) and the lowest fare I could find (checking dozens of websites) was $600 to $615. I watched it for over a week and decided I should just book it and get it over with. Went to book it and it had jumped to $742. Darn! I picked up the phone and called Delta and ended up paying $552. Don't give up!