HELP - Why is airfare so ridiculous for summer travel to Europe?
 

I am finding that airfare is so expensive for summer travel this year to Europe. I want to fly out of Chicago, and am flexible with destinations. I can fly into Paris, Rome, Barcelona, Venice...I'm flexible even with dates. Everything is coming up $1200 - $1500 per person. Ahh. I have tried lots of websites (orbitz, travelocity, aa, united, etc), and it's all the same. And all the mileage tickets are booked up too.

Does anyone know if these will drop in the next few weeks or months. I've flown to Europe twice in the last 5 years in the summer, and paid $600-700 each time. What gives? Any insight would be really helpful

Do you drive a car? Have your fuel costs gone up a tad in the last coupla years?

Those airplanes use a lot more fuel than your car does.

Not the only reason for increased airfares, but certainly significant.

Whoa...a little harsh in your approach. Yes I drive a car. But if you have been paying attention, domestic fares have not doubled recently. Not even close. We have been paying basically the same price for domestic tickets for 10 years now. Why has international increased so dramatically, as compared to domestic???

I think the number I saw a few days ago was that airline fuel costs have increased 165% in the 12 months . . .

I get the fuel thing. It's a real bummer that it's affecting the cost of flying. But a flight to Paris in April is $700, vs. $1300 in June, July, and August. It's frustrating.

You are also booking in high season. In January I was looking at tickets to Italy for early March. i found plenty of options for $550-$600. There are many influences on airfare . . .

I found a fare for $1141 on Kayak.com, leaving in the middle of the week and coming back in the middle of the week. Another reason for fare increases may be due to the decreasing value of the dollar, whereas prices may have increased less for those earning and paying in euros.

supply and demand...

econ 101

The $700 vs $1,500 fare has been that ratio for the last umteen years. Several years ago it was $500/1,000 from where I live. Americans prefer to go to Europe & Europeans prefer to come to the US in May - Sept and the airlines have no trouble filling seats then. They don't like to fly half-empty planes in Oct - April so they fill them with people who take advantage of the half-fares. It's been that way as long as I can remember.

Stu Dudley

Agree with other posters. The airlines are charging that price because they can. It is peak season in the summer and capacity hasn't increased that much in the last few years.

However, there is speculation that there will be fewer European travelers this year because of the economy and weak dollar. It is possible that there might be a sale in the next month or two if you dare wait that long.

I am finding the same $1000+ fares from Boston to Europe (Paris, Milan, Frankfurt) in October. Maybe the prices will drop but I don't think the higher prices are limited to the May-Sept period. I'd also note that I paid $650 last May for an Oct 2007 ticket.

It's why we travel at spring break.....we always can find a deal, like 460 from dfw to munich in march......including taxes. Couldn't pass it up. If you didn't want Germany, it would be easy to catch another flight somewhere, but we find summer travel just too high! We usually end up in NYC for the summer and it is great! Well, obviously we don't live in NYC....Jane

How does anybody afford Europe in the summer with these types of fares? I am looking at New York area to London (about the cheapest route you can get!) and finding nothing less than $1000+ per person, by the time you add taxes etc., for flights in June. I am flexible on days and dates - can fly out of Newark or Philadelphia (JFK is a stretch), but we are a family of 4 - that's $4000+ before we even land in England (where, fortunately my Mum lives and we then get free room and board!)
I was also wondering if the prices may drop, since the economy and exchange rate may well deter many US tourists. Any other thoughts?

<i>I was also wondering if the prices may drop, since the economy and exchange rate may well deter many US tourists. Any other thoughts?</i>

Those pesky planes fly both ways, and it's perfectly legal to buy a ticket <i>to</i> the USA as well as <i>from</i> the USA. One person's weak exchange rate currency is another's strong one. Ask the good mice of Orlando.

After Sept. 11, demand went into a nosedive, airlines went tango, and fares got cut to where they were way less than half the inflation-adjusted prices from <i>1972.</i> Over the past couple of years, demand has increased, and the airlines (like the oil companies and the people that sell popcorn at the movies) have attempted to recover their losses from before.

Comparing today's fares to those from a few years ago is using a faulty baseline for analysis.

lesm,

As far as the mileage being booked up - did you try mileage flights that aren't non-stop? We used miles out of ORD to CDG with a layover in Boston and plane change. On the way back it's Rome to Heathrow (I know, I know, Heathrow, but hey, it's a mileage ticket) and then Heathrow to ORD. I'm flying AA. I called them directly after having no luck on the internet and they were able to help me.

Good luck.

I paid $400 RT for my first trip to Europe in 1976. This fall, leaving right after Labor Day (Sept.3), we found RT AA tickets from St. Louis through Chicago to Brussels for $940 total with taxes. Given that it's 31 years later and prices have just more than doubled, and my income has multiplied many more times than than, I'm pleased as heck!!

As others have suggested, if you don't like the realities of supply and demand for summer, then try a different season.

How about a long winter weekend instead?

You can buy this ticket, Detroit-Rome ROUNDTRIP, <b>all taxes and fees included<b> for $273 on Priceline, right this minute...

...for travel Feb 27 to March 3

=================================

Good news! We were able to find an even lower price for this itinerary. The new price is shown below.

Price Summary
Price includes all taxes and fees based on e-ticket. Prices are not guaranteed until purchase is complete. Total Trip Price:$273
Per Person Price: $273

Flight #1 - Wed, Feb 27, 2008
Flight 7604
Departs: DTW 6:00 AM
Arrives: IAD 7:26 AM

Flight #2 - Wed, Feb 27, 2008 Flight 966
Departs: IAD 4:43 PM
Arrives: FCO 7:25 AM
Thursday, February 28, 2008

Flight #3 - Mon, Mar 3, 2008
Flight 967
Departs: FCO 10:55 AM
Arrives: IAD 3:24 PM

Flight #4 - Mon, Mar 3, 2008
Flight 7120
Departs: IAD 10:00 PM
Arrives: DTW 11:29 PM

==============================

Okay, it's not the best routing in the world (long-ish layovers - - so, what the heck - - go see our nation's capital on departure day!)

It's four days in Rome! for $273 all inclusive!

Or $398 from ORD...

Best wishes,

Rex
</b></b>

Funny.. I just checked the first website for cheap flights I ran into (expedia) and got a quote for rt flight Munich-New York of &euro;512, equals $750, for a 1 week stay in mid-June with Northwest via AMS.

Whoops! sorry for all that boldface text!

Hi, I am not sure where you are all from , but those near to Canada border should consider flights out of our cities.
I can get flights from Vancouver B.c. which is as far west as you can be in Canada and not be on an island, and July flights were 1100 all in. Flying from Toronto or Montreal is cheaper even for you north easterners.
Try Zoom Air, it is a Canadian cheapo airline, hubby has used it and thought it was fine, I am booked with them this July .

We're flying DFW-AMS.... CDG-DFW Sept 8 - 17 or 18th and the best fare I come up with is. $2,022.00 for two all in. Last Sept we did DFW-CDG... FRA-DFW for $1,569.00 all in. I bought the tickets in may. I was advised to wait until may this time too to buy because the price may go down?

I've learned for cheapest fares to book before the year's end for next summer's travel.

Try &quot;Eurofly&quot; ...uses secondary airports in Italy

Cowboy1968: That is pretty consistent with what I have seen. I subscribe to the Kayak Daily Buzz and follow prices from CPH to the US and from the US to CPH. For some time now, I have been seeing the prices from Europe pricing out lower than prices from the US. Indeed, I have seen prices from CPH to BOS in the $700 range even in July and August.

The differences aren't huge - maybe $100-$200, at most - but they are there. Not sure what this means, but it doesn't seem to support a claim that it is fuel costs driving the pricing, more than supply and demand.

Last summer I paid $1200 from Atlanta to Paris in July....summer rates are outrageous. I tried waiting for a deal, flexible dates, also. You are probably not going to find a good sale for summer. It sometimes helps to go before June 15th.
Part of the reason is that airlines are not running as many European routes as they used to. Still go to all the places, just not as frequently, so they fill up the planes.

travelgourmet..

Quite odd, indeed. The itinerary of pinchme would cost &euro;1080 or $1560 all in for two, if he was flying AMS-DFW and DFW-CDG on those dates - just the opposite legs, respectively. Though, it would require one connection on each leg while his itinerary may be non-stop.
So it could be comparing apples with oranges.

lesm, I rarely go to Europe unless I do FF miles. I kind of like off season, less crowded and WAY cheaper. We are taking our grown children to London and we are going in early March. There are some drawbacks less daylight, early closings, yet I can live with that.

&lt;&lt; So it could be comparing apples with oranges &gt;&gt;

Indeed it is. The reverse direction of any route is often composed of two very different sets of people with different demand-supply elasticity, even on the same day.

Just take a look at routes into a specific city where there is a major event.

It's a bargain to travel OUT of Louisville on Kentucky Derby weekend - - all those planes are going off to other cities empty to bring in more visitors TO the city. Conversely, those flying INTO Louisville... pay a premium for their very different demand elasticity curve.

Simple answer...supply and demand and how much of that market (route) the airline controls...be in because of fuel costs, they KNOW you want to GO to Europe and will PAY, etc., etc.

&quot;travelgourmet.
Quite odd, indeed. The itinerary of pinchme would cost &euro;1080 or $1560 all in for two, if he was flying AMS-DFW and DFW-CDG on those dates - just the opposite legs, respectively. Though, it would require one connection on each leg while his itinerary may be non-stop.
So it could be comparing apples with oranges&quot;

That's not quite the same? It would have to be..AMS-DFW and another city back to AMS like, AMS-DFW..MSY-AMS

My experience has been the same as schuler's the past few years. I shop like the dickens as soon as our dates go on sale. I've always been able to find non-stop flights at convenient times on preferred airlines with a consolidator for less than the alternatives. Not once have better fares been available for our dates later on. I've also had terrific luck with Priceline packages.

And, I shop dates and hotel rates.

But, we never go in &quot;summer&quot;, always May, June, September.

Even so, fares have skyrocketed and exchange rates are dreadful and getting worse, so we're not planning on Europe this year.

To my observation, the airlines have eliminated flights from their schedules to maximize fares and minimize cheap seats.

I'm going this summer Seattle to Geneva and yes the prices I'm finding are around $1450 for the decent carriers and routes.

Even the budget websites (like cheapo or something) offering those ridiculous routings (i.e., Heathrow/Gatwick transfer, 5 hour layovers, and 3 flight itineraries) are coming in at $1000.

rex.. no doubt about the fact that special events or differences in travel habits like in your Louisville example play a role.

I was only a bit more surprised that the effect added up to $ 100-200 pP for those major routes across the pond that do not involve feeders to smaller cities for several dates in different weeks, i.e. any NYC AP to AMS or FRA.

&gt; Why is airfare so ridiculous for summer travel to Europe?

Could $90/bbl oil have something to do with it?

((I))

Flew Uk to Vancouver last June and found no problem getting &pound;330 flights.

Tried to get Trans-Atlantic this June - found it impossible for less than &pound;500 - both taxes and fuel have gone up, as has demand.

Rex - bit suspicious about those fares - the taxes shoud come to more than those figures - last I checked they should come to around $300 at least.

There is good reason to think that the Detroit-Rome fare of $273 is &quot;suspicious&quot; - - the understanding that is circulating on flyertalk.com is that these are &quot;mistake&quot; fares in that the Priceline software is omitting the fuel surcharge(s) of about $200 for some reason.

But they really are that low (there ARE published fares in the $400-450 range, all-inclusive for many city pairs in Feb abd March, on a number of airlines); people are booking them and flying, and the fares have existed on Priceline for over a week without having been corrected.

If they work for you, then there is strong certainty that the fare will be honored, and you will NOT be charged extra for the &quot;mistake&quot;.

I am salivating at the airfares quoted ! - from Sydney you are looking at $2000 AUD plus :-(

Fares are returning to pre-911. We normally paid $1,200 to $1,600 for tickets from LAX to Italy during the 1990s.

As noted above, it is a supply and demand situation. Go in February if you don't like the July fares.

Rex - this is the stuff of travel legends - I love little stories like this.

Years back Hoover offered a deal in which you received return tickets UK to NYC if you bought a hoover. This was a loss leader to boost their flagging sales. What they missed was the fact that the hoovers were &pound;80 but the flight were worth &pound;250. Half the population of the UK queued up for hoovers and it nearly bankrupted them over here. The marketing dept were all looking for jobs shortly afterwards.

I have come across similar
mistakes on Expedia that do make you wonder - &quot;should I?&quot;

Just read the first few messages and decided to do a search whilst i was reading the rest. The airfares were around &pound;900 ($1,700) to Paris. &pound;460 ($895) to Barcelona. &pound;930 ($1,810) to Rome. &pound;580 ($1,129) to Venice. Half are below the prices you said. Maybe its worth you taking a closer look (www.fly.co.uk), seeing as i just chose a random date (6th of june) and searched all Chicago airports to any aiport in the cities you specified, one way. There were at least 20 results for each, you might want to (if you find a price and aiport location you like) ask on the forums if the actual airline is any good.
As for the rise in prices, i cant really comment as i travel any time of the year. Im not much of a &quot;oh its summer here ill go have summer elsewhere&quot; type of person. If im travelling tyhat time of year though to see family or friends, well you just gotta expect it. Its the way it is, just look for the cheapest you can get and then hope you get good service for your money :)
It is a ripp off though and i was in debt for a while because of a recent air trip to poland.
Hope it helps