I am in the same situation although I am getting married in July and have to find rates for about 30 people! What Jessica said was very promising. I have been looking everyday, and finally yesterday I found a ton of flights in July on Alitalia for $820. I got everyones information together and was going to book today when the prices went up even higher to $1100. I'm confident the prices will go down because gas prices have been on the rise for the past few years and I know many of us have flown ther during these times for $800.

Our rates for next July are $1650!!! Luckily we had a lot of frequent flyer miles accumulated so we have 4 tickets already booked for the cost of taxes and $15 each for doing it over the phone. Now, that's a bargain. Only one ticket to go!

The airline agent recommended that I hold off buying the last ticket becuase they haven't even posted the spring promotions yet. I'm going to wait a couple months and then start checking regularly, as per the agent.

No guarantees, but historically, European fare sales show up around 3 to 4 months before the travel date. So for June 2006--February or March.

They really don't have much incentive to offer lower fares this far out. An exception might occur if an airline has an immediate cash flow problem that they can't deal with any other way.

We were seeing the same kinds of postings a several months ago from people who couldn't find anything under $900 for November/December.

Why offer a sale fare 10 months in advance when some people will pay those premium prices--the airlines prefer to wait until they see how fast the seats are filling up before lowering prices.

RBN

I don't know a thing about Ryan air, but I think you might have better luck getting your question about flying them from Ireland to Italy answered in a new thread with a title that is specific to flying r.a. from Dublin to Italy. Maybe more people will see it that way. I would suggest a title to you, but I am sick and feel lucky that I came up with this idea. ;-(

Also, have you checked Ryan Air for route maps? Not that many airlines have good route maps these days, but Ryan Air might.

A year or two ago, maybe more, Frommers (gasp) Budget Travel magazine did an article wherein they showed route maps for all the cheap European carriers. You might be able to get that article at the library; most librarians will be happy to help you do a search for it.

good luck, debbie

oh, another idea:

I once used opodo.co.uk to buy discount tickets within Europe. You could research flights there from Dublin to where you are going in Italy.

Registering and getting the tickets bought with a US credit card was a huge pain. I had to get some sort of Visa International approval or ID or something, but in the end, it was worth it to get where I was going at a price I could afford.

For what it's worth, the last two times we've gone to Europe, we purchased our tickets about 8 months in advance and it turned out to be the lowest fare.
You might look at skyscanner.net or whichbudget.com to find discount carriers from Dublin to Rome, but I'm certain you'd need to wait several months or more to find the really cheap fares on any budget airline. Airfares to/from Rome always seem higher than those to other European cities. I guess it's supply & demand.

I too am looking for airfare to Europe for June. Our flight is SFO to Athens. I can't believe how much the fares are now. British Airways is the best so far,but once they add tax and charges the cheapest I've found is $1,317. I'm hoping it will come down in a few months.

Does the same scenario apply to smaller flights within Europe? We are planning to fly between Innsbruck and Orly, Paris next August and I was told by the agent of SkyEurope to call again in November when it's tickets for that time period go on sale. I need 5 tickets and don't want to wait too long in case the seats sell out, but also don't want to pay premium prices. Maybe I should be asking if anyone has experience with Sky Europe, if they use planes that fill up early on, or if that is a high-demand route. Any recommendations when to book our seats? Also, are they one of the airlines which allow you a small amount of luggage and charge an arm and a leg if you go over the weight?

(OK - this is the sign of the true Fodor's addiction - I couldn't sleep and here I am before 5am checking the forum just to see what's up!!!)

hoping for an answer, so...ttt

Topping for kwren - did you find out anything?