Purchase Plane Tickets in the US or Europe?
 

My soon to be husband and I will be flying to Italy in July. We are staying near Naples. This is our honeymoon and his first trip back home in 7 years. We are spending 4 weeks there (in Italy with his parents). We have discussed a side trip to Germany to visit friends for a short weekend trip and also Greece. We are thinking about 2 days in Athens and 2 days in Santorini. He said it's cheaper to purchase plane tickets for travel within Europe once we get there. We live in the U.S. we would fly from Naples to Stuttgart, Germany for 3 days. Come back and stay a week or so in Italy then fly to Greece for 4 days. I am a planner, so I need to double check this to know for sure...should we purchase our tickets for travel within Europe once we arrive in Italy or now?

there can be exceptions of course -- but in general, the farther ahead you buy your tix the better. Especially on the low cost European airlines - last minute/walk up fares can be very high.

Janisj is being, IMHO, unduly tolerant of the fundamentally deranged advice your soon to be husband is giving you.

He's completely talking through his arse. You might keep this fact in mind for the rest of your married life: he clearly hasn't got the foggiest idea what he's talking about, but seems not to let that stop him bullshitting anyway.

Last minute sales, on some traditional airlines (like Olympic), are a possibility. But in July,they're a great deal less likely than your winning the lottery - and completely unpredictable. On the real, lowcost, airlines that dominate intra-European travel these days (like Ryanair or German Wings), they're even less likely: about as probable as an honest action by Silvio Berlusconi, which happens even less often than pigs fly.

Wait till you get to Europe (<b> in July!!!! </b>), and you'll almost certainly find yourselves paying five to ten times as much as you'd pay if you booked now.

What really flabbergasts me about this absurd advice is that he's seriously arguing there's a case for booking fares between major tourist destinations in mid-July. The suggestion of last-minute bookling would be dunderheaded if it meant booking in February: for July booking it sets a record for sheer insanity.

There is no reason to wait (and many reasons not to wait as explained above). Go on line and you can book most European flights on the internet directly, get etickets and have everything arranged well in advance of leaving the U.S. For checking tickets, prices, airlines and routes check www.kayak.com and www.whichbudget.com.

Hi aud,

In general, the closer to departure date on the low cost airlines, the higher the price - especially in high season.

See www.whichbudget.com

((I)

It is possible the husband is referring to the fact that some people say that fares can be cheaper from a Europe destination than from a US one, and sometimes people in the US are charged more for the same ticket (such as on websites where they ask your country). I think the former is more often true -- ie, a ticket from Paris to NYC may be cheaper than from NYC to Paris. But that doesn't do any good when it is a matter of the same route from some point in Italy to elsewhere, as you don't have the issue of which direction you are going.

Other than that, I don't know what he is talking about, maybe thinking in Italy you'd buy some cheap local airline and from the US, you couldn't. But nowadays, you can buy most anything on the internet, and those fares are more expensive at the last minute (if you even get what you want).

Usually buying tickets at the last minute is the most expensive - not the cheapest - way to do it. If you know what your dates are I wold definitely buy as soon as you see a decent price.

booking as early as possible is definitely the least expensive way to get your tickets.

you can save even more if you are flexible with your dates.

a good example is tuifly which has scheduled flights between naples and stuttgart: http://www.tuifly.com/en/index.html

they fly 5 times per week between naples and stuttgart.

Thank you all! I love my soon to be husband but sometimes I like to double check. I am a little OCD when it comes to planning trips and events.

Thanks Holly76: I am am checking on that website now!

To flanneruk: I can't wait for my fiance to read your response tonight after work!!!

While I would not wait until I got to Europe, there is some debate about booking early as possible. From Yahoo Travel:

"Myth: To get the best airfare, booking far in advance is essential.

Reality: Often, the opposite is true. For most of the year, one or two months in advance is typically when airlines offer promotions to fill seats that aren't selling. There are times, however, when it's prudent to book well in advance — namely, if you have absolutely no flexibility with your dates; if you're traveling during a peak time (holidays, popular travel weekends); if you're traveling with a large group (more than five or so); or if you're headed to a destination that doesn't have all that many flights to choose from.

Current Advice: Unless you fit into one of the categories above, it's generally okay to wait a while to book. If you've bought a ticket and are worried that prices will drop, register your flight at Yapta.com; the site tracks flight prices and will alert you if the fare dips and you're entitled to a refund or flight credit."

tuifly.com is the only airline with non-stop services from Naples to Stuttgart, AFAIK.
When you check airfares, you will always see the lowest available one-way fares, labelled as "Smile rates".
These prices never go down. If they don't sell seats, the €19 fare will be available longer. Once the plane fills up, the fares go up in €10 installments.
So, if you see a fare for €49 one-way, it's a sign that this specific flight is already quite booked. It will not turn into a €29 fare a week before departure.

Thank you again. We purchased our tickets to Italy a couple of weeks ago. if I would have waited until today I would have saved $500.00. I have decided not to look again. Tuifly was VERY resonable and I think we will buy those tickets this week. Any ideas on flights to Greece from Naples?