rbnwdln

We found an apartment that looks amazing and have put down our deposit. Now to get the flights. The prices look HIGH right now. Any suggestions of when sales or lower prices might show up? We can leave from Minneapolis, Chicago, or Boston, or even possibly from New York if the fare is way better. (We have kids in Chicago and Boston, so could visit first.) Thanks!!!!

Dukey

www.itasoftware.com

take a look at the "month-long" view

amwosu

I don't have a crystal ball but fares MIGHT be best 3-4 months from your date of departure. That's when I've usually found the best fares for my summer travels to Paris. You don't say when you are going but I've found summer fares are at least 1/3 more than winter fares. Sometimes they are almost twice as expensive. Ugh. I tend to buy in March for June flights. I look at fares every day beginning in January so that when fares do drop I'm ready to "pull the trigger" without regret.

The last time I found the best fare was an open jaw to arrive in Brussels and depart from Paris. I saved almost $400 over the roundtrip fares to Paris. I stayed overnight in Brussels near Grand Place and took the TGV to France. You can get Prems fares directly on the French train website beginning 3 months out for the very best fares. People here can help you with that. Here is a tutorial of sorts on purchasing tickets on the French train website. http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g1...g.On.Sncf.html
Ann Marie

rbnwdlr

Thanks for the advice. Our apt is rented from June 12-19 but we could arrive early or stay a bit longer. I am finding the cheapest fares on LOT Polish Airways. I didn't know they flew from Mpls! Does anyone know about this airline??
I will also keep looking daily at kayak, and other sites.

CarolA

OK. Here are a few thoughts.

1. Be realistic. It's probably not going to be the $600 airfare for that time of year. (Capacity is down, airfares are up, basic supply and demand)

2. Since you are willing to do NY that might be the cheapest. I agree with the Brussels trick. I have gotten much better deals into there. From NY you might also check London. Quick Eurostar over. Be sure to check the train prices...

Judyrem

Our trip in April to Paris from Atl, was 1000$ ap iece, give or take a few dollars. I waited and watched..and waited and watched....No movement. So I bit the bullet abd bought!

suec1

"waited and watched...waited and watched" it does seem to me that lately fares are not fluctuating as much as they used to? It made it a little easier to book and not wonder how much cheaper I might have gotten it? Is that the experiences others are having?

eliza61

I found the cheaper flights out of JFK in NY. My rt from ny to Pars with 1 change $500 bucks less than if I left from Philly. Also sign up at Yapta.com they will track airfares for you and notify you by email when the prices drop.

rbnwdlr

I notice that Yapta doesn't include many airlines on their site. I will keep watching and pull the trigger if anything looks decent. Thanks!

TPAYT

I don't know if this helps, but in July, 2009 we paid $743.65pp on Air France direct from Chicago, O'Hare to CDG for a flight on Sept. 7, 2009(2 months ahead of time). We booked it through the Air France site.

We had checked all of the usual websites but found that we only saved a little if we would change planes on the east coast. Having changed in Newark, Boston, etc. on previous trips, we just preferred to spend a little more and fly direct from Chicago for convenience.

rbnwdln

Yikes. I have been watching fares for June for a month and they just keep going up, up, up. The only flight that is under 1K is Finair out of JFK through Helsinki. D'oh!

HImom

We flew LAX to London & then Vienna back to LAX in May/June & it was $1000/person. Didn't find many "bargains," tho lowest fares seemed to be roundtrip to London. Kept watching while fares climbed as well.

If you're risk adverse, you may not want to fly airlines that have current or looming strikes.

ironfever

try www.skyscanner.com

mimi67

Greetings, I'll confirm that flights are expensive. I was shooked. When looking and waiting for less costly flights to Paris I found $900.00 ish ones but they were not direct flights. Spending 14+ hours to get to Paris was not an option. Non stop flights to Paris from JFK were steadfast at $1220.00 plus.
I decide to do the London and then Eurostar over. this will work out best for my 11 grand daughter and me. The plan will afford her 2 cities to explore and a fast train ride experience.
Happy travels.

rbnwdln

OP here. (rbnwdln is me at home and rbnwdlr is me at work)
I watched fares religiously and jumped on an airfare sale on Aerlingus before it was even posted on their website. We booked four tickets at $820 each Bos - Paris, June 11 - 20th. The same flight is now over $1K. Yippee.

Christina

actually, I believe fares on Air France have gone down from what they were a few months ago. I think I was seeing some very high fares a while ago (like $1500-1600 RT from east coat) and now that is only around $1200. Sure, that is high, but it's not insane like the others were.

awong

Icelandair flies from Boston to Paris via Reykjavik and there is no charge to stop over for a few days.

We have flown from Amsterdam to Halifax and stopped for 3 days along the way and Iceland is a fascinating country. The cost of flights vary depending on dates but because it is shown in a grid, it is easy to see the cheapest rates.