wliwl

Trying to figure out the cheapest way to fly from Boston to someplace in Europe. We would be satisifed with London, Paris, someplace in Spain or Italy. What web site should I be using? Obviously, the tip is in the VERY early planning stages. Thank you!

allanc

My experience is that sometimes the airlines own internet sites offer the best prices-particularily when thay have a sale. Not sure when you are going but watch for the sale fares. They normally start in Jan for travel ending in April/May.

elaine

recommended (by the New York Times, and other sources) search engines

kayak.com
qixo.com
mobissimo.com
farechase.com
sidestep.com
cheapflights.com

and of course
expedia.com
travelocity.com
orbitz.com

yipper

I think the best times to buy tickets to Europe is Jan or Feb, for the coming summer. You have to go into a lot of site every day, and then suddenly there will be a deal. By going into the sites daily, you will know a deal when you see it. We got $500. round trip from Boston to Paris and $700 round trip from Boston to Athens. We always travel at the end of June or beginning of July. Use the usual search engine expedia, orbitz, side step, travelocity. Also go into the airlines web site themselves. I went into about 4 to 5 sites a day. It takes about 15 minutes and it is worth the time. Good luck.

isabel

The sites listed above are good but most of them don't have the ability to search for "open jaws" flights (into one European city and back home from another). This is something I very often want to do and it's frustrating that many good sites don't allow it. Some that do include:

orbitz.com
onetravel.com
flycheap.com
cheaptickets.com

I also second the idea that sometimes an airlines own site will have deals as good as the consolidator sites.

yawning

I painfully am aware that signing up for airline e-mail offers can flood your mailbox. But you can always un-subscribe after you find a good fare to suit your needs.
Good luck.

jame

I got a great price (significantly cheaper than anywhere else I checked) from Boston to Paris on www.1800flyeurope.com. I was even able to get frequent flyer miles on American Airlines. Consolidators don't always have the best price, but you might want to check it out.