What's with the jump in airfares?
 

On Tues I saw airfare from Tampa-Vienna in April for $397 taxes included. By Wed it jumped to over $800. Similar jumps occured for other destinations in Europe. Anyone know why and have any feelings about whether they will come back down? I have no plane tix in my drawer and am feeling DESPERATE to GO

Gee Vicky,

$397 was a very good price.

I think that you will see it come down to about 600 - 700 in mid-January.

I agree with ira. I picked up several sub-$400 fares to Europe within the past couple of months for travel as late as April because I didn't see any serious possibility that they could go lower and plenty of opportunity for them to go up. When you see good fares and you can schedule, it's time to act because if you snooze, you will very often lose. Several fare sales ran out recently and even while they were going on, cheap seats were selling out on certain dates. It is likely that there will be more, but there is no assurance that they will dip as low as the past time around.

There's no way to tell when fares will decrease for sure. You can go by the traditional pattern of when fares increase and decrease but nowadays can't count on that. Just have to keep checking with the airlines and see if any sales are on or maybe alter your travel dates which can make a big difference sometimes. Next time when you do see a great airfare book it.

I still think that if the Dollar-Euro exchange rate remains poor you'll see bookings lag and fare sales ensue.

JonJon, I thought International bookings were picking up as the weak dollar is making travel to the US much more attractive?

Keith

Going out on a limb here, speculating...

I think that this (the next ten days or so) is a time that inquiries and nibbles for summertime (foreign) travel quite predictably go up. With demand up, the need for the deep discounts will predictably go down.

When everyone is back to work or school, off those holiday schedules... sale fares will start to sprout again, running at (on again, off again), well in to the beginning of spring.

Best wishes,

Rex

Whenever shopping around for fares, read the fine print (rules/regulations).
The bargain fare you saw probably expired at midnight of the day you saw it. Think fast and snatch it up if the fare and schedule work for you.

I agree with Rex's observations. Historically, some good sales start to trickle down about 15th January for travel that must be completed, typically, by 1st March, 15th March, 1st April, 15th April, 30th April or even into mid-May. I've found February is usually the best month to find one of these fares. Again, you must be fast on your feet (so to speak) and be prepared to purchase once a suitable fare is discovered. Seats at the cheapest fares may be very limited and the sales may only last a few days. He who hesitates will not gain much in savings. By St. Patrick's Day most of the offers for inexpensive travel through May have dried up and blown away.