When should I book non-stop flights between Seattle and Paris for May 2010?
 

Hello! I am looking at round-trip non-stop flights with Air France for May 2010 between Seattle and Paris. Current price is $1167. I'm thinking that I would like to book this flight. Is it a good price? Should I wait? If so, how long? Thank you!

Have you tracked the price of that flight for a while? Are you tied to specific dates? Does the Air France website show you the price for different days close to the one you select?

We live in Seattle but haven't tried Air France yet. We fly either British Airways or SAS direct to London or Copenhagen, and then on to Switzerland from there. The price for summer flights has always been around $1200 or a bit higher. Now that SAS has left the Seattle market, there is less competition, and that may keep prices up.

Of course May is not summer, but it may still be "high season" for flight prices. That price sounds pretty good to me, but others with more experience, or who have flown Air France, my differ.

I've only tracked the flight for a week (I've been told not to check often as it can increase the price) and unfortunately I am tied to those dates.

I am thinking that the price for non-stop would stay in that neighborhood, but flights with stops will lower. I personally do not mind paying reasonably more to fly non-stop.

Thank you for the response Enzian!

If you are more concerened re cost vs non-stop you may want to check into Icelandair.
Their prices are excellent from Seattle to Europe, but you will need change planes in Reykjavik.
And they have lots of specials allowing you to stay a few days in Iceland

Thank you for the suggestion elbegewa!

I've checked Iceland Air for those dates and they are currently for $1049. Non-stop sounds better to me at this time, but I'm still wondering if they will go lower as May is about 6 months away.

Your exact dates can make a big difference. What are they, and do you have any flexibility?

For example, Icelandair for May 13-21 is $983 (but $851 earlier in the month). I'm taking the prices from ITA, which is usually but not always accurate.

If this were me, I would book it. Two years ago, right before AF announced they would operate out of SEA, we flew from San Francisco to CDG nonstop and paid $1700 for June. Last summer we flew from SEA nonstop on AF. We used miles, but I kept checking the rates out of curiosity and even for early June, there was nothing under about $1400.

Tentative dates are May 7 - May 25 with no flexibility unfortunately (I understand this makes it difficult to get a "better" deal though I appreciate the input).

I think with no flex I would be tempted to book. We used to fly out off Seattle almost every spring to visit family in France and if it was near $1000 I felt lucky. Especially for the non-stop option.

Seems decent, I would not expect it to get ALOT lower and it could well go up. Can you check and see how full the plane is? We booked a flight for a May trip in Nov. ATL to FCO non-stop. I was really surprised at how full the flights were - paid a little less than what you are looking at.

Excellent point! I was able to select/view seats. Plane looked to be about half full as of Friday. Hm.. I'm inclined to book very soon.

I wouldn't book it. I would hold out for something in the $800-range, myself. I think you would be able to get something for $1200 up until much closer to the date, so booking now simply doesn't gain you that much. I wouldn't book at $1200 until maybe March, at which point I would consider it. Could be wrong, but those are the chances one takes. If you are committed to the non-stop, then maybe I would jump at something in the $1000 range.

FYI, though, the seat map tells you very little to nothing about how full the flight is.

Hi dave1218 ,
No matter what non-stop flight you get, remember that it can always be changed to include a layover. Our non-stop Air France flight LAX to LHR added a 4 hour layover in Paris so I promptly called and had it changed to a one hour layover in Atlanta. They had eliminated that particular nonstop flight without notifying us.

Just be sure to check occasionally with Air France in the month or so before your trip and if you don't like what they have assigned you, call them and request another flight.
Take care,
Michele

Thanks for the advice michele_d. It never occurred to me that it could be changed to include a layover. Good to know!

I wouldn't be overly worried about it being changed to a connection. It could happen, no doubt, but only if AF cancels the SEA to CDG flight, which I just don't see happening. The LAX to LHR change was due to that route being cancelled - it was very short-lived and I don't think it could really attract enough people away from the entrenched carriers. SEA to CDG has been around a while and, importantly, sees no competition.

Dave1218- I understand your dilema. We HAVE to be in Canada on a certain date and last week reserved and paid the deposit fee for our Paris-Calgary-Paris seats. We have gone the Business Class route with this direct flight on Air Transat and are very happy with the price because it's direct CDG/Calgary.

Last May we traveled non-stop from SFO to Munich on Lufthansa and prices dropped considerably around February. I believe we ended up paying in the $600/700 dollar range (sorry for faulty memory, but it was a great deal). I checked flights constantly until I found this price--I know that you can have kayak and other sites do that for you now. Also, I think that flights are always cheaper in May. June prices are not really comparable. I also checked with Aer Lingus-you can get non-stop flight to Dublin and then fly very cheaply on a connecting flight on Aer Lingus or another airline.

travelgourmet - the lack of competition in Seattle for non-stop flights worries me that the price will increase.

macdogmom - I think that it would be difficult to reach such a good deal ($600/700) since I am dealing with a lack of flexibility.

Like I said, if you absolutely must travel on the non-stop, then, by all means, look hard at something around $1000. Myself, I would hold off, knowing that a connection at LHR or MSP or AMS wouldn't exactly be the end of the world, and would be worth it if you could chop that $1167 down to $800 or so.

Regardless, I still think $1167 is not a great price, even for the non-stop, and wouldn't book it this far out at that rate.

Thanks for your great inputs travelgourmet! Much appreciated!