EuroTravelInfo.com - Flying to Europe

Traveling Tips

Flying to Europe

Flying to Europe is a great travel bargain — for the well-informed. The rules and regulations are confusing and always changing, but when you make the right choice, you get the right price.

Dollars saved = discomfort + restrictions + inflexibility.

There is no great secret to getting to Europe for next to nothing. Assuming you know your options, you get what you pay for. There's no such thing as a free lunch in the airline industry. (In fact, these days, there's usually no lunch at all.) Full fare is very expensive. You get the ultimate in flexibility, but I've never met anyone spending his or her own money who flew that way.

Rather than grab the cheapest ticket to Europe, go with your agent's recommendation for the best combination of reliability, economy, and flexibility for your travel needs. Buy your ticket when you're ready to firmly commit to flight dates and ports. As you delay, dates sell out and prices generally go up. Special fares are generally limited to a few seats to jump-start departures.

Buy your tickets at the right time. Book your spring and summer travel in January, February, and March. In general, the sooner the better — but not all of the best fares are available in January, so watch the airfares and ask your travel agent to advise you when to buy your ticket. Fall travel should probably be booked by May or June, because the trend for airfare prices and availability is known by then. If you're traveling in September — a very popular time to fly to Europe (particularly the first half of the month) — start looking even earlier. Again, your travel agent can advise you whether to buy now or hold off for lower fares. Travel during winter — November through March — should be purchased a month or so in advance (with the exception of winter breaks and holidays, which require earlier booking).

Be aware of surcharges and taxes. After fuel prices skyrocketed in 2005, most airlines began to levy a hefty "fuel surcharge" of $100-200 round-trip. Combined with airport taxes (which vary by city, but can also exceed $100), this can add a substantial sum to your total ticket price. For example, a "cheap" $300 round-trip off-season flight to London can almost double in price when all the fees are included...not quite such a bargain after all. Most travel agents include all fees in airfare quotes, and many Web sites do not — but it's always smart to figure out the complete price before you decide.

Consider flying "open jaw." I routinely fly "open jaw:" into one city and out of another. The fare is figured simply by taking half of the round-trip fare for each of those ports. I used to fly into Amsterdam, travel to Istanbul, and (having rejected the "open jaw" plan because flying home from Istanbul costs $200 more than returning from Amsterdam) pay $200 to ride the train for two days back to Amsterdam to catch my "cheap" return flight. Now I see the real economy in spending more for "open jaw." "Open jaw" is cheapest when the same airline covers each segment of the round-trip journey.

A good agent will check both consolidator and airline fares, then offer you the best deal. Consolidator tickets are generally cheapest, but sometimes fare wars can make an airline's prices unbeatable. Consolidators (or wholesalers) negotiate with airlines to get deeply discounted fares on a huge number of tickets; they offer these tickets to your travel agent, who then marks them up and still sells you a cheaper flight to Europe than the airline itself can. (Note that some travel agencies are consolidators.) An airline's ticket prices in a drawn-out fare war, however, can drop to bargain-basement levels. A good travel agent will offer both consolidator and regular airline fares. If not, specifically ask the agent to check consolidator rates.

With consolidator tickets, you usually have seven days to pay after booking, and credit cards are becoming more acceptable. If, after you buy an airline ticket, the airline's price drops yet again, you can exchange your ticket and save some money — if the discount is greater than the change fee (generally $75–250). Consolidator tickets, however, won't get any cheaper; the price, once established, stays the same. Ask about cancellation policies: What is the fee? Will you receive a refund or credit? Consolidator tickets are usually refundable prior to departure, minus a fee of $200–300.

Consolidator tickets often waive the normal advance-purchase and minimum- and maximum-stay requirements that come with other budget tickets. But consolidator tickets are cheap because they come with disadvantages: They are "nonendorsable," meaning that no other airline is required to honor that ticket if your airline is unable to get you home (though in practice this is rarely a problem). Sometimes you may not get frequent-flyer miles (particularly with British Airways and American Airlines). And, if the airline drops its prices (which often happens), you are stuck with what was, but no longer is, a cheap fare.

Courier flights usually sound better than they are. Courier flights can get some travelers to Europe with deeply discounted tickets (30–80 percent off). Couriers, whose luggage is limited to carry-ons, are required to transport shipping documents. Upon landing, they turn the documents over to a courier company representative, who checks the cargo through customs.

For most, these cheap flights are a pipe dream. The number of bargain courier flights to Europe has diminished over the past several years. You need to be able to fly on short notice and live in the key "departure cities" (such as New York, Miami, or San Francisco). Lately, courier services have started charging a percentage of the ticket value, making the whole notion less exciting.

If you think courier flights could work for you, do a little research. The International Association of Air Travel Couriers offers free information about air couriers on its Web site Budget flights are restrictive. Most are nonchangeable and nonrefundable, but some offer changes on the return dates for a penalty of about $100–200. Even then, you typically need to make changes at least 24 hours before your departure to avoid losing the entire value of the ticket. If you need to change your return date in Europe, telephone your airline's European office. If that fails, I've found airlines become more lenient if you go to their office in person with a good reason for your need to change the return date. If you must get home early, go to the airport. If you're standing at the airport two days before your ticket says you can go home, and seats are available, regardless of the rules, they may let you fly home early (at no extra cost). They win a happy customer and gain two more days to try to sell an empty seat. Besides, at that point, it's the easiest way to get rid of you.

Expect to get an electronic ticket. More and more, airlines are pushing electronic tickets. For years, I've recommended requesting a paper ticket instead. That way, if there's a need to change flights or if computers go down, you have a legal and tangible ticket in your hand. But now the pressure to go electronic is so intense — and the extra fees for getting a paper ticket are so high — that I've given in and accepted the reality that everyone will be flying on e-tickets. While travelers with an e-ticket can fly simply with a photo I.D., it's always smart to also bring the printed receipt with you in case of complications at the airport.

Review your ticket carefully when you receive it. Double-check your dates, destinations, and exact spelling of your name. A simple second look as soon as you get your tickets can give you a chance to fix any mistakes...and save you enormous headaches late.