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Flight Prices to Europe for Tour are INSANE (help?)

MSnider44MSnider44 San Diego Posts: 746
edited January 2012 in The Porch
Man. I got tix for the Amsterdam show on 6/26. My plans are for me and the gf to stay some days in Paris before the show, then get up to Amsterdam and spend some days there for the show. But I'm looking at flights right now, and even flying from a major hub like LAX, they're hovering around $1,600 - $2,000 for 1 roundtrip ticket. I'm willing to spend some dough, but I find it ridiculous to spend that much on airline flights.

I realize it's flying across the country, fuel prices are high, and the Olympics are also in Europe this summer, but does anyone who has more experience in booking overseas flights have better news / instructions for me on how to, and when to get the cheapest flights over there? Can I expect cheaper flights in the coming months? I've done the whole Kayak, Expedia, direct airline sites, etc, etc.

Thanks....
Post edited by Unknown User on

Comments

  • CheeksCheeks Posts: 151
    My mom flies to Europe every year to see family and she just booked her ticket for the spring. She paid a little under $900 Canadian, round trip, from Vancouver, BC to London. Prices may be a bit higher for the summer months, but not too much. My uncle came here last summer on a seat sale for $600. You just have to keep checking and watching for sales. Being flexible with your dates sometimes helps too... sometimes flying mid-week is cheaper than weekends.
    Good luck!
  • release23420release23420 Posts: 1,176
    well try this book tix to diff airports separately... like say one to chicago or nyc then tix from Chicago/nyc to Ireland an so on, also clear cashe an reset browser, most of those sites like priceline an so on ,, mark your ip address/mac address ,,, so basically you search a flight a lot it goes up, good luck bro i'll see you there TX to nyc to Ireland an so on cant wait for the show in DA DAM woot woot
  • polaris_xpolaris_x Posts: 13,559
    things to consider:

    * you are flying like 10,000 km ... that's a long way ...
    * europe in the summer ... that's high season for sure ...
    * take the train when in europe (paris --> amsterdam)
    * buy one way tickets and see how it works out ... i
    * consider alternate dates ... sometimes going a day earlier or later can save you a few hundred dollars
    * in general - i'd say book earlier, rather than later ... typically airlines sell the cheapest seats first then as the plane fills, prices rise ...
  • green mountain mangreen mountain man Posts: 735
    Book early. Tickets almost always get more expensive as the travel date approaches. AMS is busy in the summer. You can bet if oil prices keep rising(as they do in the summer), airfares will also.
    Mid week/early morning/late night flights are usually cheaper. Flying to secondary airports is usually cheaper, but means more connections.
  • adusickadusick Posts: 1,387
    While earlier is better, I wouldn't go into panic mode yet. Usually prices come down after January - I'd recommend booking flights 4-6 months before you fly. Here's some other tips I've picked up:

    - Skyscanner.com - Use it! And if you have an iphone/smartphone, GET THE APP. Its so easy, I check new prices almost daily.

    - Fly one-way. We're planning on doing Minneapolis to Amsterdam for around $560 one way, then finding another flight back home- from Berlin, Paris, other? An entire trip around $1000 is reasonable to me. Seems to generally work out cheaper if you can split the flights up.

    - Here are some great general tips on flying to Europe: http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/tips/fly-to-europe.htm

    Hope this helps a little! Also, don't worry. Keep digging, keep an eye out, you'll find a deal soon.
  • DeadpoolDeadpool Posts: 155
    ITS THE OLYMPICS!!! =)
  • 8181 Needing a ride to Forest Hills and a ounce of weed. Please inquire within. Thanks. Or not. Posts: 58,276
    i did some quick searches a while back...chicago to berlin was like 1K.
    81 is now off the air

    Off_Air.jpg
  • guacamolejoeguacamolejoe Posts: 2,396
    You can do what I did & marry a flight attendant :ugeek:

    Makes it easy to..........................See it all. Oh, See the world 8-)
    So, What you Giving ?........ (Thanks Speedy, Alesek, & Arq+friends)
    What You Giving

    I suggest you step out on your Porch.
    Run away my son. See it all. Oh, See the World!
  • Johnny AggroJohnny Aggro Posts: 543
    Hey

    Check this out

    EUR650 round trip to Dublin from LAX. (http://www.aerlingus.com) Put LAX as your departure point, and DUB as dest. I chose June 20 to 30th.

    Then http://www.ryanair.com and search for Paris Beauvais from Dublin.

    So LAX to Dublin around EUR1300 round trip and Dub to Paris 273. There would be extra charges for checked baggage and stuff but you could get both of you to Paris from LA and back for around 1600 i would say. Then from Paris to Amsterdam there are plenty of trains and also KLM airlines

    I will be in Amsterdam with my wife on 26th so drop me a line if you wanna hook up wth us and a few others pre gig for a drink and a smoke!!!

    J
    RDS Dublin - Aug 26 1995 (Neil Young with Pearl Jam)
    Millstreet Arena - Oct 24, 1996
    The Point - Oct 26, 1996
    The Point - Jun 01, 2000
    The Point - Aug 23, 2006
    Wembley Arena - Jun 18, 2007
    Manchester Evening News Arena - Aug 17, 2009
    The O2 - Jun 22, 2010
    Odyssey Arena - Jun 23, 2010
    Manchester Evening News Arena - Jun 20 2012
    Amsterdam Ziggo Dome - Jun 26 2012
    Amsterdam Ziggo Dome - Jun 16 2014
  • SuziemaySuziemay Posts: 11,168
    I'm not the most seasoned traveler, but do go to Europe (mostly London) from time to time from the East Coast. I think you have plenty of time and shouldn't panic. If I were you, I would monitor flights for the next month, and then look to buy your ticket in February. I don't know about flights from LAX, but over the years, roundtrip from NYC to UK/Spain/Italy have been anywhere from $700 to $1,400. I'm looking at about $1,000 for roundtrip to Berlin, if I see anything in the $800/$900 region, I am most certainly going to snap it up. :mrgreen:

    As someone mentioned, keep in mind that it's the summer, and with the Olympics going on, fares are going to be on the pricey side.

    If you're going to use Ryan Air within Europe (or any other flights within Europe for that matter), just be very careful about the add-ons. Fares may be cheap but probably don't include luggage/meals etc.

    Good luck!
  • jonbond1779jonbond1779 London, UK Posts: 1,641
    I couple of years back I was travelling and ended up in New York and needed a flight back to the UK but thought I'd go Amsterdam first. I found a cheap as hell flight from NYC to dam from 1800flyeurope.com

    I think they still exist and I remember getting a very cheap flight...

    Good luck bro
    "Bring it back, to the clean form. To the pure form"

    28/09/04 - Boston, 20/04/06 - London [\\mm//Astoria\\mm//] - 18/06/07 - Wembley Arena, 11/08/09 -  London [\\mm//Shepherds Bush Empire\\mm//],18/08/09 - 02 Arena, 25/06/10 - Hyde Park, 26/06/12 - Amsterdam, 27/06/12 - Amsterdam, 08/07/14 - Leeds,11/07/14 - Milton Keynes, 13/06/18 - Amsterdam, 18/06/18 - London 02 Arena, 17/07/18 - London 02 Arena, 08/08/22 - Hyde Park, 9/08/22 - Hyde Park - 25/08/22 - Amsterdam, 29/07/24 - London {*Tottenham Stadium TBC*}
  • JOEJOEJOEJOEJOEJOE Posts: 10,765
    I've been looking for fights from LAX to London. So much more expensive then I expected!

    The Euro trip is gonna be pricey!
  • SuziemaySuziemay Posts: 11,168
    JOEJOEJOE wrote:
    I've been looking for fights from LAX to London. So much more expensive then I expected!

    The Euro trip is gonna be pricey!
    What fares are you seeing to London and what do you normally see? I'm curious :D
  • SuziemaySuziemay Posts: 11,168
    Holy crap, whoever who said to look into one way flights was onto something

    If I do NYC->Berlin; Copenhagen ->NYC roundtrip on air Berlin, fare is $1,360

    BUT if I do one way each way:
    NYC-> Berlin on air Berlin: $385 (non-stop)
    Copenhagen -> NYC on Aerosvit Airlines (one stop): $520
    Total: $905
    :shock: :shock: :shock:

    If I do air Berlin for the Copenhagen ->NYC leg, it's a bit more $633, but still $1,018 and cheaper than $1,360. I think I can suck up the stopover on the way back to save $300+ :lol::lol:

    Try it, OP.
  • green mountain mangreen mountain man Posts: 735
    One way flights are not cheaper in my case.
    Round trip to AMS $1296
    One way $2559
    Return one way $2239
    I save $3502 with the round trip ticket
    I mean really, if one way tickets were cheaper everyone would do it.
    Don't you think the airlines could figure this out
  • SuziemaySuziemay Posts: 11,168
    green mountain man wrote:
    One way flights are not cheaper in my case.
    Round trip to AMS $1296
    One way $2559
    Return one way $2239
    I save $3502 with the round trip ticket
    I mean really, if one way tickets were cheaper everyone would do it.
    Don't you think the airlines could figure this out
    Eh. So clearly not an option for you. Cheaper for me, don't know what to tell you.
  • green mountain mangreen mountain man Posts: 735
    Suziemay wrote:
    green mountain man wrote:
    One way flights are not cheaper in my case.
    Round trip to AMS $1296
    One way $2559
    Return one way $2239
    I save $3502 with the round trip ticket
    I mean really, if one way tickets were cheaper everyone would do it.
    Don't you think the airlines could figure this out
    Eh. So clearly not an option for you. Cheaper for me, don't know what to tell you.
    I am glad it works for you.
  • MSnider44MSnider44 San Diego Posts: 746
    Thanks everyone for the info. I'll try some magic tomorrow afternoon. Let's keep each other posted....
  • JOEJOEJOEJOEJOEJOE Posts: 10,765
    Suziemay wrote:
    JOEJOEJOE wrote:
    I've been looking for fights from LAX to London. So much more expensive then I expected!

    The Euro trip is gonna be pricey!
    What fares are you seeing to London and what do you normally see? I'm curious :D

    Rt to London is $1,600. My past 4 trips to the UK were covered by miles, so I am not too familiar with summer fares.
  • SuziemaySuziemay Posts: 11,168
    JOEJOEJOE wrote:
    Suziemay wrote:
    JOEJOEJOE wrote:
    I've been looking for fights from LAX to London. So much more expensive then I expected!

    The Euro trip is gonna be pricey!
    What fares are you seeing to London and what do you normally see? I'm curious :D

    Rt to London is $1,600. My past 4 trips to the UK were covered by miles, so I am not too familiar with summer fares.
    Oy. That's a lot. :( Well still plenty of time, those fares can only come down right? No way they are going up!
  • polaris_xpolaris_x Posts: 13,559
    green mountain man wrote:
    One way flights are not cheaper in my case.
    Round trip to AMS $1296
    One way $2559
    Return one way $2239
    I save $3502 with the round trip ticket
    I mean really, if one way tickets were cheaper everyone would do it.
    Don't you think the airlines could figure this out

    are you using expedia? ... expedia doesn't do one way or multi-stop trips very good ... what i generally do is go to expedia to see which airlines are flying to my destination and then go to their websites directly ...

    most airlines charge per segment so if you have to do multiple stops - one way tickets are usually better because you can shop airlines for each segment ... if you are just going to one destination there and back - a return ticket is likely the cheapest way ...

    edit: i tried doing toronto -- > reykavik --> stockholm --> toronto on expedia and it came in at $8,690 ... haha ... going with one-way tickets ... buying through with iceland air ... it's about $1,350 ... going with one way tickets - it's about $1,100 ...
  • green mountain mangreen mountain man Posts: 735
    polaris_x wrote:
    green mountain man wrote:
    One way flights are not cheaper in my case.
    Round trip to AMS $1296
    One way $2559
    Return one way $2239
    I save $3502 with the round trip ticket
    I mean really, if one way tickets were cheaper everyone would do it.
    Don't you think the airlines could figure this out

    are you using expedia? ... expedia doesn't do one way or multi-stop trips very good ... what i generally do is go to expedia to see which airlines are flying to my destination and then go to their websites directly ...

    most airlines charge per segment so if you have to do multiple stops - one way tickets are usually better because you can shop airlines for each segment ... if you are just going to one destination there and back - a return ticket is likely the cheapest way ... Yes , I am just going between 2 cities with direct flights. I despise layovers. Thanks for your advice.

    edit: i tried doing toronto -- > reykavik --> stockholm --> toronto on expedia and it came in at $8,690 ... haha ... going with one-way tickets ... buying through with iceland air ... it's about $1,350 ... going with one way tickets - it's about $1,100 ...
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