My family (9 total, 3 generations) has booked a house in Arrowmanches, Normandy
for July 2-9, 2024, and now we are beginning to look at flights. SHOCK at the
greatly jacked-up fares! We do know that the Paris Olympics begin July 26,
mostly but not entirely held in Paris. Any suggestions, perspectives, strategies
to offer?
-- Kay
It’s not just Paris. Airline fares are up hugely since last year. For comparison, our family flew to London last August for $2100 total, nonstop. The same tickets this year were $3900. We didn’t go.
We are also going to France next summer, but in June, and airfares are shocking. Higher fuel costs, labor shortages, increased demand are all cited as reasons, but it seems like revenge pricing to me. Airlines are making up for what they lost during COVID - and then some. They are gouging because they can.
My advice is to watch prices daily using an incognito tab, but don’t expect prices to fall too much.
Maybe look into flying to Rennes or Nantes instead? It will involve a connection in Paris, but the magic of airline pricing might make this cheaper than getting off the plane in Paris.
Alternatively, Brussels is an OK backup option if you have no other choice... Any other int'l airport is too far away.
July to Paris is going to be tough next year..... Sponsors, vendors, TV crews etc.. start arriving early!
That said unless you are using miles I think that 11 months is too far in advance. I suggest setting up alerts on Google Flights and see what happenes.
We found airfare for our summer trip to be more than double what we have ever paid before. $1900 vs $800 each from prior trips. I imagine it will be expensive for next year as well.
We bought tickets in January for flights in June and prices only went up from there.
They are gouging because they can.
Perhaps a bit harsh? It is supply and demand, just like any other product/service. Just good old fashion capitalism. Next summer, Paris' hotels are looking to be 300% to 500% above this year's record prices.
Not many places in the world right now with cheap travel for tourists.
I don't think anyone who has beem watching international flight prices over the year would call them "jacked up". There are reasons behind the increases, which are certainly marked since the early covid days. But I'm not sure why anyone flying into France just before the Olympics would be SHOCKED that prices would be high. Supply and demand. And demand will be high from flights originating from all over the world .
The good news is you have plenty of time to set up Google flight alerts for your dates, and perhaps find ways to increase your budget. If you can be flexible with your dates +/- a couple of days, you might find savings there.
Friends of mine who went to the French Open this past May flew to London (from Boston) and took the train to Paris because it was cheaper than flying directly to Paris. Maybe try pricing that out? Or seeing how much it is flying to London and out of Paris (or vice versa) and doing the train in one direction.
There’s also a ferry from Portsmouth, England to Caen: https://www.brittany-ferries.co.uk/ferry-routes/ferries-france/portsmouth-caen/about
I agree with others that your best bet is to do a Google Flights alert for your dates, all airlines. There are some sales going on right now through Scandinavian Airlines and Iceland Air. I would also look at flying into Dublin (which was $600 cheaper than flying straight to Paris this summer) then taking an Easy Jet or Ryan Air flight to Paris. Beware though that those two budget airlines have much smaller carry-ons allowed on board and you'll have to pay for checking in luggage and reserving a seat. Bonne chance et bon voyage!
I think we got spoiled by the airlines selling tickets at below cost. We kind of think that the $500 i or $600 airfares were normal when the truth was the airfares were 90% tax and fees. the airline wasn’t making any money off of them. Covid allowed them to do a reset and get rid of some of the excess capacity and now they don’t have to offer those deal to fill up the planes
It’s interesting that I do still see some very cheap airfares out of JFK for example, where there’s a lot of competition. So you can always consider flying yourself to New York and then catching a plane to Europe - if you do this allow lots and lots of time between your flights.
I feel your pain. My daughter and I are looking at Paris in late May flying from Dallas. It’s about 1600 each for a nonstop. 1300 for one stop but I’d love to avoid a plane change
Look at the bright side. You have reservations for Arromanches during the 80th anniversary of D-day. Those are almost impossible to get now, and it should be an amazing time. I feel your pain on the airfares. I finally cashed in frequent flier miles for my trip in that same time period. It means wiping them out on one airline and having a connection each way, but I couldn't stomach the prices.
D-Day was in June, not July.
