Air Fare

One thing they know is to sign up for fare-watcher email newsletters on various travel sites (airline sites or sites like Expedia or Orbitz). They can alert you to sales, special limited time deals, etc. Also, watch the prices yourself frequently for a few weeks to get an idea of how prices are running. Then you'll be better able to recognize a good deal when you see one.

Hi Steve,
Matt asked a similar question (Typical Airfares to Europe) a little farther down on this page--there were some good tips in the responses to his question!

My guess is that it's still a little early to get good fares for October but as some have suggested, fares sometimes change hourly so I'd keep checking!

I do find it interesting that fares from east coast cities do not seem to be much cheaper then what I pay from a west coast city. They site oil/fuel costs as major influence on ticket prices, but if so , you would think a 6 hour flight would be much cheaper then a 10 hour flight wouldn't you?
All in , I can fly Air Transat for about 1200 CANADIAN dollsrs from Vancouver to London in July!

Really are prices so bad? I have an invoice from my trip to Paris in 1985,, air from Vancouver to Paris cost me 1100 dollars , keep in mind what 1100 dollars was worth back then too!

I think we just got spoiled for awhile..

Thanks Sharon. Sorry about that, I didn't notice Matt's post. I will check it out.

Hello Steve. I am not an expert on the subject of Airline ticket prices, but I wonder : perhaps October is not in the "Off Season" for flying to ITALY. Or perhaps you need to look at prices for flights scheduled for later dates in October. When I searched for prices for airline tickets for flying to ITALY, I looked at flights in March (not this year): the prices were low. Look at the DELTA airlines website for flights from New York JFK to Milan, and to Rome.

Hey Steve. October is still a bit far out for the airlines. The most inventory is put in the market at about the 3 month mark, so prices should keep going down til then (barring the unexpected), and then start to climb again after that. October is not really the off season for southern Italy, more the "shoulder" season, as the weather isn't quite so hot.

You're so lucky to live near so many big airports though! I bet you'll find a great deal!

I'd wait a few weeks, then if you see a great deal, snag it!

PS - Another way to get good airfares from those big airports is to use one of the big sites (Expedia, Travelocity, Hotels.com), and look for a package. Airlines will sell bulk fares to them that they are only allowed to sell inside packages, so sometimes a package can be even cheaper than the airfare. It's a good trick, though the fare rules tend to be more restrictive.

Hello Steve. I looked at the website for DELTA Airlines. For flying November 3 - 12, 2009, from New York JFK to Milan Malpensa in Italy, and return, the price for tickets is $ 768.50 (including tax and fees). The lowest price I saw is $ 720. That is for a travel route involving multiple stops and multiple airlines. I guess the price will not get lower this year, for flying in October or November. You might find a lower price for flying to Frankfurt or Amsterdam.

I just look everyday and sometimes it takes a month or so but the rates change often. From NJ, I would think you could easily fly for the $750 to $800 range and probably less. Just look at the rates as often as you can. Also try open jaw and that usually saves. I'm on AA in Sept open jaw Nashville to Paris and home from Frankfurt for $757 plus tax so I know the fares are there if you just keep looking but first I would make a decison on where you are going. That helps.

As others have mentioned, check daily and sign up for alerts. You might also check in the middle of the night . . . I saw fares drop $300-400 from the west coast to various places in Europe. I just got a Portland - Dublin (change in Newark) via Continental for Sept for $754. They are there -- you have to treat it like a challenge or game. Happy travels.