Airfare is so expensive right now

What are you finding, and what are you comparing the prices to? I don't doubt they are high these days, but higher than what? Higher than a year ago, sure, probably a lot higher. But higher than say this date in 2019 looking at Oct/Nov?

We have a credit card, Chase Sapphire, which gives us miles. We arranged for our trip to Italy in April and the cost to us is $0.00. You may or may not have such a card.

Not only will it cost more, but you get to have your flight cancelled, delayed, your baggage lost. I guess you pay for what you get? Even if you pay up to first class, you still get all of the above. No economic class difference for misery.
Think of what you miss not flying today.

With fuel prices rocketing and tourist demand increasing, air fares aren’t likely to drop in the short term.

Maybe you could simplify your plans and look for a straight return flight rather than a multi leg trip?

I suggest looking at other airports that are within driving distance. Sometimes the prices vary considerably even with a connection. Prices are generally up for Europe just like everything else. You don't say what country you are considering, perhaps look at different cities in which to fly into. Once in Europe, yes, your money may go further and I think accommodation prices are more reasonable.

I tend to use a CC with points and they tend to add up quickly. There are lots of credit card sign-on point bonuses. Maybe worth a look. I like Amex/Delta cards for points as you can also purchase tickets with points & cash. I check flights frequently and often at random times. That's all you can do at this point. Remember, best to book with the airline if there are any changes its easier to deal with than going through a third-party site such as Travelocity or Expedia, etc.

Good luck!

I know business class has been consistently high for the past several months, and hasn't seemed to change much. We were lucky to grab a Companion Fare with British Airways for next spring, pretty much had to book it a year out, as the availability for such fares is very low.
Good luck and safe travels!

I keep looking each day for that one killer deal...it is still elusive

You may be looking for a long time.

Perhaps just get the deal that is not fatal to your finances; you will have only one 20th Anniversary

Try using Google flights to plug in destinations and dates and get some prices, then check the box that will allow them to update you when the prices go higher or lower. It's a good way to find some cheaper prices. And you can search for more than one trip.

Joe- So true about only having one 20th, I really need to keep that in mind.
In the past we have been able to fly for under $800 LAX to CDG (2017 & 2019)..so I was hoping to get in that range. I have Chase Sapphire, American Airlines Citi and Capital One Venture...I may need to get creative in using all the points I have spread across all the cards. I am seeing $1,100K-$1,300 for the times/layover/carrier we want for the past two weeks since I have been tracking.
My route would be LAX>CDG then home FLR>LAX I even tried from Rome just to see if it was cheaper, nope.
Our travel dates are end of October/Beginning of November so I have been plugging in different date combinations, traveling 10 days on the ground and 2 in the air.
We have been to all the places before and due to my bad knees we just want somewhere familiar were we don't feel like we need to see the major sites, just more take it easy, do some new things and if I am having a bad knee day we can taxi to a favorite place and just chill.
I like the idea of looking at different airports to see if there is a difference, sometimes even from my tiny hometown the cost does not increase that much.

Here's a fun game I play when I'm in between work calls, go to Google Flights and for the destination put the word EUROPE. Insert some dates and voila, you'll see a map showing what it costs to go to all the major cities. You can refine it by class and number of stops. I've been tracking nonstop premium econ flights in October most of the year and the prices are pretty stable. Free fun!

In the past we have been able to fly for under $800 LAX to CDG (2017 & 2019)..so I was hoping to get in that range. I have Chase Sapphire, American Airlines Citi and Capital One Venture...I may need to get creative in using all the points I have spread across all the cards. I am seeing $1,100K-$1,300 for the times/layover/carrier we want for the past two weeks since I have been tracking.

Well, two problems: 1) you are looking at an open jaw itinerary for a specific carrier that probably explains the higher prices, along with high demand this year with a lower supply of flights and seats available compared to pre pandemic on a probably lower roundtrip fare to CDG, and 2) you have only been looking for 2 weeks, not long enough, and yes, you should have started looking sooner than July for October.

Jeez, those prices sound pretty good to me. Drop the need to find a "killer deal" and buy the tickets already. I don't think you should expect to see a drop on those routes, probably only gonna go up from here.

I agree with Letizia. The fares have jumped in the last month and I have checked flying from all nearby airports in Reno, Sacramento and San Francisco and the fares are basically the same from each airport for our dates in November 2022 to Buenos Aires. And we are flying round trip not open jaw. I will keep checking and bite the bullet next week. I wish I had booked last month as the fares were $400 to $500 less per person round trip. And I am using google flights to check the fares as well as the airline.

Phred- I love that game!
Jojo-I think your right, I looked at other carries and did find lower prices that would get us "free" flight using points.
I knew you all would talk some sense into me!

I wish I had booked last month as the fares were $400 to $500 less per person round trip. And I am using google flights to check the fares as well as the airline.

A month ago the Biden admin dropped the negative covid test requirement, and that probably has something to do with what you are seeing. Industry experts predicted that rescinding that rule would stimulate flight demand for the rest of the year, and that appears to be what happened.

@jojorabbit And the price of fuel.

Get the Chase Sapphire card and spend literally nothing.

A multi-leg trip or multiple connections is just asking for problems.

For many years pre-Covid, $1100-$1300 was a good price. I agree with Jojo, i think it’s a good price now, all things considered.

We flew Delta, non-stop, San Francisco-Paris, R/T last Oct for $600. In March this year we bought the exact same tickets for this Sept and paid $1200. We knew demand and fuel prices sky-rocketed this year so we knew we would not get a good deal again this time.

When I saw the title, I thought you can just drop the word "airfare" and put in just about any other word and it would be true. Food, Gas, lodging, etc are all expensive right now. It doesn't look like inflation is going away anytime soon. It will be a long wait for the prices of the past unless you catch a sale or do frequent flier miles/points.

I think the problem maybe you are looking for specific airlines and specific routes.

If you expand your search there are actually cheap flights showing from LAX. I put in random dates into Google and just used Europe for the destination as suggested earlier - using Oct 28th - Nov 6, I'm seeing:
Krakow on LOT for $467
Rome on SAS for 570 (not sure the state of SAS since they declared bankruptcy)
Madrid for 611 on Iberia
Thessaloniki and Athens in the mid 600s - Swiss
Zagreb, Vienna, Warsaw are all either 500 or mid 600s on different airlines including Air Canada

Edit - I didn't trying booking these so not sure how long the layovers are, etc. but for these prices I wouldn't complain and would be willing to rough it out. I bet if you wait a little bit more, the prices will come down - especially once all the kids go back to school in early Sept.

On the other hand, because the dollar and euro are now roughly equal, travel agents are reporting that people are upgrading their usual hotel reservations. Because, why not?

Hi Arnold, thanks for your research. Comfort is a big factor for us especially on a 10+ hour flight and I was able to get that comfort and all my other checkmarks purchased at a lower price a few years ago, but like others have pointed out inflation and gas prices are driving everything higher. So it looks like I will ay the higher price to get what I want.
I am seeing someone purchased for $1,200 out of SFO, so not feeling too bad anymore about my $1K out of LAX. I am still playing around with other airports and will see what those results are.

Our return flights from Toronto to Heathrow were booked in May for less than C$1000 each, including checked luggage (leave mid December, return 5 January). Now over C$3400 for my particular dates and times, though an earlier in the day departure from LHR comes in at around C$1700 total.

I guess this was not my year to be spontaneous