"Time is on our side" ?

I'm dealing with a similar situation. Flights on united that connect in LHR to Lisbon connect with a 1 hr layover. This is unacceptable since it would be easy to miss my second flight. I'm considering two approaches: 1) fly to London then catch a cheap flight from there later that day or the next. Or 2) Fly to Paris, stay a couple of days, then take a cheap flight to Lisbon. I'm not ready to make a commitment, so hope ticket prices don't rise before next month. The trip will be in May 2014.

I'd sweat it out until at least January or February. Just keep checking and remember to clear your computer cache after checking, especially with United. I found that after making an inquiry on their site and then returning later to check the fare it was higher. I cleared my cache, checked again and lo and behold the original lower fare was back.

You might try using the ITA Matrix site to check for flights: http://matrix.itasoftware.com/.

I found non-stops one way, SFO-CDG on June 15 and MUC-SFO on July 15 with a stop in LHR. The cost is $50 more but might be worth it for that nonstop.

You can get 2 non-stops if you fly to MUC first and back from CDG, but that bumps the price up to $1728. Still that $92 pp extra might be worth the advantages of nonstop flights both directions. By flying to MUC on June 16 or 17, the price drops to $1703. You can return from CDG any day June 14-17 within that price.

Of course, if you want to really save money, the cheapest options are on Condor ($1126, 2 stops, SEA and FRA) and Icelandair ($1325, 2 stops, SEA and KEF) with the 2 stops going and coming back indicated. Those are dramatically lower fares pp if you have the patience to do it.

You can't book using ITA, but you can see what's going on. When you select your flights, you get a screen with the details and all the numbers you need to do the booking with the airline(s) of your choice. It's amazing how much of the price is the airfare and how much is about something else.

While having all this fun, the fares changed a bit back and forth. Gotta love it!

Since I just flew your route with Iceland Air, I can only recommend it. The layovers were easy, and I like that 7 hour jaunt from Seattle to Iceland. Sitting for more than 9 hours on a plane is something I really don't like doing. Considering the prices are so much lower, it is worth it. You can even plan a layover there for a day or two. Check if they are flying into Paris or Munich, though if you don't stop in Frankfurt, we can't have coffee.

Thank you everyone!
Did you say Lo, " got to love it?" I would say I'm not quite feeling that way at the moment! I will look up the web site and connections. I'm not clear how you buy the tickets if it isn't on the website. Would you get "one ways" if they are different carriers coming and going?

S&M,

Ive been traveling more or less off season and ive been comparing future prices based on my first flight. My co worker has found flights about 200 USD less for the same flight, but they have been in December.

Since your traveling more or less in the busiest season, i would expect air fairs to reflect that.

If you can afford to do the "wait n see" then go for it and i would monitor the prices so you have an idea for the next time if there is one. at the least you can let others know.

when it comes to flights, i play around with flying in/out and different cities and open jaw, day of the week and also time.

happy trails.

I don't think there would be any need for one-ways on different airlines from what I saw. Both Condor and Icelandair showed all the connections needed and I would guess that you could book through either of them and the booking would include all the stops, but I'm no expert on this, so if you choose either of them you would have to book the flight with all the layovers through them and find out about any special rules (like those mentioned by others) about those airlines.

One-ways are the norm on European budget airlines but will cost vastly more flying trans-Atlantic. Use multi-destination search functions to piece together an itinerary. Last-minute deals may pop up on US internal flights but are not common any more on inter-continental travel.
Is time on your side? Is the clock ticking? No and yes, based on the patterns of the last couple of years. I think you are in a pause moment. Somewhat lower rates (for me, out of the midwest) have occasionally appeared mid-December through mid-February, but rarely anything greater than 10 per cent of what is offered later. There is a chance of short-lived discounts on specific routes but no reliable way of predicting what those routes will be or when the deals might be offered. I'll be buying a three-flight route for June in early January. Good luck with your shopping, even though its more like betting the odds.

@ Jo -

I know you flew in/out of SMF, so was your flight on Iceland Air a code share between Seattle and Sac or did you get separate flights?

I just bought (Thursday) a roundtrip ticket, Detroit - Milano - Detroit for next summer, $1111, Delta. Last year I paid $250 more and bought it at around the same time. I was okay with the price and will not keep checking, although I am tempted.

The flight from Seattle to Sacramento and back again, was with Alaska Air, but I got the entire ticket booking done on the Iceland Air website.

You're going the most expensive time of the year, and 2014 may be another expensive year for Summer travel. If you begin your trip 6/2 or 6/4, you may save a little. Of course Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday departures are usually the least expensive days to fly out. We travel in the Spring as it's cooler, less crowded and cheaper.

By all means, go open jaw into Paris and out of Munich or whatever city you'll be close to. With 4 weeks, you can really cover some territory and not even be hurried.

You can fly SFO into Paris nonstop on Air France. Unfortunately, Paris to Munich is not a big route for budget air carriers, and flying between the cities may be expensive.

I too watch ITA Matrix closely, and it just takes a few seconds to sign in and check on airfares. I've found Fareboom.com to be absolutely the cheapest place to purchase flights, and they will send you an email whenever a fare is reduced.

We're flying into Budapest and home from Prague the end of March. I spotted a one day sale on ClarkHoward.com out of selected large cities for $728. Fares had been running $1050ish for quite sometime. Airfares dropped to $850ish last week, but they're back to $1000ish this week.

You have plenty of time to wait for a better airfare than $1,600. Airlines are expected to feel out demand after the first of the year, and I wouldn't be surprised to see more one day sales. Just get a base line price for when you're wanting to go, and be ready to jump on a deal when they appear.

Unless there is some really great sale between now and then, you probably don't need to buy before 8-12 weeks out. The price might adjust a little, but it's not going to go through the roof. Crude is about $97 now, but most of the pressure seems to be down (OPEC exceeding their self-imposed limits and the U.S. production increasing) - which should give airlines room to lower fares. Another variable is the dollar, it's kind of low now (Euro and Pound relatively high). If the dollar goes up, it should help lower fares too.

Of course that all goes out the window if some new crisis affects prices.

I'd stick it out for another six weeks, unless you see a fare you can't pass up, then look for a decent fare and take it.

Another thing to factor in is the flight and seat options. I've been known to jump on a fare before the direct flights sell out - just to avoid having to make a connection.

I'm trying to stick it out as well. We are traveling in June to Paris and fares have been higher than even what I paid for a July trip 2 years ago. I have been getting a few emails already with Spring sales so I am not so patiently waiting for the Summer "sales" to start trickling in. I have never waited this long to purchase air for an international trip and it is very scary!

Also check by swapping your arrival destination: coming into MUC, leaving from CDG and vise-versa.

And check the price of airfare between Christmas and New Year... you may see interesting fares if an airline needs/wants to boost their end-of-quarter sales revenue.