Need help for finding best airfare from Austin, TX to Berlin

I've found a few fares in the $890-$950 range.

That is a good fare when you are trying to travel at the peak season. The only way to get cheaper fares is not to go at the height of the season. I use to work at O'hare as a passenger agent during the summer international flights all the planes are full July August. The more capacity the less options the higher the prices.

You have to say which airlines are you seeing where you have to pay for food?
Is it Norwegian Air you are looking at? They allow you to bring your own food from home that is the better option if you like to eat fresh and not processed. But they do charge if your bag does not meet the free carry on size and for checked luggage. And they will charge if you want to select to seat. I usually bring my own food and I don't choose a seat and let the system pick it for me at no charge when checking in 24 hours before the flight. Those are tricks to circumvent add ons. But I'm a low maintenance flyer.
But this still is cheaper than your other options currently by several hundred dollars.
Kiwi.com is not an airline. I don't understand what that is it sounds gimmicky tricky.

Unless I’m missing something that’s a really good price. Double check and make sure there aren’t a whole lot of hidden fees. (Selecting seats, print at home, print at airport, luggage, etc.)

Buy from the airline.

Use Kayak etc to do research, but buy from the airline

No, that is not a typical bag charge. Typical is around $50 for the airlines I fly on. Have no experience with Kiwi.com, but just looking at a few reviews, I have zero confidence in them getting me where I want go. I have not checked a bag going to Europe ever, I pack light and one cary on with carefully selected contents can last me 3 months during warmer months as long as I can do laundry along the way.

The prices you quote are around half what I could find as I am writing this response. I was going to suggest driving to either Dallas or Houston as the fares from there to Europe have historically been a lot lower than from Austin. But not for the dates you provide.

You don't mention what airlines the low fares you found are on or how many stops are involved. Most of the lower priced itineraries I find for your trip have 3 or more stops and plane changes and some even change airlines. I don't like traveling to Europe with more than 2 stops max. Most flights I have taken have been 1 stop and all on a single airline. The trip is long and tiring enough without adding extra time to it with extra stops and plane changes. Checked luggage can easily get mis directed the more times you change a plane.

Your are traveling during summer peak season. Frankly your fare sounds very reasonble at under $1000.
If the routing and travel time works then u have found a winner. I would not delay and purcha from the airline.

All I'm seeing is $1500-$1600 on legacy carriers. The alternative is Norwegian to Gatwick and then catch EasyJet.com into Berlin on a separate flight.

"I am sure we will need at least one checked bag for all of us." What makes you sure of this?

Not knowing how large your family is or the ages of all the family members, each person should be able to manage their own luggage, including one major carry-on and one personal item.

You're only going to be gone about 2 weeks. You have access to laundry facilities. Your friends will have things like shampoo, conditioner and bath soap at the minimum. If not, you can buy all those things in Berlin and leave them behind for your friends if the containers aren't small enough for your 3-1-1 bags.

Speaking of 3-1-1 bags, with multiple people, you can spread your <=100ml liquid toiletries among all of you, making it possible to have everything you need without checking a bag with larger sized containers.

Typical carry-on size for international flights on major carriers is 22x14x9. If you don't take a major carrier, you may have issues with carry-on size and weight.

Since this is your first trip to Europe, it would probably be a good idea to read and absorb all the relevant advice on the RS Travel Tips. In addition to the packing light info there, it would be good to watch the video called Packing Light & Right.

The Explore Europe section on Germany would be helpful. And two good forums are on Packing and on Transportation.

I know this may be TMI when you asked about airfare, but all these considerations are intertwined.

One thing for sure is that you do not want to book your plane travel with some off-the-wall website that sounds like you will get a really cheap deal. Especially this close to your travel dates. That's the stuff that travel nightmares are made of. Like others have said, book directly with the airline.

It doesn't seem to matter how big the departure city or arrival city is, sometimes there is neither a nonstop option nor even a 1-stop one. You might have to go through somewhere in the States and maybe have an extra stop in Europe to get to Berlin from Austin. Pay attention to the total length of the flight, the carriers, where the plane changes will be and how long you have between them.

I messed around with Google Flights and saw nothing cheap that didn't involve a very long transit through multiple airports.

One option might be to fly nonstop RT between Austin and New York. Then on a separate ticket, nonstop RT New York - Berlin. It looks like there's enough time between flights to do that, but the cost is still about $1200 per person. And checking a bag with separate tickets is not a good thing.

For about the same price, you could fly Austin to London RT and RT London to Berlin.

BTW, Hook 'em!

I live not far from you and the best fares I get are out on Houston on Turkish Air. $735 on the one date I checked for you. Yes, that includes a bag. For me its worth the drive even with about $100 in rental car fees. Good airline, and Istanbul isn't a bad airport to make a change in. What I really like about Turkish Air is the open jaw flights can be as cheap as a RT and they fly everywhere. I've got a flight into Kyiv in a few months, then out of Budapest for $855. The connection from Kyiv to Budapest is $68. But it's all about the dates you choose.

From Kayak.com, I found that Kiwi.com charges about $188 per bag.

Kiwi.com just pieces a lot of one way tickets together. This is why the check bag price is so high as you are paying to check a bag on separate tickets. I would not recommend booking with Kiwi because if there is a problem with one leg and you miss the next flight then you are stuck as the flights are not on the same tickets.

My recommendation is to pick a price you are willing to pay and set up an alert +/- 3 days from your travel days and be patient.

DJ

You are looking for tickets relatively late in the game, which will mean prices are very high, which they would be anyway due to the timing of your trip during high season. Many RS travelers start looking for flights in November for the following summer, for example. I realize that not many people plan that far in advance and this isn't to chastise you, just to say that what you might be hoping for, or thinking you can find based on articles and anecdotes may not be possible at this point. As everyone has said, under $1000 per ticket at this point sounds like a low fare. If you want to get aggressive about getting cheaper fare there may be things you can do (although maybe not at this point) but it would involve more travel and more shenanigans, which doesnt sound appealing with a group that size. As for Kiwi and bag fees, I agree with others. We never check bags, and that fee sounds way too high

Even from New York, which has much more competition for fares to Europe than Austin, Berlin seems to be an expensive destination. Last month, I was looking at flights in early October 2019. New York to Madrid was $320 (not a typo); Berlin was over $900; most other places were in between. If you're looking to go in the summer, fares are going to be higher.

I agree with not booking this on separate tickets, and not using Kiwi dot com.

If you are booked all on one ticket, you will only have one fee in each direction for each checked bag. I also agree that if you have access to a washing machine, you don't need lots of clothes, so you can definitely make this work with carry-on only.

My advise is pretty straight forward...

If you find airfare that fits within you budget and travel convenience requirements - buy it on the spot. Waiting usually doesn't get you anything except fewer (flight/seat) choices and higher prices. If you want to keep your family seated together on the plane, you may be running out of time to purchase those tickets.

Ultra-budget airlines versus legacy airlines - you get what you pay for. Unfortunately, the ultra-budget airlines are prompting legacy carriers to reduce their amenities and customer service as well...

Tip: besides approaching Berlin's airports TXL and SXF directly you can also approach Frankfurt. From the "Fernbhf" station there are direct trains of Deutsche Bahn to Berlin main station (3 -4 hrs).

Also quick connections from Hannover and Leipzig.

You need to be flexible and open to making connections in either New York or London.

This is our family's first trip together to Europe. We will stay with
friends near the Schönefeld airport. Our travel dates are roughly
7/27/19 to 8/11/19.

Can anyone give advice on finding cheap fares? I've done some searches
on Priceline (Express Deals), Kayak, Google Flights so far. I've found
a few fares in the $890-$950 range. However, it seems these prices
don't include food or checked luggage. From Kayak.com, I found that
Kiwi.com charges about $188 per bag. Maybe that's a typical luggage
price.

No, it's not a typical price for checked luggage. Never heard of this kiwi.com. $188 per bag? An example of a 3rd party website taking advantage of those who don't fly often.

We can travel light, but I am sure we will need at least one checked
back for all of us. Since we are staying with friends, we'll have
access to a washing machine.

Not necessarily at all. You have access to washing machine? Super! Use it and pack just a carryon bag. The airline you choose will have specifics about the size and weight of carryons on its website so look at it before you pack.

Any advice on airfare, checked luggage, etc would be appreciated.

Yes!! I've looked at your dates (even moved them a few days on both sides to find a cheaper fare) for flights to/from Berlin and also to other airports. If you have found fares that are $890-950 between Austin and Berlin, BUY THEM ASAP. I would leap at this because I couldn't find anything that low for the summer peak season.

Even on Delta, international travelers receive one free checked bag/person UNLESS they are traveling on a Basic Economy fare. And even then, I think the first checked bag fee is $60 as opposed to the outrageous price quoted above. And I can't think of any of the major US carriers (Delta, American, United) that don't offer food/beverage service on a US-Europe flight. There are other carriers that offer service to Europe, but I am not as familiar with those.

When looking at discount sites, remember to read all the fine print. Will you want to sit together as a traveling group? Are any members of your party children who will need to sit next to another member of your party? If that is the case, you may want to look at booking regular cabin airfare rather than the most heavily discounted versions where you may not be able to select your own seats and are not guaranteed to be sitting next to other members of your group.

It is always best to book your seats directly with the airline once you find a fare you like, but always read all the fine print. It can be the difference between a happy travel experience and a miserable one.