Flying open jaw (into Rome and out of Paris); when will I see cheaper fares?

Chris,

It's been a while since I've seen $800-$900 airfares to Europe, even in the shoulder season. This year, there really didn't seem to be any drop in prices for the off seasons. Over the past several years, the airlines have systematically reduced capacity which has allowed them to sell seats at higher prices. As long as demand stays equal to, or greater, than seat supply, prices will remain higher.

Good luck and enjoy the trip.

Todd

Ive not seen any Europe flights below $1100 in 3 years. I bought my ticket in October for my trip in late April. Chances are the prices will only go up as your trip gets closer and availability gets slimmer. If you by soon, at least you'll have a bit of seat selection choice.
Lisa

Especially since you already have 4 tickets, and need the other 2 to be on identical flights, buy them ASAP. $1300 is actually a pretty good price these days. Hey, you already got 4 "free" ones!

Right now you might find lower fares trans-Atlantic on Air France, but only for early winter travel. Without knowing your departure airport, even guesswork is futile. For instance, if you can make a connection through Toronto on Air Canada you might save several hundred dollars, but not if you are departing from Los Angeles.

If you can make your way economically to Montreal, AirTransat fles to both Rome and Paris and is always cheaper than other carriers.

I can only add what others have. I have been tracking cost to Berlin the end of February...so now about 8-9 weeks out and I am seeing $1100-1400, and not likely to get cheaper. I agree, since you have some tickets for very little cost, don't get stuck trying to save a couple hundred dollars, just jump and don't look back.

"Rolling the dice" needs some logic, and there are two factors that might say wait...one, they have too many seats, which you should be able to see by looking at seating charts on the flights you have...but I have not seen too many empty flights or discounts to fill seats in a couple years. The other is fuel prices, they have really tumbled, so your bet is that airlines will pass that savings on...not a great bet...they would only do so to increase volume, basically filling seats, unless they add routes or flights to routes, both unlikely in a 3-4 month span. In short, the bet is a long shot.

I'm seeing the same. I have been watching fares to Rome from Washington DC this summer, it has been holding at about $1800 for my criteria on flight times and duration (arrive by 10 AM and total flight times not longer than 12 hours). It's very soon to be buying tickets, but I'm kind of obsessive about organizing, and am trying to spot a pattern that will benefit me. Even 6 months out, it fluctuates as much as $150 per day. I was surprised to find that it costs no more, and is even less, to stop for a day or two in another city on the return, for example it's about $100 less via Barcelona or Brussels, and $400 less via Prague. So we will probably add a few days in another country/city for our return.

Hi Chris,
Last year around this time, I got a good airfare from Aerlingus flying from Chicago to Barcelona in May 2014. I found it on their website directly. Right now flights from March 27-April 12 (random dates I picked) from NYC to CDG with a layover in Dublin are $991 which is pretty good in my book. Unfortunately, they don't offer open jaw searches on their website but if you call customer service, they can do a search for you and you can book on the phone with them. Bonne chance!

Chris, what's your fallback plan if you can't get the 2 additional seats on the same planes as the other four? If flying together is integral to your vacation, I'd bite the bullet and buy ASAP at the current price.

Echoing Jackie's post ... last year we found good rates on Aer Lingus returning from Rome to Portland (Oregon), with stops in Dublin and Chicago. We turned the Dublin stop into a two-day layover which added two enjoyable, restful days to our vacation.

Chris,

Laura B has a good point:

If flying together is integral to your vacation, I'd bite the bullet and buy ASAP at the current price.

Is it possible to 'borrow' some airline miles from other family members so you can get the other 2 tickets?

I'd call the airline & find out their price adjustment policy; say you purchase tickets now at current price
& the price goes down in a couple of weeks?

I've done that with domestic flights-- it's worth a try, don't you agree?

Best of luck to you!

Thanks to everyone for your suggestions. Based on your advice, and the opportunity to get everyone on the same flights, I went ahead and bought the last two tickets today. And I'm not looking back... Feels good to have it done. Now about train tickets...

Chris,

Good deal on getting the last 2 flight tickets! Now you have one less thing to worry about!

Regarding train tickets while in Italy...

You may buy freccia (high- speed) train tickets at a discounted price up to 120 days ahead by using this web-site: www.trenitalia.com

but keep in mind;

• tickets are non-refundable &
• unchangeable
• so make sure your travel dates are fixed

Where will you be traveling to while in Italy?