How to get TO Europe from Chicago?

Hi Jim, I hope that you see this email this weekend. AirBerlin has posted a special rate that must be booked by January 7th but travel can occur through end of October. Just check their website for details: www.airberlin.com. We travel to Berlin at least once a year because we have family there. It is a great city that is affordable by European standards. If you need lodging, my recommendation is to book a small apartment in one of the interesting neighborhoods. Our preference is Kreuzberg. Also use public transportation. It is really priced and very efficient. Enjoy your stay Barbara

Flights to Europe especially in summer are expensive. If it is under 1500 you got good price. You can use all the sites and compare. For me usually Travelocity has the best prices. You can also ask travel agent. Sometimes they can give you better price through so called consolidators. Also prices fluctuate. You have still time so check it several times a day for couple weeks and when you see good one, grab it immediately.

Flights appear to be at an all time high for hi season Summer, 2013. If you're familiar with Expedia and Kayak, use them. My best advice is to go earlier in the seasonto avoid the largest crowds and while temperatures are more moderate. European A/C is just not as good as in the U.S. May flights are cheaper and temperatures comfortable. Many people are now flying open jawed, which is into one city and out of another. Often, those flights are no more expensive and actually save you by not having to back track to your original airport destination. I always prefer more than one destination for my trips.

You're lucky to be flying out of Chicago, that will give you many options. Many of us have to go through Chicago to get here! (Just did that on Saturday)

Thanks, everyone. I'll try that airberlin link. Most of what I've found so far has been in the 1300-1600 range, so I guess I'm not too far off.

Jim: You may also want to consider going into/out of London.

Or Dublin. Avoiding Heathrow means avoiding their departure tax.

Have you looked at Air Canada? I am seeing flights for $1050-1300 round trip. Depends on the date of the return trip, and days of the week you are flying.

I used to live in Chicago and flew out regularly. You're in an excellent gateway city. Make sure to vigorously check all the international airlines (Lufthansa, Air Berlin, AerLingus**, SAS, etc.), especially the discount ones. I've seen AerLingus (Irish airline) flights from Chicago to Shannon and Dublin for $500/pp, which is a fantastic price. You can spend more time connecting cheaply within Europe that way. I use Kayak as an aggregator site, and signed up for their monitoring of different places. It will spam you a bit especially with multiple destinations but it's well worth it. In combination with Yapta (or Tripit Pro), you can be sure to try for a refund if the price declines. Don't overlook the benefits of flying out of Canada, either. I saved $900 for two tickets by leaving from Toronto, not Chicago. Air Transat and other discount carriers work out of Canada. It may be worth your while. But honestly, I like Aer Lingus and Air Berlin a great deal. FinnAir seems to be popular too.

Price comparisons for trans-Atlantic tickets fall apart unless they are for the same time period. July looks to be the peak this year for prices. Anyone who can find a $500 ticket to anywhere on the opposite side of the pond this summer should head for the nearest casino and keep the luck rolling. Last year the bottom line from the midwest in the peak months was above $1,000. Right now, for July to the European continent, I've been finding flights at $1,400 or $1,500 and higher.
If you are willing to spend the extra time to make more connections, some savings can be squeezed out of the itinerary. I support Air Canada's Toronto-Berlin run as good value, but note that from Chicago it will require two stops because AC does not fly non-stop to Berlin from either Toronto or Montreal.