Based on your expertise, should I purchase my airfare for March to Europe now or wait a couple months to see if the price drops? We are flying open-jaw into Amsterdam from Minneapolis and out of Munich or Frankfurt back to Minneapolis. I’ve heard rumors of winter/early spring airfare sales popping up in the next couple of months – are these rumors reliable?
Posted by
White Bear Lake, MN, USA
479 posts
Jessica, I'm asusming you're leaving from MSP. Start looking now, be prepared to buy immediately if you see the right price, and be prepared to look often. Any time the fare is less than $700 you should take it. Less than $500 and you've found a secret that almost nobody else will have access to. Less than $900 and you shouldn't feel too bad about purchasing it. Anything more than $1,000 is too expensive for that time of year. You'll probably end up paying between $600 and $800 for a good price for a flight to Europe from MSP at that time of year.
Try Icelandair.com. Their flights from MSP to Europe are often some of the cheapest. Their prices don't change much.
Posted by
southwest, Missouri, U.S.A.
1717 posts
Hi Jessica, I suggest wait a couple of months. The lowest price for airline tickets could be in the last half of December. The lowest prices for tickets could be for only seven seats in each airplane. I suggest buy tickets before February, to be sure that you will get tickets. I think airline tickets for flying to Europe in 2008 will cost more than the price for flying in 2007. Thus, $ 700. may not be a high price for flying in 2008.
Posted by
gaston, oregon, usa
842 posts
When are you flying? What search engines are you using? Using Orbitz I found $600 (TOTAL PRICE) for your trip in March. (MSP to AMS, then FRA to MSP)KLM and US Air both fly this route, with some direct flights.
This sure looks pretty good right now! (Yes, the sales are going now!)
I plug in up to 3 different flight options, the price I want to pay, and let Orbitz send me an Email when they find them.
Also log on to farecompare.com for notices each time the prices drop on any of the routes that you think that you might want. Check out cheap inter european flights on whichbudget.com.
But, by all means, look at the prices avaiable RIGHT NOW!
Posted by
OP
Saint Paul, Minnesota
11 posts
We are hoping to fly out on March 6 and returning on March 22. I have found airfare for $600 and up but a couple years ago, I paid $500 total for my airfare to Italy in early March which is why I'm stalling on buying now. I purchased my $500 airfare in January and I'm wondering if I will have similar luck this time around? I know it is just an extra hundred or so dollars and $600 airfare is still very cheap but it would nice to spend that extra money in Europe.
Posted by
gaston, oregon, usa
842 posts
I understand. We paid $480 for our R/T ticket Portland to Frankfurt in June. I really think that those prices are over, with the continuing de-valuation of the dollar.
The best we could find for our Christmass trip was $650 (but this is at Christmass)
You can sign up for auto notices, and when they put a few seats up for sale at a cheap price hope that they go for less than $600, but with the contuinual drop of the dollar, I think those tickets will be few and far between.
A travel agent friend of mine put it this way. "The taxes on your flight are over $200, what makes you think that they want to give you tickets "over the pond" for $500 again?"