cheap flights to Europe from Boston

Try Wow or Norwegian airlines. But to tell you the truth $400 per person during peak travel times June July when the whole world is traveling from USA to Europe is unrealistic. You will find that kind of price in the first week of December or in the months of January and February.

Try to secure your airline tickets first at a price you can stomach during those peak times and then your options of where to go will take shape.

edit: $600 is realistic and that price will only go up so snag it.

If you are on a strict budget, you should take a look at hotel costs in Switzerland and Norway. They can be very high and might swamp any savings you find on airfare.

Sometimes altering your dates a few days in one direction or another will yield a significantly lower fare, though I agree that at the moment $600 for late June/early July looks pretty good. The itinerary I've been watching, which begins with a mid-May flight into Munich from Washington DC, just jumped $500 today, to over $1300.

I agree with acraven - if you think $600 is a "high" price for airfare, wait till you see prices in Norway and Switzerland for everything else!

In late June/early July, $600 is an excellent airfare from Boston to Europe. Just remember that if you're looking at Norwegian, Wow, or Icelandic, the price you see does not include checked bags, food, or seat selection. If you want or need any of these things, you have to budget for them in addition to the posted fare. Look directly on Aer Lingus's website as well - they often have good prices and good connections, through Dublin, to various European cities.

My personal view is that you should never go somewhere just because it's cheap, but money can be a good tie-breaker. However, you do have to take into account all costs. For instance, hotel rooms (and everything else) in Munich will be much cheaper than Norway or Switzerland, so even if getting to Munich is a more expensive flight, the whole trip may be cheaper.

Welcome to the 21st Century. The prices you have been finding look decent compared to the highs and lows over the last decade and a half. Not bargains, no, and at any time there can be a quirk for a few days or weeks that would save $50 or $100. But as another poster hinted, fares from the eastern seaboard, Boston to Philadelphia, are already substantially cheaper than from other international airports not so much further west. I think you need to reconsider what "cheap" now means, especially since many trans-Atlantic carriers now add substantial fees for extras which used to be considered part of the deal..

$400 flights...best wishes. Let us know the purchase price.

You can get a $400 flight, but it will likely be on Are Lingus or Iceland Air and you'll need to travel by March. I got an alert just the other day from Iceland Air for such a flight from Boston and from the DC area, where I live (and it was under $400). Those great flight prices are almost always off-season, pretty much the opposite timeframe you're looking at. So the key is just adjusting your expectations or being really flexible about when you're willing to travel.

By the way, what's wrong with the $490 you already found? It sounds like a real decent price to me. Also try Turkish Air, provided the layover isn't overnight since there are Visa issues right now between Turkey and the US.

I'd kill for $600 high/shoulder season flights to Europe from Minneapolis. We've never been able to do it for under $1000 or so. And the others are spot on about "for everything else" prices in Norway and Switzerland. You're choosing some very expensive places to go if you're on a budget tight enough to require $400 flights?

Just remember that if you're looking at Norwegian, Wow, or Icelandic,
the price you see does not include checked bags, food, or seat
selection. If you want or need any of these things, you have to budget
for them in addition to the posted fare.

This is a very good point; read carefully before booking.

Try Icelandair. I have flown it several times from Boston to Paris and I find that it’s prices are always the lowest.
It takes a little bit longer because you will fly to Reykjavik and change planes but the cost savings are usually significant.
They also have modified their prices to add baggage checkin as an extra. If you can travel with only a carryon bag you will find further savings.
Unfortunately they may not fly to the city of your choice but at such reduced rates you can always find another way to connect to where you are going and still might come out ahead cost wise. I will be doing this on a flight that I will be taking on Icelandair out of Boston this coming May.

Consider Providence and check Norwegian's low fare calendar. Last weekend I bought round-trip tickets to Bergen for mid-May for $250. Checked bags, meals and seat reservations are extra as others have said.
Good luck.
Cynthia

cheap flights to Europe from Boston

We've taken both the Delta Shuttle & Amtrak to Boston for cheaper roundtrips between Amsterdam & Boston. It's well worth it.

Any thoughts or ideas or suggestions for getting better prices on
flights?

Yes. Set price drop alerts on Skyscanner.