Cheap Flights to Europe...Newbie

For transatlantic flights, I don't think you'll find a website that consistently undercuts the major players such as Orbitz, Expedia, Travelocity, etc. If there were one, everybody would know about it. Not all search engines include Air Transat, which often has very good prices from Canada to Europe - so from Toronto I'd always include them in any comparison. I've found that the most consistent way to save money is to choose my exact dates of travel carefully. In any given month, prices may vary by a considerable amount depending on which dates you choose to travel. Use search engines that will show you an entire month's calendar with prices for each day.

Hi Jess. I have used Kayak.com to find flights from the U.S. to Europe. When you do a search, your search results start with the cheapest flights.

Jess, Regardless of which website you use for flights, you'll probably find that your choices are limited by the number of carriers that you have to choose from. I've found that the best option for flexibility, both in terms of destinations and timing, is usually Air Canada. They're not always the least expensive, but I've used them for trips to Europe over the past few years because their sellection of flights were the best fit for my schedule. Another advantage of Air Canada is the fact that they're a Star Alliance partner. That provides a greater degree of flexibility, as they can schedule code share flights with Lufthansa or other carriers (which is nice if travelling with checked luggage). Air Transat is also a good choice but that will depend on when you'll be travelling and to which destination. They have good choices to many of the popular destinations in Europe, but most of their Europe flights take place from about May-October (they switch to sun destinations in the winter). Another thing to keep in mind is that they often only have departures once or twice a week. For flights to U.K. destinations, Canadian Affair is another option. They have a fairly good choice of destinations from YYZ (I assume that's the airport you'll be using?). There are some new airline "partnerships" in the works, so it's possible that more foreign carriers will be operating from Canada in the near future. Who knows, perhaps WestJet will establish a code share partnership with a larger foreign carrier? Unless they change their business model and buy larger aircraft, I'm not sure their present fleet has the range for Europe (although that might be possible with the "Next Generation" 737's?). Cheers!

Ken- thanks for mentioning Air Transat! Someone had told me before that they only fly to the UK, so I had given up on that idea. They're the company I flew over with and I had no issues with them, and since both my boyfriend and I prefer bringing only carry-on luggage and have flexible schedules, they should suit my needs. I'll keep them in mind.

Why don't you look into Icelandair? We are flying with them again this summer into London, out of Glasgow. We flew two summers ago into Paris. I like that you can go into one city, and out of another. You can also do a stopover in Iceland..very cool :) The prices are usually a lot lower than Air Canada.