Planning to spend Thanksgiving week in Paris. Fares seem high now around $800-$1000/pp RT. Should we wait? When do fares go down? What would be a good fare to book?
Thanks in advance for all the advice!
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Between now and then you have a 95% chance of airlines offering a fare sale better than that. Keep and eye on the newspapers and sign up for email specials from your airlines. It%26#39;s not uncommon to get to between $600-700 fares from CA that time of year, especially if you don%26#39;t travel on domestic flights on the Thanksgiving peak days.
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We paid 650.00 each to fly from Houston to Paris this past Thanksgiving. I bought the tickets in September. However, they had a sale right before we actually decided to go and they were 550. I never found that price again. My advice is to wait for a sale and then buy. If you see a good price then pounce because the next day it could go up dramatically.
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Try kayak.com. It%26#39;s the best site for cheap fares, IMO. Just had a look for flights in Feb and some are as low as $495 from LAX to CDG, direct. Of course, Feb is the cheapest month, from what I hear. I like to price flights even if I have no plans to go anywhere, just in case I hit a bargin and have a windfall the same day. Is that sad? ;-)
If you don%26#39;t mind stopping, a airfare to Ireland is usually the cheapest of all the European countries and a Ryanair flight (depending on how much baggage you have, that is) to Paris can be as low as 1 Euro, plus taxes. You fly into Beauvias airport instead of CDG but the aircoach is only 13 Euro into the city. That%26#39;s a bit messy though.
I got an %26#39;open jaw%26#39; flight into Ireland and out of Paris for last Nov for $560. I WAS going to see my family in Dublin though, so it was practical for me.
I have never paid more than $650 for a flight to Europe, regardless of the time of year and neither should you but you do have to hunt a bit, like for any good deal. There are much better ways to spend your hard earned cash once you get there. Good luck!
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I just found a ticket for $560 RT from Louisiana for November 07 and the price is usually about $800. I think this price lasted about 4 hours though. I suggest watching the online sites (orbitz, kayak, etc) - I just logged in everyday at lunch, and when I saw this price, I jumped. My suggestion is when you see a price you like - buy it.
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Do those prices include taxes/fees? These can be between $200-300! Are they the final prices that you guys are quoting?
travel4two,
Fares won%26#39;t go %26#39;down%26#39; as such but there will be %26#39;teaser%26#39; fares and some cheaper ones to be had throughout the summer for fall travel. This takes diligence on your part and constant %26#39;surfing%26#39; of several websites, because many %26#39;sales%26#39; last a few hours or days only.
I found a fare yesterday (lufthansa) for $580 from SFO-CDG for Sept/Oct. However with all taxes etc added, it then became $800!
This past Dec 15th we paid $750 pp incl of taxes. Our daughter%26#39;s fare (Dec 22nd) was $1200 incl!! We booked these tix in Oct.
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dear travel4two,
I just did a search on my favorite discount ticket website and found a rt ticket from SFO to CDG for $374 plus $312 taxes (!!) on BA via Heathrow. The dates I put in were Weds 21-28th Nov. This is a very cheap fare!!
If however, you are looking for a direct flight,you will get no bargains - I know, I%26#39;ve searched for over a year for those. Also, if you intend to travel on a Fri, Sat or Sun, you will not find too much of a discount either.
If you can be flexible on your travel day and don%26#39;t insist on a direct flight, the bargains are there. Here is the site I use:
www.economytravel.com/cj.html…
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Janes, the airfare quotes I posted include taxes and fees. There ARE super cheap flights available that are direct (like the direct flight price of $495 I quoted, which was inc. everything) but you have to search and know your time of year. Feb is supposed to be the cheapest month for Europe as tourisim goes way down, according to guidebooks and studies I%26#39;ve read, therefore flights, hotels and tour packages are much cheaper. Oct or Nov and after Christmas are usually ripe with deals too. If you want to go in May or June, direct, you%26#39;ll pay more.
However, if you are willing to stop once or twice, there are more options for inexpensive flights, whenever the time of year. The $560 I paid for my Nov trip had 2 stops/changes going and 1 stop/change coming back. But I%26#39;d rather save $200-$500 on my flight and put the money I%26#39;ve saved towards my trip. To some people, it%26#39;s worth the extra dough to avoid having to change planes and all the hassle that comes with it. It%26#39;s a personal thing, you just have to be honest with yourself about it.
Also, I tend to go for at least 2 weeks or longer so it%26#39;s not as big a deal to spend the extra time waiting for planes and the like but if you only have 5 days or a week, it%26#39;s probably money well spent to get the direct flight. I would say that $700 (inculsive) is the most you should expect to pay for a direct flight in Nov. Travel4, since you have at least 8 or 9 months before you reach crunch time and really NEED to book a flight, I wouldn%26#39;t worry. Just check the sites everyday or so until you get the price you like.
Don%26#39;t just try 1 website, try them all. Travelocity, Kayak, Orbitz, Yahoo, Priceline, ect, ect and check with any travel agencies in the area. There are some that cater specially to European travel and sometimes they have the best deals.
The hunt can be fun, get the people who are travelling with you to hunt too. It becomes kind of a game. My husband and I are always trying to %26#39;one up%26#39; each other in a playful way when we look for flights. If he finds a cheap flight but I find one cheaper and we book my find, I get the difference in %26#39;trip pocket money%26#39; and vice versa. It all goes on dinners and wine in the long run anyway! Have fun!
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Try Lufthansa and United Airlines. They have what could be termed bargain fares to Paris right now for November ranging from high $400%26#39;s to mid $500%26#39;s but none are nonstop flights. These fares are probably the best you%26#39;ll get for fall travel to Paris so if you find a fare you like I suggest booking it now.
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