How to Fly to Europe
Learn the best way to fly to Europe, when to buy your airline ticket, and how to find cheap budget flights to Europe from the USA. For lots more tips, check out Europe Through the Back Door, Rick Steves' best-selling travel skills guidebook.
By Rick Steves
Many of the same guidelines for flying to Europe apply, whether you buy your ticket online or from a travel agent (both explained below). The specific rules and regulations are confusing and always changing, but when you make the right choice, you get the right price. For Europe, plan on spending $700–1,500 for your basic round-trip ticket, plus another $300–500 in taxes, fuel surcharges, and other fees.
Dollars saved = discomfort + restrictions + inflexibility. Assuming you know your options, you get what you pay for. There's no such thing as a free lunch in the airline industry. (In fact, these days, there's usually no lunch at all.) Full fare is very expensive. You get the ultimate in flexibility, but I've never met anyone spending his or her own money who flew that way. Rather than grab the cheapest ticket to Europe, go with the best combination of reliability, economy, and flexibility for your travel needs.
Buy your tickets at the right time. Look for tickets as soon as you're ready to firmly commit to flight dates and ports. As you delay, dates sell out and prices generally go up. Special fares are limited to a few seats to jump-start departures. It's wise to look for tickets four to six months before you fly. Book your spring and summer travel in January, February, and March. In general, the sooner the better — but not all the best prices are available in January, so keep an eye on the airfares (if booking on your own, check websites such as www.farecompare.com and use the "Farecast Technology" at www.bing.com/travel; if working with a travel agent, ask for advice on the best time to buy). Fall travel should probably be booked by May or June, because the trend for airfare prices and availability is known by then. If you're traveling in September — a very popular time to fly to Europe (particularly the first half of the month) — start looking even earlier. Travel during winter — November through March — can be purchased a month or so in advance (with the exception of winter breaks and holidays, which require earlier booking).
Airfares vary by season and by day. Find out when "peak season" begins and ends. At certain crucial times, moving your flight by one day (out of peak and into shoulder season) could save you hundreds of dollars. Likewise, fares are generally a bit cheaper for travel Monday through Thursday than for weekends.
Be aware of surcharges and taxes. Most airlines now levy a hefty "fuel surcharge," which varies depending on the airline and the price of fuel. Charges for checked bags are another headache, although most transatlantic flights do not charge for the first checked bag (for the latest fees for major US and international carriers, check www.airlinealacarte.net or www.smartertravel.com click on "Airline Fees: The Ultimate Guide"). Combined with airport taxes (which vary by city), these fees can add hundreds of dollars to your total ticket price. A "cheap" $300 round-trip off-season flight to London can more than double in price when all the fees are included...not quite such a bargain after all. It's always smart to figure out the complete price before you commit.
Consider flying into one city and out of another. In general, the fare is figured simply by taking half of the round-trip fare for each of those ports. I used to fly into Amsterdam, travel to Istanbul, and then travel two days by train back to Amsterdam to fly home (because I thought it was too expensive to pay $200 extra to fly out of Istanbul). Now I understand the real economy — in time and money — in breaking out of the round-trip mold. Note that multiple-city flights are cheapest when you use the same airline for each segment.
Look into consolidator fares. These fares — which can be sold by travel agents or online — are often cheaper than buying direct from the airline. Consolidators are wholesalers who negotiate with airlines to get deeply discounted fares, which they then sell cheaply (but with a mark-up) to travelers. Consolidator tickets can be a great deal, and they are often less restrictive than those bought from airlines: They are "nonendorsable" (meaning that no other airline is required to honor that ticket if your airline is unable to get you home — though in practice this is rarely a problem). And if the airline drops its prices (which often happens), you are stuck with what was, but no longer is, a cheaper fare. If buying a consolidator ticket, ask carefully about cancellation policies and other restrictions.
Budget flights are becoming more restrictive. Even certain types of business and first-class tickets have penalties. Be sure of your dates before you decide to buy that cheaper, nonrefundable ticket. Airlines are becoming very aggressive about change fees — make sure you understand your ticket's change policies before you buy. Most airlines offer changes for a penalty of about $250 per ticket (per change) — however for some, you must rebook new dates immediately or lose the value of your ticket. Lufthansa may even charge you the fuel surcharges on your original ticket. Even then, you typically need to make changes at least 24 hours before your departure to avoid losing the entire value of the ticket. If you need to change your return date in Europe, call your airline's European office. If that fails, I've found airlines become more lenient if you go to their office in person with a good reason for your need to change the return date. If you must get home early, go to the airport. If you're standing at the airport two days before your ticket says you can go home, and seats are available, regardless of the rules, they may let you fly home early (at no extra cost). They win a happy customer and gain two more days to try to sell an empty seat. Besides, at that point, it's the easiest way to get rid of you.
Remember the days when you or your travel agent used to be able to hold several slightly different reservations until you figured out exactly when and where you were going? Some airlines now search to see if there are several (unpaid) reservations in your name — even within a few days of each other or to different cities — and will cancel all of those bookings. Not only that, they will charge fees to the agent for each segment cancelled.
Expect to get an electronic ticket. E-tickets are here to stay — most airlines no longer issue paper tickets. While travelers with an e-ticket can fly simply with a valid passport, it's always smart to bring the printed receipt with you in case there are complications at the airport. Be sure the receipt has your e-ticket number, not just the airline's reservation code. Note: Confirm that the name on your reservation and ticket exactly matches the one on your passport; usually the only way to correct a name on a reservation or ticket is to cancel the original ticket and pay any associated penalties — which could be very costly.
Reserve a specific seat for maximum comfort. Most airlines let you choose your seat when you book, although there may be a charge for roomier seats. To avoid being squeezed in the middle of a row, pick a seat as early as possible. For pointers, see Seat Guru or SeatExpert.com.
Review your ticket carefully when you book it. Double-check your dates, destinations, and exact spelling of your name. A simple second look as soon as you get your tickets can give you a chance to fix any mistakes...and save you enormous headaches later.
Check in online before heading to the airport. Most carriers' websites allow you to check in and print your boarding pass from home (or from your European hotel) 24 hours before departure time. This is a good way to confirm your flight schedule and seat assignment, and can save you from waiting in check-in lines at the airport.
Updated for 2011. For lots more tips, check out our best-selling Europe Through the Back Door travel skills guidebook.