Travel to Germany in May
My mom and I are planning on going on Germany Austria, and Switzerland Tour in May. I am trying to figure out when I should start looking for airline tickets. We will be leaving from Atlanta, GA. Also would it be better to fly into Luxembourg or Frankfurt. The tour begins in Tier, Germany. Thanks for the help.
Robert
Atlanta 11/7/09
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That might depend on the cost. I suspect Luxembourg would be a lot more expensive than Frankfurt. If the cost is similar, Luxembourg is certainly closer to Trier than Frankfurt. There is good train service from either Luxembourg to Frankfurt to Trier.
Frankfurt to Trier would not be expensive. A local ticket from the FRA Regionalbahnhof to Mainz is less than €4 pP. You can also buy in the Regionalbahnhof a Rheinland-Pfalz-Ticket, which is an all day (after 9 workdays) pass for regional trains in Rheinland-Pfalz, for €27 (2009 prices). You would change trains in Koblenz. Mainz, Koblenz, Trier, and the direct route between them, are all in Rheinland-Pfalz.
You will possibly find more deals to Frankfurt than Luxembourg, but watch both using yapta.com and farecast.com. Put in your dates and city pairs, and wait for the fares to drop. It will be fast, and tickets go quick when it happens, so buy quick.
Think about flying into one city and out of Vienna, saves backtracking to Frankfurt (though by train that's not a too bad if you have to).
Out of Atlanta, don't just focus on just on Delta. United/Lufthansa has lots of service into Frankfurt and Vienna. Be flexible on where you change planes and even what day you fly. Changing one day may pay for an extra day in a hotel and more travel time.
Yesterday was the day to buy those tickets. I am travelling at the same time and got roundtrip tickets for $806 per person from Atlanta, on Delta. I am leaving Atlanta on April 28th and returning on May 12th. They went to $1100 this morning. Lufthansa just went through the roof with their tickets as well. Air Canada is climbing as well. I suggest you start pricing every day and buy them the moment they get back under a grand each.
I will add that many people use the search sites for pricing, but I just go to each airline each day and check. It sounds like a lot of trouble, but it really isn't. Lufthansa would have been my choice, they are just to expensive right now.
Fares are highly volitile right now for May travel. For example I just checked farecast.com for dates in early May ATL-FRA, and I got this "weather forecast."
7-Day Low Fare Prediction
Tip: Wait Fare changes will be volatile in the next 7 days. Although a price increase is possible, you're likely to save significantly if you catch a fare drop. Note: Price drops are sporadic and 50% of them do not last longer than 48 hours. Consider your risk tolerance.
The confidence percentage is based on our track record for predictions in this and similar markets.
If We Are Right: Lowest fares will Stay within $15 | 19% confidence
Lowest fares will Drop $39 - $158 | 39% confidence
58% confidence prices are going down
If We Are Wrong:
Lowest fares will Rise $22 - $63 | 42% confidence
Having yapta.com and farecast.com send you an email the moment fares drop means that when the prices get changed in the middle of the night, you'll know.
And farecast.com found several flights in the $900 range for sale today, of course your dates may vary.
And in Atlanta, you have Clark Howard sending "Travel E-scapes" newsletters every Tuesday and Thursday on low fares just from ATL. You can subscribe at Clark Howard.com
I think if you keep checking like others have said, you will find some better deals. The best rates I have found personally when looking have been directly through Lufthansa. Also, I've read in different places that you should check airline rates on late Tuesday night or early on Wednesdays because the airlines put deals up then.
In September, bought five tickets to Munich for Dec 25 thru Jan 1, round trip, direct flight for $661, incl taxes and fees. Granted, that is winter time. Just sharing info.
Good luck and have a wonderful trip. I love Germany.
Not that many airlines fly into Luxembourg which is why you'd probably find better deals flying into Frankfurt or Cologne-Bonn (CGN), which is about equally as far from Trier than Frankfurt. But then again a nonstop flight from ATL to FRA is definitely the more convenient option...
We used to fly on Icelandair to Luxembourg. Maybe you could take a look at their fares.