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Best European Airfare


gatlinburg
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Currently we are looking to book our first European Cruise for March 2018-(any suggestions will be appreciated). We are limited to certain dates due to our children being out of school. Anyway, many of you are seasoned Cruisers so I am not embarrassed to ask where you usually find the best European Airfare? I always share helpful tips, and thought some of you might like to share yours. If anyone would like to point me in the direction of some of your recent European Cruise reviews, that would be appreciated as well. We do not have anything booked yet, so suggestions are welcome.

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Airfares will vary over time...and it is hard to tell when and if they might go up or down...So, find an airfare you are comfortable with and just book it and don't look back...

This year, we found airfares to Europe to be particularly low...

We were able to book our LAX to Rome round trip for our June/July cruise for only $745 per person on Air Berlin...with one stop each way (Dusseldorf on the way there, Rome on the way back)...

Try Kayak, maybe travelocity...

Be wary, though...Lots of cheaper fares may have multiple stops, incredibly long layovers or very inconvenient flight times...The more stops you make, the more chance of something going wrong. Nonstops are typically more expensive...and hard to get between some cities. And, also realize that when you make a stop coming back to the US, you often have to retrieve your luggage, go through customs and then check it back in...even sometimes in places you wouldn't expect. For example, flying home through Vancouver, BC, Canada, you actually go through US Customs in Vancouver.

 

And, yes there are some "bargain" airlines--like Norwegian or Air Berlin...Book them, like us, and you'll be holding your breath hoping they stay in business or, at least, keep operating your flight. Since we originally booked, Air Berlin was having financial problems and canceled our original flight home...and the only way to re-book us was to move us to the next day. Luckily, we didn't have to be home on our original date--but are now spending two nights at Rome Airport at the end of our trip. It may be the last time we go with Air Berlin...we've usually gone with British Airways, Lufthansa or AA--and they may be worth a few more $$...Of course, when we booked this one, they all wanted about double the airfare!

 

As to lost luggage, that could happen on any airline...Fly enough and it will happen to you...

 

Good luck...

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Watch out for the cheapest. They usually charge for luggage. Best thing is to do dummy views. Follow the price. When ready to book, know about what you want to pay. Look at all airports within a comfortable driving distance. For example, I will look at Miami, as well as Atlanta, which is both 5 hours from me, plus everything in between.

 

Right now, I'm looking for a trip under $700.00. But It's too far out yet. So when the time comes, I will use $700.00 as my base price. Never found anything cheaper than $650.00 so I know, that is what to expect. However, I found many over $1000.00. Knowing this info, I can better shop around.

 

Remember most flights are overnight. So plan accordingly for this.

 

Right now Continental seems to have the cheapest trend for me.

 

Also, watch out for connecting times. I would avoid choices less than 2 hours. But that would be my preference. Sometimes really good prices will also have a 10 hour layover. Any savings will be eaten up with food or lodging. So I would skip those.

 

So, just study the prices, be willing to drive a little, and enjoy!

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Do not fly Norwegian Airlines. It's been a week and I still don't have my luggage.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

This happens on all airlines.

 

Depending on where OP is flying from will determine the cheapest airfare. If you have access to the low cost carriers, you could save a ton. For us, we fly from Fort Lauderdale to Copenhagen (and sometimes Oslo) via Norwegian and it's cheaper than flying to Vegas. Direct flight. SAS usually has great pricing as well. Our family from Denmark comes to visit us all the time since Norwegian is so cheap and it's a direct flight. It's a blessing.

 

I would also think about comfort. Some low cost airlines can be brutal. I like Norwegian as they fly fairly comfortable brand new 787's with entertainment, etc. If you fly say, Condor, you can't even touch your toes as the seat in front of you is smacking you in the face on a 10 hour flight. Norwegians premium economy (better than domestic first class) is pretty reasonable. Lufthansa has a very good economy product as well with great food, entertainment, etc.

Edited by BNBR
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The process of buying airfare felt very random. We book cruise a year out. I guess I started checking airfare prices about 7 months out to get a idea and set a goal price in my head. Then I took a break because I wasn't ready to buy regardless of how many times I looked. I waited till four months out to make it a focus and as soon as I hit my goal price I bought it. One day it was $900+ two days later $600+ , so i quickly committed. I have not gone back to look to check if there was a better deal. .

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I find the best tool is google flights. They provide a calendar for as far out as seats can be purchased and you can scroll to see prices. Then if you click on one it lists all the airlines and their prices and schedules for that particular day. Google flights does not list southwest or all economy airlines but they do list some of them. http://www.googleflights.com then select " classic flights" . Put in a date and destination then click on the departure date you entered and a calendar should pop up that you can scroll.

Good luck. Buying airfare is an exhausting business.

 

 

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Just a suggestion - since you are flying international you might want to consider joining the airline's flyer reward program to get a reward that may get you a free flight in the future with their US partner.

 

Flying round trip to Europe will gain you some good miles for a future flight, especially if there are two people flying. You can book all flyers on your own account to get the most credit.

 

CT

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We used Air2Sea for our Med. cruise last year out of Barcelona. I watched it for several weeks/months and still found Air2Sea to be the best price and schedule. We were able to pick the flights that worked best for us (landed on Friday before the cruise on Sunday) and we had the reassurance that if there were issues with the flights, we were protected. We flew British Airways going and American coming back. I highly recommend Air2Sea!

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Bit out of the box perhaps and very much dependent on where you are travelling from and to, but you might want to consider TAP (Air Portugal) who have a very interesting stopover programme that lets you stay 1, 2 or 3 nights in Lisbon en route to your final destination (or on the way back home after your cruise). From Lisbon you would have onward connections to/from most of Europe's departure ports.

No extra cost for the stopover itself, although obviously you would need to factor in hotel accommodation. However, they do also offer special rates on hotels as well as a couple of perks like a free "experience" and a free bottle of wine at participating restaurants.

 

They are a Star Alliance member so if you collect air miles on another SA member you might be able to get miles on TAP too (not sure about that, since I'm not a frequent flyer. I'm sure someone else will correct me if I'm wrong - and I will not take offence if they do :)). I believe they also codeshare with JetBlue.

 

You can read about the programme here: https://portugalstopover.flytap.com/USA/enus/stopover

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Bit out of the box perhaps and very much dependent on where you are travelling from and to, but you might want to consider TAP (Air Portugal) who have a very interesting stopover programme that lets you stay 1, 2 or 3 nights in Lisbon en route to your final destination (or on the way back home after your cruise). From Lisbon you would have onward connections to/from most of Europe's departure ports.

No extra cost for the stopover itself, although obviously you would need to factor in hotel accommodation. However, they do also offer special rates on hotels as well as a couple of perks like a free "experience" and a free bottle of wine at participating restaurants.

 

They are a Star Alliance member so if you collect air miles on another SA member you might be able to get miles on TAP too (not sure about that, since I'm not a frequent flyer. I'm sure someone else will correct me if I'm wrong - and I will not take offence if they do :)). I believe they also codeshare with JetBlue.

 

You can read about the programme here: https://portugalstopover.flytap.com/USA/enus/stopover

 

I could imagine the boardroom meeting on this one... "Sir, our layovers in Lisbon have been really long and customers are not booking our flights" ... "Call it a stopover and tell the customer to get a hotel - 2 destinations for the price of 1, except not really since the customer is paying for the hotel anyways.... Genius" ... "Done, let's go to lunch".

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I read the Continental advice above too and went What? Throw that bit out.

 

I generally set a watch on Kayak for several different variations of what I am looking for, a day or two variation on each end, using different airports. Like someone else mentioned, I'll try Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Houston.

 

I'll also get creative. For an upcoming Baltic cruise, I bought 2 one way tickets in United's Business Class Baton Rouge to Copenhagen with miles, and then got a great rate on 2 one way tickets on SAS in Premium Economy from Air2Sea from Copenhagen into New Orleans.

 

I'll pretty much turn something around several different ways and look at it from a lot of angles.

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I've flown a lot and have had delayed luggage but NOT by more than a week! The system is all automated now and the number Norwegian gives you always goes straight to voicemail. No call back ever.

 

More about the airline:

The staff that checked us in also served as the gate agent. So staffing is very thin. On our first flight our gate was changed three times and flight delayed 45 minutes. Lucky we had lot is time between connections.

Our second flight was delayed by 40 minutes. The plane was sitting there but no pilots and attendants. Again staffing shortage. Finally they arrived we loaded the plane and taxi onto run way. We were sitting there for a while then pilot came on and said we have to return to gate due to mechinal problem. We continued to sit on run way for another 30 minutes or so. Finally made our way back to gate. Sat on the plane for 2 hours while they tried to fix the problem. Flight attendants were overwhelmed and simply could not respond to passengers needs. Things were eventually fixed and we took off hours late. I was offered food that wasn't edible. Landed back in the states to find my luggage missing. They ask I stay till the end to make sure (it was 1:30am and I had been up 26 hours). As I left the airport I noticed 25+ bags on the conveyor from our flight with not a soul around. No other flights coming in until morning. Looking back I'm pretty sure those were lost bags that they were shipping over.

 

Anyone still want to fly Norwegian Airline? I wish you the best of luck.

 

 

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I doubt any airline can beat what you get with Norwegian. Very low cost, new 787 dreamliners, its a growing stable financial business, and you are not more likely to lose your luggage then with any other airline.

 

Edit: if you search for it there is allways a "horror story" about every airline out there.

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I've flown a lot and have had delayed luggage but NOT by more than a week! The system is all automated now and the number Norwegian gives you always goes straight to voicemail. No call back ever.

 

More about the airline:

The staff that checked us in also served as the gate agent. So staffing is very thin. On our first flight our gate was changed three times and flight delayed 45 minutes. Lucky we had lot is time between connections.

Our second flight was delayed by 40 minutes. The plane was sitting there but no pilots and attendants. Again staffing shortage. Finally they arrived we loaded the plane and taxi onto run way. We were sitting there for a while then pilot came on and said we have to return to gate due to mechinal problem. We continued to sit on run way for another 30 minutes or so. Finally made our way back to gate. Sat on the plane for 2 hours while they tried to fix the problem. Flight attendants were overwhelmed and simply could not respond to passengers needs. Things were eventually fixed and we took off hours late. I was offered food that wasn't edible. Landed back in the states to find my luggage missing. They ask I stay till the end to make sure (it was 1:30am and I had been up 26 hours). As I left the airport I noticed 25+ bags on the conveyor from our flight with not a soul around. No other flights coming in until morning. Looking back I'm pretty sure those were lost bags that they were shipping over.

 

Anyone still want to fly Norwegian Airline? I wish you the best of luck.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Norwegian is rarely on-time. Heck, once they changed the plane to a leased carrier and my premium economy seat became regular economy and I didn't know until I got ON the plane.... They refunded me after the fact.

 

However, they are almost always "close enough". We use the FLL / CPH flight at least a dozen times per year between our family/extended Danish family. It's almost always simply uneventful. And the fact they fly brand new 787's with comfortable seats and entertainment is a big plus. We can see the flight path from the house and enjoy going out to watch the grand parents arriving on the Norwegian flight... it's usually VERY close to on-time arrival.

 

Personally, I just spend the money and fly business class with Lufthansa as I don't normally fly the same time as my family (they go 3 weeks and I'll usually come out the middle week). Even Lufthansa forgot my bag in Germany once... granted, I got it the next day. But hanging out in the baggage claim for 3 hours with 2 screaming children until someone could figure it out was fun... Economy is economy, and if I'm flying economy, I'd fly Norwegian any day and deal with it.

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