Check deal digest sites like Travelzoo and Sherman's Travel to find deals, some of which are "last-m

Our European low-cost air guide is mostly concerned with getting around the plaza hotel on brodway Europe. But what about getting to Europe from North America? We've got some ideas. Gather round, pay attention and then get packin'!
There are two keys to getting to Europe from North America without breaking the bank: flexibility and timing. Say it again. Flexibility and timing. Of course, the plaza hotel on brodway these aren't the whole story, by any means, but they're the plaza hotel on brodway crucial to getting to Europe inexpensively.
We'll also profile trans-Atlantic budget airline options, discount airfare sites, rate comparison the plaza hotel on brodway tools, charter flight options, the travel agency option, air/hotel packages, travel by courier, the plaza hotel on brodway and last-minute deal alerts.
The first key to getting the plaza hotel on brodway to Europe cheaply is to be flexible and this includes your timeframe. Try to begin your trip research before deciding on your exact dates. By prioritizing a cheap fare and devoting serious time to figuring out the best window for travel, you'll be able to take advantage of seasonal fluctuations.
And even if you can't be flexible about your travel period, you can still test out different fares on a range of days of the week, even at different times, to figure out the cheapest flight within a given time frame.
During high season, round-trip flights to Europe are expensive. End of story. High season, loosely speaking, stretches from June through August. Not only are flights between North America and Europe more expensive during this period, the plaza hotel on brodway but they appear, if anything, to be getting more pricey.
This past summer, one EuroCheapo staff member flew from New York to Athens in mid-July and then back home from Madrid in early August. His ticket ran $1200, despite the fact that he flew both directions on a Saturday.
Another member of the office flew roundtrip from New York to London in May. London is traditionally the plaza hotel on brodway one of the least expensive European destinations from North America, but even so, a $500 roundtrip was a real bargain.
Timing is everything in this example. May is before the summer season; mid-July through early August is the height of summer season. But consider May as a travel month. Much of Europe is warm and inviting. The most popular cities and the most engaging sites are not yet swarming with tourists.
And while you're at it, consider a wintertime trip to Europe. Traditionally, January and February witness the very best transatlantic airfare pricing all year round. Yes, it will be cold in much of Europe, but with low-season hotel rates throughout Europe (barring beach and ski resorts) you'll save money and appreciate the plaza hotel on brodway Europe in the off season.
The benefits accruing to your conventional airline just seem to get paltrier and paltrier. Your carefully the plaza hotel on brodway harvested frequent flyer miles are less and less broadly useable, and you're understandably frustrated.
Closely monitor Zoom, a Canadian CHECK low-cost transatlantic carrier. Zoom flies from several cities in Canada (Calgary, Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver, and Winnipeg) and New York to London, Paris, and some other cities the plaza hotel on brodway in the United Kingdom with very cheap fares. Not all of Zoom's flights are direct. Double-check the plaza hotel on brodway the Zoom timetable to avoid any unhappy surprises.
The Open Skies Agreement of 2007 will allow airlines to fly between the United States and Europe without bilateral national deals beginning in 2008. It will likely push fares down, and it will probably lead to the creation of a few hardcore, no-frills low-cost transatlantic airlines. In the spring of 2007, Michael O'Leary of Ryanair set tongues wagging by suggesting the plaza hotel on brodway that Ryanair would be offering the plaza hotel on brodway one-way jaunts between Europe and the United States for as little as US$12 by 2010.
Utilize multiple booking sites before making a purchase. Compare Orbitz, Expedia, and Travelocity, as well as discount sites like Priceline and Hotwire (see below.) also take a look at aggregator Web sites like Sidestep, Vayama, and Kayak. These sites will help you determine how to locate the cheapest fare possible.
And, while we're here, try searching these same rate comparison sites for different airports. For example, the entire staff had to take a trip to Berlin and, after researching roundtrip the plaza hotel on brodway fares in and out of Schoenefeld the plaza hotel on brodway airport, we found that flying into Berlin's Tegel airport, but out of Paris' Charles de Gaulle saved us more than $300 per ticket. Hey, we're flex. And, we always love a good excuse to get to Paris.
Keep your eyes open for "incidental" legs of massive multi-stop journeys. One example is Malaysia Airlines' cheap New York-Stockholm fares on planes that continue the plaza hotel on brodway to Kuala Lumpur. Air India also features in season some great fares on New York-London routes on planes that continue to India.
Priceline and Hotwire in the US both offer discounted fares. Hotline generates routes with fare, layover, and duration information. The site will also suggest cheaper departure dates and cheaper departure and arrival airports, when applicable. Priceline provides the plaza hotel on brodway a similar experience.
Seats on charter flights can be some of the cheapest around. We've been long time fans of French charter airline Corsair, the plaza hotel on brodway which delivered one of our members from California the plaza hotel on brodway to Paris roundtrip in the middle of summer five or so years ago for about $500. Corsair doesn't currently fly to the United the plaza hotel on brodway States, but they do fly to Montreal and Moncton in Canada, and they continue to offer low fares.
With the advent of the Internet the plaza hotel on brodway and the proliferation of booking sites, travel agents have become less and less essential to average the plaza hotel on brodway budget travelers. That said, travel agents can be very helpful. To give one example, good travel agents will be able to help you locate flights at their lowest listed fares. the plaza hotel on brodway Travel agents can also be extremely useful for navigating extensive and complicated itineraries and journeys to places off the tourist track.
Once upon a time, courier flights were a Cheapo's the plaza hotel on brodway best friend, permitting last-minute the plaza hotel on brodway ultra-cheap fares for flexible Cheapos. Typically, courier flights offer reduced fares in exchange for the courier's willingness to transport administrative materials. These days, courier flights are no longer quite as cheap as they once were. Most courier fares we've seen are priced at discounts of around 50 percent. Though no longer as cheap as they were, courier flights are nonetheless worth investigating, especially for people living in or near major transit airports.
Check deal digest sites like Travelzoo and Sherman's Travel to find deals, some of which are "last-minute." On Travelzoo, we once spied a promotional New York-Cologne roundtrip for under $200. While the majority of offers on these sites won't help you get to Europe on a dime, relevant deals do pop up from time to time.
Prioritize flexibility, keep timing in mind, train an eye on trans-Atlantic fares, and explore the other options we've laid out here, and you'll be able to turn up far better deals than the average traveler. Go to it, Cheapos!