The 3 days last week simply wasn%26#39;t enough. I%26#39;d like to return to Paris next year %26amp; was wondering if anyone knew what time of year the airfare was the cheapest coming from NY?
%26amp; is there any time of year when I shouldn%26#39;t go?
Thanks
Tracee
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The circumstances this year are different from any previous years. Nobody knows what will happen with air fares.
There is no time of year when you should avoid Paris.
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Travelling from North America you will invariably find the lowest fares between early January and early to mid-March. I don%26#39;t think 2010 will be any different from previous years in that regard. You may find special deals on some airlines in the late September to mid-December period but those were scarce this year and you can never count on them. There were some extraordinary fare reductions in the late summer period this year on some routes especially out of NYC but the fares were still substantially higher than in the winter months, and I would not expect those this year.
Most airlines have cut their capacity as far as they dare on north Atlantic routes and fuel prices seem to be on the rise. That being the case bargains may be hard to come by in 2010. You could look at flying RT to Dublin and adding on an Aer Lingus RT flight to Paris, allowing plenty of time to make sure you do not miss connections. Other options would be to fly RT to either Frankfurt or Geneva and get to Paris by TGV. All those cities often have substantially lower RT fares from NY than Paris does. Doesn%26#39;t always, or even often, work though...
Personally I would avoid the summer months, but if it%26#39;s then or never go then.
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We asked the same question last year at this time, and many advised us that while early winter to March was the best time to grab good deals on flights, that 2009 would probably be different due to the economy. We chose to book in November for a June trip to Paris. In late February, the fares took a nosedive to almost half of what we had paid. Our airline (Continental) charged us $250 per ticket to give us the difference (so it cost 2 of us $500 to get $1000 back. ) This year we are going to take our chances and wait. There%26#39;s just no way of knowing...
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When it comes to air fares, there are no constants, only variables.
Last year, Aer Lingus had the lowest fares April-August from the northeast with connection in Dublin. Next lowest were Lufthansa, then Air France. In order to take advantage of %26quot;as low as%26quot; fares, you have to be flexible with your dates.
Sign up with all the airlines for fare alerts, and www.1800flyeurope.com is especially useful for flights from the northeast.
I keep a list of appealing apartments and also keep an eye on various hotel websites.
Sometimes, even if you can%26#39;t get the lowest fare you%26#39;d like, it can be offset with a really good hotel deal.
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I%26#39;m not familiar with 1-800flyeurope, but thanks for this wonderful lead. I just checked it out, and the flights that I need for next spring are almost $900 less this site than they are on major American carriers that I%26#39;ve been checking. They don%26#39;t tell you which airline- just %26quot;major european airline%26quot;. In your past experiences with them, what airlines have those been? Any way of finding out more details before booking? I%26#39;m very happy that you mentioned this site in your post. Thanks very much.
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If you were not familiar with 1-800flyeurope you have probably also never used mobissimo.com, kayak.com and Bing. I generally find mobissimo gives me the lowest fares, but not always. And I always check whichever is lowest against the airline%26#39;s own best online deals before booking. Sometimes it makes sense to book direct even if it costs a few $$ more if the airline has a generous low fare guarantee policy.
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Re: 1800flyeurope
If you do a search for the same dates on Kayak, etc., you can tell the airlines by the times. Or, just phone and they%26#39;ll tell you the airlines.
Here are a few tips: Be SURE to have your seats selected when you book your flights. Consider purchasing their trip insurance - it%26#39;s through Travel Insured International for Auto Europe - hence the low premium for the coverage. It%26#39;s better to book on the phone - they send you an e-mail with all details (and the travel insurance certificate for your review) and you have 24 hours to review (or do some last minute shopping). Once booked, be sure to note the airline%26#39;s booking confirmation number in your records.
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IrishRovr is correct - you will find airfares the least expensive for after the first of the year to about mid-March. Mid-November to mid-December is also a low season. Fewer people travel at these times because the weather is generally not ideal.
High season is June-Sept and the Christmas/New Year%26#39;s holidays. While it sometimes pays to book well in advance for high season, I would not do so six months in advance unless there is a specific seat you want on a plane. Because passenger loads are estimated, they cannot be predicted and sales/specials are usually promoted a couple months out.
What%26#39;s great about low season is there are fewer people standing in the stairwell at the Louvre taking pictures of the Winged Victory...!
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Thanks Guys!
I%26#39;m going to try to take everyone%26#39;s advice into account although I really wanted to go in the Spring.
Through friends I met someone who knows someone who rents an apt for 40 euros a day. Figured on renting for 2 wks because I%26#39;m not rushing through Paris next time around. 1 wk will be with friends, the other week I%26#39;ll go solo.
Since I%26#39;ll have accumulated some time for vacation at work maybe I%26#39;ll fly Dublin (have a friend there), spend a few days there then fly to Paris.
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Tracee -
I was involved in a thread on another forum a few hours ago helping someone figure out the least expensive way to get his family to Paris in July. RT airfares from NYC to CDG are currently showing around $1300. I found a RT from EWR to DUB on Continental for $885. There are very low fares available from DUB to CDG with Aer Lingus, and sometimes even lower fares with Ryanair (not my favourite budget airline). You should definitely look into that. You could even see what kind of fare you could get flying with Aer Lingus to CDG via DUB with a stop-over in Dublin. Might be as cheap as using separately ticketed flights and would remove the problem of possible missed connections.
Right now I%26#39;m seeing decent fares on most routes between the beginning of March and early May, and then they start to climb steeply.
Another option you might look at would be to fly from NYC to Geneva and then take the TGV to Paris, about a 3 hour trip. Fares on the NYC-GVA route are much lower, at least in summer, than fares to CDG. And the advance purchase PREMs fare on the TGV can be as low as €20 one way.
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