International airfares outrageous now

[Drake3287]

Just looking to purchasing our SFO to Munich and return out of Zurich flights for May/June and the prices are crazy. Literally $2,000 for flights that are typically well under $1,400 for coach.

We go to Europe every year and I've never seen this. I can only guess what middle of summer fares will be like. I can afford these tickets but it's more the point. I hate the thought of having to spend that much money on something that should be hundreds of dollars less. Guess I'll wait it out for awhile and see what they do, hard to believe they could go up any more then they already are.

 

[tmm99]

Just checked a flight from Toronto to Tokyo in May. The price has come down by around $500CAD compared to last month when I checked.

 

[2017ish]

We generally will have a couple or more tentative destinations, then choose the one with better airfare if there is a substantial difference. Next month, we are going to NZ for two months--but airfare was much better to Fiji, so we are diving before and after the NZ trip and taking advantage of cheap/short coach flights to NZ from Fiji. Saved a good amount on business class fares.

 

[DrRoy]

All I can say is that demand has recovered from Covid.

 

[Aerides]

If you shop around it's easy to find deals. Just saw a few deals yesterday about $500 EU roundtrip.

All about when you want to go. Try flying midweek instead of around the weekends.

 

[Gumby]

If I could afford it and I wanted to go to Europe, I would just buy the tickets and go, rather than declining just because I think the price should be less. I'm not getting any younger.

 

[athena53]

It varies. When I was planning last year for my trip this May, I was looking at European airfares and they were crazy-high. I fly Business Class and, like you, I could afford them but they were just exorbitant. I'm going to Central America instead! For my October trip to the Baltic countries in October I used miles plus a $338 copayment in and out of London. Flights from there to the continent are still very reasonable.

I wonder if business air travel is picking up.

 

[Surewhitey]

We typically use miles & they're steady on 60k r/t to common destinations. Our most affordable is Madrid on a dollar basis @~$550 r/t, non stop.

We get over there and then go eco-mode on locals, Ryan or cheap flights. This year is probably going to be Prague, Austria and Croatia... Maybe flying into Frankfurt (another nonstop destination).

Not sure of specific dates, probably in May, so our mileage may vary.

 

[sengsational]

I found that when the air was $9K and the cruise was $2.4K I just closed the browser.

 

[brett]

It is the same for flights to SE Asia. Prices are up 50-60 percent for flights in Jan-March.

I suspect that it is a combination of fewer flights/fewer seats and more demand.

Our flights to/from Portugal last May/June were comparable to prior years.

We tend to fly into one hub and home from another. We take advantage of the low cost European carriers. We do the same in SE Asia.

 

[Alan]

I found that when the air was $9K and the cruise was $2.4K I just closed the browser.

That is how we ended up on our first cruise. We had a long trip planned to Europe in the Spring of 2013 and I had been having a lot of lower back issues so I told my wife that we should pay for business class. A few days later she came back to me and said we could sail from NYC to Southampton on the Queen Elizabeth for $500 each, returning in November from Southampton on the Queen Mary for $1,100.

 

[cathy63]

I found that when the air was $9K and the cruise was $2.4K I just closed the browser.

When that happened to me, I used the cruise line's air fare deal. It's $900/person doing it that way, but the same routing would be over $4k/person if I booked it.

 

[sengsational]

^ That was my experience one time...somehow they were getting a much better deal than I could get on my own. I booked it through them.


Recently poking around for something "down under", I tried the same thing with the cruise site (Celebrity), and they offered no price advantage. Sometimes they have special offers, though, so I'll keep an eye out.

 

[OldConch]

We try to book 330+ days out, use points and miles when possible, and are destination flexible. Works for us. We're down under now and have 3 Europe trips, Mexico, and Egypt & Jordan scheduled for 2024. Hunting for a Jan Feb 2025 trip now.

 

[GhostofTomJoad]

21 Jan '24, checking fares to go back East. Late May into early June. HNL-BDL R/T.
$1,047 includes the junk booking fee at Travelocity. It's 5,000 miles each way. It's do-able, but still seems high. I use a private browser. Everyone should, or their cookie will tell them that you've been here before, and so the price rises every time you go back to look.

Macbook Air. BRAVE Private browser.

 

[ivinsfan]

So OP that's is about a 6K trip one way with an open jaw return. Now I'll wager a good part of that fare is actually taxes and mandatory adds on from several countries.



How much money do you think the actual airline should get for hauling you over 12K miles..

 

[Sojourner]

Just looking to purchasing our SFO to Munich and return out of Zurich flights for May/June and the prices are crazy. Literally $2,000 for flights that are typically well under $1,400 for coach.

We go to Europe every year and I've never seen this. I can only guess what middle of summer fares will be like.

DW and I have decided to only fly premium economy or better internationally from now on, and from what I can tell, $2,000-$3,000 is the new normal for those kinds of roundtrip fares to major European cities. Considering that, I would balk at a $2,000 coach fare knowing what I could get for just slightly more. However, it's also true that (most) airfares are significantly higher than they were pre-pandemic. These days, more than ever, it pays to be flexible and to use tools like Google Flights to find lower fares to various places by adjusting dates, number of stops, and other parameters.

I hate the thought of having to spend that much money on something that should be hundreds of dollars less.

I agree with you, but inflation and supply/demand are real things we all have to live with. If the airlines can charge $2,000 for coach tickets on certain routes while still filling up their planes, of course they are going to do it. Apparently, there is still a LOT of pent up travel demand from the "lost" pandemic years.

 

[Drake3287]

Well, after coming up with that $2k airfare for our Europe trip I rechecked again two days later and sure enough I was able to get United tickets for $1,200 each. Not a super great deal but I jumped on it just to play it safe. I guess none of us will ever figure out these airfares!

 

[audreyh1]

International airfare for $1200 is a great deal. It was even a good deal for summer flights 8 years ago.

 

[dianinco]

My daughter sets up alerts and gets notified of cheap airfares. They just booked Paris for spring break for their family for $550 each on British Air. You pretty much have to jump on them when you see them.

 

[marko]

If I could afford it and I wanted to go to Europe, I would just buy the tickets and go, rather than declining just because I think the price should be less. I'm not getting any younger.

+1 BTD! (and it's not likely to get any cheaper)

 

[1242Vintage]

Dear wife has ninja-like skills for finding discounts on airfare.

What we typically do is make cancellable hotel or VRBO reservations far in advance and then wife sets up notifications on flights looking for discounts. Usually at some point a discount on air pops up, she jumps on it and away we go. If not we simply cancel the hotel.

Headed down to Cancun next week to a nice four star All-inclusive beach resort @ $350 per nite and air @ $375 R/T from the west coast. Normal air cost is in the $500-$600 R/T with a major airline and current resort costs are running in the $500/nite range.

 

[Popsicletoes]

I usually shop for my one 'must go' long-haul ticket on Black Friday / Cyber Monday weekend for a trip the following year. Last Nov, I snagged a Singapore Airlines business class ticket from LA to Singapore (direct) for $3700 (incl. taxes, etc) for Aug 2024 trip. That's a great deal on one of the best airlines in the world. Everything else (usually domestic), I book maybe 1-2 months in advance.

Before that, I got a Virgin Atlantic business class ticket to London (direct) for $2100 - also booked during Black Friday weekend.

I think airfare is about the only deal worth hunting for on Black Friday nowadays.

 

[dave65]

I see flights for $818 on some dates May-June including 2 checked bags.

 

[tenant13]

I use points and miles and tend to be very flexible with when and where I go so I'm generally ok but finding a great deal is certainly not as easy as it used to be. Having said that I kind of enjoy booking routes that I wouldn't otherwise.

Last year, instead of flying directly to Germany as I intended, I booked a one way flight to Azores, followed it with another one to Gran Canaria and finally flew to Hamburg. I spent a few days at each stopover and made sightseeing/beach trip out of it.