Please help me find LAX to Paris
Oct 29, 2014, 5:49 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 15
Please help me find LAX to Paris
Essentially, my girlfriend and I have planned a trip to Europe next summer where we will be traveling through multiple countries. We'd like to arrive in Paris first, but I wouldn't mind connector flights (or whatever it's called) as long as I can find a cheap European domestic flight through RyanAir to Paris where we would start our journey.
There's a deal going on with WOW airlines where I could fly from Boston to Iceland for $400 each roundtrip for my girlfriend and I. Which is amazing; however, flights from LAX to Boston during that time period are $370 roundtrip each (cheapest I could find). Then, I would have to find a roundtrip flight from Croatia (last destination) to Iceland and the total comes out to a little more than $1150 per person which is more than the direct flights that I found.
We are flexible in our travel times (anything after May 26th up to June 1st).
Our return time would have to be the second week of August (preferably between August 10-14th)
The cheapest direct flight I found from LAX to Paris is $1004 roundtrip per person. Is this a lot considering it's end of May/beginning of June or is it expected. If so, I might as well book it now if the prices won't fluctuate.
So far, I've checked practically every airline site from Sky Scanner to Iceland Air to WOW airline, to Norweigan to Air Berlin, Lufthansa, Kayak, and matrix ITA software.
And intraeuropean flights I checked using ryanair and easyjet.
So, how are people finding such crazy good prices?!
Thx
There's a deal going on with WOW airlines where I could fly from Boston to Iceland for $400 each roundtrip for my girlfriend and I. Which is amazing; however, flights from LAX to Boston during that time period are $370 roundtrip each (cheapest I could find). Then, I would have to find a roundtrip flight from Croatia (last destination) to Iceland and the total comes out to a little more than $1150 per person which is more than the direct flights that I found.
We are flexible in our travel times (anything after May 26th up to June 1st).
Our return time would have to be the second week of August (preferably between August 10-14th)
The cheapest direct flight I found from LAX to Paris is $1004 roundtrip per person. Is this a lot considering it's end of May/beginning of June or is it expected. If so, I might as well book it now if the prices won't fluctuate.
So far, I've checked practically every airline site from Sky Scanner to Iceland Air to WOW airline, to Norweigan to Air Berlin, Lufthansa, Kayak, and matrix ITA software.
And intraeuropean flights I checked using ryanair and easyjet.
So, how are people finding such crazy good prices?!
Thx
Oct 29, 2014, 8:29 pm
#3
Join Date: Feb 1999
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Keep in mind that you're planning to travel to Europe during the peak summer travel season, which in the U.S. runs roughly from the Memorial Day holiday until the Labor Day holiday, when most kids are out of school and is the one time of the year that many families can schedule a European vacation.
I think that $1K is a decent price for peak summer travel. If/when it goes lower than that for your dates, it probably won't be by much, but as summer approaches, it will get much higher than that! On the other hand, it's probably not necessary to buy this early to get that price, and airline change fees can be considerable ($300+), so it might pay to wait until early next year to firm up your plans.
I think that $1K is a decent price for peak summer travel. If/when it goes lower than that for your dates, it probably won't be by much, but as summer approaches, it will get much higher than that! On the other hand, it's probably not necessary to buy this early to get that price, and airline change fees can be considerable ($300+), so it might pay to wait until early next year to firm up your plans.
Oct 29, 2014, 9:09 pm
#4
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Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry: BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.1030 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/417)
Other options for the OP are checking Hotwire's "opaque" fares, and submitting a bid via Priceline's "name your own price" option. However, both of these options require the traveler to arrive at and return from the same European city.
Other options for the OP are checking Hotwire's "opaque" fares, and submitting a bid via Priceline's "name your own price" option. However, both of these options require the traveler to arrive at and return from the same European city.
Oct 29, 2014, 10:28 pm
#5
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 15
Keep in mind that you're planning to travel to Europe during the peak summer travel season, which in the U.S. runs roughly from the Memorial Day holiday until the Labor Day holiday, when most kids are out of school and is the one time of the year that many families can schedule a European vacation.
I think that $1K is a decent price for peak summer travel. If/when it goes lower than that for your dates, it probably won't be by much, but as summer approaches, it will get much higher than that! On the other hand, it's probably not necessary to buy this early to get that price, and airline change fees can be considerable ($300+), so it might pay to wait until early next year to firm up your plans.
I think that $1K is a decent price for peak summer travel. If/when it goes lower than that for your dates, it probably won't be by much, but as summer approaches, it will get much higher than that! On the other hand, it's probably not necessary to buy this early to get that price, and airline change fees can be considerable ($300+), so it might pay to wait until early next year to firm up your plans.
Oct 29, 2014, 10:34 pm
#6
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Oct 30, 2014, 1:05 am
#7
Join Date: May 2004
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Airline Change Fees isn't a discount...
Airline change fees is the fee you have to pay up to the airline whenever you change your itinerary (aka ticket) on top of the already-paid fare, if it's a changeable ticket. It's NOT the discount you'll get buying a tix, so you can't get a cheaper ticket from $1004 to $704.
Oct 30, 2014, 1:50 pm
#8
Join Date: Feb 1999
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On the other hand, if you are 100% certain of your plans, $1000 for peak summer travel is a very reasonable price.
Oct 30, 2014, 3:42 pm
#9
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Sacramento, CA, US
Posts: 2,229
It may be appropriate to pay for your airfare this time, but in the future you might consider planning ahead in order to fly free, or nearly free.
My wife and I just booked a roundtrip from the West Coast to Europe going to Dublin, and leaving from Rome, in September 2015. We are paying about $347 for both of us roundtrip, or $174 per person, using airline miles typically acquired through credit card bonuses and spending. I purposefully chose to spend a bit more rather than spend the bare minimum, in order to improve the flights we can use.
Right now, we have already accumulated the miles we expect we will need for our subsequent trip to Europe, in 2016, and thus can keep working on our 2017 European trip.
As you can see, it is our expectation to visit Europe or another distant destination at least once annually...without buying an airline ticket.
I might add that the same applies to domestic air flights. We are almost at the point where we almost never buy an airfare ticket. We are also using hotel points creatively where we can.
Another word of advice: Paris is a very popular tourist destination. Sometimes it makes sense to fly to London, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, or Brussels, and then rely on a train connection to get to Paris. Award tickets to Paris seem much more difficult to obtain than adjacent European cities. If you're paying for a ticket, check out carriers like Air Berlin which serves LAX. They may not go directly to Paris, but they get close enough.
My wife and I just booked a roundtrip from the West Coast to Europe going to Dublin, and leaving from Rome, in September 2015. We are paying about $347 for both of us roundtrip, or $174 per person, using airline miles typically acquired through credit card bonuses and spending. I purposefully chose to spend a bit more rather than spend the bare minimum, in order to improve the flights we can use.
Right now, we have already accumulated the miles we expect we will need for our subsequent trip to Europe, in 2016, and thus can keep working on our 2017 European trip.
As you can see, it is our expectation to visit Europe or another distant destination at least once annually...without buying an airline ticket.
I might add that the same applies to domestic air flights. We are almost at the point where we almost never buy an airfare ticket. We are also using hotel points creatively where we can.
Another word of advice: Paris is a very popular tourist destination. Sometimes it makes sense to fly to London, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, or Brussels, and then rely on a train connection to get to Paris. Award tickets to Paris seem much more difficult to obtain than adjacent European cities. If you're paying for a ticket, check out carriers like Air Berlin which serves LAX. They may not go directly to Paris, but they get close enough.
Last edited by Reindeerflame; Oct 30, 2014 at 3:48 pm
Oct 30, 2014, 4:36 pm
#10
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 15
Well, I officially booked.
I found a great deal from SF (which is closer) to Sweden using Norwegian airlines and then from Sweden to France to begin our backpacking trip. At this point, we'd end our journey in August and travel really cheaply from Croatia to Denmark and from Denmark to Florida.
Total travel time to Paris: 14 hours after a 1 day layover in Sweden which is nice.
Total travel time from Croatia to Denmark is 2 hours and then we'd stay the night in Copenhagen and from there to Florida is a 10 hour flight. We'll stay 2 nights exploring Miami and Ft. Lauderdale and now I just have to find a flight from Fort. Lauderdale to Los Angeles but I think it's better to wait to book that flight.
So far, all in all, my total accumulates to $1,350 for flying to Europe and back.
We'll also be getting back $500 each from Barclay Elite Mastercard Arrival Plus edition for spending a certain amount of money on our travel. So, basically, we're looking at a fairly cheap flight
Technically I could purchase a flight right now from Florida to LAX for about $350 one way for two people. However, that seems a little unreasonable to me. Let me know if I am wrong though.
How do you guys recommend booking Florida to LAX. I plan on waiting to buy a domestic flight because they are generally cheapest 6-8 weeks before departure. So, when that time comes, how do you guys find such good domestic USA flights? I know a lot of you get certain airline points accumulated and basically splurge on a really expensive trip but this is our first trip so that's not really possible at the moment until we are seasoned travelers.
Thanks a lot guys. I definitely put in the extra work because you guys let me know that there's better deals out there
I found a great deal from SF (which is closer) to Sweden using Norwegian airlines and then from Sweden to France to begin our backpacking trip. At this point, we'd end our journey in August and travel really cheaply from Croatia to Denmark and from Denmark to Florida.
Total travel time to Paris: 14 hours after a 1 day layover in Sweden which is nice.
Total travel time from Croatia to Denmark is 2 hours and then we'd stay the night in Copenhagen and from there to Florida is a 10 hour flight. We'll stay 2 nights exploring Miami and Ft. Lauderdale and now I just have to find a flight from Fort. Lauderdale to Los Angeles but I think it's better to wait to book that flight.
So far, all in all, my total accumulates to $1,350 for flying to Europe and back.
We'll also be getting back $500 each from Barclay Elite Mastercard Arrival Plus edition for spending a certain amount of money on our travel. So, basically, we're looking at a fairly cheap flight
Technically I could purchase a flight right now from Florida to LAX for about $350 one way for two people. However, that seems a little unreasonable to me. Let me know if I am wrong though.
How do you guys recommend booking Florida to LAX. I plan on waiting to buy a domestic flight because they are generally cheapest 6-8 weeks before departure. So, when that time comes, how do you guys find such good domestic USA flights? I know a lot of you get certain airline points accumulated and basically splurge on a really expensive trip but this is our first trip so that's not really possible at the moment until we are seasoned travelers.
Thanks a lot guys. I definitely put in the extra work because you guys let me know that there's better deals out there
Oct 30, 2014, 4:39 pm
#11
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 15
It may be appropriate to pay for your airfare this time, but in the future you might consider planning ahead in order to fly free, or nearly free.
My wife and I just booked a roundtrip from the West Coast to Europe going to Dublin, and leaving from Rome, in September 2015. We are paying about $347 for both of us roundtrip, or $174 per person, using airline miles typically acquired through credit card bonuses and spending. I purposefully chose to spend a bit more rather than spend the bare minimum, in order to improve the flights we can use.
Right now, we have already accumulated the miles we expect we will need for our subsequent trip to Europe, in 2016, and thus can keep working on our 2017 European trip.
As you can see, it is our expectation to visit Europe or another distant destination at least once annually...without buying an airline ticket.
I might add that the same applies to domestic air flights. We are almost at the point where we almost never buy an airfare ticket. We are also using hotel points creatively where we can.
Another word of advice: Paris is a very popular tourist destination. Sometimes it makes sense to fly to London, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, or Brussels, and then rely on a train connection to get to Paris. Award tickets to Paris seem much more difficult to obtain than adjacent European cities. If you're paying for a ticket, check out carriers like Air Berlin which serves LAX. They may not go directly to Paris, but they get close enough.
My wife and I just booked a roundtrip from the West Coast to Europe going to Dublin, and leaving from Rome, in September 2015. We are paying about $347 for both of us roundtrip, or $174 per person, using airline miles typically acquired through credit card bonuses and spending. I purposefully chose to spend a bit more rather than spend the bare minimum, in order to improve the flights we can use.
Right now, we have already accumulated the miles we expect we will need for our subsequent trip to Europe, in 2016, and thus can keep working on our 2017 European trip.
As you can see, it is our expectation to visit Europe or another distant destination at least once annually...without buying an airline ticket.
I might add that the same applies to domestic air flights. We are almost at the point where we almost never buy an airfare ticket. We are also using hotel points creatively where we can.
Another word of advice: Paris is a very popular tourist destination. Sometimes it makes sense to fly to London, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, or Brussels, and then rely on a train connection to get to Paris. Award tickets to Paris seem much more difficult to obtain than adjacent European cities. If you're paying for a ticket, check out carriers like Air Berlin which serves LAX. They may not go directly to Paris, but they get close enough.
Oct 30, 2014, 8:43 pm
#12
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Or the current $100 DFW-PHX which I don't need, as I've been to Phoenix twice this year already 
TheFlightDeal.com is also very good, and set up price alerts with several OTAs like Orbitz and Travelocity. Some deals may not apply to dates that far out, but at least you'll keep up with fares.
But unless you use something like airBnB, you may be in for a shock if you're staying overnight in Scandinavia
Oct 31, 2014, 2:47 am
#13
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 15
Be sure to check Mileage Runs forum here on FT. Lots of deals get posted, like my $167 DFW-LAX tomorrow Or the current $100 DFW-PHX which I don't need, as I've been to Phoenix twice this year already
TheFlightDeal.com is also very good, and set up price alerts with several OTAs like Orbitz and Travelocity. Some deals may not apply to dates that far out, but at least you'll keep up with fares.
But unless you use something like airBnB, you may be in for a shock if you're staying overnight in Scandinavia
Or the current $100 DFW-PHX which I don't need, as I've been to Phoenix twice this year already TheFlightDeal.com is also very good, and set up price alerts with several OTAs like Orbitz and Travelocity. Some deals may not apply to dates that far out, but at least you'll keep up with fares.
But unless you use something like airBnB, you may be in for a shock if you're staying overnight in Scandinavia
I'll definitely check that out, thank you.
I just realized how expensive it is haha
Thankfully, I have a friend that lives there that's trying to hook me up with an accommodation.
Even airBnB is lingering in the $100 range per night and the transportation mechanisms within the country are expensive as well. But it's an experience I hopefully won't regret as there's a lot of rich history and culture on those Scandinavian countries
Oct 31, 2014, 10:52 am
#14
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Sacramento, CA, US
Posts: 2,229
You will find that Flyertalk is an excellent resource, with experts on just about any travel topic. Following a few threads here and there will provide a great education. It helps to have some income that will allow for credit card applications to be approved. It's a misnomer that one needs to fly frequently for business to be a "frequent flyer"; there is a myriad of other ways to accumulate miles, whether through credit card application bonuses, credit card spending, filing out surveys, dining at certain establishments, purchasing merchandise from commonly-known vendors through various airline portals, and buying flowers.
Happy travels!
Oct 31, 2014, 10:58 am
#15
Join Date: Mar 2000
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