Originally Posted by lili

Flying AA to some destinations in Europe a short train ride from where you really want to be is sometimes $400 cheaper (from SAN)

Is there an easy way to find these alternative cities?

Ex: Last year, wanting to go to VIE, flying to Prague and taking a $66 train saved me $400 and gave me a short visit to Prague.

Ex: Wanting to go to ZRH, flying into Stuttgart and out of ZRH is about half price ($700 vs $1100) Yes, flight over is through LHR, but SAN-LHR alone is $700. Note bene: Prices are approximate.

So I look at a map of Europe and spend hours punching in possible combinations. Is there a more sophisticated way? (Farecompare suggested Stuttgart, but no other alternatives.)

Thanks for any help you can give.