JonathanK

My lady friend and I are planning a trip in June (I know that's the busy season sadly) to London and Paris. I'm curious for all of you experts, is it cheaper to fly into and out of London, or London and Paris? For instance, we fly into Heathrow, then take the train to Paris. Then instead of flying back out of London, we fly home from Paris. Or is it cheaper (including the train tickets) to come back to London, and fly out? Obviously prices fluctuate. Kind of just looking for a general idea of what people think and suggest. Thanks! Cheers!

dutchgirlDH

Welcome to Flyertalk JonathanK. Google flights is your friend for these kinds of queries. Good luck.

VitaliU

This will vary by day/time but taking a train from London to Paris (and back if necessary) is much more pleasant than flying. Book your train ticket ASAP, since the earlier you book, the cheaper it will be

guv1976

If you were planning to use frequent-flyer miles for the trip, then generally you would be better off flying into LON, and out of PAR, because of the disparity in departure taxes and fees. But on a cash ticket, all bets are off, as base fares for flying into PAR and out of LON might be sufficiently low to offset the disparity in taxes. You just have to price each itinerary to see which comes out cheaper.

JonathanK

Thanks everyone. One final question. This is rather individual, but figured this is the best place to ask. So I'm looking at two airlines. Lufthansa and Air France. Air France will cost $215 more per person. Both planes will be A380's. Is it worth saving the money? I haven't flown either airline. I have relatives and they have, but I won't skew anyone's opinions with what they told me. I just wanted a larger sample size of opinions. But basically Air France will cost $215 more for myself, and then another $215 for my lady friend. Is it worth the extra to fly Air France over Lufthansa?

hipquest

I can't answer your question since I have never flown Air France but don't worry about skewing anyone's opinion on FT . I can say my husband and I have flown Lufthansa and we enjoyed it very much.

The train is a great idea (we did it from Amsterdam to London in October).

malmostoso

430$ will buy you a sumptuous dinner in Paris that you and your lady friend will enjoying immensely more than plane food.

Hezu

I can't say anything about the flight experience, but assuming you are heading to Paris and London, then LH flights will certainly require a plane change (in FRA or MUC I presume), while AF then can get you to/from Paris slightly faster since their main hub is CDG. So, one factor to consider is whether you want to pay some extra for slightly faster travel or save money and visit another European country - although if the stop is short and you spend it at the airport, you may barely notice any truly significant differences.

:D!

Are we talking about a cheapo ticket where your choice is between $500 and $715, or a premium cabin where your choice is between $3500 and $3715?

USA_flyer

$215 will go a long way on the ground, I would go with the cheaper flights and have more spending money. All airlines are pretty similar in economy in terms of food, drink and entertainment. The only caveat to that is, the US airlines have the most senior crews manning these flights so they can be a bit jaded and grumpy.

Eurostar is the way to go between London and Paris. It's more than 20 years since I last flew that route as the eurostar is so much more pleasant. The terminals at either end are also pretty decent.

In terms of price, do use the multi-city options on the usual online travel agencies. June isn't quite peak season for Europe so you might be able to bag yourself a bargain.

JonathanK

Thanks everyone for the added comments. To clarify, as someone asked. No, not premium cabin. If only I had that kind of expendable cash. This will actually be my first ever trip outside North America. My lady friend has been, but I have not. Basically we're talking $9XX for Air France (which is direct to Paris from LAX) vs Lufthansa, which also as mentioned, stops in Munich, then we have to switch planes. Lufthansa is $7XX. What complicates things is that for our trip, London is the final portion of our trip. We have tickets for Harry Potter and Spice Girls, so we wanted to finish our 10 day trip in London. With Lufthansa, wed fly into London, but would not stay. We'd immediately take Eurostar to Paris, or we take Thalys up to Amsterdam. The entire trip is Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris, and finally London. Preferably we would have loved it to work out that way. But based on fares and flights, it seemed Lufthansa into LH or Air France into Paris was easiest and or cheapest in Lufthansa's case. I have miniature bucket list items. One of them was to go to Paris on Air France, and then when the A380s came out, that was the next dream. Flying Air France in an A380. But it's not important enough in my mind if it costs an arm and a leg to do so. I've posted our itinerary, if someone else has any advice or suggestions, please feel free. Dates-wise, just in case it matters is early June. Departing Europe back for LAX June 14 most likely)

I came here cause I've always had friends tell me you guys are the best, so far, I absolutely agree. You guys are not only the best, but truly knowledgeable. I've personally done all the googling and research, but wanted true first-hand info from FlyerTalk before I made what I hope is an educated decision. My lady friend says she trusts whatever I decide. This isn't where I am paying for the whole thing. She's paying for her half, so I definitely want to make sure money isn't thrown away for no reason.

krispy84

Hornetcoach

Your plan to fly LAX-MUC, connect MUC-LHR then immediately get a train to Amsterdam or Paris is brutal. It would be worth a lot of money to me to avoid that. Take the direct flight to Paris. Be aware that jetlag the day you arrive is a big problem. You either need to get to a hotel quickly and sleep till noon, or try to fight your way through the entire day till 10pm then sleep. When I was younger I used to fight my way through but as a wiser, albeit older man, now I try to arrive as early as possible and get at least a couple of hours sleep. It costs more because you have an extra hotel night to pay for but it is worth it. There are several cheap hotel options in and around CDG.

USA_flyer

I think this is generally good advice however, the OP can save a couple of hundred bucks by going via Munich. I personally think that's worth keeping hold of. $215 bucks will likely cover a days worth of food and activity.

guv1976

But the OP plans to go immediately from LHR to PAR. How much of that $215 will be eaten up by getting from LHR to PAR -- whether by a flight from LHR, or by Eurostar train (including the cost of getting from LHR to the London Eurostar terminal)?