iahphx

I've been amazed at how many transatlantic airfare deals I'm seeing to Spain. Sub $300 airfares are now nothing unusual, especially from the East Coast of the USA. Both Madrid and Barcelona routinely have these sales, and today, you can also go the Canaries, Mallorca and Ibiza for that price (just not in peak summer). Why so cheap suddenly? Too much competition?

lhrsfo

First of all, transatlantic fares are very cheap this year anyway. I am taking the family to the West Coast this summer, Saturday to Saturday in August and the fares are the cheapest, by a long way, that they have been in ten years of doing this.

The specific answer to the question is LEVEL. The more general answer is Norwegian.

Palal

Both LEVEL and Norwegian have flooded the market with capacity and cheap fares. Enjoy while it lasts

iahphx

But is that just Spain? I know the departure taxes from Spain are lower than many other European countries, but there's nowhere else that you can consistently get sub-$300 fares.

BTW, expenses on the ground aren't that high either. Like I've booked tickets to BCN for a visit to Catalonia and the south of France. A week's automatic transmission car rental is under $150 if you shop around on skyscanner. Hotel expenses, particularly at highly-rated b&b's and gites, are less than half the price of comparable USA accommodations.

Palal

ARN has also been consistently cheap due to DY, and LON tickets aren't bad either if you book far enough in advance. OTOH LON has always had relatively inexpensive options due to all the high-paying J pax, cross-subsidizing cheaper TATL Y fares.

Spain, however, is a different market, and TATL LCCs have made a big dent in the fares by adding capacity, forcing traditional airlines to match. Also, you have to remember that if nonstops are cheap, one-stops, less attractive than non-stops, will also be cheap. You have plenty of traditional and LCC options for 1-stop flights, and some (e.g. TP) provide consistently cheap 1-stop fares to/from MAD, forcing IB/UX to match.

BTW. BCN/MAD/LIS-SFO/OAK is of specific personal interest and BCN-SFO/OAK has been consistently cheaper than MAD-SFO (IB) due to DY on the route. Now, with LIS-SFO, we'll see how this dynamic will change, as TP tends to compete on flights ex-MAD quite well.

iahphx

Mid to late August MAD fares were below $250 this weekend from the East Coast. Crazy.

returnoftheyeti

iahphx

These crazy low cost transatlantic fares to Spain are continuing. And seem to be spreading to France and other Western European cities. Spain still tends to be the cheapest. Not a week goes by without a sub $300 airfare to Spain.

realworld

Seems like you have to be in NYC or WAS or BOS to get the sub $300 fares though.

iahphx

They do seem to be largely from the East Coast, but not exclusively. From the NYC area, the fares to Spain are now in the LOW $200s on a fairly regular basis. It's nuts. And I'm seeing fares to Paris in the mid $200s.

spainflyer

Spoiler alert: Many of these prices (good as they are, no doubt about it) are "no frills" - a frill being defined by the airline as an assigned seat and a suitcase in the hold. At IB rates that seat you want could be as much as €30 each way, and a piece of checked luggage €25 each way. Still good value, however.

iahphx

You are correct. It's very good to carefully investigate what you're buying. Sometimes, but not always, elite status can make the experience a bit better.

Personally, I can easily survive a transatlantic journey with just a rollerboard and a "personal item" (none of the "real" airlines have gone below that -- yet). It can be slightly annoying if I want to bring back a few bottles of wine, but so be it. The seat assignment thing is more annoying -- but lots of European airlines don't give "normal" coach pax free advanced seat assignments! Even elites!