I know there are great fares to be had during the winter months, but I am locked into traveling
certain dates in June/July. :-( Where does everyone look for airfare deals? I almost always
attempt to find consolidator rates and rarely (if ever) call or book through the airlines directly.
In the past I used tiss.com (then renamed to flights.com) but they don't seem to be around
anymore. Spanish Heritage Tours (shtours.com) has a good rate on a charter, but it only flies
Thursdays...and we want more flexibility so we can stay as long as possible. Any suggestions
on who has decent summer rates?

Yeah. Sadly enough it seems airfares are going to be MORE EXPENSIVE this year than in previous years. My ticket to Madrid in April was about $100 more expensive than previous years AND THEN upon checking the same dates a couple days later, they're now $100 MORE than that! I don't know why I keep checking now that I have my ticket... just afraid I'll see it for cheaper as time draws near. I used Orbitz.com , by the way.

Good luck finding a good summer price! That's the most expensive season of them all to fly to Europe.

Saludos, MadridMan

You might want to try www.exitotravel.com.

My already purchased ticket just went DOWN $140 dollars. I hate playing games with the airlines!!!

The best way I have found to get to Europe, for the least money is through Whole Earth Travel. The downside is that it is standby, but I have never had to get another flight, and both times I flew to Paris I went on Air France, with wine with my food! Unfortunately, the only place I have seen from which WET flies to Madrid orginates in NYC, but the prices might make it worth your while. I flew to Paris and then took a flight I purchased there (about 150 USD two and a half years ago) to Madrid, about an hour and a half or two hours flight. My tickets from LAX to Paris were something like 175USD each way!

If you really really need to save on money, and can be flexible about when you depart and return, and can live with going a bit out of your way to finally arrive, you just cannot beat the prices they have. Students especially should check this out!

Martin - do you have any contact info for Whole Earth Travel? Is that through the magazine? I tried searching for something online and didn't find anything about travel airfare.

Thanks!!

Don't know about summer this year, but I've seen some really great deals on Expedia, (until jan. 31.) and for spring, Travelocity has shown some really good deals also, and from where I fly out of, that's really saying something because its a pit of an airport to leave from to go anywhere international!

For summer, look now, even until may, and yes, for peak summer months. After may prices seem to skyrocket, and don't really go down again unless its a last minute deal. One problem many people have, is when they go to spain, (students especially) and can stay more than a month, your ticket price is more expensive. So if you can, limit it to a month if you're that concerned about airfares! Otherwise, bit the bullet and shell out the extra cash! What can you do!?

Me, unfortunately, looks like I'll be missing the beach yet AGAIN this year! So please, for those of you going, drink a fanta limon for me to my health!

Actually Northwest is offering some promotional fares right now, www.nwa.com. For example, if you travel in the next 2 months, roundtrip fares from San Francisco can be had for less than $400. For June, however, it jumps up to about $800.

The other site you guys may want to try is www.hotwire.com. The thing with hotwire is that you when you do an initial search, you can only see the price and of course, the departure and return dates. You don't get the exact times and airline names until you purchase the ticket. Now, mind you, they only deal with major airlines. I have gotten some great deals with hotwire.

I find that the best deals are to be found on the advertised web specials at expedia.com, orbitz.com, and travelocity.com. There are often fare 'mistakes,' sometimes really mistakes like the $20 + tax fares offered by British Airways one Friday night in late November; other times they are great offers to get publicity and traffic. They usually only last a few hours. If you get into the habit of checking for airfare every morning when you check your email, then you'll certainly know a good deal when you see it.

For example, I used one of these sales to get tickets to Europe last August for about $600 including taxes from Boston on British Airways. The price got more expensive as the day went on, until it was back up to the original price, almost twice as much. This sale happened mid-week in April, and someone reported that it also happened in April, 2001, when he got tickets for about this price to Barcelona.

Last week I got a great deal on KLM/NWA to Amsterdam/Paris for $307 including tax for March travel. By the time I found out about this, it was too late to get the real bargain -- fares valid through the summer at great prices. One person reported they bought LAX to Amsterdam from July 1 to July 31 on NWA for $490 incl tax.

This Monday/Tuesday there was a sale on Air France to Europe, including Spain, but of course that is gone, too. One person reported they bought July/August from Boston to Barcelona for $565. Now why wasn't I checking for airfare to Iberia yesterday?? Swift kick in the arse!

So, the moral of the story is to always be looking. You never know when a sale is going to come, and they don't usually last long. Know which airlines fly the route you want to take, and make sure to choose 'search these airlines' option on you search; sometimes these great deals only appear if you ask for them. Also, check the airline's website; sometimes you can get the deal directly from them and skip the fees for the middle man.