Bargain Flights Between North America and Europe

Whether you’re an expat in Germany looking for a bargain flight for a visit to North America, or a tourist looking for a good deal on a flight to Europe, there are tricks and tactics you need to know in order to save money and have a good trip. Your cheap air ticket options are increasing, especially if you consider new airlines, departure cities and destinations. Flexibility in dates also can save you a lot of money, even with legacy airlines.

The German airline Condor offers low-cost flights between Germany and cities in the USA and Canada that you may not have have even considered. PHOTO: Condor

If you have never considered Las Vegas, New Orleans, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Portland (OR), or Seattle before, Condor (Thomas Cook) will offer nonstop or direct flights to Frankfurt, Munich, or other German destinations from those cities in 2019, at rates much lower than legacy airlines. If you add newer airlines such as Edelweiss or Norwegian to your plans, you can fly internationally to or from many cities for less. Of course, there can be catches, so read more below.

Flying across the Atlantic has never been particularly cheap, but the cost of a round-trip air ticket between North America and Europe has risen a bit in the last few years. (Adjusted for inflation, transatlantic flights are far cheaper than in the 1960s, thanks in part to deregulation and more competition.) In high season, in the summer months, the round-trip, nonstop economy fare from the US East Coast to Frankfurt (FRA) runs between $800 to $1200, depending on the airline, dates, and times. Flights from West Coast airports add $300 or more to that. That’s for legacy carriers such as American, United, or Lufthansa. But travelers can save even more (sometimes) using an alternative to the usual major carriers: discount international airlines.

A new crop of budget intercontinental airlines has applied the Southwest Airlines model for money-saving domestic flights to international air travel. They attract travelers with bargain fares that are usually below those of major carriers, and in some cases as much as $500-600 cheaper per round-trip ticket. These budget carriers (Billigflieger in German) use a variety of tactics that allow them to still make a profit while saving their passengers money.

Discount International Airlines
I have long been aware of the budget international airlines. I even flew business class on a Condor one-way flight from Las Vegas to Frankfurt in September 2007, saving myself a lot of money. (See photo below.) But since then more low-cost carriers have begun flying between North America and Europe. I was reminded about that recently after reading this WSJ article by Scott McCartney: A New Trick for Cheap Flights to Europe, about Condor. That post inspired me to write about the same topic, but concentrate on flying between Germany and North America.

Condor flies to and from Las Vegas. Other cities with direct flights on Condor: Anchorage, Baltimore-Washington, Fairbanks, Fort Lauderdale, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Portland, and Seattle. PHOTO: Hyde Flippo

Discount carriers use a variety of tactics to cut their costs and offer cheaper fares than the major airlines. For one thing, they cram more rows and seats into the same planes that the majors use. (Condor’s fleet includes Boeing 767-300ER and Airbus A321-200 aircraft.) While American and United have 209 to 214 seats in their 767s, Condor has 259. To accomplish that, Condor squeezes coach passengers into 30-inch rows, compared to 31-inch rows on the major airlines. But you do get in-flight entertainment.

Things are better in Condor’s business class, but rather than the fully horizontal, flat beds featured on most major international airlines, Condor’s biz class features slightly tilted lie-flat beds. But, depending on the route, a Condor business class ticket can cost only slightly more than economy on some competing airlines.

Frankfurt (FRA) is Germany’s largest and busiest airport, but discount flights also land in Düsseldorf, Munich and other German airports. PHOTO: Hyde Flippo

Another practice used by discount carriers is to fly out of smaller, lesser-known airports with little competition from major international carriers. For example, although Condor flies to Germany from Anchorage, Baltimore, Las Vegas, Minneapolis, New York (JFK), Seattle, and Toronto, it also has flights from Calgary, Halifax, Fort Lauderdale, and Vancouver, B.C. (See Condor’s US Airports and Condor’s Canadian Airports.) Condor also offers connecting flights from many other North American cities via Alaska Airlines, WestJet, and other cooperating carriers.

For example, if you want to fly from Los Angeles (LAX) to Frankfurt (FRA) on June 10, returning on the 28th, the nonstop roundtrip flight on Lufthansa costs $1690 (economy). But if you’re willing to take a one-stop flight on Condor, the cost drops to $1000. You’ll have to fly Alaska from LAX to Seattle to connect with Condor’s nonstop flight from there to FRA. A nonstop flight from Las Vegas to Frankfurt on Condor in June costs about $1130 round trip. The fare can vary with several economy levels. (These are examples only! Air fares change daily or even hourly. Your results may vary up or down.)

Condor also offers a Rail&Fly option, an inexpensive way to reach almost any city in Germany from your destination airport by train. The cost is just US$34.04 per person (Second Class) or US$68.08 (First Class).

Business Class Fares
While American, Lufthansa, and most major airlines charge up to a whopping $5000-8000 for an international business class ticket, Condor’s $2500 biz ticket (2x economy) is less than half that. But you may be able to use miles/points for an upgrade on a legacy carrier.

Low-Cost Airlines in Europe
Once you’re in Europe, you have more budget flying options. The European versions of Southwest Airlines include Ryanair, easyJet, Eurowings, Thomas Cook, and Wizz Air. But be forewarned! Unlike Southwest, the European low-cost carriers charge extra for bags, food and just about everything. Flying Ryanair out of Lübeck, Germany to London Gatwick a few years ago, my wife and I learned a hard lesson about baggage allowances. We were returning from a European trip during which we had added to our luggage weight. We ended up paying more in overweight fees than the cost of the ticket itself. And that was after I pleaded with the agent to give us a break, which she did.

Lufthansa can be a good choice for flying to Europe or elsewhere and using or earning MileagePlus miles. PHOTO: Lufthansa

Mileage Plans: Earning Miles or Using Miles
One disadvantage of flying on most discount airlines is no mileage points. Although Norwegian, for example, has its own rewards program (Norwegian Reward), it can’t be used with any other frequent flyer program. With legacy carriers you can use or earn miles that usually carry over to other airlines. For instance, on these World Alliance international carriers: American Airlines, British Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, Qantas, and a few more.

Air Canada, Lufthansa (MileagePlus), Swiss, United (MileagePlus) and 24 other airlines are members of the Star Alliance.

Delta Airlines shares its Skymiles program with Aeromexico, Air France, Alitalia, KLM, and Virgin Atlantic, among others. (Always verify the rules and whether or not you can use or earn miles on an associated carrier.)

Key points about low-cost flights between North America and Germany/Europe:

• They are often seasonal (June to September or October)
• They are not daily – usually two or three flights per week. Be flexible with your dates if possible. Flying on a Thursday can be cheaper than a Monday. If a discount carrier only has flights twice a week, you need to know on which two days they fly.
• They fly out of smaller airports or less-obvious international airports (Anchorage, Las Vegas, Seattle, Fort Lauderdale, Halifax, etc.). Take a look at a map of Europe! You may find smaller bargain airports near the more costly big airports.
• Getting through US Customs or German Zoll may be a more lengthy process than at larger airports (fewer personnel).
• You may never have heard of the airline (Condor, Eurowings, Norwegian, Icelandair…)
• There may be unexpected extra fees for luggage, meals, and other things that are usually included on major international airlines.
• Discount airlines are often good for one-way flights that tend to be overpriced, expensive on major airlines.
• Timing is everything: Both when you book and when you fly matter.
• Budget carriers don’t always have the lowest fare! Don’t miss special fares on the major airlines! They can be very good deals.
• The cheapest flight is not always the best deal. Consider various long-term factors, including whether you can earn mileage or not.
• Avoid setting up tight transfer connections. Allow enough time for delayed flights. Consider a stopover.
• Some European airports are cheaper to fly to than others. FRA is cheaper than LHR, GAT is cheaper than LHR.

Frankfurt International is often the cheapest German airport to fly to, but not always. PHOTO: Hyde Flippo

Low-Cost Transatlantic Carriers with (headquarters city) and sample airports/cities:

• Condor (Frankfurt) – Flies to/from Las Vegas, New Orleans, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Portland (OR), Seattle, Toronto, and some other cities
• Edelweiss Air (Zurich) – Orlando, Tampa; seasonal: Denver, Las Vegas, San Diego – Note: All Edelweiss flights are to/from Zurich only!
• LEVEL Air (Barcelona) – Boston, Montreal, New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles; new airline first operated by Iberia in 2017
• Norwegian Air Shuttle (Oslo/Bærum) – Flies to Copenhagen, Oslo, and Stockholm from Chicago (June 2019), Denver (seasonal), New York, Los Angeles, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando and Oakland/San Francisco (OAK)

There are rumors that JetBlue and Southwest in the US, as well as Ryanair and easyJet in Europe may begin flying across the Atlantic, but that is still very uncertain.

A Norwegian Boeing 787 Dreamliner. PHOTO: Juraj Patekar (Wikimedia Commons)

Other airlines with flights between North America and Europe:
Note: These airlines may or may not offer true discount fares. Not all of them fly to/from Germany.

• Air Canada rouge – Flights between Canada and Europe (mostly London/Gatwick and UK, and southern Europe from Toronto), although no direct flights to Germany
• Air Transat – Routes between six Canadian cities and European destinations. No Germany flights, but AT does fly to Basel-Mulhouse (near Freiburg, where Switzerland, France and Germany meet) from Montreal (YUL, Aug.-Oct.). Note: All prices are indicated in Canadian dollars ($CAD).
• Eurowings – Low-cost division of Lufthansa with seasonal flights between the US and Germany. Las Vegas-Düsseldorf in July: $1642 nonstop, round trip
• Icelandair – Offers low-cost stop-overs in Iceland (Reykjavik, KEF) on the way to or from Europe. SFO-TXL in June: $1388 round trip
• XL Airways France – Flies to Paris from Miami, New York City, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. One-way fare SFO-Paris: $438 (June 30)

Not Just Discount Airlines
In your search for a good deal across the Atlantic, don’t just look at the discount carriers listed above. Even the major airlines offer special bargain fares from time to time. The trick is to find them before they’re gone. Here’s how you can do that:

• Airline Websites – American and some other airlines offer their best fares on their own websites. The airlines sites also announce special offers and discount fares.
• Booking Flights to Europe – Some good tips from Rick Steves
• Email Alerts – Sign up with the airline(s) with which you have your mileage plan for alerts about low-cost fares. All the major airlines send out email newsletters with special low-fare offers that are available only for a short time, for certain flights within a limited time frame.
• Use Air Fare Websites and Apps – Below you’ll find some links to sites that keep track of cheap air fare offers. Also consider airfare apps such as Hopper.
  • AirFareWatchdog.com – Air fare guru George Hobica tells you to think outside the box. He also posts new deals for all the airlines.
  • TheFlightDeal.com also posts new deals for all the airlines on Twitter and Facebook.
  • Google Flights makes it easy to search for international flights
  • Priceline can often find a low fare, but it can also come up with some bizarre flight itineraries. Double check! Does not cover all discount airlines.
  • CheapoAir.com – Not always truly “cheapo.” Compare.
  • iFly.com – Information, booking, and other air travel help.

Note that some so-called discount sites may not always offer the cheapest fares, and they may not even include some airlines (Condor, Southwest, etc.). Be careful to carefully check your flight itinerary before you purchase a ticket. A discount fare that I found recently on Priceline for a flight from Los Angeles to Frankfurt routed me via Moscow on Aeroflot. To avoid that, select the “nonstop” option – unless you want to save money by flying out of your way. Flying a one-stop route can be cheaper than a nonstop flight.

When all is said and done, for your next long-haul flight you have to decide what is more valuable to you: your time, your comfort, or your money. The emphasis is up to you. But at least you have options.

Gute Reise! Have a good trip!

– HF