If you are worried that the recent demise of Wow Air will mark the end of affordable transatlantic flights, you can relax. According to a report from Hopper, airfare to Europe is currently the cheapest it’s been in three years.
By having its data science team analyze a real-time feed of more than 25 billion daily flight prices, the airfare predicting app discovered that the average price for a round-trip ticket to Europe in spring is currently $637, the lowest point it’s reached in the past three years and down 15 percent from the same time last year.
Here’s how you can use the data Hopper found to get the best possible deal for your next flight to Europe.
Travel in spring instead of summer
While summer fares are also the lowest they’ve been in three years, you’ll save even more by traveling in the springtime. This year, the average price of a round-trip ticket in summer is currently $909, but if you plan a trip a few months earlier, you’ll find fares averaging $637 for many European destinations.
Prices for the most popular destinations, including London, Paris, Rome, Madrid, and Amsterdam, are slightly higher than that number, but you’ll still get significant savings by flying in spring versus summer.
For example, the average price for a round-trip ticket to Amsterdam this summer is $970. You’ll find it drops to just $800 on average if you book in the spring—when the tulips are at their best. If you head farther east, you’ll discover even bigger savings. Expect to pay 26 percent less on average (about $210 savings) for flights to Prague in the spring instead of summer.
Consider a trip to the United Kingdom
Wow Air’s departure from the industry might mean there’s slightly less competition among operators, but airfare wars aren’t the only thing keeping ticket prices low. As politicians in the United Kingdom struggle to figure out if, when, and how Brexit is happening, the British pound is trading at historically low levels. It’s predicted to drop further in value if and when the United Kingdom does leave the European Union, making the country an even more affordable destination for travelers from the United States.
Since 2017, the average round-trip airfare from the United States to London has fallen from $814 to $782, according to Hopper’s data. But if the number of EU visitors to the United Kingdom drops post-Brexit, airlines could lower prices even more to fill seats.
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