Low-Cost Carrier Tactical Fares
With year-round Business Class fares to Europe ranging from $3,595 to $5,602 from the West Coast and $3,012 to $4,493 from the East Coast on most major airlines (depending on the advance-purchase requirement and on mileage awards not always being available when you want them), lesser-known airlines are worth considering if you want to save money.
Airlines such as Aer Lingus, Austrian, Finnair, JetBlue, LOT, SAS, TAP, and Turkish all typically have lower fares than the major airlines when flying to or through their hubs.
There are five Star Alliance airlines, two Oneworld airlines, Aer Lingus with no alliance affiliation, and SkyTeam with no low-cost carriers with many routes to Europe — sorry, members, you lose again.
Are You Paying for Airline Snobbery?
Are you an airline snob? Travel perfectionism could be holding you back. Why not consider an alternative airline to the same destination that flies a little below the radar?
The difference in flight experience between British Airways and TAP Portugal is negligible. No, really. Generally speaking, TAP is just not as well known to American travelers. For example, from Washington, DC to Frankfurt in Business Class with one-stop via TAP is $2,001. For one stop on British Airways, it starts at $3,205. That’s a snobbery tax of $1,204! Screenshot below.
Low-cost carriers typically offer fewer restrictions, meaning the fare does not jump sky high for travel close in, and they typically have less-restrictive minimum stay requirements, as you’ll see below.
Low-Cost Carrier No Advance-Purchase Tactical Fares
TAP’s Chicago-Frankfurt round-trip fare goes for $2,646, compared to United’s $7,999 round-trip with little or no advance purchase. Even United’s 30-day advance purchase fare of $4,989 is still almost double that of TAP’s fare.
Low-Cost Carrier No Minimum-Stay Tactical Fares
TAP’s Washington, DC-Zurich round-trip fare goes for $3,104 for a six-day turnaround compared to British Airways’ $5,855 round-trip.
Low-Cost Carrier Advance Planner Tactical Fares
Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) round-trip fare from Los Angeles to London starts around $3,006 for travel in December 2024 compared to American and British Airways at $4,989.
Low-Cost Carrier Tactical Fares When Connecting from Smaller U.S. Airports
SAS fares from Nashville to Copenhagen start at around $2,616 compared to United’s at $4,419.
Comfort
The low-cost carriers’ seat comfort isn’t always the best in the air, but it’s not bad and often about the same.
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Low-Cost Carrier Fare Trends Under $3,000
Aer Lingus
Boston to Dublin and Shannon
New York to Dublin and Shannon
Washington, DC to Dublin
Austrian
Boston to Amsterdam
Chicago to Geneva and Paris
New York to Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Bologna, Rome, Zakynthos, and Zurich
Finnair
New York to Amsterdam, Berlin, Geneva, and Zurich
JetBlue
Boston to Amsterdam, Dublin, London, and Paris
Charlotte to Amsterdam and London
Chicago to Amsterdam, Dublin, London, and Paris
Denver to Amsterdam and London
Miami to Dublin and London
New York to Amsterdam, Dublin, London, and Paris
Orlando to Amsterdam, Dublin, and London
Philadelphia to Amsterdam, Dublin, and London
Raleigh to Amsterdam, Dublin, and London
LOT
New York to Frankfurt
SAS
Atlanta to Amsterdam, Bergen, Copenhagen, Dublin, Edinburgh, Gdansk, Gothenburg, Helsinki, London, Malaga, Nice, Oslo, Palma, Stockholm, Vilnius, and Zurich
Boston to Alicante, Amsterdam, Bergen, Bologna, Copenhagen, Dublin, Gdansk, Geneva, Gothenburg, Helsinki, London, Malaga, Nice, Oslo, Palma, Stavanger, Stockholm, Vilnius, Warsaw, and Zurich
Charlotte to Copenhagen, Oslo, and Stockholm
Chicago to Amsterdam, Dublin, Gdansk, Geneva, Gothenburg, London, Malaga, Milan, Nice, Oslo, Palma, Paris, Vilnius, Warsaw, and Zurich
New York to Amsterdam, Athens, Bergen, Copenhagen, Dublin, Edinburgh, Gdansk, Geneva, Gothenburg, Helsinki, Lisbon, London, Malaga, Nice, Oslo, Palermo, Palma, Paris, Rome, Split, Stockholm, Thessaloniki, Venice, Vilnius, Warsaw, and Zurich
Orlando to Copenhagen, Oslo, and Stockholm
Philadelphia to Copenhagen
Raleigh to Oslo and Stockholm
San Francisco to Amsterdam, Bologna, Brussels, Dublin, Edinburgh, Gdansk, London, Nice, and Zurich
Washington, DC to Amsterdam, Bari, Bergen, Bologna, Copenhagen, Dublin, Gdansk, Gothenburg, Helsinki, London, Malaga, Nice, Oslo, Palma, Pisa, Stavanger, Stockholm, Vilnius, Warsaw, and Zurich
TAP
Boston to Amsterdam, Bologna, Brussels, Copenhagen, Dublin, Faro, Lisbon, London, Madeira, Manchester, Marseille, Nice, and Porto
Chicago to Amsterdam, Frankfurt, and Paris
New York to Amsterdam, Barcelona, Frankfurt, Lisbon, Madrid, Oslo, Paris, Stockholm, and Valencia
Washington, DC, to Amsterdam, Berlin, Dublin, Frankfurt, London, Munich, and Paris
Turkish
Boston to Amsterdam, Berlin, Bilbao, Bordeaux, Brussels, Budapest, Geneva, Krakow, Hamburg, Helsinki, Malaga, Marseille, Munich, Oslo, Palermo, and Paris
Chicago to Amsterdam, Berlin, Bilbao, Copenhagen, Geneva, Gothenburg, Krakow, Hamburg, Helsinki, Lisbon, Madrid, Milan, Munich, Naples, Nice, Oslo, Palermo, Paris, Porto, Riga, Sofia, Stockholm, Venice, Vilnius, and Warsaw
Dallas to Berlin
Houston to Milan
New York to Athens, Berlin, Bilbao, Brussels, Copenhagen, Dublin, Frankfurt, Gothenburg, Hamburg, Lisbon, London, Lyon, Madrid, Malta, Milan, Munich, Naples, Oslo, Porto, Rome, Stockholm, Thessaloniki, Valencia, and Vilnius
Miami to Frankfurt, Nice, Prague, and Zurich
San Francisco to Amsterdam, Barcelona, Bucharest, Madrid, Paris, Rome, Sofia, Thessaloniki, Vienna, and Zurich
Washington, DC to Berlin, Bologna, Bordeaux, Frankfurt, Nice, Prague, Rome, and Vilnius
Like food, meetings, and debt, bigger isn’t always better. And it’s the same with airlines. Don’t blindly assume that a bigger carrier will give you the best deal, comfort, and flying options. Often those airlines that fly below the radar, particularly in Europe, will get your business with tempting offerings.
See you up front.