West Coast Awakening: Premium Fares to Europe Drop to East Coast Levels
We first reported on the new lower Business Class fare trend from the West Coast to Europe back in January 2017. FCF’s research team was euphoric, tightly clasping the evidence: fare-drops by as much as 35% when booked 150-days in advance. And why wouldn’t they be excited? Fares to Europe from the West Coast have historically ranged from $4,500 to $7,000 on major carriers.
Fast forward to today, and we’re seeing the lower Business Class fare trend to Europe from the West Coast continue, but this time, you can sometimes snag those fares without purchasing 150 days in advance, and fares vary by route (and at times even by season). This means more variety—and more options.
But not only are we seeing ticket restrictions changing for low-hanging Business Class fares, the gap between East and West Coast fares is closing rapidly and, in some cases, has reversed—meaning West Coast fares are actually lower!
The Coastal Gap is Closing
On the West Coast, there does seem to be a mindset at play that ignores European options a lot more than happens on the East Coast. Of course, you say, Europe is closer to the East Coast. But the gap between the West Coast and Europe is wider in other ways: time zones, climate, and perhaps even cultural.
There’s often no better way to close a gap (geographically, climatically, or culturally) than with cold, hard cash—and that’s what’s happening.
We’re frequent seeing Business Class fares from the West Coast to Europe around the $2,000 mark. Compare that with the cost of flying to New York from Los Angeles—around $1,700. For just $300 to $500 more, West Coasters can take their vacation to Europe.
PAID BY THE HOUR
Case in point—the travel time between Seattle and London is actually the same as Seattle to Tokyo. One way to look at travel is “cost per flight hour.” It can be very revealing. West Coasters take note: Just look at the cost per flight hour traveling from Seattle to Europe and Asia: Seattle to London is currently $2,760 (add in the $200 savings for AARP and the fare is even lower at $2,560) and has a round-trip flight time of about 19 hours and 35 minutes, which comes out to be about $145 per flight hour.
Compare this to a Seattle-Tokyo fare at $3,933 nonstop with the same flight time (19 hours and 30 minutes) and a cost per flight hour of $207. As we’ve said before, a mile is not a mile in the air; it’s all relative. Proof that the West Coast to Europe jaunt is quite a good value.
THE COASTS ARE GETTING CLOSER
Denver–London: American Airlines and British Airways currently have published fares starting at $2,530 round-trip. Compare that to Boston–London starting at $2,570 with Delta. Did you catch that? Fly Denver-London for $40 less for an extra 1,400 miles in the sky.
San Francisco–London: American and British Airways currently have published fares starting at $2,680 round-trip. Compare it to Washington, DC–London starting at $2,630 with American and British Airways. Again, just a $50 difference—yes, this time you’re paying $50 more for those extra flight miles but the concept still stands up in court!
San Diego–Bologna: American Airlines and British Airways currently have published fares starting at $2,273 round-trip. Compare that to Boston–Bologna, starting at $2,223 with Iberia. That’s a difference of just $50 for what is essentially a trancontinental USA trip.
Other recent West Coast-Europe special fares found:
Flash California-Europe Business Class Fares Starting at $2,073 R/T, Major Airline/s
Plus, with the British Airways AARP discount the cost drops to $2,073. More about how that works here.
TAKE IT UP TO FIRST
Don’t forget that with British Airways you can also upgrade discounted Business Class fares to First Class. It takes 36,000 to 45,000 miles (varying by route) during off-peak dates and 40,000 to 50,000 miles during peak season (round-trip) to upgrade from Business to First on the international long-haul flight, San Diego to London. For more information, go here.
HOLD THOSE GREAT FARES
Remember that Flash Airfares—which can change at any time and often do—can be extended with many airlines. See our March report for details on How to Lock in Amazing Premium Flash Fares to Use Later. So, if you’re not sure about your trip details, lock in great airfare deals when you see them. Spectacular low fares come and go all the time—you’ve got to strike while the iron’s hot.
MANY AIRLINES, ALL THREE ALLIANCES
All alliances are participating in this trend because deals are available on a wide range of airlines that are offering low-route fares. Everything from oneworld (with American and British Airways) to SkyTeam (including Air France, Delta, and KLM), to Star Alliance (with Lufthansa and United).
LOW-FARE WEST COAST DEPARTURE CITIES
Good low fares can be found from Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Portland, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, San Diego, and Seattle.
LOW-FARE WEST COAST DESTINATION CITIES
Good low-fare destinations are more spread out—even into all corners of Europe. Fares vary by departure city—and currently include Bologna, Copenhagen, Helsinki, Madrid, Moscow, London and Prague, to name a few. But keep in mind that this can change quickly.
WEST COAST FARES
To be clear, not all flights between a West Coast city and all European cities are $2,200 to $2,700. Fares are not low across the board. It’s more like a third of the routes are under $3,000, a third under $3,500 and a third are $3,500 to $4,000+.
Exhibit A: The San Diego to Bologna route discussed above goes for as little as $2,273 round-trip. Compare that to a high fare route such as Barcelona: $5,034, a difference of $2,761 (55%). So, you’ll see us posting about San Diego—Bologna. Best news? If you had your heart set on Barcelona but can’t stomach the price, take the international long-haul flight to Bologna, relax for a day or three, then grab a one-way to Barcelona—and save money.
Become an Opportunity WEST COAST Traveler
As FCF has already pointed out, not all routes offer these great deals, so you want to be an opportunity traveler—to get these kinds of fares, you cannot succumb to destination blindness.
For instance, if you don’t see a deal to Munich in Business Class, but you do see a deal to Bologna, why not check out Bologna? Then hop over to Munich. It’s just 250 miles away.
Travel in Europe is cheap. Fly, drive, or travel by train your way between these two beautiful cities. They’re just over an hour’s flight apart. This is just one more time we have to get that mindset in check—many famed European cities are quite close to each other in reality, we just think they are far apart in our minds. Let’s stick with reality. It’s a better deal.
The chart below will help West Coasters determine if they should buy or hold out when searching for fares. If your question is “What is a good fare to Europe nowadays?” This will give you the answer.
Grading Fares from the West Coast to Europe
| Fare Grade | Fare Range | Sample Routes |
| Amazing | $2,200 to $2,700 | San Diego to Bologna, Prague, or London; San Francisco to Madrid, Helsinki, or London; Seattle to London; Denver to London; Los Angeles to Moscow; Salt Lake City to Malaga, Istanbul, or Zurich; Las Vegas to London or Brussels |
| Very Good | $2,700 to $3,100 | Los Angeles to London; Seattle to Amsterdam |
| Decent | $3,100 to $3,500 | San Francisco to Paris; Los Angeles to Barcelona |
| Normal / Everyday | $3,500 to $4,000+ | San Diego to Frankfurt; Seattle to Barcelona |
HOW TO FIND LOW FARE ROUTES
Finding and picking a low-fare route is easy if you keep an eye out for FCF’s alerts, or find them yourself. It’s not for everyone, but if you are up to it—with FCF’s help—you can find low-fare routes.
One of the best tools FCF has found for finding low fares is Google Flights. Most, if not all, our members are familiar with Google Flights. We include a link for Google Flights in almost all FCF fare alerts, which, when clicked, will take you to the date and flight selection.
Now, what many of you most likely do not know is that you can search for low-fare destinations in Europe by entering “Europe” as your destination instead of a city (like London) for example. Google Flights will then display fares for your preferred travel dates to cities all over Europe.
The screenshot below shows what you will see. If you’ve been wondering how to be an opportunity traveler—this is one of the key components.
From here you can zoom in and see more fares as shown below:
If you don’t care when you travel, are flexible with your days, or can travel any time in the month of August for example, you have options too. Try a search over the next 6 months, or by a certain month, with a stay of either one or two weeks.
Click on the departure date, and then clicking on “Flexible dates.” If you want to check fares over a six-month travel period, leave it on “All,” and if you want a certain month, click on that month.
