Flying to Europe is an experience that many Americans will never have.
However, if you are lucky enough to have the budget to fly to Europe for a vacation, it is likely to be an experience that you will never forget.
There are so many different destinations and cultures in Europe that you can really turn your trip into any type of vacation that you would like.
Of course, the only problem is having to pay for the flights to get you to Europe and back again.
Once you are there, there is a variety of different hotel and travel options to accommodate any budget.
When it comes to airfare, though, there is only one way to get there, and that is via airplane.
Since this is your only choice, you are kind of stuck with the costs associated with flying.
Many people wonder why these costs are so expensive and if there is anything they can do about high-priced flights to Europe.
Although we don’t have any solutions that will make flying to Europe incredibly inexpensive, there are some ways that you can save money on these flights.
Let’s take a look at the top ten reasons flights to Europe are so expensive
Why Are Flights To Europe So Expensive? (Top 10 Reasons)
1. Time of Flight: Day Of Week
One of the major reasons flights to Europe are so expensive is the days of the week that people try to fly.
When you get good at traveling, especially internationally, you will have to learn about the timing of your flights.
Those who are new to this will simply look at the calendar and figure out dates that work best for them as opposed to looking at times when it is cheapest to fly.
The key thing is to avoid the travel days where most people will want to be in the air.
For instance, most people like to enjoy a weekend as part of their vacation.
You may see that the flights go up in price on a Friday simply because people are trying to get to Europe for the weekend.
In addition, you may see that airfares leaving your area are expensive on Sundays.
For those who need to be back at work on a Monday, flying home on Sunday is a must.
The day of the week that you decide to fly to Europe is going to impact the overall pricing that you pay.
If you would like to try to fly to Europe on a Sunday to enjoy Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday there, you may find a much cheaper flight.
In addition, those who are able to stay for an entire week will also sometimes find a better deal flying from a Sunday to a Sunday or a Sunday to a Monday.
When trying to save money on flights to Europe, it is most important to be flexible about the days that you can fly.
If you are open to flying out on a Tuesday or flying in on a Wednesday, you may find that the overall cost of your trip could be cut in half.
The biggest takeaway here is to learn to research pricing before you schedule your days off from your work.
Always look into the cost of a trip before requesting the time off.
2. Time Of Flight: Month Of Year
Now that you have some insider tips on which days of the week make sense to fly to Europe, you also need to consider the month of the year.
Depending on the location that you are heading to, there are times of the year when flights will be almost double or triple the cost that they are at other times of the year.
If you are heading to a coastal area in Europe, you may want to avoid the summertime.
If you are looking for a ski vacation, you may want to avoid the winter.
Although this may seem like it is counterintuitive, you will end up saving quite a bit of money on your flight.
There are great things to enjoy about Europe all year long.
Sometimes going at a time when the flights are cheaper will also mean that the hotels are cheaper and that there are fewer people around.
The timing of your flight should be something else that you look into and consider before you purchase your flights.
Take a look at local festivals events and things that could be happening.
If you try to travel during a holiday time, expect greatly increased flight prices.
There are plenty of articles out there that give you information about the best times of year to visit certain locations.
If the article explains that the best possible time of year is to visit in the peak season, you will know to avoid that for cheaper flights.
The great thing about traveling to Europe is that if you are smart about it and flexible about your date, you can do it on a budget.
If you decide on a whim that you want to head to Europe for the weekend, be prepared to pay quite a bit of money.
3. Supply And Demand
The old marketing principle of supply and demand will absolutely come into play with airline flights.
When travel is crazy, and people want to fly all over the country and all over the world, the flight prices increase.
When the demand is high, expect to pay quite a bit more before your flight ticket.
However, there are times when people are afraid to travel or are busy and can’t take off work.
This will very often lower the pricing of flights.
With the covid-19 pandemic, many people did not fly for an extended period of time.
Now that people have been vaccinated and are starting to travel again, the price increases on flights are getting to be relatively high.
As airplanes fill up and more flights are added to the schedule, the pricing will probably only continue to increase.
There is not much you can do about the overall supply and demand issue when it comes to travel.
Especially when looking at international travel or having to fly, you are kind of stuck with that one option.
Of course, you could take a cruise to Europe, but these are also very expensive.
If there are supply and demand issues for an extended period of time, you may decide to postpone your European vacation and go at a time when people are not traveling quite as much
4. Limited Flight Options
Another reason that flights to Europe will be so expensive is that there are limited flight options.
As you can imagine, a flight from New York to Chicago or from Miami to Los Angeles is a very popular option.
Out of these airports, you may see three or four flights a day heading to these locations.
However, because of the increased price of flying to Europe and the time that it takes to get there, there are not as many options throughout the week.
Many airports will not offer international flights at all.
This means that you may have to travel from your local airport to a larger airport and then from that airport to Europe.
These limited flight options will increase the overall pricing that you pay for your next European vacation.
If for some reason, flights to Europe continue to get more popular and more flights are added, then there is a chance that the pricing could go down.
For the most part, the limited flight options have continued to be an issue with expensive flights to Europe.
We likely won’t see this change anytime soon.
5. Booking Flights In Advance
Another key factor in the pricing that you pay for flights to Europe is when you book them.
If you do any type of flying, whether domestic or international, you probably know that a last-minute flight is quite expensive.
If you want to fly at a very affordable rate, you need to book a few months out.
In fact, for flying internationally, it makes sense to book at least six months before your departure time.
Of course, there are times when you will not know that you are going to be flying to Europe this far in advance, and it will impact the price that you pay.
The key here is to try and plan out your trips at least one year ahead of time.
You won’t need to book them at that time, but have a general idea of where you plan to head in the next year.
Booking the flights in advance could save you thousands of dollars if you plan on doing quite a bit of travel throughout the course of a year.
Some airlines will offer incentives or free cancellations or discounts if you do your booking in advance.
You may also find that your hotel or rental car reservation is also considerably lower when you book ahead of time.
Businesses like to know the estimated revenue that they have coming in.
This can help them plan for staffing and other financial decisions that could be coming their way.
The reward to the customer for booking ahead of time is a reduced rate on their trip.
Being a planner is a good thing. It may take some getting used to, but in the end, it will end up saving you lots of money.
6. Business Travelers
Although we have placed it as the sixth reason on our list of why flights are so expensive to Europe, business travel is one of the main reasons we see an increase in these flight prices.
People who travel for business are not worried about flight costs.
Business travelers do not care about the price of a flight because they are not the ones who are paying for it.
If a company needs an employee to travel to Europe to conduct a meeting or to do a sales presentation, they are going to be paying the way.
Therefore, business travelers often have a business expense account that they can use to book all of their flights.
Business travelers are going to mostly be concerned about flying out during times that are convenient to them.
They must make sure that they are able to get to their meeting and prepare for it all within the course of a workweek.
If a flight is $300 or $400 more simply because it works for their schedule, the business travelers really don’t care.
This trains the airlines that certain people are going to pay for the flights no matter the cost, especially if they are offered during the week for business travelers.
When recreational travelers try to book their flights, they are going to see all of these expensive business flights available.
Since the airlines make most of their money through business travel throughout the week, you can expect to pay quite a bit extra because of this.
Although a lot of business is now conducted over the internet and there is less need for business travel, certain industries still rely heavily on travel.
These industries are accustomed to paying very high prices for flights, and they will continue to have to do so for years to come.
This goes back to making sure that you choose a time to fly when business travelers are not going to be in the air.
If you can avoid the rush of business and holidays, chances are your flight to Europe will be quite a bit less expensive.
7. Currency Exchange
Depending on where you are flying to, there could be a currency exchange involved in the price that you pay for your flight.
Currency exchange can get a bit confusing for people.
The problem is that you must have an excellent understanding of where the dollar is worth more and where the dollar is worth less.
Trying to convert Euros (or whatever currency is used in your destination country) to US dollars and vice versa is a bit difficult for many people to figure out.
If you struggle with things like currency exchange and trying to ensure that you are booking a proper flight into the right airports, it might make sense to talk to a travel agent.
Travel agents are very experienced with European vacations.
Obviously, if you are a frequent business traveler, you probably don’t need the advice of a travel agent.
However, if you have never left the United States and you are flying to Europe for a week’s vacation, it may be worth consulting these agents to see what kind of information or help they could offer.
Most of the time, the fees are relatively low, and sometimes there are no fees at all for working with the travel agent.
Some people think that the service is only for those with extra money, but the services of a travel agent can be a good choice for anyone.
8. Airport Taxes
Have you ever wondered how an airline figures out the fees that they are going to charge you for a ticket?
If you knew the formulas and calculations that went into ticket prices, your head would probably feel as though it will explode.
The formulas for calculating airport taxes are quite complicated.
Airport taxes are something that all airlines will have to pay because of the travel that they are doing from one airport to another.
These taxes tend to increase considerably when the flights are traveling internationally.
The end-user has no control over the airport taxes, but they will still impact the overall pricing of the tickets that we pay for our flights.
Airport taxes are expensive, and it seems as though they increase every year.
The large airlines tend to have an easier time affording these fees and taxes, while the smaller airlines struggle to pay them.
This is why some airlines are going to have very high flight prices as compared to others.
These airlines try to offer customers a better overall experience, and this is partly what helps people justify the cost of their travel.
Not all customers book travel based on the total costs; some will book based on the performance.
9. Competition Between Airlines
Sometimes there is quite a bit of competition between airlines.
You may think that the competition between airlines would actually lower the pricing of tickets, but it doesn’t always work like this.
The competition between airlines steps up the customer service of the employees and the overall experience that they must offer their customers.
When flying to Europe, people expect a very pleasant experience.
Airlines will bring on new programs and incentives to encourage people to fly with them.
Of course, when these new programs are released to the market, they’re often brought about with lots of marketing.
The marketing ends up costing money, and so do the programs themselves.
In the end, the competition for one airline to be better than another airline will end up making the entire ticket price quite a bit higher.
Most customers would take a lower-priced ticket and have a less fancy flight, but the competition in the market does not allow this to be a reality.
10. Appealing To Individuals With High Discretionary Income
Last but certainly not least is the fact that flights to Europe are designed and marketed to those who can afford them.
The reality of the situation is that most people can’t afford to jump on a plane to Europe.
This is why the pricing is set at a high bar for those who can afford it.
Airlines know that you are not going to have many other options when it comes to flying to Europe.
In fact, chances are you will have only one or two flights to choose from.
The result is that you are a bit stuck, and the airlines can continue to raise the pricing.
When individuals have a high discretionary income, they are going to have a much easier time affording flights to Europe.
It makes sense for airlines to keep raising the bar on the price of flights to see if the demand remains just as high.
When the demand remains high, the profit will be there for the airlines.
Conclusion
Hopefully, you now can see why flights to Europe are so expensive.
Higher prices are often unavoidable.
If you want to take a trip to Europe, be prepared to pay quite a bit for the ticket.
Use our tips about being flexible on your flight times, and you will end up finding some of the best deals around.
In the end, flying to Europe is an experience you won’t soon forget.
If this trip ends up costing you a bit of extra money, it will be very well worth it.
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