A ticket to Anywhere, Europe please?

One of the biggest pleasures of the modern age is that you can fly almost anywhere... anywhere you can afford, that is. Sometimes the most fun is in the art of the deal. Find the furthest you can go on your budget. The problem with this, of course, is that the cheap flights are often in the off-season or to marginal locations from a tourism standpoint, but this is when some of the best experiences can be had. Wander the misty streets of Venice in December or visit Europe's Christmas markets. Cold snap in Prague or Budapest? All the more reason to enjoy the warmth of the public baths. Snowing while you're in Paris? Take a side trip to Alps for some high altitude skiing. Even if you want to avoid the coldest weather, Europe can be great in the edge seasons. Fall and Spring still offer balmy temps in the Mediterranean and crisp nights in the northern latitudes keep crowds at bay and might even offer a glimpse of aurora Boreas as the days become shorter. Why not travel then? You'll save a bundle on flights which you can use to upgrade your hotel. Or keep the entire trip on a budget so you'll have enough to go again next year.

This is the situation a a couple from New York has found themselves in. With time available to travel in April they'll go anywhere a great deal takes them. April is a particularly good time to travel in Europe. Prices are in toilet even though the weather is warming as far north as the Baltic states. Start by sweeping the major European populations centers for flight deals: Paris, London, Dublin, Amsterdam and Madrid. If your interest lie further east check those as well: Moscow, Kiev, Prague or Budapest. Further south and at the cusp of Asia lies Istanbul. Once a deal has been identified build a trip from there. Enjoy transportation by train or inexpensive intra-European flights on Ryanair, easyJet and others.

This time we're looking in particular at the 3rd week of April, 2011. Its a little too far in advance to catch the really incredible deals -- most airlines don't actively manage inventory six months before a flight actually takes off. Nevertheless, this being edge season, expect some airlines to make an effort to grab revenue early by attracting a few leisure travelers. Carriers trying to expand a market or open a new route will generally offer respectable discounts for those who jump aboard first.

Turkish Airlines is one of those expanding carriers. Istanbul, their home base, is a respectable travel destination in its own right, but is also connected via train, ferry and air to much of southern and eastern Europe. Nonstop flight can be had from New York for about $680.

Iceland Air is another carrier trying to gain market share. While all of their flights connect through Reykjavik, they often offer significantly discounted fares to major European cities. Additionally they allow stopovers in Iceland free of charge if you'd like to enjoy the volcanic hot springs for a day or two. From New York, Paris for $740, Amsterdam for $730 or Oslo for $700 while nonstop flights charge hundreds more.

Air Europe, a Spanish carrier new to the New York market, offers a great deal to Madrid at $696 round trip, non-stop. Spain and the Iberian peninsula are particularly well connected by rail and served by Spanish low cost carrier Clickair. If you want to spend your vacation in Spain, Portugal or southern France this is a great option to book early.

Another way to find cheap flights is to look for carriers operating outside their traditional routes. Singapore airlines offers a tag-on flight from New York to Frankfurt which continues to Singapore. The leg to Frankfurt is bookable alone and is going for $$738 round trip. Air India is another atypical airline frequently operating on this route as mentioned in previous posts.

Moscow is another fantastic option and Aeroflot-Russian Airlines is letting their non-stop flights from New York go for $570. Even if the Kremlin isn't on the top of your list onward connections to destinations all over eastern Europe are only $20 to $40 more. That means Kiev, Riga, and St. Petersburg are all within reach for about $600.

Curry Express: Business Class to Frankfurt

The first request! This comes in the form of a business class ticket from New York to Frankfurt. Specifically this individual is interested in the best business class seat available between the two cities and wants to fly non-stop. He needs to travel in early October and will spend about a week in Germany.

First lets take a look at the airlines flying in this market. I'll include airlines both to New York-JFK and Newark-Liberty because they serve the same general area: Lufthansa, Continental Airlines, Delta Airlines, Singapore Airlines, and Air India. The last two airlines are unique in this market and provide tag-on service to their respective hubs via Frankfurt. Note that all flights from the New York area to Frankfurt are overnight, red-eye flights so an environment that promotes the ability to sleep is preferred.

Differences in seating type arrangement can separate a restful night over the Atlantic and a fitful one. Each of the airlines offers a seat advertised as 'lie-flat' on the planes they fly between these two cities. On closer inspection many of the 'lie-flat' seats do not actually lie completely flat. Most, in fact, only flatten to about 170 degrees and tilt the traveler at an angle. This sometimes causes the traveler so slide down and is not very conducive to sleep. Lufthansa, Continental and Singapore offer this style seat the planes used between New York/Newark and Frankfurt.

Air India and Delta offer a lie-flat seat that actually does what it says -- that is it reclines to 180 degrees and when in that position is completely horizontal. Obviously this is much preferable for red-eye flights. Delta, however, flies much older Boeing 767-300 aircraft which are currently in the process of being reconfigured from an older sit-up style business class seat to the lie-flat variant. Air India flies much newer 777-300 aircraft which already have the lie-flat seats. So which should he choose?

In my opinion the horizontal lie flat seat is the better choice so Lufthansa, Continental and Singapore are out. Delta won't be able to guarantee that the newly configured aircraft will operate this route on any given day which means its possible to be stuck sitting up all night. My pick for this trip is Air India which flies from Newark-Liberty International airport in Newark, NJ. This will ensure he has a the opportunity to rest in the most bed-like position available. Additionally Air India offers some fantastic business class fares on this route (which happens on occasion with airlines operating outside their home territory) and is supposed to have decent catering for on board meals. Finally this traveler shared that he will be driving to the airport from New England which makes Newark the ideal choice as it's location along Rt. 95 makes it much more accessible than JFK for those coming from the North, South or West.

Happy flying!