Planning - Budgets - Airfare

Getting yourself to Europe is expensive, there's no denying that.  I've made the following charts to help put things in perspective and aid you in planning which type of airline and which season works best for you.  For more information about multi-city flights and extending stopovers to maximize your travel dollars check out Planes under the Transportation tab.

For comparison purposes I used the following criteria;

•    Family of 4 (2 adults, 2 children under 12)
•    High Season - end of July; Low season - end of September  (prices are for 2011 travel)
•    Round trip tickets are between Calgary and Paris
•    Multi-city tickets are Calgary to Paris, Amsterdam to Calgary

As there are a zillion different combinations of departure and arrival cities prices will obviously vary, but this will give a good idea of price fluctuations in various circumstances.  Prices include all taxes and airport fees.

*Note - some airlines give discounted ticket prices for children, so the cost per person reflects any discounts spread over the entire family.

Budget Airline - also known as charter flights.  These airlines only fly in prime travel season for their destination (Europe being spring to fall).

Pros - often cheaper, usually non-stop and direct

Cons - only fly on certain days of the week and at certain times of the year

Major Airline

Pros - fly all year round and every day of the week, generally higher level of service

Cons - more expensive

It's interesting to note that the prices don't vary by as much as you may have thought.  Many of the cheap advertised prices found online and in newspapers do not include taxes; this is very misleading as they can add up to $500/ticket.  Another thing to think about is that every airport has it's own associated airport fees which affect the cost of a ticket.  A multicity ticket may cost less than a round trip simply because one of the cities has a lower airport fee.

For both the budget and the major airline charts I checked prices against two different companies.  In each instance the price difference between the two airlines was between 3 and 7% in all categories.  One other thing to note is that the budget airlines I found stopped flying to Europe after mid-October.  In November I found a Round Trip ticket on a major carrier for $1001.35.

Where you live will obviously have a huge impact on ticket prices - either positively or negatively.  If you live in a small town far from a major airport you will obviously expect to pay more than someone lucky enough to live close to a major airline hub.  For instance, someone living in Toronto is going to have an easier time getting to Europe for less money than someone based in Fort St. John, BC.  Unfortunately that is one factor you can't control, so play the cards you're dealt and have fun with the game.  You never know when you'll be dealt some pocket aces!

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