Q – My girlfriend and I keep received airline warnings and airport updates that make us wonder if we should contemplate traveling to Europe at all this fall. Our friends who will be traveling to Spain (we are headed to Belgium and the Netherlands) keep telling us we should book with one of the larger online agencies like Expedia. We want to do this right – and price isn’t everything. As a Traveltruth fan, I am sure there are many folks like us who would really appreciate a concise list of recommendations and strategies for flying this Fall. I take it you don’t mess with airfare but wondering if you might share some thoughts about the current projections of massive international travel issues. Thanking you in advance.
A – Thank you for this question(s) – we have received many like it. We are currently working on an article to be published soon that ranks the media levels of exaggeration when issues like shortages of air traffic controllers, shortages of pilots, airport crowds and chaos due to insufficient staffing, along with new European biometric requirements, and the cancellation of major international routes. Finally let’s add significant price increases across the board throughout the summer and fall.
You need to heavily discount all but one of these anxiety-producing concerns. The one concern that is based in reality has to do witht he new system adopted in much of Europe that now requires biometric identification and registration. This can easily add two or three hours to your arrival or departure customs procedures. That is the one that is real and not media exaggerated.
The online agencies are sort of neat places to do online research but you would be a silly traveler to actually book anything with an online agency. In some cases their tickets can’t be transferred, in many cases their service levels are awful, and in far too many cases you would be giving your credit card number to an unknown entity pretending to be an online booking engine. Plus – they don’t know you nor do they really care to. They have no connections to utilize when things break down. When it comes to travel, always avoid fraud and avoid anonymous 1-800 Booking entities no matter how many positive online reviews they have purchased over the years.
Here are the strategies you have requested. We sincerely hope this information saves you some stress with your air arrangements:
Our Recommended Strategies to Book the Lowest-Priced Business-Class Tickets This Fall and The Summer of 2027
# 1 – Try to be flexible with dates and airports – balance number of trip pre-nights with current fare pricing.
# 2 – Remain flexible on dates and airports. Try to fly on Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday to avoid weekend peak fares
# 3 – Use competitive major airport hubs like LON/CDG/AMS/FRA
# 4 – Engage a fare watch service such as price monitoring and look for airline sales 8-12 weeks prior to Fall Travel this year and 6-11 months prior to peak summer travel next year.
# 5 – Remember: Seats generally become available at 3:00 am. on the date exactly 11 months from the date of your return flight.
# 6 – If you are not adept at Fare Search tactics and matrix-style multi-search tools, engage a professional booking and monitoring service such as Cranky Concierge to handle your arrangements.
# 7 – At times, two one-way fares can be less expensive than a round-trip fare.
# 8 – Explore booking Premium-Economy on an upgradeable ticket and use miles for the upgrade to Business.
# 9 – Explore the use of accumulated miles, points, and partner awards. Transferable points from American Express, Chase, and Capital One to a specific airline or air alliance can sometimes provide outsized value for your awards.
10 – Fully explore partner award availability, such as United Star Alliance points on ANA, Avianca, Turkish, and Air Canada. Note that award seats usually become available 11 months or 360 days prior to your flights.
11 – Use credit card portals to explore discounted Business Class Offers.
12 – Consider long-haul on one carrier with a short connection with a low-cost or partner carrier
13 – Book refundable/changeable fares that allow you to rebook shortly after you buy if a sale appears.
14 – Always try to avoid third-party 1-800 airline sites. Use a trusted credit card for all air purchases. (Note that Elite American Express cards provide stronger consumer support than Mastercard or Visa)
15 – Given the uncertainty in pricing resulting from events in the Middle East, we strongly advise our guests to engage an air ticketing firm that provides the best available pricing and Concierge-level flight monitoring. Only use those companies that enjoy the highest consumer ratings in the field. Both Travel + Leisure and Condé Nast Traveler rate Cranky Concierge # 1. (Note: Churchill & Turen Ltd. is not affiliated with Cranky Concierge, and they are not Preferred Suppliers in our Virtuoso Group)
