Booking a Flight to Europe

Pauline Kenny

Use our affiliates to find and book your flights, notes on searching for flights.

These are my notes for booking your flights. I am not a travel expert, but I have flown a lot and have been booking my own flights online for the last ten years.

Planning Your Flights

Before booking your flight, carefully plan your trip. Consider booking your accommodation first (especially if you are staying in vacation rentals) before you book your flights because this may determine your dates or arrival/departure destinations.

Flying from North America

Depending on where you live, you may have to change planes within North America to get a flight to Europe. For example, we live near Albuquerque, New Mexico. To fly to Europe on Delta, we first fly to Cincinnati or Atlanta and then get a non-stop flight to Europe. To fly to Europe on British Airways, we fly to Denver, Phoenix or Dallas and then get a non-stop to London. From the east coast, you have your choice of non-stops to many European destinations. From the west cost, you can also fly direct to Europe.

Routing

When booking your flights, look carefully at the routing, flight times and airport waiting times. You may find a flight that is $100 cheaper, but if it involves an extra change of planes and several hours waiting between flights, it may not be worth it to you. When I am planning a trip, I spend several hours on different sites comparing routing and flight times as well as prices. Continued below.