Other Airfare Sale Options for Europe: Aer Lingus, Lufthansa

Also read my earlier post about airfare sales on British Airways if booked by November 13th.

A little while ago I posted about airfares to Europe on British Airways. They had some low fares, the possibility of a free stopover in London, and that fares to the non-London destinations were identical for each departure city. Those deals are quite good, but in doing a bit more looking, there are also special offers on Lufthansa and Aer Lingus. In some cases the British Air fares may be the lowest, but for some departure/destination combinations you could do better flying one of these other two carriers.

Keep in mind, you should compare the final price after all the airport/security fees since those can vary based on airports.

Lufthansa has fares as low as $197 each way from New York to London, and they have departures available from sixteen other U.S. cities. Besides London, destinations include Frankfurt, Madrid, Paris, Munich and Milan. Unlike the British Airways offer, each city pair has a different fare. In some cases you might be able to fly for less on Lufthansa.

For example, Seattle/London is available for $244, Seattle/Frankfurt for $268 and Seattle/Paris for $293, but the other Lufthansa destinations cost more than the same spots on British Air.

Likewise, Houston/Milan is available for $234, Houston/London for $241, Houston/Frankfurt for $256 and Houston/Munich for $288. But their Houston/Madrid ($315) and Houston/Paris ($348) is more than British Airways' $289.

These are one-way prices, and as mentioned the airport/security fees are additional.

And Travelocity is showing Aer Lingus with some special fares available as well. Some of them are higher than the British Airways and Lufthansa ones, but some others are really special and offer the best price.

For example, they show Chicago to Rome available at $381 roundtrip, compared to $558 roundtrip on British Airways. Chicago to Amsterdam roundtrip is $515 and to Paris is $521 on Aer Lingus but $558 on British. Yet British Airways is cheaper than Aer Lingus' prices for Chicago/Madrid or Chicago/Prague ($575).

Aer Lingus also has some great airfares if you want to visit Ireland, particularly from Washington, DC ($349 roundtrip).

The lowest airfares are weekdays, with weekend fares higher. The blackout dates for Aer Lingus are December 18th-25th; for Lufthansa it's December 12th-24th. Travel on Aer Lingus is through March 10th; for Lufthansa it's for departures through April 2nd.

Lufthansa must be booked by November 19th; Aer Lingus by November 30th.

I'm posting this to give you the most options if you're thinking of a trip to Europe. Depending on your departure point, you can compare these three (British, Lufthansa and Aer Lingus) and see how the numbers play out. As I mentioned, don't forget to check the comparisons after they've added in all the fees/taxes so you can see the real bottom-line prices.

To see the special airfares on Lufthansa, click this link. For Travelocity's Aer Lingus information, click here.