Book economy flights to Europe for as low as $299

The end-of-year discount frenzy for Europe continues: You can book economy flights to Europe for as low as $299.

On Monday, we reported that business-class fares to Europe were significantly slashed. Now, so are economy-class fares, which truly makes this time of the year the best time to finalize any trip plans to Europe.

SYLVAIN SONNET/GETTY IMAGES

Through this collection of discounted fares, you can fly to London; Paris; Milan; Lisbon, Portugal; Zurich; Barcelona; and Dublin — some of Europe’s most popular tourist destinations.

The prices most definitely won’t last long and flights are sure to fill up, so catch these fares as quickly as possible.

Deal basics

Airlines: Aer Lingus, Delta Air Lines, Icelandair, Norse Atlantic Airways, Play and TAP Air Portugal.
Routes: Baltimore; Boston; Chicago; Miami; Newark; New Windsor, New York; New York City; Philadelphia; and Washington, D.C.
How to book: Search through Google Flights to determine your availability, then book directly on the airline’s website.
Travel dates: Generally from November 2022 through March 2023, with some availability in April 2023 and September 2023; availability varies by route.
Book by: Within the next two days.

Major thanks to Scott’s Cheap Flights for finding another set of too-hard-to-pass-up deals to Europe. The site’s Premium membership, which costs $49 a year and comes with a 14-day free trial, provides discounts of up to 90%. The Elite membership also finds premium economy, business-class and first-class deals.

Sample flights

Compared to the slate of business-class deals to Europe we reported on Monday, the economy-class discounts in this bundle are a bit more limiting. Sure, you can fly to Lisbon, Paris, London, Milan, Dublin and Zurich, but many of these discounted flights are clustered around major cities, particularly the Boston, Chicago and New York areas.

Nevertheless, these tickets are all in the $400 range, so if you don’t want to spend on business class, these economy tickets are definitely worth the price.

Here are some of the flights we’ve bookmarked:

TAP: John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat Airport (BCN), starting at $299 (includes a layover in Lisbon).
Play: Dulles International Airport (IAD) to Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG), starting at $342 (includes a layover in Reykjavik).
Aer Lingus: Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) to Humberto Delgado Airport (LIS), starting at $380 (includes a layover in Dublin).
Play: Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) to London Stansted Airport (STN), starting at $384 (includes a layover in Reykjavik).
Aer Lingus: JFK to Zurich Airport (ZRH), starting at $386 (includes a layover in Dublin).
Aer Lingus: O’Hare International Airport (ORD) to ZRH, starting at $402 (includes a layover in Dublin).
Aer Lingus: Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) to Dublin Airport (DUB), starting at $406.
Delta: Miami International Airport (MIA) to Milan Malpensa Airport (MXP), starting at $430 (includes a layover at JFK).

When booking your flights, we recommend using Google Flights to find your ideal dates and then purchasing your tickets directly from the website of the airline of your choice. Airlines provide a more reliable cover if your flight faces a cancellation, delay or booking change.

If, for example, you wanted to fly from Boston to Lisbon in February, the only significantly discounted flight available is the Aer Lingus one that departs at 6:25 p.m. on Feb. 23. If you were to return to Boston around a week later, the only available Aer Lingus option leaves Lisbon at 10:50 a.m. on March 2.

GOOGLE.COM/FLIGHTS
GOOGLE.COM/FLIGHTS

Sometimes, Google Flights advertises lower fare prices due to the availability of third-party booking options. In this case, Google Flights shows the total fare can come out to $369. However, if you were to buy your tickets directly from Aer Lingus’ website, the fare totals $381.

GOOGLE.COM/FLIGHTS

Keep in mind that all these discounted fares only apply to basic economy. Aer Lingus’ Saver option offers the cheapest possible tickets, but there are some restrictions as customers won’t have advanced seat selection or a checked bag included in their fare.

AERLINGUS.COM

You can select a seat with the Saver option, but there’s an additional fee attached to the fare. Seat prices can range from $5.99 to $114.99. The most expensive seats are in the exit row areas of the aircraft and have far more legroom.

Since checked bags are also not included in the fare, you’ll have to pay extra if you plan to bring luggage. Luggage prices depend on weight — bags at the lowest weight, 44 pounds, cost $109.98, and bags at the maximum weight, 66 pounds, cost $129.98.

AERLINGUS.COM

Maximize your purchase

Use cards that earn bonus points on airfare purchases, like The Platinum Card® from American Express (5 points per dollar on airfare booked directly with the airline or through American Express Travel, on up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year), Citi Prestige® Card (5 points per dollar on airfare), Citi Premier® Card, Chase Sapphire Reserve (3 points per dollar on airfare), American Express® Gold Card (3 points per dollar on airfare when booked directly with the airline or through Amex Travel) or the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card (2 points per dollar on travel). See this post for more on maximizing airfare purchases.

The information for the Citi Prestige Card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Bottom line

If you live on the East Coast or in the Chicago area, this deal is quite convenient. Tickets to European cities like London and Paris can be quite pricey, but these discounts allow you to tour some of Europe’s most beloved cities at a significantly lower price.

Arco de Rua Augusta in Lisbon, Portugal. ALEXANDER SPATARI/GETTY IMAGES

While some of these cheap fares extend to the spring, most of these travel dates are for the winter, so you can see the Christmas markets and escape the crowds of tourists during the offseason.

If you don’t want to shell out thousands of dollars on business class, these economy-class tickets serve as a far more affordable option, even if they don’t come with as many perks as business-class tickets.