With the summer only a couple of months away, you might be thinking about traveling to Europe, in which case it will be useful to know what are the 11 cheapest places to fly into Europe from US. Many European cities are beautiful places, each with their own unique culture and architecture, so no matter where you go, you’ll have a good time.
While researching information for this article, I was shocked at the prices of various flights. I had an idea that transcontinental flights from the U.S were not going to be cheap, but for Europeans like myself, the prices probably look even more expensive. That’s because in Europe we have low-cost carriers like Ryanair Holdings plc (ADR) (NASDAQ:RYAAY), EasyJet, and WizzAir, where you can buy flights for as cheap as $11. Yes, it comes with lots of trade-offs; you have to pay extra for the luggage, as you are generally allowed only once piece of carry-on, and snacks are very overpriced. And, you might not be very comfortable, as the company crams the airplane with more seats. The last time I flew from Germany to Spain, I paid a little bit more because I wanted a seat by the window, but I wasn’t careful with selecting seats online, so I ended up sitting next to a “wall”, as my row was located between two windows. But, in general, flying low cost is totally worth it, as it offers a great opportunity to travel, especially for students for whom money is often a problem.
I intentionally mentioned low-cost carriers, as Ryanair Holdings plc (ADR) (NASDAQ:RYAAY) recently promised that it will launch flights from Europe to the U.S, with prices starting from $10, and it’s something that we should be looking forward to. Meanwhile, let’s take a look at what offers are currently available.
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To compile the list of destinations, I used Google Flights (maybe not the best flight search website, but it’s the easiest and fastest). I picked the four largest cities: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Houston, and then searched for flights from those cities to Europe. The dates selected for the round-trip were any week in July, so the actual prices may be different depending on the starting point and the time period. Then for each destination I calculated the averages and sorted the city based on these values.
Aside from listing the destinations in the list of the 11 cheapest places to fly into Europe from US, I also added some notes on the available flights and airlines that operate them. You might also want to check out the 10 best airlines to fly to Europe to make sure that you also have a positive flying experience.
11. Barcelona
Average price: $886
Let’s start with the most expensive on our list of cheapest flights, Barcelona. The second-largest Spanish city is the perfect destination if you want to experience a new culture and spend some time on the beach. The cheapest way to fly to Barcelona is from Los Angeles, as Iberia offers flights from $666, followed by Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL), which offers flights from New York at $723. People that want to get to Barcelona from Houston will have to spend more, as the cheapest available flight is offered by JetBlue Airways Corporation (NASDAQ:JBLU) and costs over $1,200.
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10. Paris
Average price: $859
If you live in New York, you can get to Paris with WOW, an Iceland-based, low-cost carrier and pay $650 for a roundtrip. WOW also operates flights to the French capital from L.A ($800) and from Houston ($1,167). The flights may be longer, as you’ll have to change flights in Reykjavik, but you can have one more check-in on Facebook (isn’t it one of the biggest pleasures of traveling?). From Chicago, you can fly to Paris with United (United Continental Holdings Inc (NYSE:UAL)), but make sure that they are not overbooked, or you may be dragged off the plane (too soon?).
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9. Berlin
Average price: $859
Being interested in the Second World War and the Cold War, Berlin is my favorite city (I actually named my dog after Checkpoint Charlie, one of the city’s main attractions). Affordable flights to Berlin that ranks 9th in our list of cheapest places to fly into Europe from US are operated by WOW from New York, Chicago and L.A, at prices ranging from $650 to $810, while from Houston, you can fly with United starting at $1,195.
8. Istanbul
Average price: $854
Istanbul is one of the largest and most beautiful cities in the world and is the only city in the world located on two continents: Europe and Asia. To visit it, you can fly with TAP Portugal from NYC at prices starting at $602. Flying from L.A is more expensive and will cost you $1,046, but you get to fly with Turkish Airlines, the best airline in Europe.
7. Zurich
Average price: $843
If you crave some Swiss cheese and chocolate, you might want to consider Zurich,the number 7 in our list of cheapest places to fly into Europe from US. It is one of Europe’s most beautiful cities, which has amazing museums and architecture. According to our findings, the cheapest flights to Zurich are from New York, with Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) offering roundtrips starting at $611. Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) also operates flights from Houston at $811. From Chicago, SWISS offers flights starting at $809, while from L.A, flights with LOT cost over $1,141.
6. London
Average price: $838
Fun fact: “London is the capital of Great Britain” is one of the most popular English phrases in the former Soviet Union countries, because it’s the first phrase that pupils learn in school. If you want to go and say “hi” to the Queen (not gonna happen) and do other stuff that tourists do in London, you can fly from New York with Icelandair, which offers prices starting at $593. Flights from L.A and Chicago cost around $890 and $810, respectively, while from Houston, JetBlue Airways Corporation (NASDAQ:JBLU) has flights with prices starting from $1,059.
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5. Frankfurt
Average price: $835
We are continuing our list of cheapest places to fly into Europe from US with Frankfurt, that is a big, vibrant city that is also one of the largest commercial and financial hubs in Europe. And another advantage of visiting it is that you can easily get to Luxembourg, Brussels, Cologne and many other cities located nearby. From New York, flights to Frankfurt can be found starting at $580, operated by WOW, which also operates flights from Chicago ($750) and L.A ($800). With JetBlue Airways Corporation (NASDAQ:JBLU), you can fly to Frankfurt from Houston for $1,208. Frankfurt is definitely one of the cheapest places to fly into Europe from US.
4. Brussels
Average price: $829
Up next in our list of cheapest places to fly into Europe from US is Brussels, that is another beautiful city with a lot of old architecture and many other interesting places to see, including the famous Manneken Pis (spoiler alert: it’s disappointingly small). WOW operates flights to Brussels from New York at prices starting from $600 and $680, respectively. From Chicago, Icelandair offers flights starting at $747, while from Houston, flights with JetBlue cost around $1,289. In case you forgot, these are prices found through Google Flights for July, so you might be able to find cheaper flights to the cities included in this article through other sources or for different time periods.
3. Amsterdam
Average price: $819
Fancy some brownies and want to see some weird sex clubs (my idea of Amsterdam is inspired by the movie “Eurotrip”)? You can get to Amsterdam from New York or L.A with WOW, paying $600 and $760 for the roundtrip, respectively. From Chicago and Houston, there are flights with United ($793) and JetBlue Airways Corporation (NASDAQ:JBLU) ($1,124).
2. Stockholm
Average price: $761
If you want to go and see what happened in Sweden last night, there are flights from New York starting at $519 (Norwegian). WOW offers flights from Chicago and L.A at $680. From Houston, you can find a flight with JetBlue Airways Corporation (NASDAQ:JBLU) at $1,164. And now, let’s see the number one in our list of cheapest places to fly into Europe from US.
1. Dublin
Average price: $717
Probably because it’s located closer to the U.S geographically than any of the other cities on this list, Dublin is the cheapest place to fly into Europe from US. There are flights from New York, Chicago and L.A operated by WOW, which cost between $600 and $670. In addition, aside from Istanbul, it’s the only city where a flight from Houston costs under $1,000, as United (United Continental Holdings Inc (NYSE:UAL)) offers flights starting at $946.
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