Do you have plans to take off to Europe this year? You might after learning about Wow Air’s latest deal. Known for super cheap flights with frequent sales (like the $55 flights to Europe last year and $69 flights from California), Wow Air is at it again.

The deal

For a limited time, this budget airline is offering $69 one-way flights to Europe. Based in Iceland, Wow Air’s $69 fares go directly to Reykjavik from 13 cities in the US.

Even better, a lot of the dates are in the early or late summer (June or September) and early fall (October), making this an excellent deal for that time of year.

For a little bit more than $69, you can go through Reykjavik and connect to London, Paris, Copenhagen, Berlin and several other European destinations. For example, with a $149 one-way flight, you can fly from Boston to Berlin, Chicago to London, or Detroit to Dublin. For more information where they fly, you can check their online route map.

This flexibility gives you the option to either enjoy a holiday to Iceland, one of the hottest tourist destinations in the world right now, or continue on to Europe to your favorite cities.

Iceland Tips: A Budget guide to Iceland | Cheap hotels in Reykjavik | Renting a car in Iceland | Saving on dining out in Reykjavik | Best bus tours in Iceland

As with any deal like this, if you really want the cheapest price, act fast. Once the seats are booked on each flight, the $69 fares will disappear.

Wow Air destinations in Europe

As we mentioned, these flights are not just leaving from big hubs like New York and Los Angeles. Here are the 13 departure cities for this deal:

• Baltimore/Washington, D.C. (BWI)
• Chicago (ORD)
• Cleveland (CLE)
• Cincinnati (CVG)
• Detroit (DTW)
• New York (JFK)
• Newark (EWR)
• Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW)
• St. Louis (STL)
• Pittsburgh (PIT)
• Boston (BOS)
• San Francisco (SFO)
• Los Angeles (LAX)

Deals we found

Searching on Wow Air, we found several $69 flights still available. For example, we found cheap fares from Dallas to Reykjavik on June 9th, New York (JFK) to Reykjavik on June 20th, Boston to Reykjavik on September 25th, Chicago to Reykjavik on September 3rd, Washington, DC to Reykjavik on September 8th, and Cleveland to Reykjavik on September 23rd.

Tips for flying Wow Air

Before you book that cheap ticket, read through our tips for flying Wow Air and our guide to flying the Cheapo skies on Wow. Like most budget airlines, Wow Air doesn’t include any perks with the basic fare, so you’ll have to pony up extra for everything from checked baggage to a seat reservation.

Remember, the devil — or in this case, the cheap fare — is always in the details!

Now, it’s time for the fun part to find a good deal! Check wowair.us to search for fares.

The post Flash Sale: $69 Flights to Europe on Wow Air appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Related: See all flash deals on European travel

Do the math and that’s only $450 per person, with all taxes and fees included. Even better, you’re not limited to a short booking period but rather a six-month window. You can travel between September 16, 2016, and April 3, 2017. We found flights in the winter and spring leaving on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday (and coming back those same weekdays) for this special fare. If you want to travel on the weekends, the price is just a little bit more. Just book by Monday, August 22 to score this deal. 

And even though the price is right up our cheapo alley, the perks that come with a flight on Emirates are usually way beyond our budget. On budget airlines like Wow or Norwegian, you get a low price but everything else comes at a cost (seat reservation, baggage, food, etc). However, Emirates Economy offers a whole new level of experience. You can savor a four-course meal, watch 2,500+ channels on the in-flight entertainment system, and even log onto free Wi-Fi during your trip. And if you are worried about getting hit with steep baggage fees, sit back, relax, and enjoy your flight because Emirates Economy lets you bring two checked bags with you. All of this for only $450 per person? Sign us up!

Pack your bags. It’s time for a trip to Milan! Photo: Christopher J

Once you get to Milan, you’ll have no problem finding affordable accommodations. EuroCheapo has hotels in Milan for as low as $60 per night for a double room. Plus, you don’t have to stick to Milan. Hop a train and be in Venice in three hours, Florence in two hours, and Genoa in 2.5 hours. You can even sneak in a night in Bologna, a beautiful student city with a reputation for amazing cuisine — but of course, you’ll find incredible food no matter where you go in Italy!

Click here to search dates and book your ticket. 

The post Flight Deal: 2 Tickets to Milan, Italy for $899 on Emirates — Book by August 22 appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Right now on Norwegian, you can book one-way trips for an incredible price with a “LowFare” ticket in September and October. From New York and Los Angeles, prices are only $175 to Paris and $220 for the return trip back to the US. The fare from Miami is starting a little higher at $299.

Previously, Norwegian has rolled out great deals like $240 flights to London, while WOW Air upped the ante with $99 one-way flights to Europe. The current LowFare of $175 to Paris includes all taxes, but you still might have to pony up for a few extra fees depending on how you like to travel. We’ve talked at length about the extra fees that can add up on budget airlines like WOW Air. Expect to pay for everything from seat reservations, checked baggage and meals.

Related: 8 Tips for finding cheap flights to Europe

However, if you just want to jet off to Paris with a small carry on and don’t care where you sit, you can grab a round-trip LowFare ticket for only $395! But being a bit more realistic, you’ll probably need to pay around $40 extra for a checked bag. Or an even better option might be to upgrade to LowFare+. This sale fare is still only $265 to Paris from New York and includes a seat reservation, checked bag and even meals with wine. Throw in the return LowFare+ ticket, and you can still get to Paris and back for only $575.

Even though oil prices have been falling since 2015, airfares to Europe have still not budged much. Finding any roundtrip fare for under $1,000 can be a challenge. However, maybe that is finally changing with airlines like Norwegian raising the stakes. You can contemplate the future of airline fares later, though. Right now, book your ticket to Paris, because these fares are only on sale from February 18 to 21, 2016.

Related: How we scored a $298 flight to London on Norwegian

The post Airfare Alert: Norwegian launching nonstop flights to Paris for $175 appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Today, increasing awareness of climate change has meant that budget air travel in Europe is often targeted as an environmental disaster. On the consumer side, passengers are overwhelmed by a huge number of fees and charges—for checking a bag, for checking in at the airport, for preferred seating, for using a particular credit card—all of which continue to creep upwards.

The stories told about low-cost carriers tend to focus on the distance of secondary airports from the cities they purport to serve, the rudeness of staff, the inflexibility of various charges and the difficulty in obtaining refunds for canceled flights.

People continue to fly budget airlines in great numbers, of course, but they’re not enjoying themselves. How could things be improved? How could a budget airline actually build a fan base?

Here are five suggestions for improving budget airlines in Europe:

1. Offer transparency in marketing and pricing.

An airport named after a city 100 km away does nobody any favors. Acknowledge location and market around it. Eliminate last-minute charges for the use of a particular credit card. While you’re at it, get rid of perks like early boarding that make embarkation so regimented and unpleasant.

2. Provide a carbon offset opt-out option.

Under this proposal, passengers would be able to click a box to remove the carbon offset option from their flights and save a euro or two. Some would do this. Many would not. Here’s a better and more radical idea: get tons of press by announcing that all flights will be carbon offset in their entirety.

3. Develop a simple, well-scrubbed aesthetic.

Budget airlines shouldn’t be grubby. They should be enveloped in simplicity, ease, and lightness. Colors should be gentle and music should be soft. Flight attendants should have nice uniforms that reflect the airline’s aesthetic. (They should also look rested, competent and pleased to be at work.) License a pleasant 30-minute electronic score for boarding.

4. Offer tasty snacks for purchase.

If ancillary income is the key, offer something worthwhile—tasty treats with some real relationship to the departure or destination city. Also, keep mark-ups in check. On-board mark-ups need not be extortionate.

5. Brand around location.

Souvenir items sold in flight shouldn’t be anonymous. Why stock the duty-free cart with items that can be found in any international airport when cute objets of local relevance make better gifts? Fill the in-flight magazine with the insights of interesting people who populate the route map’s destination cities.

Your recommendations

Can you think of other ways that budget carriers could improve their service? Do you agree or disagree with these points? Tell us about it in the comments section.

The post Flight Memo: 5 ways to improve European budget airlines appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.