<p>You can be hit by bad weather anywhere anytime. And don’t forget the volcano last year that grounded so many flights. I avoid London & Paris whenever possible. Madrid is really nice for a transfer and Amsterdam isn’t too bad. </p>
<p>It is a good idea to fly from the US (or N. America tho I wonder about Toronto in December) to the final European destination if you can. If you’re not a seasoned traveler, dealing with a missed connection and language issues can be stressful. </p>
<p>I’m flying to Naples in a few weeks, connecting through Paris. I do usually avoid Paris but when it’s a choice between Paris and Rome, I’ll take Paris any time.</p>
<p>Do NOT fly through Amsterdam Schiphol, your luggage may very well be lost. It took me over 2 months to get compensated for a lost bag, in which time I luckily had brought another checked suitcase and carry-ons so I was living off of those for awhile in England. After my luggage was lost I looked up the incidence rate at Schiphol and it was extremely high, and the airline I was talking to (KLM) was not helpful at all in getting compensation. It was a very frustrating experience.</p>
<p>Flights should be their cheapest in another month or so, or at least that’s what I found. I booked in late May, flew in mid-August, and got the lowest rate I found (had been checking daily for a couple months). I booked through Hotwire, Student Universe I found to be more expensive.</p>
<p>Otherwise, I don’t think any airline or airport should be favored over the other. In terms of getting around countries with different language, they ALL have English language signs and are very easy to navigate for even the most inexperienced American travelers. Gates, signs, etc. are clearly marked everywhere. Most people working in airports will also speak English, so no problems asking around for help.</p>
<p>I’d say transfer on the east coast and then fly non-stop. It’s easier to navigate the airport when youre still fully awake and not completely tired yet. As of airlines you can’t go wrong with United, Lufthansa, or any five star alliance member…
Btw my parents book my flights for the summer in December. They are definitely not the cheapest in May. (that’d be sick though)
…just realized op is going to Germany. Well fly to frankfurt and then take a train to wherever you need to go. Easy going.</p>
<p>D had an interesting experience returning from Rome last December. She had a layover in Paris. Delays out of Rome caused her to miss her flight out of Paris. By the time they arrived in Paris, the snow was pretty severe and the airport was basically shut down. They (about 20 kids) were booked on a flight 2 days later and put up in a local hotel. </p>
<p>The next day, she and 2 friends went back to the airport to see if they could get on a flight standby. They were told You will be numbers 39,40,&41 in line. And you must relinquish your guaranteed ticket for the following day. The ticket agent recommended they go for it. The rationale being that many passengers were not making connections due to the bad weather all across the continent. So there will likely be more than 40 open seats. </p>
<p>Well, they took the gamble (not sure I would have had the guts to give up the sure ticket) and it worked perfectly. They even were able to spread out a bit because there were so many empty seats. </p>
<p>Bottom line advice, as others have said, is to book direct out of Europe if at all possible. Weve had layovers before and youll have to go through passport control and security again in most cases.</p>
<p>Last year my dd did a gap year in England. I used STA for her but bought a one way ticket. The cost both ways was only slightly more but gave her much more flexibilty on her return. Or, but a round trip ticket that allows you to change the flights which is usually so much more expensive.</p>
<p>It really depends where you will be studying abroad in Europe…but I agree to avoid Heathrow. If you cannot book a direct flight, you might consider Madrid as a transfer point. The airport is great, very easy to negotiate and did not have the winter weather problems that London, Paris and Amsterdam experienced last year.</p>
<p>Amsterdam has YOTEL, a mini-room hotel, paid for by the hour, inside security (so you don’t have to go through security again to get to your gate.) We had an 8-hour layover in Amsterdam on our way to Turkey, and had lovely 6-hour nap and showers, etc before finishing our trip, and it helped us to arrive feeling human instead of like zombies! We liked KLM and amsterdam a lot, and plan to fly that way (with a long layover - which is often the cheapest option) again. It’s safe, and easy to find (near the McDonalds) and you can book online and pay with credit card by the hour…</p>
<p>Thanks for all the great advice! I tried working with some of the travel agencies and was surprised that they felt that staying with the same airline for the entire round trip was critical, even if it meant transferring in odd places, very tight connections and 25% higher fares. I ended up going on my own and booked flights that transfer in Toronto on the way out and in Chicago on the way back, both with 4-hour layovers. (I’ve had problems at O’Hare around Christmas time, but at least there is family nearby if she gets really stuck.) If I find that I regret using different airlines I’ll add that to the advice for the next group of travelers.</p>
<p>Yes - problem with changing airlines is that if you are delayed due to one flight, the next flight on a different carrier doesn’t have any responsibility to rebook you. You’re screwed! We stay on the same carrier, unless booking a very, very long layover…</p>
<p>Wow – I’m screwed? That’s a little harsh :-)</p>
<p>Yes, I understand that having the same airline for one direction is ideal – and I have that taken care of – but I don’t understand the reason for having both the August flight out and the December flight back on the same airline.</p>
<p>Wow - you found CHEAPER flights by buying two one-way flights on different airlines, than buying round-trip using the same airline? Please, please tell me how! Really! My DD is flying back home from overseas, and all the flights she finds are about the same price for one-way and round-trip. Any hints would be much apprectiated.</p>
Really!