1

It depends on where in Germany you specifically want to go to. There's no point flying into Berlin if you wanna be over here in the middle Rhine valley. Any slight margin saved (say 50 bucks) by flying into Munich for example would be swallowed up by onward transportation costs in terms f time and money if you want to be several hundred miles away.

Also consider an open jaw ticket where you fly into city A and home from city B. That's a mistake a lot of N Americans often make; that too costs time and money returning for no reason back to the point of entry just to leave. Leave instead from some place else. :-)

2

Hi Shmitty,
welcome to thorn tree...
while planning ahead is good, I think it could be too early to really plan on buying your tickets yet.
We're not into spring yet with summer to come after that....September is still (in part) high season but the crowds will have either gone home or be heading that way. Prices offered now are certainly subject to change.
I used to fly LAX to CDG (Paris) and I'd book at the most three months in advance.

Things to consider. You haven't said where in Texas you'd be leaving from or where in Germany you'd be going. Dallas-Ft Worth is of course a major hub for domestic and international flights but that doesn't mean you're stuck with that.

There are major cities in Germany that you can fly into but there are not that many international airports with flights direct from the US.

The budget travel websites can offer some good deals but in trying to offer a bit of everything they don't always show all the options.

Some flight that aren't direct can sometimes be less expensive:
For example, Icelandair is showing a flight from DFW to Frankfurt Sept 5th from US$ 505, returning Sept 18, $612.
http://www.icelandair.us/destinations/flights/item18974/

US Air and American are trying to work out their merger so their schedules will be subject to rationalization so wait to check on their pricing for a while.
Have you checked out this site?
http://www.skyscanner.com/flights-to/fran/airlines-that-fly-to-frankfurt.html

Are you a student? Sometimes STA Travel has good discounts for students...(google them).
Altho' not a student, I've used them and was very happy with their service and assistance.

My experience has always been LAX to Europe but here are others on the forum with more extensive experience, hopefully they'll add their comments - - but do give us more info from the departure and destination...it will help a good deal.
thanks and good luck.

3

In spite of the good advice given above, I would recommend you to post on the US site too because the US- Europe prices are not the same as the Europe - US deals. Airlines like to add to the confusion by charging round trip fares at different rates depending on where you are starting from.

4

Check out Condor Airlines.

I am flying with them to Croatia in September and they were $500 cheaper than any other airline. They are a German airline so if they operate in your area maybe they will have something.

Good Luck

5

Hi Shmitty!

Welcome to TT!

Your travel dates and your specific desired departure and arrival airports are two refelant pieces of info. It's not the same to look for fares from Frankfurt to Houston than, let's say, from Munich to Dallas or from Hamburg to El Paso.

It could be early to book a flight for your travel dates but it doesn't mean you don't have to look for fares now just in case you find a good one.

Webs like Skycanner, Kayak and Orbitz can be a good starting point.

Dallas-Ft Worth is of course a major hub for domestic and international flights

...and Houston another one :)

There are major cities in Germany that you can fly into but there are not that many international airports with flights direct from the US

It depends on what do you mean by that many. German airports with direct flights to the USA (not necessarily to Texas), AFAIK, include: Frankfurt, Munich, Berlin, Dusseldorf, Hamburg and Sturttgart.

6

it appears that buying one way tickets would cost the same
It probably makes more sense to buy a round-trip ticket; if you aren't sure when you will leave Germany, spend a bit more on a ticket with a flexible return date. If you consider flying back from a different destination in Germany/Europe than where you arrived, buy a so-called open-jaw ticket.

Also, before you buy a one-way ticket to Germany, check with the airline whether or not they will allow you onboard; if German immigration requires proof of onward travel, check-in staff will ask for that when you show up (in Texas, that is) and they won't let you onboard without it.

Lastly, should the reason for buying a one-way ticket be that you want to travel around Europe extensively, make sure you are familiar with the Schengen Area and the impact that has on how long Americans are allowed to travel around the countries that are part of this area (including Germany).

7

Bear in mind that many airlines have a deal called rail and fly with deutsche bahn which allows onward rail travel anywhere on the network. See http://www.bahn.com/i/view/GBR/en/prices/germany/rail_and_fly.shtml for more information - your travel agent should be able to arrange this - you cannot arrange it on arrival in Germany.

8

debimcgrath,

Please do a search on Condor airlines. Someone else mentioned them on the forum and I did a search...they are not a regularly scheduled airline; they provide more vacation services,esp. through travel agents, etc., then they sell the additional seats to individual passengers.
There was a similar company Corsair which I flew. Fantastic deal, US$299 r/t all in...(other flights would have been in the US$600 range back in 2002)...what I got was a seat...a rather small seat..and a lot of delays, both leaving LAX and esp. leaving Paris (like 8 hours late or more...).
The reviews I read from recent Condor passengers vary..there are some who were quite happy..but many who had long lists of things that were wrong, went wrong and weren't fixed.

As I said, I flew Corsair and I was overjoyed with the savings. For someone for whom the price was the absolute most important thing, then maybe Condor is ok. But know the worst before you fly and be prepared.

9

Swim!

10

Condor are Lufthansa's charter airline - packed like sardines I believe.

11

just for the record: Condor is no longer part of Lufthansa (since approx. four years ago), they do however still focus on charter flights and are probably the leading company for long-haul charter in Germany. they nowadays offer something called 'premium economy'. i.e. free middle seat and + 15cm seat pitch.

12

Thanks guys, y'all are awesome! I am located in the Dallas area and want to go from Sep 19th to Oct 3rd.

13

Here's the website for Condor but right now the prices for your dates (they don't offer DFW, Las Vegas is the closest) are about the same as other airlines...but you can tract what's available..
http://www.condor.com/us/index.jsp

You also haven't said where in Germany you want to go-or if you did, I didn't see it. That's a key part of the equation.

14

Munich