The Basics on Getting a Good Flight Deal
The smarter you are in travel planning, the better you will do in finding a cheap but good flight deal to Europe for The Catalyst. It can be tempting to dive in and buy a ticket as soon as you know you want to go on the program. Sometimes that works out great. But mostly it doesn't. Why? Flight prices are highly volatile and can change many times in a single day. First things first, though. Do you know our travel dates?
Catalyst 2023 Travel Dates
The flight to Europe from the USA is almost always an overnight flight, meaning you leave home on one day and get to London a day later. For this year, we will be flying out on Sunday 21 May and arriving in London on Monday morning 22 May. We don't care at all which flight you are or what time you arrive in London. Get the dal that works best for you. (When you arrive in London, never fear: we will be waiting for you at the hostel!) Similarly, you will be flying home from Prague on Monday 26 June. You may leave Prague on any flight at any time.
Price Tracking on Google Flights
We always suggest you go to Google Flights to set a price alert for the travel days and cities you need. Google Flights is one of the most powerful price and flight trackers you can find online. We recommend you use it. Here's how. Go to Google Flights. com and search for the flights you want, using our travel dates. When you find the flight days and times you want and the right arrival and departure cities, look for the toggle that says "track prices." Click on it you'll get almost daily emails that show price changes and help you know when to buy your ticket. Our example here is for flights on the days we want for 2023, flying abroad to London from Monroe, LA and home from Prague to Monroe.
Variables to Consider in Searching Flights
Most of our students book tickets that are not roundtrip tickets, because our program begins in London and finishes up in Prague. The tickets most people book are called "multi-city" tickets. When you look for the best pricing, you should start with a multi city ticket search because these will be the most hassle-free arrangements you can make.
Consider the City You Fly Out Of:
If you live in Minnesota or Wisconsin, it might be obvious to fly out of MSP. But if you look at flights from MSP to London and then home from Prague to MSP, here's what you get for our dates if you bought now:
What's good about these flights if you live close to MSP is that they're convenient, they're all Delta and your fight over to London is non-stop. So if the $1211 price tag doesn't scare you off, then this might be the right deal for you.
In previous years, we've had Catalyst students score amazing deals on flights to Europe out of Chicago. If you're a Wisconsin student and don't mind car pooling to Chicago to get your big flight to Europe, then this fare might feel like a real winner for you at $300 less than the price of the MSP option above, even if you have to add a $58 bus ticket to Chicago into the mix. Here are two looks at this itinerary:
Generally we would not recommend this option for the savings you are looking at, though, because there is always the "hassle factor" to consider. Maybe if you come from closer to Chicago this is a win, but otherwise the MSP flight is better.
Consider Flexibility on Fly-Out and Return Dates:
Sometimes if you look at flying over to London a day or two earlier than the start of the program, your ticket price can go down as much as $250. Think of the fun you could have coming over to The Catalyst a day earlier and saving that much money? Even after you spend $50 on a hotel for your extra night, you're still $200 ahead.