Earlier you may have read our post about cheap airfare for the trip back to Switzerland. Due to the uncertainty coming out of the pandemic, we booked those flights much earlier in advance than we normally would going to Europe. About 9-10 months prior. We decided, why not look at what’s available closer to departure to see and show that flying over to Europe isn’t as expensive as some may think. Some of you also might be spur of the moment travelers, others might have had some unexpected calendar openings and we want to provide a look at what airfare can be only a couple months in advance and to be honest the best fares we have purchased were 2-3 months prior to our trip. If you missed deals from earlier in the year, don’t be discouraged because here is what was found about 3 months prior to our trip.
We used the same mentality of flying roundtrip to Switzerland during high ski season of Jan-Feb out of Chicago or Milwaukee. It’s also a good to look at Chicago being a major airline hub and Milwaukee being a much smaller regional hub to provide you guys some ideas of what cost might be if you’re near or far from a major airport:
Milwaukee to Geneva:
- Cheapest flight: $715 on United. Milwaukee > Washington DC > Geneva.
- 5 total flights available between $715 – $735
- Airlines: United, Air Canada and Swiss
Milwaukee to Zurich:
- Cheapest flight: $705 on Air Canada. Milwaukee > Toronto > Zurich
- 7 total flights available between $705 – $728
- Airlines: United Air Canada and Swiss
Under $800 out of Milwaukee is still a good price, especially a couple months out during a high tourism year. I would expect, but can’t confirm, similar type prices out of Nashville, Indy, Raleigh/Durham and other medium sized airports. Now to transition over to Chicago.
Chicago to Geneva:
- Cheapest flight: $436 on TAP Portugal. Chicago > Lisbon > Geneva
- Additional flights:
- $558 on Iberia. Chicago > Madrid > Geneva
- $565 on British Airways. Chicago > London > Geneva
- $568 on Air France. Chicago > Paris > Geneva
- Roughly 8 total flights available between $436 – 580
Chicago to Zurich:
- Cheapest flight: $445 on Swiss Air. Chicago > Zurich
- Additional flights:
- $495 on Aer Lingus. Chicago > Dublin > Zurich
- $574 on TAP Portugal. Chicago > Lisbon > Zurich
- Roughly 8 total flights available between $445 – $700
There may not have been the eye-popping deal of $275 round trip that we found when we originally looked, but one under $450 and another under $500 with several other options are prices to take advantage of.
As someone who obsesses with searching for flights, I wanted to provide other flight options to other areas in the Alps where individuals typically travel to ski. Some of you may have already skied or enjoyed winter in Switzerland and want to venture out, here are several options that I quickly came across in my search to show there aren’t just deals to Switzerland.
Munich, Germany – $540 Roundtrip
Germany may not be the first country you think of for winter sports, but the German Alps have plenty of options including the host of the 1936 Winter Olympics, Garmish-Partenkirchen, which is about an hour or so south of Munich. Just because you land in Germany doesn’t mean you have to stay there. If you prefer to rent a car, it’s a reasonable drive to famous ski towns in Austria like, Innsbruck, Kitzbuhel, Soelden, Ischgl and many more.
Innsbruck, Austria – $540 Roundtrip
Innsbruck is centrally located in the Austrian Alps with plenty of options for winter tourists. If Innsbruck isn’t your scene and you’re looking to get into the heart of the Alps away from it all, well you’re already within 2 hours of most of the major alpine resort villages. Heck, if you’re adventurous enough, the Italian Dolomites and its famous skiing is a 2ish hour drive. Innsbruck not being the major hub that Vienna is, $540 is a great price.
Turin, Italy – $576 Roundtrip
Italian skiing may not be as famous as France or Switzerland, but it sure can rival it. Turin, host of the 2006 Winter Olympics, is a major Italian city on the foothills of the Italian Alps that border France and Switzerland. From Turin you can easily get to top tier Italian resort towns surrounding Turin like Courmayeur and Cervinia or you can get to Chamonix, Val-d’Isere and the heart of the French Alps by car in just a couple hours. I don’t believe you can get direct to Turin from the US, so a flight under $600 is a great deal.
Milan, Italy – $481 Roundtrip
I’ll admit Milan is a bit of a wildcard here, but if you’re comfortable renting a car you can get to a lot of destinations in 2-3 hours. You’re 2 hours from a lot of the resorts north of Turin on the Italian-Swiss border like Cervinia, 3 hours from Chamonix in the French Alps, 3 hours from the famous Swiss ski resort of St. Mortiz and 3 hours from the Italian ski village of Bormio close to where the Italian, Swiss and Austrian borders all collide. Again, a bit of a flyer on that one, but for those who can afford to be a bit more flexible with how they get around, Milan is a could be a good option with the types of flights you can get in and out, especially in winter.
There are of course plenty of variables of where you are flying out of and where your destination is, but the mindset should always be to stay diligent in your search. If you miss a great deal and are kicking yourself, don’t hang your head, there’s always another flight deal down the road. We also understand that countries are going into different tiers of Covid lockdown and early 2022 might not be in the cards this year, but eventually things will start to normalize so take this blog as encouragement and hopefully spur some creative flight searches for your next trip. Just because Zurich or Munich might now work, Turin or Innsbruck just might be the way to start your next adventure. Happy flight hunting and feel free to message us at any of our social platforms if you have questions on where to search and if we think the flight is a good deal.