Iceland Express is Currently Quoting Roundtrip Summer Rates as Low as $785 Between New York and London

This year, the most frequently-posed question to numerous travel sites is: Where can I get an inexpensive trans-Atlantic airfare for vacationing in Europe this summer? Would-be travelers recoil in amazement at the prices quoted by most standard airfare search engines: a minimum of $1,200 to $1,500 round-trip to London or Paris. I've suggested, in earlier blogs, that XL Airways of France might finally get its act together and offer fares as low as $747 to Paris on some summer days -- but it remains to be seen whether that European upstart will ever create an English-language website enabling persons to buy those fares on trips that originate in the United States.

Which leaves Iceland Express as the sole remaining safety valve. Although the Iceland-based upstart will no longer be offering round-trip fares in the $400s and $500s, as they did last year, it is possible on some dates -- I stress the word "some" -- to fly trans-Atlantic this summer on Iceland Express for as little as $785 round-trip, including all government taxes and fees. And that occasional price will probably save you some $360.

A test booking on British Airways for a round-trip flight between New York and London on Mondays in June results in a total price of $1,146 per person, including all taxes and fees. The same dates on Iceland Express result in a total price of $785 -- but that, of course, requires a one-stop flight via Reykjavik.

Keep in mind that on other dates, Iceland Express sometimes quotes rates as high as $905 (including tax and fees) round-trip between New York and London. But that quote still produces a saving of at least $241.

To come up with a price of only $785 round-trip on Iceland Express will sometimes require that you shift the dates of your flights away from what you wanted to choose. But careful analysis will permit some travelers to cross the ocean for less than $800.