Iceland Express Has Numerous Dates in September for a $649 Round-Trip Between New York and London

If you're anxious to fly to that tabloid-crazed capital of the British Isles, but have been put off by cost, then turn to the website of Iceland Express ( www.icelandexpress.com ). Its easy-to-understand booking calendar is showing rates (including all fees and taxes) of only $649 between New York-Newark and London-Gatwick (via a stop in Reykjavik both ways) in September. That's a sharp drop in price from the $853 that the upstart Icelandic airline has been charging in August. Both prices are way below what the standard airlines are charging (even Aer Lingus charges around $950, Newark to London -- via Dublin -- in September).

XL Airways of France ( www.xlairways.com ) is your other safety valve. Though its seats are mainly sold to residents of France, for roundtrips that begin westbound from Paris to New York, its English-language website is still showing seats available for both August and September, at roundtrip prices that include all taxes, fees, and fuel surcharge, and that amount to $988 in August and early September and only $722 starting September 12.