Flights

So, you are looking for flights to France. The great news is that airfare to Europe has probably never been cheaper. Budget airlines have brought new competition and lower prices especially if you live near major cities like LA, San Francisco, New York, or Miami. However, if you don't live in these areas, you might still benefit.

When to Book

In my experience, flight prices to Europe usually stay fairly consistent up until 3-4 weeks before departure. Ideally then I would suggest looking up prices at most 4 months in advance to get a feel for prices, have a website track flight prices for you and then book sometime 1-3 months in advance for the best price. Remember that until you get your visa, buying flights is at your own risk. I felt it was worth it to book before I had my arrete and visa and it worked out well, but you can decide how much risk you find acceptable.

When to Arrive

The contract start date is October 1st, but some académies apparently have orientation in the week before. It would also be good to arrive a few days early to give yourself time to overcome jet lag and get your bearings. 

Which Airline to Choose?

I go into more detail below, but here is a quick summary of my advice

1. Choose US based airlines or British Airways for generous carry on weight policies.

2. Compare prices from other major airports to save money

3. Booking Roundtrip is usually cheaper than booking two one-way tickets

Luggage considerations

Carry on weight limits is one consideration for choosing an airline. Most European airlines including the budget airlines have weight limits between 8-12 kg (about 17-26 lbs). On the other hand, US airlines (American, Delta, and United) have no carry on weight restrictions, and British Airways has a generous 23kg / 50 lb. limit. You'd have to be carrying around gold ingots, dumbbells, or heavy camera equipment to go over that. By flying these airlines you could pack all of your heavy items in your carry on so you can worry less about your checked bag's weight. However, be aware that with international partnerships you might find Delta selling tickets on Air France or American selling tickets on Iberia so be double check to see who the actual operator is. I find that Google Flights does a good job of showing this.

Booking Creatively

Depending on where you live, you might find flights to be fairly expensive. In these cases, it may be cheaper to find transport to a different major city and then buy a ticket flying to France from there.

For example, flying from Cincinnati might be $200 cheaper than flying from Louisville or Columbus. In the Northeast, it can be cheaper to take a train or bus to NYC and flying from there.

Another example, flights from Charlotte, my home airport, are usually $950 roundtrip while flights from New York City are less than $400 roundtrip. By spending $150 for separate roundtrip flights to NYC, I only pay $550 total. Even if you add in an overnight hotel and transport costs, you'd likely still come out ahead.

Just remember that in these cases you may have to pay twice to check any bags. If you go this route, you should also ensure that you have enough time between flights to make the connection. You could also use the chance to stay a while and enjoy being a tourist in another city before you embark on your TAPIF adventure.

I find that Google flights is a great search engine as it can quickly search flights from multiple cities at the same time. You could check flights from Cincinnati, Indianapolis, and Louisville all at once.

One Way vs. Round Trip

I generally prefer purchasing separate one-way flights, but most airlines discount round-trip flights to the point that a one-way sometimes costs more than a round-trip ticket. It makes no sense. However, this is less the case for budget airlines as I describe below. Therefore, if you really prefer to buy one way tickets, consider going to NYC or LA and buying tickets from there on a budget airline. 

Budget Airlines

If you do fly from LA, New York, or a couple of other cities you'll have the option to fly Budget airlines such as Norwegian, Level, FrenchBee, and Corsair. Nowadays with all the mainline airlines selling basic economy, there isn't as large of a difference between the regular and budget airlines as there used to be. No matter who you fly, at the base fare you cannot select a seat or check a bag unless you upgrade / pay extra. Your ticket will generally include a carry on bag. That being said there are a few things to consider. 

If you are buying tickets one way, the budget airlines are almost certainly going to be the most affordable option even after paying for extras. If you choose to fly roundtrip then their prices will probably be very similar to the mainline airlines. Here are the downsides to the budget airlines:

- Many of the budget airlines have financial troubles. Norwegian has been struggling, XL Airways ceased operations this year, and so has WOW air. These airline collapses often come around September or October exactly when you'll be flying to France and the collapses have happened quite suddenly. If you do book on a budget airline, you may want to buy travel insurance to cover you in case the airline goes belly up.

- Budget airlines don't have large networks so if things go wrong you might be stuck for a day.

All of the Following may cost extra

- Food and drink, even water.

- In-flight Entertainment

- Pillows / blankets

One other benefit to budget airlines is that they offer nonstop flights at the same price as a mainline flight with a layover.