Amazing prices to Europe for $399 or less in October

I have been amazed to see the great prices for travel to Europe in October. I almost fell out of my chair this morning checking prices on roundtrip flights in October from Omaha to Vienna ($351); Athens ($314); Rome ($322) and Copenhagen ($351).  These prices have been changing rapidly as they sell out fast. Some require multiple stops and long layovers. October is the best month to travel in Europe as the weather is perfect and the crowds are light as the kids are back in school. This may be the best deal you will ever find if you want to travel to Europe in your lifetime. To put this in perspective you will pay 4X or 5X more for these flights next summer. P.S. I made up my mind this week that I am going to fly to Europe in October. This will be my first international flight in 18 months. Yippie!

Airlines are also offering GIANT domestic airfare sales – Just as predicted, domestic airlines are seeing a lot of empty seats between now and the holidays and they want to try to fill them with airfare sales.  These sales started a month ago and it appears they still have a lot of unused seats. Southwest continues to offer $59 OW fares but you have to be very flexible to find them. Other major airlines including United and AA are also offering great fares domestically if you travel in between now and the middle of November.  Many flights are less than $199 roundtrip.  This may be the best airfare sale of the year. Please call one of our friendly travel advisors to help find the perfect vacation at 402-435-8888.

Can airline service get any worse? I’m afraid we will soon find out – The pandemic saw the airlines take a massive cut in service and personnel to deal with the billions in lost revenue. Now the airlines have a shortage of pilots, attendants, and even call center people to answer the phones. Rumor has it that one airline (not to be named) has had on-hold times as high as 9 hours. Others have had on-hold times of 2 hours on average. Add to this the new rules airlines are implementing to require vaccinations by all staff and you can see that thousands may soon be placed on unpaid leave which will cascade into even longer on-hold times.  Here is one easy way to avoid long wait times…Call a friendly travel advisor. Executive Travel’s on-hold times last week were 9 seconds, not 9 hours. CLICK HERE to read more. 

I am optimistic that we are going to see a rapid decline in COVID in the coming weeks  – I just got done reviewing the CDC numbers this week and see that the first week in September saw a dramatic decline from the prior week in reported cases of COVID (-12.7%), positive testing (-5.5%),  hospitalizations (-4.1%) and most importantly deaths (-11.3%).  If you look at all the graphs you will see that it appears we have reached the top and now are headed downward if it mirrors how the Delta variant curve looks in some European countries. My hope is that the month of September will be the start of very positive news for our economy and the travel industry in the future.  Please take a look at the CDC graphs by CLICKING HERE. 

Few Open Spots – Autumn Group Departures – Reserve Today! – If you have New England and the most stunning fall foliage on your bucket list, then here is your chance! We have two openings on our tour taking off this October 9-17; CLICK HERE to see the detailed tour program (this tour is for men and women). Or how about visiting Mackinac Island and staying at the Grand Hotel? Step into a different era, spoil yourself and enjoy the company of 15 like-minded women on our once-in-a-lifetime “Grand Tour” – October 8-15 with Women of the Midwest. This journey includes two days at the stunning Niagara Falls; it doesn’t get any better! CLICK HERE for full tour details. Call or email our friendly group department, (402) 858-0033 / GroupDepartment@executivetravel.com to secure your spot; first come, first served!