July 7: Transatlantic Airfares Cut by up to 30% in Summer Sale

Transatlantic airfares have been reduced by up to 30% in a summer sale by four of the biggest airlines in the United States and Europe.

On July 7, KLM, Air France, Delta and Alitalia launched a simultaneous sale on flights from airports dotted across the United States to popular European destinations including London, Barcelona, Madrid, Milan, Rome and Venice. However, despite Air France and KLM’s participation in the sale, tickets to Amsterdam and Paris are not selling at a discount.

The sale only applies to fares with departure dates in July and August, giving a rare advantage to fliers who have been slow to organize their summer vacation. It is expected to last until July 14, so travelers have just under a week to make their bookings.

Analysts at Hopper explained that the four airlines were cooperating rather than competing to drive up demand on a selection of their Transatlantic routes that have been selling more slowly than they’d like.

"Besides being members of the SkyTeam Alliance, the four airlines participating in this fare sale have signed a joint-venture partnership that covers all Transatlantic flights on what is essentially the world's largest Transatlantic network," said Patrick Surry, Chief Data Scientist at Hopper. "In addition to the codesharing of flights, each Transatlantic flight offered by the airlines is covered under the same contract of carriage."

Fare sale details

Airlines participating in fare sale: Delta, KLM, AIr France and AlitaliaStart of fare sale: July 7Fare sale length: We expect the sale to end on July 14Conditions: Sale only available on departure dates in July and August 2014Airfare savings: Up to 30% lower than the average price reported in Hopper's flight reports

Routes on sale

• Charlotte to London for $857 round trip

• Dallas to Barcelona for $737 round trip

• Dallas to London for $850 round trip

• Dallas to Rome for $745 round trip

• Dallas to Venice for $808 round trip

• Los Angeles to Madrid for $750 round trip

• Miami to Milan for $822 round trip

• Orlando to Madrid for $780 round trip

• Philadelphia to Barcelona for $725 round trip

• Philadelphia to Madrid for $802 round trip

• Phoenix to London for $889 round trip

• Raleigh to London for $860 round trip

• San Diego to Barcelona for $836 round trip

• San Diego to London for $712 round trip

• San Diego to Madrid for $742 round trip

• Seattle to Barcelona for $714 round trip

• Seattle to Madrid for $748 round trip

• Tampa to London for $858 round trip

About Hopper Research

The research team at Hopper uses data drawn from a combined feed of Global Distribution System (GDS) data that includes 10 million flight price queries per day, containing about one billion individual trips per day, to provide insights on airline pricing to consumers.