Cheap Flights to Paris: How a Couple From Boston Plans It

A couple in Boston can find cheap flights to Paris by searching wide on flexible dates, checking the full price with bags, and letting an alert watch their home airport until a fare is clearly low. This walk-through follows one made-up trip from start to finish so you can copy the steps.

The trip

Sam and Priya live near Boston and want a week in Paris in spring. They can take time off in any week from mid-April to mid-May, they each want a carry-on and one checked bag between them, and their budget for the two return tickets is flexible but they would like to stay clearly below what they see on a first search. They have no airline loyalty and are happy to fly on a weekday.

What they need

Two return tickets from Boston (BOS) to Paris (CDG or ORY) in a four-week window, with a total price they feel good about, bags included, and a schedule that does not eat the first day in Paris.

Step by step

1. Search wide first. They open a flight search tool, enter Boston as the departure airport and Paris as the destination, and pick a whole month instead of exact dates. In a r/travel thread about finding cheap flights without a destination, the top answer was simply "Google Flights - and then hit Explore". Sam and Priya already know the destination, so they use the calendar view, but the idea is the same: let the prices show the cheap days.

2. Look at both Paris airports and nearby origins. Paris has more than one airport, so they search the city instead of a single code. They also check one other departure airport within a few hours of home, adding the train or car cost to the fare before comparing. Routes with more airlines tend to be cheaper, but they only count a saving after the trip to the airport.

3. Move the trip by a few days. The calendar shows that a Tuesday departure in the second week of May is clearly cheaper than the same week's weekend. They move the whole trip by a few days, which is worth more than any search trick.

4. Compare the full price. For each of the three cheapest options they add the checked bag, seat selection and the cost of getting to the airport. One low fare turns out to be a basic ticket with no bag. After adding one bag it costs more than a slightly higher fare that includes it. They keep a small table in their notes:

   Option	Fare for two	Bags	Total
   A	lowest	not included	add bag fee
   B	slightly higher	included	no extra
   C	middle	included	no extra

5. Check the schedule, not just the price. A poster in r/travel recently asked which of two Boston to Paris itineraries to take when both cost the same, one leaving earlier in the evening and one later at night (thread). It is a useful reminder: when the price is equal, choose the schedule that fits your arrival plans. Sam and Priya check arrival time, hotel check-in and the return flight times.

6. Set an alert and wait for a clear dip. They are not ready to book on the first day, so they sign up for free deal alerts, choose Boston as the home airport and pick email and WhatsApp. Cheap Flights Alert watches fares from the airport they choose and messages them when a fare is clearly cheaper than usual, with the price, dates and a direct link to book with the airline or booking site. It does not book flights for them. They also read the Boston airport page, which shows the lowest fare and the 30-day low for the airport.

7. Book when the full price meets their number. Before they started, they wrote down a total that would make them book on the spot. When an option meets it with bags included and a sensible schedule, they book directly with the airline or booking site, and check the final price on that site, since prices can change before booking.

What they end up with

Two return tickets to Paris on a weekday, bags included, at a total they chose in advance rather than a price they happened to see that day. They did not need a special trick. They compared the full price, kept their dates flexible and let an alert watch the airport.

As for fares, the Boston page is a live view and not a promise. As of 4 November 2026, its lowest fare is 83 USD to Washington, with a 30-day low of 83 USD, so it does not show a Paris fare today. That is normal: the lowest fare from an airport is often to a nearby city, and Paris fares appear when they are clearly cheaper than usual for that route. If you fly from a different airport, look at your own airport's page the same way, or sign up for alerts.

For more on how this works on a bigger map, read our guide to cheap flights to Europe and our explanation of how flight price alerts work.

Where this falls short

• Alerts need a good fare to appear. If no fare from Boston is clearly cheaper than usual during their window, no alert is sent, and they will need to decide whether to book at a normal price.
• It is not a route search. Cheap Flights Alert covers major airports in the United States and Europe and does not do price prediction, so if you have fixed dates and a fixed route, a route search such as Google Flights may fit better. Google can also track a route and email you about price changes (Google help).
• Spring is popular. Demand around school breaks pushes fares up, and a commenter in a recent r/travel thread says flights around school breaks are very expensive. If dates are fixed to school holidays, plan for a higher price and book on the full-price comparison.
• Basic fares come with limits. A cheap ticket may not include a bag, a seat or flexibility, so read the fare rules before paying.

Sources

• Reddit r/travel: With no real destination in mind, is there a way to find just the cheapest flights to random destinations?
• Reddit r/travel: Which flights to Paris would you rather take?
• Reddit r/travel: Am I out of touch or have flights gotten absurdly expensive?
• Google Travel Help: Track flight prices