Finding Cheap Flights to Prague

From the United States

The Czech national carrier ČSA (České Aerolinie) operates a code share agreement with Delta Airlines for flights to/from the US (destinations include New York JFK, Atlanta, Washington, Cleveland, Chicago O’Hare, Dallas Fort Worth, Miami and Los Angeles).

Direct flights to Prague from east coast cities such as New York and Atlanta are mostly via European cities such as Paris, Rome and Milan (although both companies also offer a popular non-stop service to Prague Ruzyně). Typically, a Coach Class return flight in July/August will cost around $1,890-2,300 USD (low season approx $1400-1900 USD), although return fares from New York with Swiss (formerly Swissair) can be had for as little as $1600 USD. From west coast cities such as Los Angeles (LAX), fares rise considerably if you opt for carriers such as United and Air France. However, a coach class return in high season with Swiss or ČSA will typically cost around $1,800-2,100 USD.

To get an idea of the flights and fares available, a good starting point is our own "Dynamic Fare Finder" above. Other low-cost Internet sites include airline consolidators such as One Travel (see below) or Hotwire.

Another alternative to consider is flying via the Austrian capital Vienna, perhaps spending a couple of days in this majestic city (the seat of the former Hapsburg Empire) before setting off for Prague. From west coast cities such as Los Angeles, we’ve found scheduled return fares with British Airways (via London) and KLM (via Amsterdam) during high season for around $1850 USD. You may also be able to find "Early bird" deals through travel agents specialising in Austria and the Czech Republic, which are lower than the normal Apex fare.

College students and adults under 26 can pick up good deals through youth oriented travel agencies such as STA-Travel.com. The site provides a database of the company’s cheapest fares and allows you to make a choice based on price, airline, time etc. Other ways to save money include booking through a discount agency, or if you’ve left arrangements to the last minute, buying a ticket through an agency offering consolidated/discounted fares such as One Travel. A useful "Rules of the Air" page (which gives the lowdown on specific subjects such as check-in time and baggage limits for airlines such as Delta and United) is an added bonus on their site.

To get an idea of combined package tours of Prague, Vienna and Budapest, a site well-worth visiting is www.goaheadvacations.com. The company (US based) offer an 11 day tour of the three capitals starting at a very reasonable $2269 USD.

From Great Britain

To get an idea of the flights and fares available, a good starting point is our own "Dynamic Fare Finder" above. The cheapest scheduled apex return flights (depending on what time of day you fly) cost around £180, including taxes, during August and September. However, even better deals are available if you shop around and/or travel with other carriers such as KLM or Lufthansa (see also cheapflights.co.uk below). It’s also worth noting that ČSA fly regular scheduled services from both Manchester and Birmingham to Prague.

Other options for London based travellers include flights from London City Airport which, although via Frankfurt, offer savings of around £40 over direct flights to Prague.

Of the low-cost carriers, easyJet offers flights from Bristol, Belfast, Newcastle, East Midlands and Stansted to Prague (the latter being a particularly useful for those living in central London, with the Stansted Express rail service from Liverpool Street taking about 45 minutes to reach the airport). In addition, the company operates direct flights from London Gatwick to Prague.

Not to be outdone, British Midland’s budget offshoot Bmibaby offers return Prague flights from East Midlands Airport. In Yorkshire, Jet2.com offer similarly priced low-cost flights to Prague from Leeds-Bradford International Airport (which include a generous hand-luggage allowance of 10kgs).

Unfortunately, as there are no direct scheduled services from Aberdeen, Edinburgh or Glasgow, Scottish travellers will need to make a connecting flight before continuing on to Prague. Surprisingly, the cheapest option is to fly to Amsterdam (for Aberdeen and Edinburgh with KLM) or via Frankfurt (with Lufthansa) for Glasgow.

Perhaps the best resource for finding late bargains and cheap fares is www.cheapflights.co.uk. Not only does the site remove the hassle of contacting countless travel agents by phone, but also provides direct e-mail and/or website links to companies listed in their database. The ‘information’ section also gives useful hints and tips on finding the best deals around. Other useful sites include www.travellersweb.com and FlightFareShop (easy to use with highly competitive prices).

For guided tours, operators such as Titan HiTours offer a combined itinerary which takes in Prague, Vienna and Budapest for a reasonable £1175.

From Canada

Until a few years ago there were no direct flights from Canada to Prague, so passengers had little choice but to fly via cities such as London, Paris and Frankfurt. All this changed however, with the introduction by ČSA of direct services from Toronto and Montreal (Dorval).

To get an idea of the flights and fares available, a good starting point is our own "Dynamic Fare Finder" above. West coast flights from Vancouver start at around $1950 USD in the low season, rising to approx $2500 USD in high season. Similar flights from Toronto are between $1850 USD and $2300 USD respectively. If you’re on a tight budget another option may be to travel out from a U.S. city such as New York or Seattle (for west coast flights).

From the European Union

To get an idea of the flights and fares available, a good starting point is our own "Dynamic Fare Finder" above.

Low-cost Airlines - plenty of routes now exist between Prague and other EU Member States with budget airlines in this sector including easyJet, Volare, Germanwings and Smart Wings.

Taking each in turn, easyJet operate daily low-cost flights from various cities in the U.K. to Prague, while closer to home, Germanwings operate a route to Prague from Cologne/Bonn. Smart Wings use Prague Ruzyně as a hub to fly to Paris, Amsterdam and Madrid, while from Scandinavia, Sterling.dk fly from Billund, Copenhagen, Goteborg, Stockholm and Oslo.

National and Regional Carriers - so far as the major national carriers are concerned, Air France offers six daily services from Paris (Charles De Gaulle) to Prague with a flight time of 1hr 40mins. For a return economy ticket in high season expect to pay around EUR 430-470.

In the Netherlands, KLM - Royal Dutch Airlines fly direct to Prague from Amsterdam (Schiphol Airport), while flights from Maastricht require one stop (via Schipol). If you’re planning to travel from Rotterdam, then a 40 minute train journey to Amsterdam is required for a direct flight out. For information on seasonal deals to Prague check out KLM’s ’special offers’ pages. For 2008, a return ticket from Amsterdam (in high season) costs around EUR 480.

In Germany, Lufthansa fly direct from Frankfurt/Main, Berlin (Tegel) and Munich (Franz Josef Strauss) to Prague Ruzyně. As the carrier frequently offers special web only deals (as well as a ‘happy hour’ page where visitors can bid for flights) you are advised to check online for Lufthansa’s latest prices. For each departure airport listed above, flight time to Prague is approx 1 hour 5mins.

The websites of other national carriers are also good sources of information for routes, schedules and prices. Each can be accessed by clicking on the relevant link: Air Baltic, Aer Lingus, Alitalia, Austrian Airlines, ČSA (Czech Airlines), Cyprus Airways, Iberia Airlines, Lot (Polish Airlines) Luxair, Malév (Hungarian Airlines), Olympic Airways, TAP (Air Portugal) and SAS.

From Australia and New Zealand

Flights to the Czech Republic from Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne are usually via Singapore and Zürich. Although ticket prices can vary wildly, a Coach Class return flight in July/August (from Sydney) will cost around A$3000 AUSD (low season approx A$2300 AUSD).

To get an idea of the flights and fares available from Australia, a good starting point is our own "Dynamic Fare Finder" above. In additon, Travel Com offers up a comprehensive choice from their online database, together with Flight Centre.

For citizens of New Zealand, return (high season) fares from Auckland (using carriers such as KLM or Lufthansa) start at NZ$2800, while travellers from Wellington should be prepared to pay around NZ$3200. A good online booking service covering trips to Prague can be found at: House of Travel.