I am looking for plane tickets to Frankfurt for the end of May, with plans to return in two months’ time from then. I am considering two options, and would like any feedback you may have on which is the better of the two. FIRST, I have looked at Airtech’s and Airhitch’s fares from the West Coast (specifically LAX), where I will starting out from. Airtech’s FlightPass costs $229 each way + tax, and Airhitch’s offer from the westcoast to western europe is comparable, though I think slightly more expensive. Airtech’s website seemed to be offering exactly what I wanted in terms of point of departure and arrival, although some of the posts which I have read on this site have made me think twice about how reliable they are — likewise for Airhitch. So, this could be a reasonable fare, though not much lower than some of the student fares I’ve gotten quoted from CIEE and STA, and possibly not worth the uncertainty of going where I need to go (I will be staying with friends in the Frankfurt area for free, so landing somewhere like Paris and having to travel to Frankfurt and pay for accomodations along the way would add considerably to my otherwise "vacation" costs).
SECOND, I am looking at the possibility of going to the East Coast first (either with a driveaway company or by bus) and looking for a cheaper flight to Europe from there, since I have noticed that the fares offered by Airhitch from teh east coast are considerably lower than those departing from teh west coast. Also, there is the possibility of catching a courier flight from teh east coast (this is not really an option on teh west coast), as well as various last-minute sales which may be offered. If I do this, I may have to spend a long time looking (not ideal) and pay for hostel accomodations while I am looking, so I don’t know how good an idea this is — is there anyone who has gone to europe from teh east coast and who has an idea of how such a search for a cheap flight would end up?