Fares to Europe too high for fall?

Q. What's with flying to Europe this fall? Fares are preposterous. Flying from Boston to Amsterdam last time I checked was $1200 on American Airlines and British Airways. I flew the same route in the spring and got a fare for $650 or so.

A. Airfares can change at any moment, and most of the best deals are unadvertised. Fares to Europe from just about anywhere in the U.S. for fall travel have been unusually high, but there will be sales. When is anyone's guess. And if airlines continue to park planes in the desert, as they've been threatening to, fares will go up. Less capacity means higher fares. Right now, we're seeing November fares from Boston to Amsterdam around $663 round-trip including taxes on Iberia and a bit more on Alitalia, but that's subject to change. Most industry observers do believe that airlines must keep fares high in order to survive, and in order to keep fares high they must reduce the number of seats and planes they fly.