Manchester fares remain high while Dublin is doable

Q. I am going to Manchester, England at the beginning of March and am wondering why the fares are so high. I can't find anything for less than $730 and in October I only paid $620 on the same route. Usually it has been the other way around—fares go way down in winter. Any suggestions?

A. As we’ve noted before, dead-of-winter fares to Europe have remained stubbornly high, compared to previous years, perhaps a result of the airlines eliminating flights and flying smaller planes to cut capacity and boost fares. Our feeling is that you have nothing to lose by waiting until January to see if the airlines re-think this and start offering some better fares. You might want to look into flying to Dublin and catching a cheap flight from there to Manchester.