For MSP travelers, summer 2024 is the summer of Europe

Twin Cities travelers this summer will have more choices than ever for flying directly to European cities.

Why it matters: European vacations are fantastic, and all this new competition means sweet deals. Plus, the new routes are great for Twin Cities-based businesses with clients and operations across the pond.

Driving the news: German airline Lufthansa's first-ever flight from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport to Frankfurt goes wheels up on Tuesday afternoon.

State of play: This summer there will be 14% more seats on planes flying from MSP Airport to Europe than the all-time high in 2019, according to the Metropolitan Airports Commission, which owns and operates MSP.

• "It's definitely the summer of Europe," MAC CEO Brian Ryks said in a news release.

Catch up fast: After the pandemic severely curtailed travel, dominant MSP carrier Delta Air Lines is basically back to its normal transatlantic schedule, flying direct to London, Paris, Amsterdam, and Reykjavik.

• The Atlanta-based airline added direct service to Dublin last month, where it's going head-to-head with Aer Lingus, the Irish airline that resumed flying from MSP to Dublin in April.
• Condor (Frankfurt), KLM (Amsterdam), Air France (Paris), and Icelandair (Reykjavik) also fly direct from MSP.

What they're saying: Thrifty Traveler editor Kyle Potter last week was seeing direct flights to Europe in the peak of summer — July and August — for $500 to $600, "which is unbelievable."

What's ahead: Potter thinks this summer could just be the beginning as more airlines look to grow by expanding to more cities. He's keeping a close eye on Lufthansa's new flight to see if it can prove to others that you can compete with Delta at MSP.

• "If they can make that work, and I have no doubt that they can, I think that sends a signal to other airlines," he said.

Be smart: Potter offered a few other tips for European travelers.

• Be flexible with your dates and use Google Flights to find the cheapest days on a color-coded calendar.
• Sometimes adding another city to the end of an itinerary actually makes it cheaper, so check to see if adding a city lowers the airfare.
• The highest prices for flights and hotels are in July and the first half of August. If you can go after that, prices get substantially cheaper.

Sign up for Axios Twin Cities for free.