Thinking about flying to Europe this year? Well, here’s the skinny. Uber low fares from the West Coast to Europe are definitely harder to land this year compared to 2009. Last year, you could blindly pin the tail on any European city and subsequently fly there for under $700. However, this year you need more selectivity…and creativity.

For example, I just found a Seattle to London fare on Delta for March travel for $580. Basically, any itinerary for under $600 from the west coast to Europe needs to be snatched up. This flight goes into London’s Gatwick Airport, which is beneficial, because they have a solid list of discount carriers, including Aer Lingus, EastJet and RyanAir, operating there.

Book your inter-Europe flights on one of the aforementioned carriers. If you’re hesitant about booking your trip on separate carriers, read this.

Search for your London fare here!

Flights to Hawaii increased dramatically in late 2009 and still remain higher than usual. In part, this is due to the disappearance of ATA and Aloha Airlines, and the subsequent lack of another carrier fill that void.

Hawaii’s rise has corresponded with a decrease in the Japan’s flight prices. In some instances, you need only pay an extra $50 to $100, to fly over Honolulu and land all the way in Tokyo. Needless to say, travel to Japan is rock bottom, while Hawaii is higher than its North Shore waves.

However, there are some exceptions. Hawaiian Airlines is currently advertising fares to Honolulu from the states including Seattle for $402 (before taxes). See offer.

However, we’re finding Seattle to Honolulu for only $281 in late January, after taxes (see below)!

Search January and February times for the best chances for finding good rates. Please use our search box above.

While many travelers are fighting for the last available seats for holiday travel, December is a smart time to purchase fares for early 2010 travel. Case in point is the flight we found on Icelandair for Seattle to Paris in March for $598 (see below).

Icleandair has attractive fares from its three US departure cities, Seattle, Boston and New York, to many northern European cities. Prices start at $325 (before taxes) to Iceland and $399 (before taxes) to London, Helsinki and Bergen.

All flights go through their Reykjavik hub in Iceland. Travel is valid from Boston (Jan 15 – Mar 20), New York (Jan 18 – Feb 5) and Seattle (Jan 16 – Mar 20).

Tickets must be purchase by Dec 11.

Here on the mainland, when the days get shorter and the nights colder, our desire to “cheat the seasons” gets stronger. Tropical-destination-serving-airlines know this and often jack-up rates during the fall and winter. It’s only good business.

However, Hawaiian Airlines is being easy on us this year, with flights to Honolulu for as low as $319 through January 31.

See the complete sale details and notice the different fare intervals. For example, the sale is good from now through December 11, and then is restarted from January 5 to January 31.

Visit Hawaiian Airlines site…

We’re continuing to see great deals from Seattle (SEA) to various Asian cities including Japan, The Philippines and, in this case, Vietnam.

For those who are unfamiliar with the vacation potential of Vietnam, it has the “Tourist Trifecta”. It’s cheap, safe and warm. The US Dollar, Euro and British Pound will go miles here, literally. Many visitors hire drivers to chauffeur them around the country for a mere $15 per day.

Take advantage of these good deals before the industry rebounds, and prices inch back up. They are already showing signs of this.

We found this rate on Orbitz…

Virgin America is offering $182 round trip flights to Seattle (SEA) from Los Angels (LAX). This deal is valid on departures from March 25 through May 21. Non-stop service from SEA to LAX begins on April 8.

This deal expires on March 14. I ran a test itinerary and found that this deal is, indeed, legitimate. Final round-trip cost (w/ taxes): $182.08. And, flying from San Francisco will run you about $30 less!