For Cheap Flights, Investigate `Air-Hitching' To Europe

If you're looking for a cheap flight to Europe, check out Airhitch, an organization in New York City that will get you to Europe often at a much-reduced fare.

Some sample one-way fares: $160 from the East Coast, $269 from Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle.

Airhitch was founded a decade ago by students searching for inexpensive flights to the Continent.

Described as "an airline hitchhiking assistance program," here's how it works: When you sign up, you give Airhitch a five-day period in which you can fly.

Airhitch guarantees to get you to Europe within this five-day range (it could be a Monday, a Tuesday, a Wednesday, etc.). The key word is flexibility.

Also, Airhitch won't guarantee you'll arrive at the city of your choice.

Instead of Paris you might wind up in Stuttgart. Or Amsterdam or London. Or Madrid, Rome, Milan, Zurich.

Says Airhitch: "You must be flexible enough to accept any destination in Western Europe."

Travelers learn the names of the carriers by calling Airhitch on Wednesday the week preceding their departure.

In the event a flight is sold out, Airhitch will put you aboard the next available plane, although Airhitch says 95 percent of its travelers leave on the first flight. Fares are the same returning.

Home-bound tickets can be purchased in the United States or at any of seven Airhitch offices in Europe.

There is no age restriction and Airhitch serves both students and non-students. More information

-- Airhitch, 2790 Broadway, Suite 100, New York, N.Y. 10025. Phone 1-212-864-2000. (It can be hard to get through; let the phone ring repeatedly.)