Flying to Europe
How do you find the best airfare to Europe — on a flight that's cheap, convenient, and reliable? Rick and the ETBD team usually let their trusted travel agents do the work for them. But some people prefer to research fares online and and make the reservations themselves. What's your strategy and why?
If you have questions about flying, we suggest you talk to a travel agent. You can also check out Rick's advice on flying.
Read the Distillation: Best Tips for Flying Smart, 2005
- Please don't post questions here. Use our Travelers Helpline.
airline news
Northwest just announced that frequent flyer trips will have a $100 charge and EVERY checked bag will be +$15. They did not put a start-date in the newspaper article.
Linda
Port Townsend, Wa USA 07/11/2008
$ to use f/f miles
some airlines are going to start charging to use your frequent fly miles starting in aug
so far on the news tonite it listed
united usairways and delta
use'm up folks !
mike o
plymouth , pa USA 07/04/2008
Sleeping on the Plane/Jet Lag
I'm getting ready for a trip to Scotland, and am reviewing all my travel products. Just thot I'd pass along my favs for sleeping on the plane:
Komfort Kollar: The BEST head/neck pillow I've ever used. Designed to hold the head up from EVERY angle (tip: get the smallest size for your neck measurement, because you can expand it). Combined with ear plugs and an eye mask, I slept like a baby on my last flight from Hawaii (where I was living at the time) to Ireland. (www.magellans.com)
No Jet Lag: Again, flying to Ireland from Hawaii (11 hrs time diff), I got there in the early morning, and had NO jet lag....felt like a million bucks and was off to Dublin for the day. I also was instantly adjusted to the Ireland time zone. Same thing on the flight back. All natural, no side effects. (www.drugstore.com)
Happy Traveling!
Ms.O
Lynnwood, WA USA 06/21/2008
Great summer fares by cheaptickets.com
Check out the low fares from west coast to europe on Cheaptickets website. approx $950 all taxes incl.
calif USA 05/29/2008
Helpful info for budget travelers
As budget travelers with two kids, we go wherever there is a good deal. Our rule is NEVER pay more than $500 for airfare including all taxes and fees. We have a "life list" of places we want to go and track prices on Kayak.com. They have a email service where they will email you when a route gets below a certain point. For example, France was near the bottom of our list in terms of priority when I saw a fare for $271 from our hometown of Spokane to Paris. We booked it and had the best time! This summer we really wanted to go to Italy, but fares were too $$. Instead, we're flying for $400 each (including tax) to Dusseldorf on LTU nonstop. We'll then rent a car and drive to Italy. It would be even cheaper to take a budget flight to IT, but we want to see the Alps enroute. Overall be flexible about dates and destinations and you can travel much more frequently. Also, I don't think the convenience of open jaw warrants the extra $, especially for four tickets. It's easy to plan a fun circuitious trip from any airport. Or for our France trip, we rented a car and drove to the far south end of the country. There we returned our Paris-rented car (small charge) and took the bullet train back to Paris. Finally if your hometown airport usually has expensive tickets. Try booking from JFK or WAS. Then find a cheap way to these larger cities. For our Dus trip, we booked the tickets from JFk and are using ff miles to get to JFK from Denver. Just be sure to give yourself plenty of time (4 hours) to make the change. Finally, we take our kids out of school to capitalize on a good deal. Our Duss trip this summer would have been $300 more per ticket if we had waited to the end of the school year. Instead our older son will miss the last four days of school, which we don't think is a big deal. Good luck.
Sally
Laramie, WY USA 05/19/2008
Check weight restrictions before buying!!!
A ticket was purchased for me by my employer- and I learned that one of the connecting legs is with Meridiana- which has a 8kg limit for carry-ons! (Only one at that!) The equipment I'll be carrying will push me over that limit- and I may end up having to pay an extra fee!
Bob
Lakeland, Fl USA 05/09/2008
There is no Too Early
There is no "best time" to book fares. I've purchased as early as 11 months before and got an incredible deal from Knoxville, TN to Zurich for a base fare of $350 in June. I've waited as late as 3 months prior and snagged a deal from NorthWest that was actually a data input error on their part for the price of a ticket to London in June...but they DID honor their error.
You must research the prices enough to know when the price is average, good, or fantastic. There is no set timeframe for good deals.
Tim
USA 05/06/2008
Buying fares too early is not recommended
Waiting about 2 months before you book your flight is the best, that is when the best deals pop up. Earlier than this is not recommended since when the seats first become available they are priced high. This is my experience.
At the 2 month mark it's best to check the fare repeatedly over a 10-day period to see the trend.
Kevin
Los Angeles, CA USA 04/21/2008
Travel Agent Advice
I wasn't sure if contacting a travel agent was the way to go - with service fees and all - but I contacted a local agency in Magnolia (Seattle) and loved it. The agent got me a fare lower than online, did the research and even with the $40 service fee saved me over $150 on my airfare. I would suggest trying....it can't hurt to have some professional advice.
J.S.
Seattle, WA USA 04/18/2008
Cheap Airfare
I'm leaving from Seattle going to London on April 23rd, 2008 and I bought my ticket back in August. I used the website statravel.com, which is a student discount site and got my ticket for only $740 total. I highly recommend this site for students or anyone under 26.
Laura <email>
Edmonds, WA USA 04/04/2008
Maybe not so good to book way in advance?
We are planning on taking the Turkey tour in April 2008 and planned back in early November 07 to purchase the airfare at that time. Since we wanted to fly into Istanbul and out of Athens, we thought we should go through the travel agency recommended by ETBD instead of doing this online which I have done in the past. All we wanted them to do is book our flight and that came to $2600 for two. By doing this early, were hoping that we would grab a lower fare! I've since found out that not only is it easy to book "multi-cities" online, the fares turned out to be better in middle February 08, and we could have saved over $350 by waiting (this includes all taxes plus agency fee we paid). Has anyone else had a similar experience by choosing to wait? It's really hard to know when to jump. By the number of carriers we had to choose from in Feb, it seemed that there were plenty of seats available for the non-stop flights we wanted.
Amy
Seattle, WA USA 02/15/2008
Cheap Airfare to Europe
I just got roundtrip tickets to Madrid for $563 each, for trip leaving Dulles (Washington, DC) to Madrid April 21. This included an open jaws return from Seville. Lowest fares I found were on Iberia website: www.iberia.com/us . Prices seemed to go up on the weekend, then drop on Monday or Tuesday. This was by far the cheapest fare, even searching other sites for Iberia flights (kayak, orbitz, etc.)
If these rates still hold, it may be cheaper to take an Iberia flight, then fly/train within Europe to your destination.
Shari <email>
Yorktown, VA USA 02/10/2008
Cheap Airfare to Europe
Forgot to add: this is a nonstop flight. Iberia also runs nonstops from Boston, so this may help you, Molly.
Shari
Yorktown, VA USA 02/10/2008
looking for cheap airfare
Does anyone have any hints for finding cheap flights to Europe this spring from the East Coast. hoping to travel in late April...I know the dollar isn't going to far, and the airfares are looking outrageous!
molly <email>
boston, ma USA 02/08/2008
New, big Delta fee
Delta is now imposing a new ''Delta supplement'' of about $200 on trans-Atlantic tickets originating in Europe. So far, this is not yet in all markets in Europe but will be shortly and will also in the future include tickets originating in the US. Not only may this fee raise the cost of purchased Delta tickets, but it will raise the cost of using SkyMiles by about $200 for a European ticket, once fully implemented. This will be a huge devaluation of SkyMiles.
R. Semmes <email>
Ala USA 02/02/2008
Airfare to Rome
Thanks for the tip, Jeff. We booked on Iberia as well for our air to Rome for our cruise in June. We also paid $850 RT. I know it could go down in Feb., but this year it may not, so I think it was a good deal. You're definitely right that it wasn't posted on any other site.
Melanie
Boston, MA USA 01/26/2008
Go to the source - worth re-mentioning
We are traveling to Italy in June. We checked orbitz, travelocity, expedia, all the consolidators, etc. etc. and the cheapest fares we found were on Iberian Airlines, for $1250 - $1500 each. On a lark, my wife went to Iberian's own website . . . and found the exact same flights we'd been planning on getting elsewhere, for $850 each. We bought three tickets for $2550, where we had been planning to spend $2700 to $3000 for only two tickets. Exact same flights. I'd never found a decent fare on an airline's website before, but this situation has made me a believer in what others have said. We saved $1100 just by going to the airline's site.
Jeff <email>
Fort Worth, TX USA 01/16/2008
Beware of Kayak Deals
Kayak,beware they do not search ALL options.
Kayak completely ignores some airlines. It keeps sending me alerts for these great "deals" it has found for me, only thing is they are at least 300 to 400 dollar more then the flight I just booked. !! I emailed them and they asked which airline,, I told them, they haven't replied back... guess why..LOL
pat
canada 01/06/2008
Planning airline ticket purchase – now or later?
My wife and I have reserved a two-week trip in an apartment in Meiringen, Switzerland in September/October, 2008. The travel service through which I have reserved the apartment offers international flights as a service but is fully open to my supplying my own airfare. In planning the airfare my past experience with travel services is that their roundtrip airfare from the Southeastern United States to Europe averages in the $800-$950 neighborhood. I plan on obtaining my own air travel so that I’ll have better control over the route and airline, etc.
My dilemma is when to make the purchase. I can purchase tickets today from Asheville, NC or Greenville, SC to Zurich via Atlanta (oddly Atlanta to Zurich costs more than using it as a stop) for $919 including all taxes and fees. This price is, in my opinion, comparable to what a travel service would charge me if I purchased the airfare from them. I am satisfied with this price, carrier and route but what I cannot decide is if should wait to closer to the travel date, hoping for a sale while simultaneously risking a price increase. Consequentially, I am currently sitting on the fence. I’d love to read the opinions of others.
Edward <email>
Asheville, NC USA 12/16/2007
Opinion
My opinion is that you put the cart before the horse by renting a place to stay BEFORE you actually had airfare.
Buy your airfare first...whenever the sale pops up. THEN rent a place to stay. Now that you've already rented, you're locked into those specific dates. You've just significantly lowered your chances of being able to cash in on an airfare sale because you've significantly lowered your flexibility.
Tim
USA 12/16/2007
Kayak - a terrific search engine.
An excellent search engine for flights (and others) is KAYAK.COM which is, essentially, a tool that searches all the other on-line agents. It scans Orbtiz, Airfare, Continental, American and other airlines direct. Then, if you like what you see, you are linked directly to those folks. The site also shows a "matrix" option which allows sorting by other criteria. I think it's the best travel search engine out there now.
Mark <email>
Portland, OR USA 12/07/2007
Kansas City to Rome in March
I was able to get better airfare and better schedules going directly to AA than what I could find on Orbitz, Expedia, flycheapabroad.com, whichbudget.com and a few others. Now, what to do with a 4-hour layover in Chicago?? Any suggestions?
Tiffany <email>
Smithville, MO USA 12/06/2007
Big new Dutch ticket tax
The Dutch parliament has passed a huge new air ticket tax effective July 1, 2008 that is larger than even the UK tax. That is a good reason to avoid the Netherlands in planning ones trip to Europe. If the Netherlands is one's final destination, a better bet would be to fly into Brussels and take the train.
SP
USA 12/03/2007
AA can't book DB codeshare ICE trains
If anyone is booking a flight from the USA to Germany with American Airlines, and wanting to take advantage of the codesharing with Deutsche Bahn, please be advised that due to a technical problem, this is currently not possible using the "American Airlines and OneWorld codeshare" setting. I was trying to find a different schedule to QKL (Cologne Central Station from Frankfurt's Fernbahnhof at the airport), but had to make do with a previously planned reservation on hold.
Recently SNCF in France have allegedly cancelled their code sharing with American Airlines, but this is not reflected at AA.com. By the same token, Deutsche Bahn in Germany is continuing its code sharing, but the codeshare trains can't be booked just now. The only way it is possible is to use "All airlines", and not the "OneWorld" lines. This is due to an error at the site. Hopefully this will be corrected soon, but I wanted to let everyone know about this before booking anywhere to Germany with American, and wanting to take the ICE train. However if you want only the flights, and to pay for the train fare separately, you should be fine with booking on aa.com.
Josh Hanz <email>
Frisco, TX USA 12/02/2007
Britsih Airways
The baggage problems of British Airways at Heathrow have been widely publicised. However, there is much good news about this airline.
Next spring it moves into Terminal 5 at Heathrow, which will greatly improve passenger and baggage handling. British Airways has just announced profits of £593million for the most recent six month period (that's well over a billion dollars). It has just ordered 12 Airbus A380s and 24 Boeing 787s, with more orders to come, and it is hoping to take over Iberia.
Bob
Bristol, UK 11/16/2007
Any good stories about British Airways?
I think British Airways must be ripe for a takeover. They appear to be horribly managed. First, there is the astonishing lost baggage mess -my wife's was lost six months ago, returned in two months after apparently having been submerged for some time and they have yet to compensate us except for a token amount nowhere near their $1500 legal limit. (We did get an email saying they hoped that this experience would not deter us from flying with them again!) Television and the internet have been full of BA lost baggage stories. Their carry on restrictions are severe. You can't select your seat in advance unless you pay the top fare. They recently admitted to flying planes empty because they lacked cabin crews. It goes on and on. We will never set foot on a BA plane, even if we got a free ticket.
USA 11/15/2007
winter-spring fares to UK
BMI & British Airlines are advertizing vg fares now for under $600 to UK incl all taxes.winter thru March travel. Remember fuel charges are only going to go up.
JS
Ca USA 11/14/2007
British Air Frequent Flier Miles
Just a heads up for those flying on British Air. I paid full price for tickets Seattle-Amsterdam Roundtrip. These were not budget ticket prices, but comparable to other airlines at the time. The reason I flew BA was because they are partners with my frequent flier plan (Alaska). With other partner airlines I have received a frequent flier mile for each mile flown. I was shocked to receive only a quarter of my miles flown when miles were posted long after the vacation. BA said (after I contacted them upon return) that certain ticket categories only accumulate 25% of miles flown. This was never clear when purchasing the tickets, which were NOT inexpensive. I looked all over the BA website and found some small fine print somewhere about this, but it is NOT made clear at all at purchase. If frequent flier miles are important to you, be aware of BA policy.
Rich
Bellingham, WA USA 11/14/2007
Finding the Best Rate/Flight Combinations
I am planning a trip to Italy in March, 2008 and discovered that I could do better than either Expedia or Orbitz by going directly to American Airlines and booking a flight to Frankfurt and then going to Alitalia's website to book a flight from Frankfurt to Milan (there are no direct flights from Texas to Milan). I was able to get good connections that made much more sense (why fly to Denver from Texas to then fly east to Europe or fly from Milan to Munich to then fly west to get home?) and allowed more time to make connections and deal with customs. I will be flying from Austin through Dallas to Frankfurt and then returning the same way. The best thing about having Dallas as my port of entry on return is that it is only a little more than 3 hours from home so if anything happens and I cannot make my final leg, I can always rent a car and drive the rest of the way if necessary. Incidentally, flying into Frankfurt is often the cheapest way to get into Europe and from there you can find cheaper flights to your destination cities. I did the same sort of search for a friend for Spain and could find a cheap rate from Frankfurt to Madrid on Iberia. I also looked at Ryanair, but they tend to have limited numbers of flights. The only flight I could have gotten from Frankfurt to Milan would have left me sitting in Frankfurt for 14 hours. Alitalia offers more options and more flexibility. The same with Iberia. Another option is to travel by train from Frankfurt to your final destination, but that can actually be more costly than flying, not to mention more time consuming.
Nancy Troyer <email>
Taylor, TX USA 11/05/2007
UK Taxes
Reading another poster's comments about the added taxes going through the UK reminded me that some of the Expedia and Orbitz flights route you through London. Not only do you have the taxes to contend with, but you have to transfer from one airport to the other. Having done that once, I do NOT recommend it. You need a good 4 hours between flights and even at that can risk missing a connection.
Nancy Troyer
Taylor, TX USA 11/05/2007
Beware Rising Air Taxes
Flying to the UK these days has gotten expensivc due to a new air ticket tax of over $100 which is on top of the previous taxes. Gordon Browne had this imposed earlier this year, claiming it was to discourage air travel in order to help the environment. The tax receipts, however, are not used for the environment but put straight into the general treasury, and some people have noted that the amount this tax would raise was the same as a published shortfall for the UK Olympics preparations. The tax is heavyist on long haul tickets leaving the UK, so you can save money by buying your ticket over going to the UK and your return from elsewhere in Europe. Then buy a cheap ticket on an LCC from the UK to the other European country, which gets a much lower short-haul ticket tax.
Dave
USA 11/02/2007
Continental Airlines
We have used Continental out of Newark, NJ to Geneva. Both times in the past year we found the service good to excellent. Seats are small. However, the cabin crew were courteous! I don't know of any economy food that is good. Bring your own food if you wish to eat well my fellow economy passengers!
Marlene
Easton, PA USA 10/27/2007
carry on weight
Oh, yes, I forgot, for those of you who want to bring a bag and not worry too much about weight, currently, Continental generously offers 40 lbs, yes 40 lbs carry on for international flights with certain size restricts.
Marlene
Easton, PA USA 10/27/2007
Aviod KLM
Below is an account of the abuse we suffered at the hands of KLM:
KLM FL 651 - July 8th, 2007
KLM refused to allow us to board our connecting flight from Rome saying we did not check in on time (1 hour limit). However:
* several time during the week and that day we tried to check in and received boarding passes for our connecting flight and KLM REFUSED to issue them;
* we were delayed for no reason by the woman at Transfer desk 2 for elite passengers leading to our missed flight;
* we had to race across Schipol Airport to be refused our boarding (my wife has severe asthma and they would not allow us any assistance);
* After pleading with KLM for FOUR HOURS for a flight home that day, we were stranded 24 hours in Amsterdam;
* we were not compensated for a room;
*since July numerous requests to KLM have been ignored.
We are frequent travelers and this happened to us so use these clowns at your own risk. We will never deal with KLM again
Marc <email>
Jersey City, NJ USA 10/21/2007
International flight carry-on restrictions
Following Rick's advice, I've travelled to Europe several times with only carry-on. Before paying for a flight, make sure you know the weight restrictions! I booked with Alitalia and then found out they allow only one carry-on item with a limit of 5 kilos (about 11 pounds). Drat -- now I have to check my bag and hope for the best. I've learned my lesson.
Joan Edberg
Quesnel, BC Canada 10/19/2007
Airfare.com
I booked two tickets from Santa Barbara to Frankfurt, round trip, the first time I have booked international flights. I was looking around for deals and suddenly Airfare.com popped up when I was searching a European airline web site, so I suspect they have hacked the site and hijacked a link. It gave the impression they were working with that airline. Their rates appeared surprisingly low, which was because they had not added in the tax. I checked with the Auto Club, my normal source, and they were much higher and I hadn't figured out the tax part. So I went through the next steps to book for a flight 6 months in advance on Airfare.com, just see where it would go. I set up the itinerary at one price and as it was processing a small window popped up saying that the airline had changed the price due to booking activity for that flight and it would be about $100 more. I have missed good prices by waiting around and that was what pushed me forward, although it should have been a warning signal for reservations 6 months in advance. I completed the purchase.
About a week later I realized that I could have saved about $200 by going directly through the airline which no longer charges a booking fee for online reservations. Then I discovered that we were booked for the wrong dates, that I had read the calendar wrong for vacation time and we needed to change the reservations. This would have been around $300-400 for United/Lufthansa directly. But since I purchased the tickets through Airfare.com, the rules apparently say that I must change the tickets through them. That will be $350 per ticket for them to investigate the change, for a total of $700, plus the $300 or so for United/Lufthansa.
Of course I am livid and I realize that I being ripped off terribly. I have contacted United seeking some solution. Money is a critical issue for this trip and it is turning into a nightmare. I would say to never, never ever go through Airfare.com.
Channing
Ventura CA USA
Channing
Ventura, CA USA 10/17/2007
airline travel
Continental Airlines: We were pleased that our trip was safe and sound on Continental Airlines. However, the meals and other courtesies really need improvement. For such long flights to and from Europe, meals should be better, and in between snacks should be more than a couple of pieces of hard candy. They did offer a few glasses of water to avoid dehyradation.
Ann <email>
North Bend, OR USA 10/15/2007
Spring Paris Airfare Drop
US Airways just announced a great deal to Paris for Spring 2008! I've been waiting for a good price to finalize my plans and the price just dropped from $1050 to $710 round-trip Seattle-Paris for the 4/5/2008 - 4/12/2008 tour.
Michelle
Issaquah, WA USA 10/14/2007
More on British Airways/Heathrow Lost Baggage
Anyone transferring planes at London's Heathrow airport should understand there is a good chance their baggage will be delayed for a LONG time, especially if flying on British Airways. June 30/07 we transferred from a British Airways flight from Vancouver, Canada flight to another BA flight to Barcelona. At Barcelona we were in a long line of BA customers who lost their luggage, and we saw evidence of the same problem on other BA flights while waiting at the airport. BA Lost Baggage staff in Spain were utterly hopeless and told us varying stories from day to day. One bag came to us two weeks later in Lisbon, while the other arrived back in Vancouver via Singapore Airlines (?) 40 days late (10 days after our return. There are numerous explanations of the problem available on the Internet, but the following Washington Post link was particularly detailed. As the articles states, it will likely remain an issue until terminal 5 opens in 2008. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118765043154303435.html?mod=dist_smartbrief
Bob Klassen
Vancouver, USA 09/24/2007
More on British Airways/Heathrow Baggage Delays
Correction to posting. The Internet link is from the Wall Street Journal online, not the Washington Post.
Bob Klassen
Vancouver, USA 09/24/2007
Travelation Respose
To FModesto, I'm glad you had a great experience with Travelation, but the fact of the matter is that, ALOT of people, including me did not. They did not complete the last part of the ticketing for us for severeal weeks, therefore losing our original tickets and costing us alot of money. I am not slandering them, but it is the truth. Their customer service department also leaves something to be desired. They are very rude and don't seem to care about their customers. I guess if you didn't have a problem and didn't have to deal with their customer service, you would have a good experience. However, as you can see by the many other posts, that is not always the case. Good luck to you with your future travels with Travelation.
L
USA 09/08/2007
TRAVELATION
Great travelation experience. Surprise to see any complaints about them. Most of you have the same complaint and you are slandering a site based on ignorance. Airlines control inventory and over 98% of the time the inventory is correct. There are times when airlines do not update fast enough and what looks available may not be. There also times where airlines do not have ticketing agreements with each other and a transaction cannot be completed. although this is frustrating, EVERY TRAVEL SITE HAS THIS PROBLEM!!!
Do you think it is a good business for a site that has to cancel a booking because of this?? what possible advantage does that give them besides making people upset?? Please think a little before being so quick to slander, never seen so much hatred based on ignorance like this, incredible. Apparently, the "benefit of the doubt" is not in anyone's vocabulary.
FModesto <email>
NJ, NJ USA 09/05/2007
Planning for Lost Luggage (British Airways Loses the Most)
The BBC reports (8/07) the number of insurance claims for lost luggage nearly doubled in the first six months of this year. Approximately 157 bags per 1000 are lost--that's over 15%. Of those bags, only 85% are returned in 48 hours. British Airways has the worst record. When my daughter left for Spain this Monday I told her to expect to lose her luggage. However, I never really thought through the ramifications. It’s now four days since she landed and her bags are no where in sight. Here's what I've learned: 1. Carry on everything you can. 2. If you are taking a cell phone, be sure to keep your charger with you. 4. Don’t expect the follow-up phone number the carrier gives you for tracking your luggage to be answered. They’re swamped. 3. If possible, before you travel find an "emergency helper" who can make calls to the airlines for you--they should have internet access, an understanding of international dialing, a gift for creative thinking, and a way to making affordable international calls. 4. Know your carrier's reimbursement policy. (British Airways will reimburse the cost of “necessities”--I’m still trying to find out what that really means. How many days of new clothes will they actually pay for?) 5. When deciding what to carry with you, consider what would be hard to replace. 6. Don't check anything you are emotionally attached to. 7. Try to keep in mind that the person you speak to at the airlines is just the messenger and virtually everyone they speak to is stressed. That said, I found that crying got me the promise of a telex asking for expedited service. While it made me feel better, I doubt it will make a difference. Traveling is wonderful. Pack light. Traveling with just your carryon has lots of benefits! Specifics on British Air: 1) They know more about the location of your luggage than they post to their web tracking site. 2) I found the people at 1.800.828.8144(USA) the most helpful. You’ll need a claim number and, for identification purposes, the location the bags should be sent to.
K. Gillis
Brier, WA USA 08/31/2007
last minute freq flyer tickets
In July I was able to get 2 freq flyer tix from United USA to Germany, return from Paris in Aug. It is possible, I am amazed but it worked. moral , don't give up, there are angels who work for United that really try and get results.
JS
USA 08/25/2007
Travelation warning!
Like others, I had big problems with Travelation. They sent a letter headlined "TICKET CONFIRMATION" which turned out not to be a confirmation at all. They blamed the problem on me and it cost me a lot of money! I spoke to them at length and they were rude, condescending, and dishonest.
Don Loeb <email>
Burlington, VT+ USA 08/24/2007
Virgin Atlantic? Not good
Contrary to the posts below, my experience with Virgin Atlantic wasn't so great. On a flight from Newark to Manchester it was 1.5 hours before we even had a glass of water. Staff was sub-par as well. Should have went BA instead. My experience with BA has been generally excellent. Got bumped up to First Class twice on a 777. That was NICE. At the time only paid $329 RT too. Those days are gone - that was 2004!
JK Stover
Williamsoport, PA USA 08/19/2007
Opps! Mia to barcelona Venezuela
wrong Barcelona sorry
jw
USA 08/12/2007
Mia to Barcelona
New Airline Avior $600 RT with tax..but on 737 like southwest
jw vilberg <email>
mia, fl USA 08/11/2007
STAY AWAY FROM DELTA AT JFK
The Delta terminal and personnel at JFK are the worst I've ever encountered in 45 years of flying to Europe. We recently went to Rome and every Delta employee told us the wrong line or area to enter. The lines were endless and no one had any correct info. We sat on the plane for 2 & 1/2 hours before we took off because the ground crew broke a gas line on the fueling truck. When we arrived back it was the same story. No information from anyone at Delta as to luggage pick-up or area. Fortunetly the TSA employees were great. They were also very frustrated with the Delta employees. Delta used to be a great airline but not anymore.
Frank R.
NEW YORK CITY, NY USA 08/08/2007
Passports
Wow, I must have either gotten lucky or people are blowing the passport issuance out of proportion! I express mailed my passport renewal to the main office in PA on July 18th with the regular $67 processing and received my new passport in the mail last night! Its almost laughable how worried I was about getting my passport processed to the point of renewing it 5 months before I'm to leave on my trip - had only 8 months left on my old passport and not enough to satisfy the countries I'll be visiting in December. I was so worried that I even registered to follow my passport status online and tracked my express mail package with the USPS online.
I think the main point is to apply early and bypass using the post office processing agency by sending your filled out renewal form, old passport, 2 passport pictures, and $67 by express mail directly to the PA procesing office. The less people touching the application the better to speed up processing times. Plus you can use the $30 extra processing savings towards the express mail service postage and come out ahead by at least $15.
Dfloyd
CA USA 08/07/2007
Airfare.com
Yes, I think the "Changing of Tickets" was the thrust of the earlier posting. No Changes = No problems with airfare.com. Also, when dealing with any 3rd party selling airline tickets, always confirm directly with the airlines that the ticket does exist.
Tim
USA 07/19/2007
In response to the comment below, regarding AIRFARE.COM. I just happen to be a person who bought a ticket through AIRFARE.COM and had to change my flight. They dinked me around for a total of TWO WEEKS before they finaly changed my ticket!!! Two weeks! They told me my flight had been changed, but when I double checked a week before my flight it turned out I had no ticket at all! The entire experience cost me hours on the phone and many headaches! And their office isn't even in the US, as their phone # might suggest, but somewhere in India! You get put on hold for 15 minutes and next thing you know, you get hung up on! I had to deal with the most disorganized and incompetent people ever! Very frustrating! If you buy a ticket from them you might be ok, but just don't try and change it!
Ivan
Madison , WI USA 07/16/2007
Air India- HORRIBLE!
Just got back from France and Italy. Booked tickets on Air India from Newark to CDG in Paris. Worst experience ever. Bumped off our first flight due to overbooking, placed on Continental. On way back, overbooked again, placed on an Air France flight to London which was supposed to get us there in time for a Virgin Atlantic flight to Newark. Did not make the connection. Air India put us up in a nice hotel, but, we did not have and still do not have our luggage. We went to get our refund from Air India in Newark and actually speaking to a real person who knows what they are doing on the Air India staff is close to impossible. It really put a damper on the amazing trip I had.
Frustrated traveler <email>
Baltimore, MD USA 07/16/2007
Good airlines
Virgin Atlantic is a great carrier for flights to Europe. As for within Europe, I strongly recommend Vueling and Ryanair. Our flights arrived on time and the staff was courteous. Be careful though- they will charge you if your bags are over their weight limit (15 kg).
Happy traveler <email>
Baltimore, MD USA 07/16/2007
Flying to Europe
Fly Virgin Atlantic,
It is the best airline I have ever flown with. The dinner portions are filling, the flight attendents helpful, free movies,games,and tv. Not to mention an eyepatch and earplugs. When we were flying Virgin from heathrow to Dulles we left one hour late however our pilot was able to get us there only fifteen minutes late.
We flew easy jet from heathrow to Amsterdam. Amsterdam to Geneva, and then Geneva to Paris. It is extremely important you arrive early and do not plan anything within two hours of the time at which you were expected to land. With that said we would fly easyjet again,
sincerely,
ME
WITHELD
Elizabethtown, pa USA 07/07/2007
Found good airfare on airfare.com
Before I purchased my tickets to Prague from www.airfare.com I read a few horror stories from consumers who had dealt with them in the past. However the horror stories all seemed to deal with customers who wanted cancellations or changes...so I took my chance.
The cheapest fare from Knoxville TN to Prague in October was $1400-$1500. I was able to purchased a roundtrip via www.airfare.com for $790 total. That's a substantial savings. Afterwards, I verified all of the information with the actual airlines (United and Lufthansa) and everything was set in place correctly with e-tickets.
Normally if I were to find a good airfare on a 3rd-party website I would just go straight to the airline's webpage and book it directly. However, I could not even get close to this fare by using United or Lufthansa's website.
So here's a good word for www.airfare.com - they worked for me.
Tim
Knoxville, TN USA 07/06/2007
MUST FLY EUROPEAN BASED AIRLINES
Hello Babak Back for more flying tips
I recomend that you must fly the european based carriers such as lufthansa, Britsh Airways, Air France/KLM and Alitlia.
Babak Pakravan
Lawrence, KS USA 07/06/2007
US to Dublin, Rome to US on AA
Louisville to Dublin via Chicago and Returned, Rome to Louisville via Chicago on American Airlines was as smooth as could be, No delays arrived in Louisville 15 minutes early. Figure 2 hours minimum for clearing customs in Chicago. In Rome we had our Passport checked 6 times. Also figure 2 hour checkin in Rome These are not American Airline requirements these are US customs requirements. When you get your customs form onboard your flight fill it out and give to customs in US (not on board) AA was great evryone got pillow blanket and free head phones plenty of food and drinks.
Joe Sweeney <email>
Louisville, Ky USA 07/03/2007
Avoid US Airways!
I see that the July issue of Consumer Reports rated US Airways at the bottom of the ratings. My own experience with Flight 723 from Dublin to Philadelphia on June 9 validates that low rating. We waited for 3.5 hours to check our luggage due to computer problems, took off 3.5 hours late, and missed our connections, which resulted in our arrival at home 7 hours late. On top of that, they lost our luggage, so we had to file a report, and wait for it to be delivered the next day. US Airways really needs to improve their airline if they expect repeat business.
Mike Shiel
Lunenburg, MA, MA USA 06/22/2007
Carry on weight limits
We recently flew to Paris on Air France and were trying to be careful to stay under the weight limit for carry-on (about 26 pounds), but they never weighed either of ours, they only checked the dimensions. From our research ahead of time it sounds like most of the time, on Air France at least, the weight limit isn't strictly enforced for carryons.
Heather
USA 06/19/2007
Travelation
Don't use the Travelation Website. We had soooooooooo many problems with them. The staff (when you can actually talk to a human person) is very rude. It was a nightmare. I would spend the extra couple of dollars and ticket directly through the airline or a reputable travel website. I have heard many complaints about Travelation. Beware.
Lucy
USA 06/19/2007
TRAVELER ALERT! Tougher carry-on weight restrictions in Europe!!!
When I went to Europe in December 2006 I was surprised to find that I had to check my carry-on luggage because of weight, not because of size.
My carry-on was well within the size restrictions. The check-in agent in Minneapolis informed me that European airlines are adopting a stricter weight-limit guideline on carry-on luggage. I can't remember the weight off the top of my head. I do remember that my wheeled carry-on weighs about 6 or 7 lbs when it is empty, which is somewhere near half of the limit!
A word of advice: wheels and extendable handles are heavy. If you can handle it I recommend going with a backpack-type carry-on to save weight.
If you're planning on flying on a European airline and not checking any baggage, be sure that your luggage is as light as possible. Rick's Classic Back Door Bag is about the same size as my wheeled carry-on-sized suitcase and weighs less than 2 lbs.! Since I know I can pack for winter travel in one carry-on-sized bag, I am probably going to get a new bag for traveling in Europe.
Jarrod <email>
White Bear Lake, MN USA 06/01/2007
Different Airlines
I really think on airlines when flying to EUrope you must fly star alliance
lufthansa and united mostly the best part codeshare to fly Chicago to Munich is the Best Thank YOu I love rick steves.
Babak Pakravan
Lawrence, KS USA 05/27/2007
Passports
Alan it takes about 12-14 weeks to get your passport if you don't use the expedite service. We turn in our application on 2/28/07 and per the US Passport Service website was sent through USPS on Monday 5/21/07. You can go online to check on the status of your passport. I can't recall the website name but google US Passport Service and go to the government website for an update.
that guy
USA 05/22/2007
Big Problems with Travelation.com
Watch out for the slippery Travelation.com! We booked our trip well ahead to France and never got a confirmation code. Calling them and emailing them resulted in nothing. United Airlines was mystified that they had not ticketed our flight. It's taken days to resolve what should have been a 15 minute transaction--and it's still not worked out! Just book from the airlines themselves!
Sharon <email>
Half Moon Bay, CA USA 05/19/2007
Flycheapabroad.com
Round trip nonstop to Paris, $638, including insurance and all taxes--on American Airlines. Flycheapabroad.com
I think I got a great deal, please post if you've had negative experiences. Thanks!
JD
USA 05/18/2007
Passports
The passport situation is a mess. We applied 2/16/07 and were told at the time expect 8 weeks. Two weeks before our travel date of 5/8/07, an agent answering our phone call said things were busy and he would “expedite” the applications with a 5/4 target date. As of 5/5, many phone calls later, I received my passport this morning, and my wife’s is still on a desk in New Orleans (how husband and wife get separated is beyond me). They say nobody has missed a trip yet, but we may be the first. Apply early!! Three months if possible, but if less than two pay for the expedited service up front. Don’t make any reservations you can’t break, and don’t buy any non-refundable tickets. I understand travel insurance does not cover failure to get timely passports.
Alan Cole
Osceola, MO USA 05/05/2007
SFO-FCO, MAN-SFO
Lisa, you could try skyscanner.com (through Rick's Favorite Links)for the flight FCO-MAN, keeping in mind the baggage requirements and the costs of getting to and from the smaller airports. Don't worry about the slightly higher price of flying open jaw, you'll be saving time and money not having to return to the original arrival airport.
I realize it's 2 hours drive away but you might try flying out of Sacramento (SMF), could be less, could be more.
Darcy
Lewiston, ID USA 04/20/2007
Charles De Gaul Airport - Paris
If you have a connection in Paris, be sure you have at LEAST 2-3 hours between flights. The inefficiency of this airport to move passengers through checkpoints (passport as well as security) was staggering ... and that is in addition to the time-consuming process of having to travel by bus to get from the planes to the gates and back again.
Mary Alcorn
Fort Hancock, TX USA 04/14/2007
well priced european flights
Check LTU airlines website. Great fares to Germany especially from Las Vegas. Most flights are actually flown by Luthhansa
JS
W Ck, USA 04/05/2007
italy air fare/ shop around?
hi! i haven't even left for italy , but am learning a lot in the planning..in ricks' book on italy, pg. 3, he states"don't sort thru the mess, let a travel agent do it" for airline booking...well..here's My story: i booked , thru an agent, feb 10th , for my trip april 24 ..cost: $10067.00.
now, on a whim, i checked out "orbitz.com" yesterday..guess what: SAME flight, SAME day, for $814.00! after contacting the agent, they were able to get me a voucher for $244.00, non-cashable, to be used on a flight within a year.now..being an "old pro" by now: checking out hostels[i am**definatly* "shoestringing" it, learning how to book hostels on line , etc.i can say that using any travel web sites, orbitz, travelocity, expedia, etc.is just as easy as any other booking for museums, hostels, or hotels.next time i think i will[it would have ben nice if the ttravel agent kept up w/ the prices, but we are on our own]..and THAT is what this trip is going to be all about anyway for me: being on my own..it is scarey, and unpridictable, but after scrimping all this time going as cheaply as i can, i spent $253.00 more then i needed to before even going out the door.
[BUT: i am not sure if this applies to heavey travel season times, time of year, etc.; just reporting my expierence thus far]
;}
ciao,
jim
jim velnosky <email>
nederland , co USA 04/04/2007
italy/air fare, part 2
first of all SORRY for my terrible math[it was 1067.00, NOT 10067.00!], and spelling..it just occured to me tho: perhaps i wouldn't HAVE got the voucher w/o that agent.
and i guess the lesson learned for me is it does NOT pay to "book early"..the thinking you are doing the airlines a favor, etc.dosen't apply here.
jim velnosky <email>
nederland, co USA 04/04/2007
flight to Paris
I just got prices for our fall honeymoon flights from DC to France. Seemed expensive, but now that I'm looking online, I can't find anything to beat it. I imagine flying to France is like anything else, book early because the prices will just keep going up?
B.
Cockeysville, MD USA 03/30/2007
Aer Lingus new routes
Intro fares 1way{good for open Jaw} $149 D.C. $159 Orlando $199 SFO..These are to Dublin/Belfast..Then many cheap flights on to Europe as AER lingus is like Southwest airline of Europe
jwvilberg <email>
miami, fl USA 03/30/2007
Water bottles
Empty water bottles are permited in the carry on luggage. You are not cheap, you are a wise traveler.
S
Plano, TX USA 03/27/2007
Farepath.com/skybird travel
Beware of purchasing airline tickets through farepath.com (or similar websites). My husband and I bought tickets for our first trip to Italy last October. Our flights were confirmed by email, the tickets were paid in full, and we thought we were set. However, to be safe we called a few weeks ago to confirm our itinerary. One of our connections was not confirmed the day after we booked. We were never notified of this error and the company went ahead and completed the transaction. Fortunately we found this out before we arrived at the airport. However, we spent a week over the phone talking with the airlines directly, farepath.com as well as the ticket consolidators skybird. No one would take resposibility for the mistake and we later found out that our return flight had been booked "illegally" due to the minimal passing times between connections and had to rebook those as well. Going through websites may give you a better deal, but it definitly puts you at risk because you are your own travel agent. In the future for international flights my husband and I will only book through a travel agent or the airline directly because booking through a "cheap airline website" is certainly not worth the anguish we went through!
Spokane, WA USA 03/27/2007
Taking Water on Airline
To those who have flown since the new restrictions: Is it possible to take empty water bottles through security, fill them at a water fountain and take them on the plane? Call me cheap but I don't like paying $4 for bottled water in the secure area of the airport!
Sue
Augusta, ME USA 03/26/2007
European Hubs
I will be traveling to the EU for a month @ the end of April-late May. What are the major Airline hubs/gateway cities? Ideally I would fly into Amsterdam and fly out of Athens or Rome, but prices are coming up more than I would like, so now I am just looking for the cheapest fare from LAS(Las Vegas) to Europe. I will have a month long Eurail pass so it doesn't really matter when I start/end my trip, although it looks cheaper to fly round trip than open jaw.
I am searching Paris, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, DUS, & Madrid finding some of the cheapest tix, any help would be appreciated.
dave <email>
las vegas, nv USA 03/26/2007
Finnair.com deal
Finnair deal from JFK to Copenhagen Oslo Stockholm $388 tax included..valid April 11-May 10
Jw Vilberg <email>
miami, fl USA 03/24/2007
Open Skies agreement
This agreement is going to help lower fares big time. Aer Lingus already announced new routes to SF/Dulles and Orlando!!!!
JW Vilberg <email>
MIami, Fl USA 03/22/2007
Good Shoulder Season Fare to London from Chicago
Just an FYI, Virgin Atlantic is restarting service between Chicago and London on April 23. They are offering a fare of $510 on Orbitz for travel up to 5/31. No min stay, no blackouts or day of week restrictions. I would assume seats are limited but United and American have matched. Fare includes tax and fees. I hope this helps someone.
mike
chicago, il USA 03/14/2007
FLYING TO SPAIN
Tracy: use the tollfree phone number (1 800 772 4642) and talk with an agent at Iberia.com about discount fares in September.
Don’t ask for a specific date, but ask for the lowest fare available that month.
HAM ><>
USA 03/03/2007
flying to Spain
Does anyone have any tips on finding the best airfare from Los Angeles to Madrid for early September?
editors note: All questions must be posted to Traveler's Helpline
Tracy
Long Beach, CA USA 03/03/2007
Travelation Website
Bad deal with Travelation.com We booked our trip online and we THOUGHT we had tickets. My diligent wife contacted the airlines direct and travelation never finished the transaction with them! Glad we checked before we showed up at the airport. Travelation also had the worst customer service- they acted like they were doing us the favor..
Buyer Beware
Steve M
Reading, PA USA 03/02/2007
Iberia sale
Iberia is having a big sale out of Boston! I just booked RT from Boston to Venice, June 13-25 for $599. That's a good $400 under anything else I've been seeing. Booked it right on their website...
Amy
Seattle, WA USA 02/28/2007
Re: Air India
Booked a direct flight to Paris in April. Searched various airlines. Air India was by far the least expensive. However, the reviews I read gave me some concern. I chose another airline.
USA 02/28/2007
Re: Air India
We flew Air India to Frankfurt last September, on our way to Greece. We had no problems whatsoever. The staff was very nice. About the only complaint that I could have was that the seats were the standard US-domestic, thin variety, not the slightly plusher seats found on most overseas flight. I would fly them again. Oh, and the food served was Indian, which may be a plus or a minus, depending upon you tastes.
Rick <email>
Chicago, IL USA 02/28/2007
Flying to London
Flew into London Heathrow Sept 26 06. We had very little delay clearing customs. I've heard that the other airports in London can get quite congested with all the low-fare airlines operating today. Our trouble was in Chicago on the way home. Our rolling bags saved the day!
Dan
WA USA 02/27/2007
Clearing Customs
We flew into Gatwick in June 2006. The lines were huge and slow-moving. We spent almost 2 hours clearing customs. If I was traveling with an elderly person I would request a wheelchair or some other kind of assistance.
Tim
USA 02/27/2007
Time needed to clear customs in London
Traveling with my 70+ mother (very physically capable), husband and 3 teens to Europe this summer. Flying in to London Gatwick and trying to figure out how long to plan for clearing passport security/customs before connecting with the rest of our travel on to Paris
Julie
Southern, MD USA 02/26/2007
Air India
Does anyone have any information on Air India airlines? It appears that they offer some of the cheapest airfare, but I'm not familiar with this airline at all. Any comments are appreciated.
Josh <email>
Christiansburg, VA USA 02/25/2007
cheap flights to london
Air Canada has some amazing fares right now to London. Some flights that I checked in April are under $300 plus tax.
Jill
toronto, on canada 02/23/2007
Paris-Prague flights
Vanesssa, have you tried skyscanner? It's one of Rick's "Favorite Links". I had to leave the date to "choose later" since I don't know what are dates are and for the Paris airport I used "Any".
Darcy
Lewiston, ID USA 02/18/2007
Inter-European Flights
Okay, I know a lot of people have posted a lot about us-europe flights, I am looking for a hopper flight from Paris to Prague w/o much luck. I have tried the usual
-easy jet
-ryan air
-jet2
any suggestions?
Vanessa <email>
Santa Rosa, Ca USA 02/18/2007
BestFares.Com????
Has anyone had any good/bad experiences with BestFares.com?
I would like to fly into Amsterdam, but have a stopover in London.
Jan <email>
Miami, FL USA 02/17/2007
Zoom Airlines?
I'm going to be flying to Cardiff in May on Zoom Airlines, and was wondering if anyone else has tried them out. Since they operate the only direct flights from North America (the only other option in the same price range involved long stopovers in both Detroit and Amsterdam), I figured the time saved would be worth giving up the amenities of the more established carriers. From what I read prior to buying my tickets, they're essentially using the Southwest Airlines business model, but applying it to transAtlantic flights. That said, did I make a huge mistake that I'll regret for the rest of my life?
John H. Harris <email>
Jamestown, NY USA 02/16/2007
Try Kayak.com they search several airlines for the best price.
Jeff
NJ USA 02/15/2007
AMSTERDAM FROM CHICAGO
Rebecca: try these webpages:
farecast.com,
farecompare.cm,
flyspy.com,
cheapflights.com
CARL <><
USA 02/14/2007
Amsterdam from Chicago in May
I'm looking for a decent fare to Amsterdam from Chicago in the first or second week of may.
Am I automatically going to pay $700 and up, or is it possible to get a fare closer to teh $500 range?
I know it's high season, and all. But just wondering.
I've been sorta monitoring sites like sidestep and mobissmo.
Is it advisable to jump on something i find now, or wait closer to the time?
Any tricks or tips?
Thanks!
Becca
Rebecca <email>
Chicago , il USA 02/14/2007
Sweet deal
Malaysia air from Newark (EWR) to Stockholm (ARN) $380 nonstop
John Vilberg <email>
Miami, FL USA 02/10/2007
Bestfares.com
We just scored non-stop flights PDX to FRA early June for $482PP.(Lufthansa/United) We always set up a watch notice on Orbitz, name the price we want to pay, and wait til they find it. Now I have to work on the cheap flights to Rome. Frankfurt (and sometimes Munich)can be great hubs to fly in/ out of Europe.
SteveW
Portland, Oregon USA 02/03/2007
BESTFARES. COM
Janet.....I used Bestfares several years ago without problem. But before you buy from any provider, be sure to check all the other sources for discount air fares.
Friends have used mobissimo.com, travelzoo.com sidestep.com and site59.com.
Others use orbitz.com, travelocity.com, expedia.com and all of the major international air lines.
In the past I have always found flights cheaper to Frankfurt than any city outside of London, which everyone advises to avoid.
If you have time, you should also read all the letters on this page for advice plus the archives on “Flying to Europe.”
USA 02/03/2007
BESTFARES.COM ??
Has anyone used bestfares.com? If so, what have your experiences been? I am writing for my daughter and her family who need cheap flights from Chicago to either Amsterdam or London or Frankfurt leaving mid-June and returning mid-August.
Janet <email>
Ftl. Lauderdale, FL USA 02/03/2007
BA strikes
Watch out if you're flying British Airways January 30 and 31, February 5, 6, 7, and/or February 12, 13, 14. The cabin crew union has announced that they will walk out on those dates if a new agreement is not reached. This will shut down ALL BA traffic to/from/through Heathrow.
ac
Berlin, Germany 01/26/2007
Andrew...if you read the “archive postings” section of this page you will find lots of answers to your question.
It is in the box at the upper right corner.
Also read the “Flying within Europe” archives.
Seasoned travelers report on this page that fares change daily and on some airlines they change hourly depending on surplus seats on flights.
USA 01/23/2007
London in July
We are going to London the first part of July and are trying to find cheap airline tickets. I have looked into all the major online websites (orbitz, priceline etc...), but cannot find any good deals, unless we fly before the end of Febuary. Is there a good time of year to purchase airline tickets for this time of year?
Andrew
Denver, co USA 01/22/2007
Priceline bidding ....name you own price
The best general information on bidding is found at: http://travelsuperlink.com/priceline.
Carlos
tx USA 01/21/2007
PRICELINE NAME YOUR OWN PRICE
After reading the experiences of travelers bidding on Priceline air line tickets, I wouldn't do it. Most say you get stuck with 6 am departures or 11 pm arrivals and sometimes on an airline we dont know.
That is not true with bidding on hotels and autos.
USA 01/21/2007
PRICELINE...NAME YOUR OWN PRICE
I have recently bid on autos in 3 cities on a 3 week trip. Before I bid on them I read the advice from other travelers listed on the web pages shown below:
www.biddingfortravel.com , www.betterbidding.com and www.betterbidding.com .
Once you read how to bid, you will know how to do it in confidence.
Before bidding I researched rental rates published on the we by major agencies.
Then I bid 50% of the average rental rate on each car and raised my bid $2 a day on the second bid and got cars for about $20 a day.
When you raise your bid do it in small increments and bid on economy cars only because most agencies have to upgrade you free because they never have enough of that size car.
USA 01/21/2007
RE: Student Universe
I signed up for Student Universe, and at first I only needed one piece of proof to get a login id. When I bought my ticjet 6 months later, they asked for additional proof. So I would think that you may have to prove again that you are a student.
Anna
Chicago, IL USA 01/19/2007
Priceline name your own price
Anyone used Priceline name your own price?
I'm wondering if this is really a savings as they warn that you may fly around the time/date that you requested. I'm concerned that we may have difficulty reserving a room if we use this option to purchase flights.
Anyone use it and willing to share their experience?
Elizabeth
USA 01/17/2007
Best Fares to Europe, tips and tricks?
I'm looking to go to Europe (specifically The Netherlands) in the first few weeks of April.
I'm flexible as to actually where i fly into. And was wondering, are certain cities in Europe cheaper to fly into, or does it matter?
Also, is there a site that lets me search ALL the travel sites at once to find the best airfare?
Also, are there any tricks or tips to finding good prices (such as, fly on specific days, diff. times, etc?)
Thanks Guys!
Rebecca <email>
Chicago, IL USA 01/17/2007
Student Universe (Anna?)
Anna, I remember when I first signed up for student universe, i somehow had to prove i was a student...and they continue to send me their emails.
so if i booked a ticket through them now, i'd have to re-prove i'm a student? (though i graduated last year)
Rebecca <email>
Chicago, il USA 01/17/2007
United sale on orbits
Just bought round trip Seattle to Frankfurt in Aug for $500 on united through orbits!
Matt
Seattle, WA USA 01/17/2007
Beware of new UK air tax
UPDATE
Sorry all, my bad - what I posted was correct at the time of posting. Things have changed. Only BA will be absorbing this cost. All other airlines flying into and out of the UK will be asking passengers to pay the extra cost. BA is expected to review it's previous statement in the next 48 hours.
If anyone reads this and they can remove my previous post - I'd be very grateful.
Al Bishop
Nottingham, UK 01/16/2007
to check all fight sites ay once
Check out Kayak.com.
Aniela <email>
Phelps, NY USA 01/15/2007
Re:Student Universe
TIM: Before booking my tickets, I had to provide proof of being a student. A copy of my tuition bill, class schedule, school issued email, and some other things were options. I think I sent in my school email and copy of my tuition bill. Depending on how official the proof is, the amount you provide varies. You may need to provide as much as 3 or 4 pieces of proof.
My understanding is that the tickets are not marked STUDENT when you get them. You had provided proof before buying them, and therefore no additional proof is needed. But you can only buy these tickets for yourself. Your name is on it, so your id is needed.
Anna
Chicago, Il USA 01/15/2007
Beware of new UK air tax
Just to further expand on Steve's comment. If you are booked on a full service IATA airline and your ticket was issued before the new tax rate came into being then the airline will absorb the cost. If you have purchased your ticket after the new tax amount came into force then the airline will already have included it in the cost of the ticket and you will have paid it.
If, on the other hand, you are on a 'no-frills' non IATA airline ( like EasyJet or Ryanair ) and if you haven't already paid the difference you will have to make up the shortfall at check-in. As these airlines do not travel trans Atlantic and only operate flights within Europe it is unlikely you will have to pay the extra £40.00 to fly from the US to the UK. If you have a flight within Europe on a low cost airline you will almost certainly be asked to pay an extra $10.00 per passenger.
Al Bishop
Nottingham, UK 01/15/2007
Beware of new UK air tax
UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown announced a new tax on air tickets in his December pre-budget speech, which takes effect on Feb. 1, 2007. Taxes for long-haul segments will increase by $40, while short haul segment taxes will go up by $10. The stated purpose of this tax was to discourage air travel to help reduce carbon emissions, although the tax receipts go to the general treasury, not to anything related to global warming.
Some airlines, notably BA, have said they will absorb the tax for those who have already bought their tickets, while many others are insisting that passengers pony up the difference. A few are even requiring passengers to pay the difference before they get to the airport. If you have an air ticket to or through the UK after Feb. 1, it would pay to check with the airline.
steve
greenvilla, NC USA 01/14/2007
MIAMI TO AMSTERDAM
Airline fares change many times during the day....every day. Its all luck; so just call as often as you can and research fares. Pick the airlines you like best.
USA 01/14/2007
RE: Student Universe Tickets
Anna: Are you a student? According to the website you can be asked for ID at the gate.
Do you tickets say "STUDENT" or "FACULTY" anwywhere? I'm just curious what prevents non-student and non-faculty from just logging on and fraudulantly claiming to be student or faculty and then buying tickets.
Tim
USA 01/12/2007
Student Universe
I agree about the studentuniverse.com site. I found a ticket a week ago, 200 dolalrs cheaper than on mobissimo and booked it. The next day the price went up by 75 dollars. Book in advance for summer travel and jump on good rates!
Anna
Chicago, Il USA 01/08/2007
College Travelers
To all college travlers-- try going to studentuniverse.com they tend to have lower prices than other places. But try to book your tickets early. I waited one extra day and my ticket price jumped by $50!
JG <email>
WI USA 01/04/2007
Tickets to London in April??
Hi there,
there are 5 of us taking a driving tour of England and Scotland in April. I have been waiting patiently for ticket prices to come down a bit. Now that it is 2007 I am hoping to see some specials like the great ones currently running in March. Does anyone know when the April specials will start hitting? Our dates are April 11 through the 22nd. Any help or insight would be great. Thanks.
Katie <email>
Denver, Co USA 01/02/2007