Air Travel » Air Travel Ticket » Cannot believe the fares I am finding. Help?
Question:
> >Also look at coming out of Orlando or Miami, both have lot’s >more competition and lower fares due to the competition. > That is a wonderful suggestion. I’ll try that. Thanks.
Avoid BA unless you fly out of MIA. I believe their 777s operated into MCo and TPA are the very squishy 10-abreast configured ones
Response:
>Hi everyone! >I’m flying to Athens in August, from Tampa. I’ll be staying two weeks. >I’ve been looking for a reasonable fare, but the very best I’ve found >are fares ranging from $1300-$1600 US for a trip that I am booking >four months in advance. Eek. >I’ve tried Orbitz, and expedia, as well as looking for better fares >directly at the carrier’s sites (AA, Delta, USAIR). >$1300-$1600 seems so high to me.
Why limit yourself to just the American carriers? There are a myriad of Euro carriers that operate to Athens via their hubs in Europe. Also look at coming out of Orlando or Miami, both have lot’s more competition and lower fares due to the competition. Look at one of the Euro or British charter carriers, more so from Orlando I’d guess, but probably from Miami as well. Cheers.
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->Hi everyone! >I’m flying to Athens in August, from Tampa. I’ll be staying two weeks. >I’ve been looking for a reasonable fare, but the very best I’ve found >are fares ranging from $1300-$1600 US for a trip that I am booking >four months in advance. Eek. >I’ve tried Orbitz, and expedia, as well as looking for better fares >directly at the carrier’s sites (AA, Delta, USAIR). >$1300-$1600 seems so high to me. >Why limit yourself to just the American carriers? There are a >myriad of Euro carriers that operate to Athens via their hubs >in Europe.
I was unclear on that. I am looking at all carriers that come up on Expedia and Orbitz. The fares I’m finding are on US carriers to NYC or an European hub, switching to an european partner airline (alitalia, swissair, olympic, AirFrance, etc.) >Also look at coming out of Orlando or Miami, both have lot’s >more competition and lower fares due to the competition.
That is a wonderful suggestion. I’ll try that. Thanks. Donna
Response:
>Try Turkish from the US (Chicago – and maybe Miami) to Istanbul and take a >$6 bus.
Actually, I would LOVE to fly to Istanbul — it’s on my list of places to visit before I exit this mortal coil (insert self-mocking melodramatic hand to forehead here). It’s not practical for this trip, however. But thanks for the creative suggestion! Donna
Response:
If you can get a cheap fare to IST, you could also fly to ATH I think. Last year I also found that if you could get to Paris, Milan or Rome inexpensively, Cyprus Airlines had some cheap deals to ATH (and Beirut which is were I was going) via Larnaca. You might also check BA out of LHR – I was just looking for May travel and BA is running some nice deals to the continent – not sure about ATH tho. The best deals aren’t always the obvious routes – I am usually looking for the cheapest deal which means I get to fly Aeroflot more than I would like. 
Trygve – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > Organization: http://extra.newsguy.com > Newsgroups: rec.travel.air > Try Turkish from the US (Chicago – and maybe Miami) to Istanbul and take a > $6 bus. > Actually, I would LOVE to fly to Istanbul — it’s on my list of places to > visit before I exit this mortal coil (insert self-mocking melodramatic hand > to forehead here). It’s not practical for this trip, however. But thanks > for the creative suggestion! > Donna
Response:
[travel to athens] >Try Turkish from the US (Chicago – and maybe Miami) to Istanbul and take a >$6 bus.
Err do you know geography at all? It’d take a couple of days and a lot more than $6 to get from Istanbul to Athens! Other than that, great idea! phil
Response:
Well, the last time I was in Istanbul, right after the earthquake (so times were tough), there were offices at the otogar offering very cheap deals to Athens – I don’t think it would take a couple of days. I went from Tbilisi to Bucharest in about 52 hours (about $42), so I think Istanbul to Athens would be much less – guessing about 18 hours, but I have never gone that way. Perhaps the price is higher now, but not more than $25. There is also a train that my wife has used once you get to Thesaloniki or Alexandropolous. Trygve – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > Organization: Oxford University Computer Society > Newsgroups: rec.travel.air > [travel to athens] > Try Turkish from the US (Chicago – and maybe Miami) to Istanbul and take a > $6 bus. > Err do you know geography at all? It’d take a couple of days and a lot more > than $6 to get from Istanbul to Athens! > Other than that, great idea! > phil
Response:
> Due to incompentence in the University > travel department we ended up paying 800 UKP.
Glad to see that other institutions also have incompetent travel departments. Ours managed to find a "cheapest" fare to Mongolia for 4,200 euro. Our own secretary booked for 2,200 euro. Same airlines, same flights. Sjoerd
Response:
Try Turkish from the US (Chicago – and maybe Miami) to Istanbul and take a $6 bus. Trygve – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > Organization: OWDS Inc. > Newsgroups: rec.travel.air > Hi everyone! > I’m flying to Athens in August, from Tampa. I’ll be staying two weeks. > I’ve been looking for a reasonable fare, but the very best I’ve found are > fares ranging from $1300-$1600 US for a trip that I am booking four months > in advance. Eek. I’ve tried Orbitz, and expedia, as well as looking > for > better fares directly at the carrier’s sites (AA, Delta, USAIR). > $1300-$1600 seems so high to me. Am I being unreasonable to expect to > pay > less than that this far in advance? Any suggestions for me? > Thanks for your collective wisdom! > Donna > Yeah, prices seem to have gone up. Had a look at www.skyauction.com and > your trip would approach $1000. I’ve used them twice before to Switzerland. > Steve
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>> > Imagine that. The cut the number of seats, and demand did not drop as > > much > > so fares went up. Econ101. > Still strange that flights from Europe to US are still cheap. SQ is > running a sale for high season (July – August) travel from AMS to New > York and Chicago for 398 euro (340 US$) return. >The number of Europeans flying to the US is way down.. However, the >number of Americans >that want to go to Europe is not down as much.
Possibly because we aren’t seeing those sort of prices. I’ve been tracking {LHR,BHX,MAN,LGW}-LAX for the last four months and it has rarely shifted from 500 UKP. Due to incompentence in the University travel department we ended up paying 800 UKP. Iain — / Control for uk.* Full information on uk.* newsgroups at http://www.usenet.org.uk Iain Bowen. in deepest B13. Also available at alaric(at)alaric.org.uk
Response:
> Imagine that. The cut the number of seats, and demand did not drop as > much > so fares went up. Econ101.
Still strange that flights from Europe to US are still cheap. SQ is running a sale for high season (July – August) travel from AMS to New York and Chicago for 398 euro (340 US$) return. Sjoerd
Response:
> Still strange that flights from Europe to US are still cheap.
Europeans less willing to fly to the U.S.? > SQ is > running a sale for high season (July – August) travel from AMS to New > York and Chicago for 398 euro (340 US$) return.
What times are the flights? I wonder if the limited schedule (only one flight a day and the flights aren’t daily?) has anything to do with it. AA is charging GBP 300 for LHR-MIA in April/May.
Response:
> > Imagine that. The cut the number of seats, and demand did not drop as > much > so fares went up. Econ101. > Still strange that flights from Europe to US are still cheap. SQ is > running a sale for high season (July – August) travel from AMS to New > York and Chicago for 398 euro (340 US$) return.
The number of Europeans flying to the US is way down.. However, the number of Americans that want to go to Europe is not down as much.
Response:
> Well, I’m going from LAX, not SEA. I could have gotten a better fare from
fares were generally about the same up and down the west coast when i looked, at least it was for US. > San Francisco as well, but I’d still have to get there, which would cancel > any fare advantage. I’m also flying CO, so I can try for a miles upgrade to > "Business First." There were cheaper fares from some bargain carriers (at
fair enough reason. Good luck on getting the upgrades. > My observation still holds: though there are bargain fares around, they > carry significant restrictions one way or the other — in this case, there > may be a better fare from SEA, but it does me no good at all.
Actually SEA is often one of the more expensive markets for Europe due to limited competition (just 3 airlines fly direct non-stop to Europe – the rest are connectionson U.S. airlines & their allies).
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> That’s right. For all of the bellyaching from the airlines (not to mention > the billions in loan subsidies) the airlines have _not_ cut the costs of > airfares to attract business — quite the contrary, I’ve noticed that my > airfares, both full-fare Y and "discounted" coach, have risen about 20% > since 9/11.
Imagine that. The cut the number of seats, and demand did not drop as much so fares went up. Econ101. Michael
Response:
> > My wife and I are flying from LAX to Frankfurt, Germany next month (which is > off peak), and we’re still paying $1,000/ticket. > Must have missed a sale. I got SEA-CDG for about 35% less. Could have > done SEA-FCO for a bit less than that but no confirmed upgrades. > FRA has been expensive this year however ($612-ish exc. taxes/fees)
Well, I’m going from LAX, not SEA. I could have gotten a better fare from San Francisco as well, but I’d still have to get there, which would cancel any fare advantage. I’m also flying CO, so I can try for a miles upgrade to "Business First." There were cheaper fares from some bargain carriers (at least according to Orbitz), but I’d rather spend the extra money on a carrier I trust on which I may be able to upgrade and will get qualifying miles for elite, etc. My observation still holds: though there are bargain fares around, they carry significant restrictions one way or the other — in this case, there may be a better fare from SEA, but it does me no good at all.
Response:
>I’m flying to Athens in August, from Tampa.
If you can go in March, it’s $548, FWIW. Steve Silberberg Steve’s Tiny Book of Romance http://www.callipygianproductions.com/stbor/stbor.html "For man so feared his ignorance, that he created god in his image"-Eric 3:16
Response:
> My wife and I are flying from LAX to Frankfurt, Germany next month (which is > off peak), and we’re still paying $1,000/ticket.
Must have missed a sale. I got SEA-CDG for about 35% less. Could have done SEA-FCO for a bit less than that but no confirmed upgrades. FRA has been expensive this year however ($612-ish exc. taxes/fees)
Response:
> Hi everyone! > I’m flying to Athens in August, from Tampa. I’ll be staying two weeks. > I’ve been looking for a reasonable fare, but the very best I’ve found are > fares ranging from $1300-$1600 US for a trip that I am booking four months > in advance. Eek. I’ve tried Orbitz, and expedia, as well as looking for > better fares directly at the carrier’s sites (AA, Delta, USAIR). > $1300-$1600 seems so high to me. Am I being unreasonable to expect to pay > less than that this far in advance? Any suggestions for me?
Might consider London then connecting there on Easyjet to Athens. if you do that, try flying into LGW (easy direct train to LTN where Easyjet flies from)
Response:
MIA-ATH return will save roughly 200 to 300 dollars per ticket — Air Travel Center over the web at: airtravelcenter.com over the air at: airtravelcenter.ch voice over the wires at: 1-800-931-7222 1-717-732-7222 fax over the wires at: 1-717-728-1269 electronic mail at: mail over land at: 1 East Manor Avenue (rear bldg) Enola, Pa. US 17025-2822
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Hi everyone! > I’m flying to Athens in August, from Tampa. I’ll be staying two weeks. > I’ve been looking for a reasonable fare, but the very best I’ve found are > fares ranging from $1300-$1600 US for a trip that I am booking four months > in advance. Eek. I’ve tried Orbitz, and expedia, as well as looking for > better fares directly at the carrier’s sites (AA, Delta, USAIR). > $1300-$1600 seems so high to me. Am I being unreasonable to expect to pay > less than that this far in advance? Any suggestions for me? > Thanks for your collective wisdom! > Donna
Response:
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Hi everyone! > I’m flying to Athens in August, from Tampa. I’ll be staying two weeks. > I’ve been looking for a reasonable fare, but the very best I’ve found are > fares ranging from $1300-$1600 US for a trip that I am booking four months > in advance. Eek. I’ve tried Orbitz, and expedia, as well as looking for > better fares directly at the carrier’s sites (AA, Delta, USAIR). > $1300-$1600 seems so high to me. Am I being unreasonable to expect to pay > less than that this far in advance? Any suggestions for me? > Thanks for your collective wisdom! > Donna
Yeah, prices seem to have gone up. Had a look at www.skyauction.com and your trip would approach $1000. I’ve used them twice before to Switzerland. Steve
Response:
August is probably the highest peak travel time to fly there, I wouldn’t be expecting it to be all that much lower. You can do it from about $900 out of New York, so if you can get to New York for not a lot of money you could probably save some. If you are going for a cruise, consider the cruise line’s airfare, as they are probably the ones holding all the low cost seats right now. Though I wouldn’t consider that rate very high for August out of Tampa.
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Hi everyone! > I’m flying to Athens in August, from Tampa. I’ll be staying two weeks. > I’ve been looking for a reasonable fare, but the very best I’ve found are > fares ranging from $1300-$1600 US for a trip that I am booking four months > in advance. Eek. I’ve tried Orbitz, and expedia, as well as looking for > better fares directly at the carrier’s sites (AA, Delta, USAIR). > $1300-$1600 seems so high to me. Am I being unreasonable to expect to pay > less than that this far in advance? Any suggestions for me? > Thanks for your collective wisdom! > Donna
Response:
That’s right. For all of the bellyaching from the airlines (not to mention the billions in loan subsidies) the airlines have _not_ cut the costs of airfares to attract business — quite the contrary, I’ve noticed that my airfares, both full-fare Y and "discounted" coach, have risen about 20% since 9/11. I was discussing this with my travel agent yesterday. She said the airlines have added a few "super discount" fare that are heavily restricted, e.g. must depart on a Sunday, return on a Sunday, large penalty for any changes, etc. Otherwise, fares have risen. My wife and I are flying from LAX to Frankfurt, Germany next month (which is off peak), and we’re still paying $1,000/ticket.
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Hi everyone! > I’m flying to Athens in August, from Tampa. I’ll be staying two weeks. > I’ve been looking for a reasonable fare, but the very best I’ve found are > fares ranging from $1300-$1600 US for a trip that I am booking four months > in advance. Eek. I’ve tried Orbitz, and expedia, as well as looking for > better fares directly at the carrier’s sites (AA, Delta, USAIR). > $1300-$1600 seems so high to me. Am I being unreasonable to expect to pay > less than that this far in advance? Any suggestions for me? > Thanks for your collective wisdom! > Donna
Response:
Hi everyone! I’m flying to Athens in August, from Tampa. I’ll be staying two weeks. I’ve been looking for a reasonable fare, but the very best I’ve found are fares ranging from $1300-$1600 US for a trip that I am booking four months in advance. Eek. I’ve tried Orbitz, and expedia, as well as looking for better fares directly at the carrier’s sites (AA, Delta, USAIR). $1300-$1600 seems so high to me. Am I being unreasonable to expect to pay less than that this far in advance? Any suggestions for me? Thanks for your collective wisdom! Donna
Response:
>I’m flying to Athens in August, from Tampa. I’ll be staying two weeks. >I’ve been looking for a reasonable fare, but the very best I’ve found are >fares ranging from $1300-$1600 US for a trip that I am booking four months >in advance. Eek. I’ve tried Orbitz, and expedia, as well as looking for >better fares directly at the carrier’s sites (AA, Delta, USAIR). >$1300-$1600 seems so high to me. Am I being unreasonable to expect to pay >less than that this far in advance? Any suggestions for me?
You’ll get the cheapest fares from JFK. So maybe buy two tickets… the cheapest round-trip you can get to JFK, and the cheapest round-trip from there to Athens? phil
no comment untill now