Help! (Newbie) Flying Family to Austria in Summer w/o Going Broke?
My wife and I are moving from California to her hometown near
Innsbruck, Austria, for a year with our kids, ages 4 & 6. What concerns me is the summer-rate airfares! Google, Travelocity, etc. are showing July and August 2004 departures at $2,000+/person! OUCH!!! Does anyone have any strategies or recommendations for snagging lower airfares from CA to Europe in Summer? Our ultimate destination is Innsbruck, but I don't especially care how we get there (within reason)-- as long as it doesn't cost us $8k-$10k... Thank you! |
Re: Help! (Newbie) Flying Family to Austria in Summer w/o Going Broke?
In article <[email protected] >,
[email protected] (Steve_DM) wrote: > My wife and I are moving from California to her hometown near > Innsbruck, Austria, for a year with our kids, ages 4 & 6. for good? > What concerns me is the summer-rate airfares! Google, Travelocity, > etc. are showing July and August 2004 departures at $2,000+/person! > OUCH!!! > > Does anyone have any strategies or recommendations for snagging lower > airfares from CA to Europe in Summer? Our ultimate destination is > Innsbruck, but I don't especially care how we get there (within > reason)-- as long as it doesn't cost us $8k-$10k... try a round trip fare (cheapest) then discard the return portion, if that works out cheaper. Might also try going to MUC and taking a train from there. |
Re: Help! (Newbie) Flying Family to Austria in Summer w/o Going Broke?
Steve_DM wrote:
: My wife and I are moving from California to her hometown near : Innsbruck, Austria, for a year with our kids, ages 4 & 6. : : What concerns me is the summer-rate airfares! Google, Travelocity, : etc. are showing July and August 2004 departures at $2,000+/person! Least expensive return ticket Los Angeles -> Innsbruck I found is about 1500€, so you're probably right with US$ 2000 (else I'd suggested to look for return tickets, as one-way is usually for millionaires only). However, here's a nice deal: A train ticket Frankfurt/Main in Germany to Innsbruck central station for _all of you_ costs 130€, a return ticket Los Angeles (LAX) - Frankfurt/Main (FRA) is about 1000€/person. That'll be a total amount of 4*500€-130€ = 1870€ you may save. Looking at that, I'd even invest an extra 70€ and get a first class train ticket for 200€. Germany's comfortable and nice trains need between 5:30 hours and 6:30 hours depending on the route. You'll see a bit of the landscape (well, as much as you can see at up to 280 km/h :), have plenty of space for your legs and may walk around a bit without hitting twenty people's heads with your elbows or having to return after 10 meters. Munich (MUC) is the second largest destination in Germany for US flights and closer to Innsbruck, so try that one, too. You might of course check flights to Vienna or the like, too. Should be noted though that in Frankfurt, the train stops directly at the airport, while in Munich (and possibly other cities, too), you'll have to take the subway between the airport and the central station, which might obviously not be the best idea after a 12 hour flight with small kids. German/European timetables are available at http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en (English, shows prices). Austrian railway's timetable is available at http://fahrplan.oebb.at/bin/oebb.w02/query.exe/en . Regards, soenk.e -- Germany sucks. |
Re: Help! (Newbie) Flying Family to Austria in Summer w/o Going Broke?
On 15 Mar 2004 11:56:35 -0800, [email protected] (Steve_DM)
wrote: >My wife and I are moving from California to her hometown near >Innsbruck, Austria, for a year with our kids, ages 4 & 6. >What concerns me is the summer-rate airfares! Google, Travelocity, >etc. are showing July and August 2004 departures at $2,000+/person! >OUCH!!! >Does anyone have any strategies or recommendations for snagging lower >airfares from CA to Europe in Summer? Our ultimate destination is >Innsbruck, but I don't especially care how we get there (within >reason)-- as long as it doesn't cost us $8k-$10k... Wounds like one-way fares. Get return fares and toss the second half. ************* DAVE HATUNEN ([email protected]) ************* * Tucson Arizona, out where the cacti grow * * My typos & mispellings are intentional copyright traps * |
Re: Help! (Newbie) Flying Family to Austria in Summer w/o Going Broke?
In article <N8s5c.235$PA5.86@newsfe1-win>, "Eryk" <[email protected]> wrote:
> Steve_DM > > > Does anyone have any strategies or recommendations for snagging lower > > airfares from CA to Europe in Summer? Our ultimate destination is > > Innsbruck, but I don't especially care how we get there (within > > reason)-- as long as it doesn't cost us $8k-$10k... > > In July... > > LAX-LON: GBP 459.40 ($828) with Northwest ....Then RyanAir from Standstead > to Salzburg or Linz for about GBP 35 ($63). > > ....total $891 per person .....plus whatever the train fare is within > Austria. Note that RyanAir only allows 15 kg of free baggage. Could be expensive if they bought a lot with them (up to 140 lbs/64 kg each transAtlantic) |
Re: Help! (Newbie) Flying Family to Austria in Summer w/o Going Broke?
Steve_DM
> Does anyone have any strategies or recommendations for snagging lower > airfares from CA to Europe in Summer? Our ultimate destination is > Innsbruck, but I don't especially care how we get there (within > reason)-- as long as it doesn't cost us $8k-$10k... In July... LAX-LON: GBP 459.40 ($828) with Northwest ....Then RyanAir from Standstead to Salzburg or Linz for about GBP 35 ($63). ....total $891 per person .....plus whatever the train fare is within Austria. Eryk --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.593 / Virus Database: 376 - Release Date: 21/02/2004 |
Re: Help! (Newbie) Flying Family to Austria in Summer w/o Going Broke?
[email protected] (Steve_DM) wrote in message news:<[email protected]. com>...
> My wife and I are moving from California to her hometown near > Innsbruck, Austria, for a year with our kids, ages 4 & 6. > > What concerns me is the summer-rate airfares! Google, Travelocity, > etc. are showing July and August 2004 departures at $2,000+/person! > OUCH!!! > > Does anyone have any strategies or recommendations for snagging lower > airfares from CA to Europe in Summer? Our ultimate destination is > Innsbruck, but I don't especially care how we get there (within > reason)-- as long as it doesn't cost us $8k-$10k... 1. DONT USE TRAVELOCITY, EXPEDIA, PRICELINE... FOR FARES TO EUROPE. They usually give much worse deals than you could get from offline discount travel agents. 2. Check out the Los Angeles Times or San Francisco Chronicle sunday travel section. In those sections, there should be small box ads listing a lot of cities and prices. Those are discount travel agents called "consolidators", many of whose only business is selling the cheapest possible airfares, and airlines use them to dump unsold seats cheaply without destroying their market (because most people don't know about them and use more expensive alternatives). Those should give you the best price. 3. You might also check if any websites of specific airlines are having sale fares to Austria. As a last resort, you might be able to pick up a cheap ticket to Munich or Milan and then get a train to Innsbruck. If they're not having a sale, airline websites usually give horrible prices. In summer you're not likely to find many bargains, and you should expect the flight to be somewhat more expensive than usual. |
Re: Help! (Newbie) Flying Family to Austria in Summer w/o Going Broke?
On 15 Mar 2004 11:56:35 -0800, Steve_DM wrote:
> My wife and I are moving from California to her hometown near > Innsbruck, Austria, for a year with our kids, ages 4 & 6. > > What concerns me is the summer-rate airfares! Google, Travelocity, > etc. are showing July and August 2004 departures at $2,000+/person! > OUCH!!! > > Does anyone have any strategies or recommendations for snagging lower > airfares from CA to Europe in Summer? Our ultimate destination is > Innsbruck, but I don't especially care how we get there (within > reason)-- as long as it doesn't cost us $8k-$10k... Once you have to get on a train, it doesn't really make much difference if you're on it for 1 hour or 4 hours. So airports further away become options. Consider flying to Munich, Salzburg or Vienna as well. Even Zürich if you can get a good deal. Alternatively a transatlantic to Frankfurt/Main could be an option as someone else mentioned, or fly to the UK (often good value) and fly on from London. -- Tim. If the human brain were simple enough that we could understand it, we would be so simple that we couldn't. |
Re: Help! (Newbie) Flying Family to Austria in Summer w/o Going Broke?
Thanks for the great suggestions!
I wonder, too, if it makes a difference when we book our flights for our summer departure. In other words, do prices typically increase or decrease on Orbitz, Travelocity, etc. as one approaches a desired departure date? Also, my understanding is that most round-trip fares require a return within 1 year--so we'll plan on staying 364 days (or perhaps a bit less). Thanks again for your insights! |
Re: Help! (Newbie) Flying Family to Austria in Summer w/o Going Broke?
In article <[email protected] m>, Tim
Challenger <"timothy(dot)challenger(at)apk(dot)at"> wrote: > On 15 Mar 2004 11:56:35 -0800, Steve_DM wrote: > > > My wife and I are moving from California to her hometown near > > Innsbruck, Austria, for a year with our kids, ages 4 & 6. > > > > What concerns me is the summer-rate airfares! Google, Travelocity, > > etc. are showing July and August 2004 departures at $2,000+/person! > > OUCH!!! > > > > Does anyone have any strategies or recommendations for snagging lower > > airfares from CA to Europe in Summer? Our ultimate destination is > > Innsbruck, but I don't especially care how we get there (within > > reason)-- as long as it doesn't cost us $8k-$10k... > > Once you have to get on a train, it doesn't really make much difference > if > you're on it for 1 hour or 4 hours. So airports further away become > options. > Consider flying to Munich, Salzburg or Vienna as well. Even Zürich if > you > can get a good deal. > Alternatively a transatlantic to Frankfurt/Main could be an option as > someone else mentioned, or fly to the UK (often good value) and fly on > from > London. To get from some parts of Austria to Innsbruck, you change planes in Munich anyway, I discovered last year when I was thinking of adding it to my Austrian trip. But when I play around with airfares, the cheapest ones end up being to Frankfurt. -- Mary Loomer Oliver(aka erilar) ------------------------------------------------------------------- There is no such thing as too many books. Bookshelves, on the other hand . . . ------------------------------------------------------------------- Erilar's Cave Annex: http://www.airstreamcomm.net/~erilarlo |
Re: Help! (Newbie) Flying Family to Austria in Summer w/o Going Broke?
I believe several airlines fly over-the-pole routes to Germany in the
summer, including Condor (http://www1.thomascook.de/tc/flugsuche.jsp) and Lufthansa. You may want to contact a travel agency in Germany or Austria and inquire about charters or smaller airlines that service the US West Coast in the busy summer season (I assume your wife, at least, speakes German and could make these arrangements). I doubt Condor would show up in the major travel search sites (but I could be wrong). There are several van transit services that transfer from MUC to Innsbruck. I've used TirolConnect twice, and have had good experiences. Tim Challenger <"timothy(dot)challenger(at)apk(dot)at"> wrote in message news:<[email protected] ws.com>... > On 15 Mar 2004 11:56:35 -0800, Steve_DM wrote: > > > My wife and I are moving from California to her hometown near > > Innsbruck, Austria, for a year with our kids, ages 4 & 6. > > > > What concerns me is the summer-rate airfares! Google, Travelocity, > > etc. are showing July and August 2004 departures at $2,000+/person! > > OUCH!!! > > > > Does anyone have any strategies or recommendations for snagging lower > > airfares from CA to Europe in Summer? Our ultimate destination is > > Innsbruck, but I don't especially care how we get there (within > > reason)-- as long as it doesn't cost us $8k-$10k... > > Once you have to get on a train, it doesn't really make much difference if > you're on it for 1 hour or 4 hours. So airports further away become > options. > Consider flying to Munich, Salzburg or Vienna as well. Even Zürich if you > can get a good deal. > Alternatively a transatlantic to Frankfurt/Main could be an option as > someone else mentioned, or fly to the UK (often good value) and fly on from > London. |
Re: Help! (Newbie) Flying Family to Austria in Summer w/o Going Broke?
Brian Wasson wrote:
> I believe several airlines fly over-the-pole routes to Germany in the > summer, including Condor (http://www1.thomascook.de/tc/flugsuche.jsp) > and Lufthansa. You may want to contact a travel agency in Germany or > Austria and inquire about charters or smaller airlines that service > the US West Coast in the busy summer season (I assume your wife, at > least, speakes German and could make these arrangements). I doubt > Condor would show up in the major travel search sites (but I could be > wrong). You won't find charter flight between the US and Austria! The only US-Austria flights are Austrian from Vienna to New York and Washington. But try a normal travel agency. They might find better offers than the internet-services. lg Gernot |
Re: Help! (Newbie) Flying Family to Austria in Summer w/o Going Broke?
Actually we've always found that air fares are cheapest from our local
US airport when we fly either to or from (or both) to MUC. Almost always a better price than using FRA. Delta and United fly direct to MUC, American routes you at FL0 between FRA and MUC............ -- wf. erilar wrote: > > Once you have to get on a train, it doesn't really make much difference > > if > > you're on it for 1 hour or 4 hours. So airports further away become > > options. > > Consider flying to Munich, Salzburg or Vienna as well. Even Zürich if > > you > > can get a good deal. > > Alternatively a transatlantic to Frankfurt/Main could be an option as > > someone else mentioned, or fly to the UK (often good value) and fly on > > from > > London. > > To get from some parts of Austria to Innsbruck, you change planes in > Munich anyway, I discovered last year when I was thinking of adding it > to my Austrian trip. But when I play around with airfares, the cheapest > ones end up being to Frankfurt. > |
Re: Help! (Newbie) Flying Family to Austria in Summer w/o Going Broke?
> My wife and I are moving from California to her hometown near
> Innsbruck, Austria, for a year with our kids, ages 4 & 6. Your kids will have a funny german dialect after a year in Tirol :-) > Does anyone have any strategies or recommendations for snagging lower > airfares from CA to Europe in Summer? Our ultimate destination is > Innsbruck, but I don't especially care how we get there (within > reason)-- as long as it doesn't cost us $8k-$10k... Try Munich as destnation. No direct flight US - Innbruck anyway. There are many busus between Austria and Munich airport every day during summer season. Package trip prices are lower in Germany than in Austria, so they book their holiday trips here. Comfortable buses with lot of space for luggage. Google "bustransfer innsbruck München" shows a lot. The train connection is also good, but it's a 45 minutes suburb train ride to the main station. Walter |
Re: Help! (Newbie) Flying Family to Austria in Summer w/o Going Broke?
erilar schrieb:
> > > My wife and I are moving from California to her hometown near > > > Innsbruck, Austria, for a year with our kids, ages 4 & 6. > > > > > > What concerns me is the summer-rate airfares! Google, Travelocity, > > > etc. are showing July and August 2004 departures at $2,000+/person! > > > OUCH!!! > > > > > > Does anyone have any strategies or recommendations for snagging lower > > > airfares from CA to Europe in Summer? Our ultimate destination is > > > Innsbruck, but I don't especially care how we get there (within > > > reason)-- as long as it doesn't cost us $8k-$10k... > > > > Once you have to get on a train, it doesn't really make much difference > > if > > you're on it for 1 hour or 4 hours. So airports further away become > > options. > > Consider flying to Munich, Salzburg or Vienna as well. Even Zürich if > > you > > can get a good deal. > > Alternatively a transatlantic to Frankfurt/Main could be an option as > > someone else mentioned, or fly to the UK (often good value) and fly on > > from > > London. > > To get from some parts of Austria to Innsbruck, you change planes in > Munich anyway, I discovered last year when I was thinking of adding it > to my Austrian trip. I guess these "planes" are buses. Munich - Innsbruck is a scenic train trip via Kufstein or Mittenwald. Flying into MUC might be an option. Regards & X-post, ULF |
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