Best Flight Fares to UK
 

I know that one-way flights from the USA are generally more expensive than booking a return flight, even if you don't intend to use the return portion. However, when booking a round trip flight, how far out is it wise to book the return portion to get the best fare? (With no intention of using return portion, of course.)

PS - Talking about US/UK here.

Re: Best Flight Fares to UK
 

Judging by the fact no one has responded, I think perhaps my question is not clear.

I am wondering how far out to book the return portion of my return trip flight in order to get the best fare. I won't be using the return portion but it is less expensive than a one-way fare. Perhaps it doesn't matter whether I book the return a month from the initial leg of the trip (going from US to UK) or six months. I just don't know.

Re: Best Flight Fares to UK
 

The best flights are less than 90 days from outward departure. The lowest cost should be with the return leg in midweek, low season, so perhaps October- early November or January-February. I don't know if having a notional "stay" more than three months might adversely affect the price.

Look out for flash "sale" prices. I narrowly missed tickets at about ⅔ of the "market" price for CLT-LHR via Toronto offered for one, or maybe two days. I kept calm and patient and checked several travel websites every day from then on, and a couple of weeks later one of them posted direct :thumbsup: CLT-LHR tickets for, again, about ⅔ of the market price. That time I snapped them up! :nod: We paid less than $1,000/ticket, when most days all the sites have been offering the cheapeast tickets at $1,425+/- $50, often requiring a change in Atlanta, New York, Philadelphia, Toronto, Boston, ..... or Iceland!!! :blink:

Re: Best Flight Fares to UK
 

In my experience, I don't think there's a price difference regarding the time between outbound and inbound.

There IS a price difference based on the days of the week you fly. So try flying out on Tuesday and come back on a Tuesday. Or a Thursday.

Re: Best Flight Fares to UK
 

Agreed. Just play around (on the net) with different day combos and you'll be amazed. Also stick away from school holidays. In my experience, May, October/Nov, and January are least expensive ESPECIALLY for very cheap upgrades to more legroom/benefits in coach plus type tickets.

Re: Best Flight Fares to UK
 

Windsong I bought a return ticket because the one way was ridiculously expensive. I did what Mr Muffin suggested and played around with dates - so my return date is in May. I believe it's possible to claim a proportion of the unused ticket once you are in the UK but I've yet to look into this.

Re: Best Flight Fares to UK
 

:) I am looking at May, too!!

Yes, the one-ways are horribly expensive. The round trip fare is definitely the least expensive way to do it.

I just played with the dates a few minutes ago and found a fare a few hundred dollars less because of it. I am somewhat limited, though, because I want a nonstop flight.

Re: Best Flight Fares to UK
 

It really depends what time of year you travel on the prices. I booked for May which is the start of the expensive period for the UK. I played around with a few return dates to find the best option. Also remember that the days of the week affect the price too. Return ticket on a thurs, fri or sat is always higher than other days. Tues is your best bet for a cheaper flight. My outbound is may 16th and my return is June 2nd, only cost $950 which is not bad.

Re: Best Flight Fares to UK
 

One of the British universities did an analysis of low cost airline fares some time ago. It found the optimum time for booking was either side of two months ahead. Obviously that took no account of seasonal variations, and I don't know if it works with regular fares. Worth having a play with though?

Re: Best Flight Fares to UK
 

On United's website, they gave you the option to search the full month of May (we are returning back to the US next month), as our outbound. We then played around a bit with the return, and ended up choosing around 50 days or so (didn't seem to make a diff going higher than this). This way we were able to compare the fare prices on every day of the month of May to see which days had the lowest fare. Day of the week is definitely a big factor. We are leaving on a Wed, and I think the return is a Tue.

Re: Best Flight Fares to UK
 

Have you tried searching on hipmunk.com? Depending on when you are planning to fly and where you are flying from there are usually at least a few options for one-way flights that are half the price of a round-trip flight. You might end up flying two different carriers on the way with a layover of a few hours, but if you're saving $500 or $600 a longer layover and a flight with a less desirable carrier might be worth it.

Also, if you can't find any good flights out of your closest airport consider an airport in a neighboring state. For example, I live in Arizona, and while I can find a one-way flight using multiple carriers from PHX to LHR for around $600 or $700, if I flew out of Denver I could get a flight with Icelandair with a layover in Iceland for about $400. I could always take one last road trip with a friend to Denver (use her car so I don't have to rent one), spend a day hanging out in Denver and then have her drop me off at the airport. Incidentally Icelandair also happens to have some very generous baggage allowances.

My point is, I think the days of needing to book a round-trip with no intention of taking the return flight are a thing of the past. You have other options. Good luck!

Re: Best Flight Fares to UK
 

Question for you people who book return tickets and ditch the return - do you notify the airline of your intention to not return once you are in the UK (having used the first leg) , or do you just leave it be and let it be auto-cancelled?

Re: Best Flight Fares to UK
 

I've read that it's possible to get a partial refund on the unused portion of the air ticket - I don't know how much one gets back but that's what I intend to do once I've landed in the UK.

Re: Best Flight Fares to UK
 

Just let it get cancelled. Hubby and I have done that twice now, and we'll be doing it again when we leave the UK and go back to the US next month.

Re: Best Flight Fares to UK
 

If you just let it get cancelled, how do they refund the return portion?