whatever

It's finally all coming together and we are in the last leg of our approach to Gatwick! We completed on our house which immediately cured 3 months of agonising acid reflux! Now we're camping down at my Mum's and doing all those last minute things. As long as the airline can give us the cargo space we need for our cat's, the flights will be paid for tomorrow.
We've ended up booking return tickets as these were quite a lot less than one way. It seems mad doesn't it! Did any of you buy returns even though you are not sure when you will return for a trip?

Anyway, whilst we are on the subject of flights, can anyone tell me... my Mum and Neice want to visit in September and I am going to arrange their tickets. Does anyone know if it will work out any cheaper if I book them in the US/pay in $$'s? or does it work out the same as buying them in the UK?

Pimpbot

I don't think you can book them in the U.S. for flights from the U.K. to U.S.?. Try www.airnet.co.uk

I was lucky, in that when I flew out, my one way ticket was cheaper that the return with B.A.

Englishmum

I've never been able to book tickets with a US site for return trips for flights originating in the UK - I'm not saying it can't be done - but I get halfway through the booking process then there is always a hitch.

Unfortunately it's the same with the airline's own websites, even if you try to input that you are booking it from the US or the UK; I phoned both BA and Virgin Customer services and they can't take internet bookings for flights originating in the UK if the credit card billing address is in another country....they will issue tickets manually (ie.non e-tickets) but charge you extra for doing so! Grrr.

I guess if you keep your UK credit cards and UK billing address it's a way round it.

The only internet booking site which I do have success with and can use my US credit cards for booking flights originating in Blighty is:

http://www.opodo.co.uk (this is owned by a consortium of European airlines, including BA). I looked up fares this evening on both BA, Virgin and Opodo and Opodo was offering fares about 20 GBP cheaper for the same itinerary. They issue the e-tickets so I buy the tickets online for my mum (who is a widow and on a pension so I pay for her flights) or my daughter and forward the confirmation to their e-mail in the UK. They just print it off and take it with them to the airport. It works really well.

I was actually trying out a website search engine tonight called :

http://www.farebuster.co.uk

which links to travel agencies offering the cheapest fares; I found via their link to:

http://www.skydeals.co.uk

a direct flight from Birmingham UK to Newark, NJ with Continental Airlines for 320 pounds + 57 pounds tax. I went to try and book online and as it turned midnight in the UK, the damn thing crashed and said it couldn't offer any fares for that destination. Grrrrr. All other sites I'd looked at (including continental.com) are quoting fares for the same itinerary at the ungodly price of 780 pounds + for the same flight and dates. Yikes!!!

It looks like I'll be booking a flight for my mum from Heathrow to Newark instead.

sibsie

I bought a return when I moved here and didn't use the return leg. I still got the airmiles though.

And no, I don't think you'll find anyone to allow you to pay in the US for a flight originating in the UK.

FlyergirlUK

I had to phone up BA in order to get return tickets from the UK - that sucked and I swear it cost an arm and a leg more.

My mum's managed to book return flights with connecting flight Stateside to finally end up at BWI for around £260, from Gatwick, at the end of September, (yes, she's more organised than I am)!! LOL

Gross50

BA and AA are flexible when it comes to purchasing transatlantic tickets. you can pay for flights originating from UK in dollars with a US card. no difference in price, other than you pay at their own exchange rates. return flights from the US are cheaper than from the UK, though. doesnt help much for visitors from the UK.

so far i've been buying rtn tickets from lhr, even though i'm in the US. once i'm finally settled here, i'll have a rtn portion ticket to lhr which i cant use.

sibsie, who did you get airmiles with for the unused ticket? was it AA by any chance?

Big Vern

Glad to hear you got rid of your house, ours is still not exchanged yet, which considering we arrived in NC last week is a very scary prospect. We've just taken the attitude, well, it'll happen when it happens...besides we got a whole lot of more interesting stuff to think about.

Those eleven days will fly...our last two weeks before we left last Sunday was probably the maddest, busiest, tiring and stressful two weeks I've ever had in my life.

The removal men arrived on the Friday, and took all our worldly goods off in a container. I'd spent the previous week ducking and diving trying to dispose of all of our electrical goods. One woman came round to buy a food mixer and I flogged her a washing machine while she was there! I even took a load of stuff to a car boot sale and flogged it there...

We stayed at my inlaws the Friday night, and the next day set off to stay in a hotel in Manchester in a convoy - two adults, three kids, five big Samsonite suitcases, six pieces of hand luggage and two child car seats!. On the big day, Sunday, my wi feand myself had to get all that lot onto a plane. Changed at Newark, had to walk miles to go through immigration (the Spanish Inquisition with fingerprints), and then pick up all the bags from the carousel, get through customs and get them on the conveyor for the next flight. That left 20 minutes to get to the plane. We then found out that the Charlotte plane went from the very furthest gate (doesn't it always) - the kids were shattered and we started to stuggle, I was carrying 4 bags and a car seat, my wife had the baby on her back and was carrying the rest and wrangling the children too. We must have looked in a state cos one of those guys in the electric cargo buggies took pity on us and gave us and the bags a lift to the gate!

In the meantime, the east coast was having the worst storms for donkey's years, and we were stuck circling Charlotte for a hour and a half. So the journey from the airport to the hotel was fraught to say the least cos the kids had definitely had enough by that point. The first night - and for the next few days - none of us slept very well and our body clocks were well out, but they're settled down now.

We're staying in a company on a managed estate, all trees and manicured lawns by Lake Norman near Cornelius NC, a huge manmade stretch of water with boats and coves and stuff.
http://www.apartmentguide.com/Proper...ropertyID=2638

I can quite honestly say the whole thing is much much better than I ever thought it would be - and I thought it would be good. Cornelius is a beautiful small town, North Carolina is green with lots of space, driving is easy - no jams! the boss lent us a car - a Dodge Durango 4wd beastie, so we've been able to get out and about. and most of all, I feel immediately at home. And yes, Patrick, I was an a**hole in the UK, so I'll continue to be an a**hole here - but a happy one!!

Yesterday we went up to Chimney Rock Park in western NC - http://www.chimneyrockpark.com/ which as you can see was pretty spectacular. NC has been having a freak heatwave for the last week, av. temps have been around 85, but hit 91 the other day. Phew! More beer please!

I'm so glad it's happening for you, Whatever - if it makes you as happy as it's made me, it's worth all the Gaviscon in the world... and there have been a few bottles of that cracked in recent months, my acid reflux was like the opening credits of Bonanza...

Joe

sibsie

Amazingly it was Air France. I was stuck flying them when I lived in Spain and I hate them with a loathing.

jaytee

I'm seeing 692 USD for Birmingham, UK to Newark nonstop. Don't know what depart/return you want, but say for June 1st - June 8th.

Roundtrip flight 692.06/person
Outbound Flight Duration Miles


Continental Airlines Flight 27
7hr 45mn 3392mi
Departs: 11:00A 6/1
Birmingham Intl Apt (BHX)
Arrives: 1:45P 6/1
Newark Liberty Intl Apt (EWR)
Aircraft: Boeing 757-200 (Jet) Meal: Snack or Brunch


Outbound Totals: 7hr 45mn 3392mi


Return Flight Duration Miles

Continental Airlines Flight: 26
6hr 45mn 3392mi
Departs: 8:15P 6/8
Newark Liberty Intl Apt (EWR)
Arrives: 8:00A 6/9
Birmingham Intl Apt (BHX)
Aircraft: Boeing 757-200 (Jet) Meal: Snack or Brunch


Return Totals: 6hr 45mn 3392mi


Roundtrip flight 692.06/person

Englishmum

Jaytee - which company is this flight with? Can you book online with a US credit card?

They are roughly the dates I want to book!

Thanks!

doctor scrumpy

Nice to see u r finally going to get here ! Been a long time since we were all waiting for them visas last summer.

Rockgurl

Wishing you lots of luck with your move, whatever! These days will pass quickly and it will be so worth it when you finally land on American soil. The first few days are the strangest, when you finally have to accept that you live here now. Enjoy!

Englishmum

Ooooh,

I've managed to book flights for my mum with Travelocity.com (instead of Travelocity.co.uk) at the fare of $692.20 inc. all taxes.

Good. This is a US site where you can book flights originating in the UK (so no extra credit card overseas transaction prices).

Continental put on their grottiest planes for this route and I did take it once but never again; no TV, dire food and cramped seats but my mum won't care has she won't have to schlep down to Heathrow.

Fortunately it's an electronic ticket....I got a bit stuck when you have to type in a delivery address seperately from the billing address as it pointed out that they use the delivery address in their 'authorization process' so I thought I'd better keep it as the same one as my credit card address or it would have raised a red flag that it could have been a stolen card and I didn't want the booking cancelled. It seems to have gone through ok as I've had an e-mail confirming the booking and the tickets will be issued later.....so it's a good job it's an e-ticket!

It's so weird when you try and book seats that the fares can fluctuate so much - I was getting really silly prices of 800 pounds and up for the very same itinerary last week. I do know however, that if a few enquiries come in for the same dates it raises a flag with the airlines and as they think it's a popular flight (eg. there may be a convention/sporting event) the prices shoot up; airlines adjust prices every 20 minutes. I once had to pay $20 x 4 passengers extra for flights when I had to pop out of the house, I came back to the computer later and the prices had gone up in that short time for flights I *had* to book! I've read that you should always look again the next day, although sometimes it's difficult to be that flexible in peak travelling times as then you risk the flight being fully booked next time you try to buy tickets!



:lecture:

Pulaski

As others have said, I'm certain that it is the direction of the flight that determines the cost, not where the ticket is purchased.

In any case, with 9/11 and all that, selling tickets in third-party names causes all sorts of headaches for the airlines and they tend to discourage it. I recently bought a ticket for a friend who needed to fly one-way from LAX to London, and I had to visit a travel agent, and pay the surcharges of the airline and the travel agent, to get the ticket issued (but then it was an emergency, and I got reimbursed in full).

jaytee

I've been watching the fares for June using sidestep. They were $450 during the first several months of the year. Then, they doubled in price. They only recently started to back off in price as we are now over a week into May. I will be watching to see what happens to the fares of the summer months and hope to book a fare for August - September a month or so before.

I live a few hours from the Atlanta airport and the fares are cheaper to and from there. What is weird is someone can book a flight right now from London to Atlanta for 371.80 USD. Yet the other cities are 800.

Continental is a terrible airline for connections through Newark. They never leave on time to or from the airport and as such they make the connection 25% of the time which means a night at the Howard Johnson.