Air fares for a UK visit
 

I'm taking one last trip back to UK in Feb next year and have spent some time on line with all the Travel Sites on line. The best fare I have found is a BA junket from Raleigh NC to LHR for about $890 non stop both ways.

Can anyone tell me if there's anything better out there? Cheaper that is.

While it's not a bad deal, I suppose, the less I spend in air fares the more I have to spend on petrol and I do have some serious driving planned.

Re: Air fares for a UK visit
 

This is a good website to use:

http://www.skyscanner.net/

Re: Air fares for a UK visit
 

The skyscanner websites are usually pretty good - and I go through them, see if there's any point being a bit flexible in my travel dates (sometimes you can save a fortune), then check direct on the best priced carrier's website incase they are offering some great 'buy only from us' deal - i.e. BA sometimes do £50 for special events (maybe they are doing one for the Queen's Jubilee/2012 Olympics?). Enjoy your trip.

Re: Air fares for a UK visit
 

This is really useful, I haven't seen it before. Thanks for posting it! :thumbsup:

Re: Air fares for a UK visit
 

Thx all for the advice. Checked the site and found a Lufthanser fare of $803 with one stop. Crazy that the actual flight cost is about $210 and the rest is taxes & fees!!

Re: Air fares for a UK visit
 

Thanks for that. Looking at our next trip, the flights are around $200 less than anything I previously found. Some interesting routing for the outbound though; Redmond, OR -> Denver -> Montreal -> Heathrow. Oh joy!

Re: Air fares for a UK visit
 

http://matrix.itasoftware.com

This site also looks quite good although I haven't tried it myself. It was recommended in Good Housekeeping or Family Circle magazine, I can't remember which one. You can't book direct from the site or link to booking sites though, so when you find a flight you need to go to the airline site to book it.

Re: Air fares for a UK visit
 

http://www.hipmunk.com/ and Kayak.com are also worth a look.

Best bet is flying during the week if you can, Tuesday Night can save a fair bit usually.

Re: Air fares for a UK visit
 

If you are willing to make a stop in europe you may get it cheaper.

Re: Air fares for a UK visit
 

Also check out this one.

http://www.bt-store.com/

Re: Air fares for a UK visit
 

It would be a lot more useful if all fares were shown with their total price, rather than a only subset of them. That inconsistency makes direct comparison of fares frequently more difficult than it should be.

Re: Air fares for a UK visit
 

Feb? Try again in five months.

Right now the fares you are seeing are based on historical trends and fuel-price projections. It is as accurate as a six-month weather forecast.

In five months or so the fare will adjust for load and availability. You may even see some sales pop up.

I'd keep monitoring for now but wouldn't buy unless you see prices rise a bit. Think your chances of a deal are probably pretty good over next few months.

Re: Air fares for a UK visit
 

Of course - they need to hide they are screwing you for as long as possible...

Re: Air fares for a UK visit
 

Good advice. I'm currently collecting a list of websites that offer cheap fares and using the results as a base line. I will check every couple of weeks and see how they rise or fall. With gas prices on the decline now it may skew the results for a December or January purchase.

Re: Air fares for a UK visit
 

Might want to clear the browser cache too, because some sites use the cookie data to see what dates you've been searching and so might not give you the best rates on subsequent searches.