brit_usa2014

Can anyone tell me what the best site for booking flights to the UK online is?

I am booking a 1 way ticket as travelling Europe from the UK and then returning back to the States from our last destination in Europe.

I found Air Lingus for $700 end of July via Dublin, but 2 things come to mind-
a) Never travelled by Air Lingus so don't know how the flight is
b) Is $700 considered ok for a 1 way flight??

I ideally want to travel by BA but it is showing $1309 for a 1 way ticket!!
Is that reasonable?

Many thanks!

AmerLisa

Where to start

tonrob

By searching?

markonline1

Never flown them personally, but Aer Lingus are a reputable airline, despite their financial troubles. Personally, I would have said $700 for a one way ticket is very reasonable as normally one tickets are astronomical in price. Skyscanner is a fairly decent site for checking air fares, although I'll be honest, I normally just book with BA direct.

Pulaski

I've used several, and recently was checking several every day until I found a price I liked. The prices vary daily, but I was checking Priceline, Expedia, Travelocity and a couple of other sites that were recommended on a very recent thread here on BE on airline tickets and prices.

RICH

Yesterday I booked flights after checking prices regularly for at least 2 months.

Last year I flew Aer Lingus to Dublin. It was mental. Take off, landing, all the announcements had a funny accent.

Bob

Kayak etc.

Though clear the cache/cookies between searches for best results.

Don't get a one way ticket.

rpjs

I've used Aer Lingus several times. The planes (Airbuses, but I can't remember which) are fine and the IFE is good - on a par with BAs. The food isn't as good as it once was and you have to pay for booze. However you can pre-book a fancier meal which includes wine and was worth it IMO. Cabin crew are lovely, very friendly and helpful. To me, the best part of flying to the US with EI is getting to do US customs and immigration in Ireland.

I have to say my last flight with them was a bit of a nightmare with my bag not turning up for three days, but that was all to do with a UK-wide ATC fault the morning I flew back. I'd probably fly with them again if the fare was competitve, which it usually is.

EDIT TO ADD: They are, IME, the only airline to do a one-way which is cheaper than buying a r/t and throwing away the return.

Pulaski

The funny thing is while I was looking, I don't recall kayak.com everhaving the best price, and I think I stopped even looking there after a few weeks.

Bob

It does depend on location, but it seems to do well for flights out of Boston, same for Trip, but maybe because they're based here and the bosses make sure it works well for them

brit_usa2014

Ideally I would like to buy a return ticket, but at this point it is not possible.. due to not knowing when my last destination in Europe is and I need to go for visa stamping in the UK too so my return date all depends around that!!

Will there be a problem coming back if I book a one-way ticket, or the only problem that I face is a one way ticket being more expensive?

andrewlohnes

I just cancelled my non-direct flight to Phoenix with United because I've gone on BA and they are £100 cheaper now (2 months ago they were £250 more) and are direct. I suppose I'll get a cancellation fee with United but hopefully not too much, otherwise I won't be saving any money!

But yea I've found one-way tickets are twice the price of return!! How does that work??

markonline1

It's a con, pure and simple. It can't be the cost of covering the the return journey you aren't making, because every airline overbooks it's flights!!

AdobePinon

An open jaw ticket might be cheaper than a pair of one ways (but probably more than a simple return). If it's really a case of not being able to nail down the return date, you may be better off getting a more expensive ticket that allows for changes (with a fee).

Also - don't get hosed by taking too much baggage with you.

rpjs

Just by a r/t with the return as far ahead as possible and don't use the return half if you don't want to - the airline won't care.