Catgirl

Hi,

This is our first year in the US and I was looking at the flights from Charleston, SC to London for next July. The cost seems to be around $5000 for 2 adults a 15 year old and an 11 year old one, whatever route we take. Does this sound about right? Does the cost of flights go up closer to the date of departure or is it cheaper if we book the flights early?

Many thanks.

mayhemuk

Wow! That sounds like a lot to me unless they are premium fares?
I was looking for a return from SFO to LHR the other day and it's around the$600 mark with BA or Virgin. Maybe $20 less with United.

Are you flight days the weekend? I think you should get lower fares if you can travel mid week?
Good Luck!

penguinsix

Sadly, that does sound like a Summer fare, but you really shouldn't be booking now for a flight in 6 months. I think you are seeing a 'standard' fare that has no discounts or anything at this time. If you wait a few months, sign up for the emails from BA/Virgin/United, etc. you'll probably get something announcing a sale or a buy one get one free or something.

Basically, I think that fare you are seeing now will still be available in about three or four months. You might get something a bit cheaper, though July is the 'peak' season for flying so you will probably be paying more to fly in July than in any other month.

Mallory

July is a very expensive time to travel to UK. Since there are 4 of you, if you drove to either Charlotte or Atlanta, and parked in remote parking, it would save you a bundle, rather than flying from Charleston.

Catgirl

Thank you all so much, this gives me some hope because $5000 just for flights seems crazy.

Mummy in the foothills

Thats more than I'm finding to fly CA to Manchester next summer. two adults (me and the 15 year old) and one child. So far $3700 total is my best find on expedia and travelocity.
I won't book till about March as I find it goes down a bit.
Oh yes like Mallory said, check the price flying out of Atlanta I bet it's cheaper.

Janek66

You could try cheaptickets.com now that qixo.com has stopped doing searches

notacrime

kayak.com has a really great facility called 'buzz alert' that searches for your particular itinerary every week and emails you the current price. Highly recommended.

Brit3964

Echoing drive to ATL (Atlanta) or CLT (Charlotte). Last time I went to Old Blighty (March 2006) I flew on BA from ATL - LGW for $600. The same flight from CLT was almost $300 more. You might also try PHL (Philly). For some reason both ATL & PHL are often cheaper than CLT.

There's ton's of remote parking sites near ATL too. I paid about $5 per day. That company had a deal with the airport Marriott and used their unused parking spots.

Mallory

More flights from Atlanta than Charlotte. Possibilities also to fly KLM from ATL to Amsterdam, or ATL to Frankfurt, and get connecting flights. Have to shop around on Kayak, etc., for best prices, and to be flexible re connecting flights.

penguinsix

JFK generally has the most sales because they have the most flights to London. Sometimes there are 2 or 3 leaving within 10 minutes of each other, and the competition (and the heavy traffic between NY-LON) lead to some reduced fares. I also think Miami and Atlanta would have some good competitive prices.

Of course, you have to get to JFK first to save the $.

You might also check from IAD (Dulles) or BWI (Baltimore). You can do a search on the airport code WAS to search all DC airports. BWI is a hub for SW so you might find a cheap flight there and from BWI -> London cheaper than from where you are currently looking.

LynannC

My OH has found booking tickets on a Sunday is the cheapest option for him whenever he was coming over to visit me. Also booking only a few months out also tends to be cheapest as the tickets start going down in price to fill the plane.

Lyn