Return flights advice please
 

Ok, this might seem like a no brainer to some, and normally I am quite capable of booking flights without supervision :eek: however I thought I would ask here for some advice as many of you may have been in a similar situation. If all goes well and we get our visas in June (we have an appointment at the embassy) then we will be leaving hopefully in August, 1st or 2nd week probably.

1.) I realise that it's peak season, but does anyone have any helpful tips for getting the best deal? We will probably do London - Atlanta.

2.) The online sites will not let me book the return leg any later than March 2009 which is no good, do you know if having an open return will hike up the cost? I am happy to call and discuss it with a rep in person, but I thought I would get clued up before I did.

Thanks!

Re: Return flights advice please
 

1) Check Delta.com 1st as ATL is their hub. Failing that, the usual suspects (kayak / travelocity / orbitz) would be worth a butcher's and don't travel at the weekend.

2) Why do you need a return flight? Are you not coming over for good? The price of a roundtrip will probably be the same as a one-way flight (not sure you can even get open ended tix anymore), simply don't fly on the return leg.

Re: Return flights advice please
 

Check with a couple of travel agents too... my sister is coming over in June, she looked at the usuals online and decided to stop at a agents while she was out shopping. She got her tickets for $200 less than she could find online. She is flying with Delta, via ATL

Re: Return flights advice please
 

I thought we could use the return leg next year to come home but it will likely be in May and not August, maybe a one way ticket to the states in may next year will be cheaper, I don't know.
Is a one way ticket always the same price as a return in your experience?

Re: Return flights advice please
 

One ways are often more expensive than returns.
Have you tried checking to see what the fee is to extend the ticket once the May/June dates open up? Usually it's no more than $100 or so per ticket but it varies vastly by airline and ticket class.

Re: Return flights advice please
 

It's usually not a kick in the ar$e off it.

Re: Return flights advice please
 

as we were on L1A & 2 visas - the company paid for our one way flight when we came (and i guess the same back if we ever officially repatriate).

Re: Return flights advice please
 

kayak.com

Re: Return flights advice please
 

One ways are a bloody ripoff usually - they are not discounted tickets like returns can be so 99% of the time you are always better off with a return, even if you don't fly the other leg.

Have you tried booking direct on the carriers own sites (in particular Delta for Atlanta)? They sometimes let you kick the return out a long long way - I remember we did this with my wife's when we moved to Europe for a year - we set the return 10-11 months later than the outbound.

Re: Return flights advice please
 

Just check the small print that they don't charge you the extra for not using the return portion...

Re: Return flights advice please
 

Unless you are traveling during a peak period, such as Christmas holidays, I think that you'll tend to get better fares starting 6-8 weeks prior to departure. If things go as they have before, most of the discounting hasn't begun just yet, and the fare breaks start popping up sooner than that.

You will probably also save money if your flight involves a connection, as the software algorithms often discount your fare in order to put you onto an underutilized leg that needs filling. Don't worry about where the connection is, as it will vary depending upon the airline and shouldn't make much difference.

The great unknown, though, is knowing whether rapidly increasing oil and fuel prices will lead to substantial fare and fee increases between now and then. This is an unusual time, so it's hard to know whether this summer may prove to be different from most. Also, flights are flying at higher capacities than they used to, so the delay-and-save strategy may not work so well going forward as it did in the past.

Open returns are very costly, as are most one way tickets. You're probably better off if you can book a normal round trip ticket that includes a modest date change fee.

Re: Return flights advice please
 

In the past yes, now, probably not because of the airport taxes being so high...used to save a bucket load having a connecting flight from Boston to Montreal and then London, now it's no cheaper...though if you lived in Maine, it's easier to head down from Montreal and avoid Logon, less hassle at least :D