Europe Flights Sticker Shock

It has been awhile since we have had to purchase tickets for Europe.

We are looking to leave LAS (Las Vegas) on 5/15/15 for FCO (Rome) and return on 5/29/2015.

The best price with decent connections is about $1,450. YIKES!! Is this normal or should the rate go down a bit if we wait until Nov or so to purchases?

We were only expecting to pay about $1,200 each.

We may have to scrap this cruise if the air prices stay this high and just do Alask next Jun or Jul instead.

It has been awhile since we have had to purchase tickets for Europe.

 

We are looking to leave LAS (Las Vegas) on 5/15/15 for FCO (Rome) and return on 5/29/2015.

 

The best price with decent connections is about $1,450. YIKES!! Is this normal or should the rate go down a bit if we wait until Nov or so to purchases?

 

We were only expecting to pay about $1,200 each.

 

We may have to scrap this cruise if the air prices stay this high and just do Alask next Jun or Jul instead.

No that's pretty normal these days. As airlines consolidate, the prices go up.

Sometimes it can be worth to try and fly from another place. For you maybe either Los Angeles or Phoenix.

I just called US Airways and they were able to quote me a much better price. It is still expensive but not as bad.

The best price with decent connections is about $1,450. YIKES!! Is this normal or should the rate go down a bit if we wait until Nov or so to purchases?

 

We were only expecting to pay about $1,200 each.

Maybe it's just me but I don't see how a few hundred bucks here or there should break your holiday.

Do people really plan to this fine a degree their holiday?? :confused:

We are doing a cruise next May from Barcelona to many Italy ports. Our flight leaves from JFK to Barcelona, roundtrip on Delta. We just got it for $1198.00 roundtrip.

Since we are not frequent travelers or fliers, I was just surprised at how the taxes on airline tickets are figured out.

If we take an American Airline company, the taxes cost more than the airline ticket itself, and, if we take an airline such as Air France, or British Airways, the total price is the same, but the description shows the airline ticket itself more than the taxes.

Obviously I do no have any understanding to rules, regulations, etc. Just thought it was interesting.

Dave

Since we are not frequent travelers or fliers, I was just surprised at how the taxes on airline tickets are figured out.

We are doing a cruise next May from Barcelona to many Italy ports. Our flight leaves from JFK to Barcelona, roundtrip on Delta. We just got it for $1198.00 roundtrip.

 

Since we are not frequent travelers or fliers, I was just surprised at how the taxes on airline tickets are figured out.

 

If we take an American Airline company, the taxes cost more than the airline ticket itself, and, if we take an airline such as Air France, or British Airways, the total price is the same, but the description shows the airline ticket itself more than the taxes.

 

Obviously I do no have any understanding to rules, regulations, etc. Just thought it was interesting.

 

Dave

Others, notably British Airways, make you pay for everything that isn't the base fare, including all taxes and a "fuel surcharge" that isn't a tax at all, but instead a way for the airline to boost its revenue. These totals can amount to hundreds, even over a thousand dollars on top of the miles you redeem.

For revenue (paid) tickets the bottom line is usually pretty much the same regardless of the airline - the taxes, fees and surcharges are buried in the price. For mileage redemption tickets however this is often NOT the case, something many people have learned to their dismay.

Thank-you for the helpful information. I've been stressed enough reading different things to help us with our first ever European cruise. I'm glad in a way we don't fly much at all as my head would probably spin trying to understand all of the airline perks and upgrade possibilities.

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Maybe it's just me but I don't see how a few hundred bucks here or there should break your holiday.

 

Do people really plan to this fine a degree their holiday?? :confused:

We would still take a vacation but may go to Alaska or somewhere in Asia instead. We don't mind spending $2,400 for air for the two of us but $3,000 is a bit high.

We won't have our travel plans finalized until Black Friday. We are willing to switch the entire vacation if there is a good deal somewhere we want to go.

To answer your question, yes some people have to pay attention the prices.

I'm sorry if this seems to be rude, but if you need to cancel travel plans over a couple hundreds of dollars, you might want to rethink the whole budget planning...

It has been awhile since we have had to purchase tickets for Europe.

 

We are looking to leave LAS (Las Vegas) on 5/15/15 for FCO (Rome) and return on 5/29/2015.

 

The best price with decent connections is about $1,450. YIKES!! Is this normal or should the rate go down a bit if we wait until Nov or so to purchases?

 

We were only expecting to pay about $1,200 each.

 

We may have to scrap this cruise if the air prices stay this high and just do Alask next Jun or Jul instead.

For the past few years we have chosen to fly out of LAS because we get a better price than in southern CA and better connections.

I'm sorry if this seems to be rude, but if you need to cancel travel plans over a couple hundreds of dollars, you might want to rethink the whole budget planning...

As with many things in life it comes down to priorities. I might be willing to spend 800.00 to upgrade a cabin on a cruise but I'm not fond of paying 200.00 more for a flight. Personally I will almost always fly economy plus or the equivalent because it's worth it to me. I like my knees but I don't want them in my face for an 8 hour flight. Is it worth paying for business class, not usually.

I'm sorry if this seems to be rude, but if you need to cancel travel plans over a couple hundreds of dollars, you might want to rethink the whole budget planning...

We have to draw the line somewhere when it comes to travel expenses. Air tickets can cause us to pick a different vacation. We only have an annual vacation budget of $10,000.00 and like to stretch it.

We have to draw the line somewhere when it comes to travel expenses. Air tickets can cause us to pick a different vacation. We only have an annual vacation budget of $10,000.00 and like to stretch it.

I thought your first post was perfectly reasonable. I don't think you need to explain yourself. We are taking a British Isles cruise in June. I'm feeling double sticker shock between the flights and the cost of a London hotel room! :o

I'm going to look into the cruise line airfare which I had originally declined. Also, I've signed up on a few consolidation websites to be alerted if the price drops. I will try your idea of calling a few airlines directly.

What about dealing directly with a travel agent?

Last year I was looking to book airfair for my daughter and her husband to fly to Copenhagen from Toronto for a cruise, then Copenhagen to Paris for a 4 night stay, then Paris to Toronto home. I went on numerous sites and could not find airfair for a decent price.

So I called a nearby travel agent and asked him to see what he could get me for airfair for her trip. He called me back a while later with a good price, on good airlines with good flight times. It was quite a bit cheaper than anything I could find. So it makes me wonder if travel agents have access to flight info that the rest of us don't?

I thought your first post was perfectly reasonable. I don't think you need to explain yourself. We are taking a British Isles cruise in June. I'm feeling double sticker shock between the flights and the cost of a London hotel room! :o

 

I'm going to look into the cruise line airfare which I had originally declined. Also, I've signed up on a few consolidation websites to be alerted if the price drops. I will try your idea of calling a few airlines directly.

If you'll be in London more than a couple of days pre-cruise then you might want to look into renting a flat instead of a hotel room. We're staying in London for two weeks next spring, and have rented a spacious one BR flat with a washer/dryer, full kitchen including dishwasher, wifi, satellite TV with a gazillion channels, a UK king (ie US Queen) bed, lovely looking place with all the comforts of home in a fantastic neighborhood near Kensington Gardens and within three blocks of Tesco and Waitrose, two tube stops, and Boots, and across from the Natural History Museum. It works out to $283 per night including all fees and taxes, plus a black cab pick up from LHR.

While searching I found many others that were less expensive, but not suited for a two week stay. They would have been fine for 2-4 nights.

What about dealing directly with a travel agent?

Last year I was looking to book airfair for my daughter and her husband to fly to Copenhagen from Toronto for a cruise, then Copenhagen to Paris for a 4 night stay, then Paris to Toronto home. I went on numerous sites and could not find airfair for a decent price.

So I called a nearby travel agent and asked him to see what he could get me for airfair for her trip. He called me back a while later with a good price, on good airlines with good flight times. It was quite a bit cheaper than anything I could find. So it makes me wonder if travel agents have access to flight info that the rest of us don't?

He probably found room with a consolidator. (Those tickets are incredibly restricted and they might have found themselves stranded in the case of ir ops.) Otherwise he might have looked on airlines and with itineraries that you hadn't thought of, or put together a ticket with various airlines. Keep in mind that many carriers don't list on the typical web sites.

Again, the mindset of most Americans seems to be US, UA, Delta and AA. And those prices are generally higher than looking outside the box.

I can't remember which one or two of the Middle Eastern airlines were running a sale (I get a lot of emails from all the Middle Eastern airlines) but very recently there have been a couple of sales to/from both Munich and Milan to LAS for around $800. I'm sure the Munich email was Etihad and I know Emirates is now flying direct into Milan from JFK. Vegas is hurting and they have been offering a lot of very special deals to encourage Middle Easterners and Asians to come to Vegas. But you won't find those deals on US, UA, Delta or AA.

And of course the old budget standbys of Aer Lingus, Icelandair, Air Transat and Condor. And the new Norwegian Air is quoting prices through March of about $350 each way from LAX to FCO. Some of these airlines don't have their schedules completely open for a one ticket flight yet. And some you have to "piece" the individual segments together.

But I know for a fact you can book Aer Lingus from JFK to Dublin right now for May, then book separate tickets on Aer Lingus from Dublin to Rome, call the airline and have them put the two pieces together as one flight. Just the way their website works-has nothing to do with the flights.

Just have to look outside the box. As Ducklite posted, getting a fully furnished flat instead of a hotel room is a way to beat the high prices in London. Out of the box thinking will save you a lot of money.

I'm going to look into the cruise line airfare which I had originally declined. Also, I've signed up on a few consolidation websites to be alerted if the price drops. I will try your idea of calling a few airlines directly.

Be SURE you READ THE FINE PRINT when booking with a consolidator. You are NOT generally getting the same ticket you would get directly from the airline. And again, may be the same flight #, same seats, same plane but those oh so precious underlying FARE RULES could totally trash your trip if you misconnect or a flight is canceled.

A couple of them have such strict regulations that if your flight changes and you can't make the flight, you are SOL. Example: Your return flight is booked at 1PM. But the flight changes to 9:30AM. You are still on the ship or on the way to the airport or fighting your way through security or hassling with your luggage. TOO BAD. Flight XXX is flying at 9:30AM. Not on the plane-oh, well, buy another ticket. And your travel insurance will most likely NOT PAY for the very expensive walk up ticket due to the restrictions you signed up for when you purchased the ticket.

Please know what you are buying before you click. And if you can't read the ENTIRE fare rules and the T & C's of some of the consolidator sights, you really have no idea what you purchased.

What about dealing directly with a travel agent?

I booked my cruise with a travel agency so when I check on the cruise air, I will also ask about independent flights. Thanks!

If you'll be in London more than a couple of days pre-cruise then you might want to look into renting a flat instead of a hotel room.

Sounds like a great deal! I have been investigating apartments too. It would be nice to have a washer/dryer. I'm surprised by how many hotels and apts. do not have air conditioning. Also, we would need the queen bed--a double is much too small! We stayed in a great apt. for 4 nights in Barcelona.

Be SURE you READ THE FINE PRINT when booking with a consolidator. You are NOT generally getting the same ticket you would get directly from the airline. And again, may be the same flight #, same seats, same plane but those oh so precious underlying FARE RULES could totally trash your trip if you misconnect or a flight is canceled.

Will do! Thanks for the info.

Sounds like a great deal! I have been investigating apartments too. It would be nice to have a washer/dryer. I'm surprised by how many hotels and apts. do not have air conditioning. Also, we would need the queen bed--a double is much too small! We stayed in a great apt. for 4 nights in Barcelona.

You shouldn't need A/C in London unless you are there in late June through mid-August with some sort of crazy heat wave.

You shouldn't need A/C in London unless you are there in late June through mid-August with some sort of crazy heat wave.

We are coming home on 6/17 but my husband is always complaining that he is too warm.