Snakehn Posted April 9, 2013 Share Posted April 9, 2013 hi, Does any heavy traveler here that knows any tips on finding best rates to flight from the US to England? specially from the east coast, GA, NC, NY, VA ? best days or months to book flights to save money? any particular website better than the others? or directly through a particular airline? My wife has always wanted to visit England, London to be specific and i have wanted to give her this trip as a gift but haven't been able to catch a break with money, but i think we could now save a bit to make it happen. anyway any advice would be appreciated, thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kami- Posted April 10, 2013 Share Posted April 10, 2013 Fly on Tuesdays & Thursdays (less demand for flights on these days as not weekend or mid-week nor are they a single day either side of the weekend for those that want 3/4 day weekend breaks). Look for a no-thrills operator or some last minute bargains - some operators sell seats on flights which aren't fully booked for as low as 15% of the previous price! (I once got a flight to Germany for just over 17% of the online price by turning up to airport and buying an unused seat). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Montage Posted April 10, 2013 Share Posted April 10, 2013 I would very much recommend Delta as being a sweet spot between cost and comfort. Charisma 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kami- Posted April 10, 2013 Share Posted April 10, 2013 I would very much recommend Delta as being a sweet spot between cost and comfort. Delta are good, so are Luftahansa usually (but they don't fly to UK direct from USA - at least not in the quick couple of searches I did, you have to make a change over in Europe). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancedar Posted April 10, 2013 Share Posted April 10, 2013 skyscanner.net if you fancy booking ahead rather than just turning up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V-Tech Posted April 10, 2013 Share Posted April 10, 2013 hi, Does any heavy traveler here that knows any tips on finding best rates to flight from the US to England? specially from the east coast, GA, NC, NY, VA ? best days or months to book flights to save money? any particular website better than the others? or directly through a particular airline? My wife has always wanted to visit England, London to be specific and i have wanted to give her this trip as a gift but haven't been able to catch a break with money, but i think we could now save a bit to make it happen. anyway any advice would be appreciated, thanks. Do you have an approximate date of when you want to fly? Are you looking for a direct fly or a connection is o.k as well? (connection will lower costs) If you give me a date range i can check prices in few very good places i know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charisma Veteran Posted April 10, 2013 Veteran Share Posted April 10, 2013 I would very much recommend Delta as being a sweet spot between cost and comfort. Agreed, you get free beer and wine on Delta too as opposed to paying for each drink on other airlines. Planes are comfy and in good shape too. And there are three direct flights from ATL-LHR in the morning that will be decently priced if you book far enough in advance :) Cheaper if you don't mind connections and stopovers, but sometimes it's worth a bit more just to get it over and done with. Unless you don't mind skulking around airports. I personally rather love it, but most people don't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason S. Global Moderator Posted April 10, 2013 Global Moderator Share Posted April 10, 2013 My wife and I flew to England last year on United. We booked through United's site directly b/c we both have Mileage Plus credit cards and get bonus miles for booking through their site. Now, in order to get the best itinerary and price, we had to mess with the flights a bit. They worked out really well though. We flew from Cleveland to Newark, then to London during the day instead of overnight. It was awesome. On the flight home, we flew out of Manchester, to DC, then to Cleveland. If you want to catch a break, find a credit card that's doing a 'free miles' promotion. I got my United CC when they were offering 50k free miles. That, combined with some miles from my wife, bought us 2 free tickets to Colombia for our wedding. That, alone, saved us over $2000. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+LogicalApex MVC Posted April 10, 2013 MVC Share Posted April 10, 2013 If booking ahead it is usually a good idea to book from smaller airports. The lack of demand usually tips the prices in your favor... So flying out of PHL (Philadelphia) or EWR (Newark) will generally be cheaper than flying out of JFK (New York City) if the same flight is obtainable at all airports. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V-Tech Posted April 10, 2013 Share Posted April 10, 2013 If booking ahead it is usually a good idea to book from smaller airports. The lack of demand usually tips the prices in your favor... So flying out of PHL (Philadelphia) or EWR (Newark) will generally be cheaper than flying out of JFK (New York City) if the same flight is obtainable at all airports. I'm not sure you are correct in this case. The competition on the NYC-LHR route is VERY HIGH. Because of that the prices on this specific route are better from the big airports (EWR and JFK) and not the smaller airports. Go to any flight ticket booking website and make a search and you will see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+LogicalApex MVC Posted April 10, 2013 MVC Share Posted April 10, 2013 I'm not sure you are correct in this case. The competition on the NYC-LHR route is VERY HIGH. Because of that the prices on this specific route are better from the big airports (EWR and JFK) and not the smaller airports. Go to any flight ticket booking website and make a search and you will see. I haven't flown to Europe, so my advice was very general. I notice that when looking at flights to YYZ (a frequent trip of mine) it is usually cheaper to fly out of EWR instead of a major airport like JFL or PHL due to the lowered demand and altered competitive landscape. With the larger carriers they are all in some variation of an alliance, such as Star Alliance, and this allows them to share their pricing details with each other; in effect they can legally price fix. You can't always associate more carriers on the same route as it being competitive in the way you expect it to be. This is why PHL is so much more expensive than EWR for a PHL/EWR to YYZ direct run even though PHL has a lot more carriers doing direct flights for this itinerary. But this is getting into the weeds. I was just reminding the OP to check airports around where he can fly from and not to limit himself to just the major ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V-Tech Posted April 10, 2013 Share Posted April 10, 2013 I haven't flown to Europe, so my advice was very general. I notice that when looking at flights to YYZ (a frequent trip of mine) it is usually cheaper to fly out of EWR instead of a major airport like JFL or PHL due to the lowered demand and altered competitive landscape. With the larger carriers they are all in some variation of an alliance, such as Star Alliance, and this allows them to share their pricing details with each other; in effect they can legally price fix. You can't always associate more carriers on the same route as it being competitive in the way you expect it to be. This is why PHL is so much more expensive than EWR for a PHL/EWR to YYZ direct run even though PHL has a lot more carriers doing direct flights for this itinerary. But this is getting into the weeds. I was just reminding the OP to check airports around where he can fly from and not to limit himself to just the major ones. Actually prices change according to airport TAX as well, EWR charge less for airport TAX because it's NJ than JFK because it's NY. Most major airlines fly to both JFK and EWR from what i know. Some passengers prefer to fly to EWR and some to JFK but there is enough demand to fly to both airports. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leo_the_lion Posted April 10, 2013 Share Posted April 10, 2013 As a frequent past user of flights to and from the UK I would recommend spending plenty of time checking Expedia and SideStep plus..........identify the carriers that fly from your chosen departure airport and check their websites.............I've have some great bargains going to London in the past few years...............Lufthansa via Frankfurt for $300 return!!!!.........American via Chicago $800 return!..............Air Canada via Toronto $550 return!!!! You have to to be patient and be able to spend plenty of time researching Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaffney Posted April 10, 2013 Share Posted April 10, 2013 Have you considered flying to Scotland then traveling down to England? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saltysaltybk Posted April 10, 2013 Share Posted April 10, 2013 Flying in to Iceland and out again can be a cheaper option. Or flying in to Frankfurt then back to Heathrow is usually cheaper than direct in to London. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V-Tech Posted April 10, 2013 Share Posted April 10, 2013 Snakehn - if you can provide us with date you are interested i (or we) can check prices and see what's best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hum Posted April 10, 2013 Share Posted April 10, 2013 pack your paracute :s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snakehn Posted April 15, 2013 Author Share Posted April 15, 2013 is not necessary to flight directly, flying to another country as connection to england i wouldnt mind, im pretty sure my wife would also enjoy it. i would have to take a look at delta as some have recommended, i have thought about a credit card with miles program as well, but my credit is a bit limited right now. i would love to flight by the end of the year and catch the new year's celebration but i know that may not be possible as it is probably the peak season, maybe by february-april next year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V-Tech Posted April 15, 2013 Share Posted April 15, 2013 is not necessary to flight directly, flying to another country as connection to england i wouldnt mind, im pretty sure my wife would also enjoy it. i would have to take a look at delta as some have recommended, i have thought about a credit card with miles program as well, but my credit is a bit limited right now. i would love to flight by the end of the year and catch the new year's celebration but i know that may not be possible as it is probably the peak season, maybe by february-april next year. You didnt really mention for how long you want to fly. I check a flight for a week. 4th to 11th of February JFK - LHR Flight with a connection - $788 (Icelandair) Direct flight - $820 (Virgin Atlantic Airways) 4th to 11th of March EWR-LHR Flight with a connection - $764 (Icelandair) EWR/JFK-LHR Direct flight - $818 (Virgin Atlantic Airways) Flights from ATL or PHL are more expensive and April is a bit more expensive as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
COKid Posted April 15, 2013 Share Posted April 15, 2013 Take this route and you'll be fine. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shiranui Posted April 15, 2013 Share Posted April 15, 2013 I would be more concerned about the disappointment your wife is going to feel when she arrives in London. :) Charisma 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts