Sky-high airfare

Wow, airfares certainly have jumped this year. I'm looking at having to pay double what I did last year...at least! Where is everyone getting their tickets this year? I've tried every online site I can think of, and then some. My travel dates would be leaving around July 3, for about a month. And I'm in an obscure part of NY so USAir has the best connections for me. Thanks for any tips. ~Karen

I hear ya SalaChic! We have a bunch of people flying over for our wedding and it has been terrible trying to find affordable airfares. It seems that nobody even offered sales this year! The bad thing is that I am afraid it is only going to get worse.

I second that ... finding very high prices for mid summer trips.. I am due to fly back to Madrid middle of July and found outrageous prices.. Iberia has some good prices Spain to US but not vice versa apparently

SalaChic,
I checked all the airlines and the cheapest I found is British Airways. JFK/LHR/MAD leaving 07/03/2006 and returning on 08/03/2006. The price is $1040.00
Hope this helps!

Thanks Carlos. But unfortunately, where I live, getting to JFK is a long drive. We did try it one summer to save money. It took us only 4hrs to get there, but 7 hrs on the way home because of traffic!! And with 2 kids in tow, it was way too much. I'm looking for ITH-PHL-MAD. Also, I've found that while the fare via London is cheaper, I'd get killed in taxes on that fare. USAir taxes are about $85, but on BA it's in the neighborhood of $250 !! Ouch. When I find something, I'll post back for everyone else looking too. ~Karen

SalaChic,
You must have your tickets by now.How did you make out?

Not well. They were still in the neighborhood of $1000 +tx. We got them from www.flights.com There were probably cheaper fares to be had, but not from my small (centrally isolated) town with the specific routing we wanted. We checked other sources like the usual Orbitz etc and also directly with USAir and they tickets were still going up - topped off at $1800 !! So we cut our losses, bit the bullet and bought the tix. It just amazes me on how the exact same itinerary on the exact same airline can fluctuate so much in price. In 2002 I paid $600 *sigh*

I'm visiting the Parental Units (anyone in the USA get that SNL reference?) towards the end of July (already had that ticket as the return trip of a round-trip ticket when I first came here at the end of December 2005).

So last month I bought a one-way ticket from Columbus, Ohio (USA) to Madrid on August 2 for $1,250 on www.ORBITZ.com with Iberia, making one stop in Chicago. The next best price was like $1,500 so it seems I got a good deal. It was the same price one-way as round-trip too.

But don't get too crazed about the summertime airfares. They're ALWAYS high, historically being around $1,200 - $1,700 from the USA to Spain. In springtime/autumn I usually pay/paid $600 - $700 and felt good about that.

And should we really complain so much? In the 1970s and 1980s the airfares to Europe were - EVEN THEN - between $1,500 and $2,000!! I remember when my sister went to Europe on summer with a high school group the ticket alone was in that range. My parents nearly changed their minds about sending her until she begged, cried, threw a small tantrum (just kidding), promised to help pay some of the ticket, washed the dishes for a month - without complaining, etcetera.

For years and years now we've been spoiled by these low airfares due to constant price wars among the airline companies, these companies operating at a loss, and going deeper and deeper in dept every year. And look what happened! Now most of them are out of business, bankrupt, or about to go under. So with fewer airlines making those routes (plus fuel prices) they can now raise the rates because there are fewer choices and less competition among the airlines. So really, we've shot ourselves in the foot.

SalaChic, in 2002 you paid $600. Was that for summertime travel too from/to the same travel points?

Happy Travels, everyone!

Saludos, MadridMan

We just found out that Air Transat flies Madrid Toronto While I'm not too fond of flying charter the only other option is a connection via Frankfurt or London and 4 hours extra travel time. The main negative I find is that you have liminted flights, right now only once a week.

Air Transat now offers club class, while not quite business class the seats are a bit roomer so it may make the flight a bit more tolorable.

krob

I just paid $933 RT non-stop Newark to Madrid via Continental leaving July 27 & returning August 22. it was about $75 less than Delta RT to and from JFK. What cinched the deal for me was that Continental threw in five free Apple iTunes downloads.

I just bought a ticket from Wichita, KS to Madrid in mid-September for 984 (includes a hundred bucks for the travel agent). That's OK with me.

-Rick

Wichita, KS

I was watching a news program this weekend on this issue and just sharing a warning some travel experts were giving out.

Since the airlines are book to capacity this summer, the travel experts warn people not to be late for their flights and check in at the airlines recommended time.

Airlines have no problems bumping people because they know they have people waiting for those bump seats.

Bill

Fares to Madrid were so outrageous(nearly $1700), even back in April when I was booking my august tx, that I booked a non-stop from Philly to Lisbon on USAIR for $733. I'll take the o-nite train to Madrid for $300. Still beat the fare and I get to see Lisbon. However, I just looked and USAIR is no longer running the special (It's now $1685). But perhaps it's useful for future posters to consider flying into a 'close' city where there might be a 'special'. Alas, I think the travelling set will have to get used to these outlandish fares in the current economy.

Lately I have been getting better fares from US to Barcelona .. it used to be much better into Madrid but I have seen more specials into BCN lately.

Most people are blaming the high prices on the high price of oil now and you know that the airlines are passing those charges on to us as passengers. Now summer is when the majority of people travel, so of course they can have us dig deep in our pockets because they know that we have to travel some sort of way.

I am looking for deals to Washington, DC from Madrid and they have't been looking THAT great so far. I live in Richmond, VA and just trying to go straight to Richmond sends the ticket up to 2193€ and that is not a joke. British Airways.

Still searching and sending love out to everyone,

Shawn

Shawn--
To get to DC, I've had the best luck flying into Philly on USAir/Spanair and then connecting to DC. Check both airline's sites, because even though it is the same flight, sometimes it is cheaper on one than on the other. Even with the horrendous exchange, it worked out better for us to buy the ticket from the Spanish site terminala.com.

Another tip--have someone in the US check the fares for you on US sites like travel.yahoo.com. I discovered recently that the fares that you get depend on where you are!

¡Suerte!

My friend got a flight from BWI - london via PHL. that cost him 785 usairways. He then booked a flight on easyjet for 120.00. it was a long trip but he saved about 240. The key is to get to gatwick not heathrow.. good luck

Thanks for the advice. I will take it into consideration. I have decided to wait until the fall to go home because ticket prices were just too expensive for me this summer. We shall see what I find.

Have a great day,

Shawn

Shawn - the fares drop by at least 50%, often more, if you wait until end of Sept-start of Oct.
If you don't need to get home ASAP - wait until end of summer and you'll see the rates drop dramatically.

Also, log onto Travelocity and set up your account where they will notify you everytime your choice of to/from destinations drop by whatever dollar amount you put in.

Doesn't mean you have to purchase thru them - just gives you a heads-up for fare changes via email - and saves you having to check all the relevant airlines as well ....

Thanks for the advice. I am now looking at November and it has dropped drastically and I will do it before Thanksgiving.

There's no place like home, since I haven't been there in 3 years.

Thanks again,

Shawn

Yes, MadridMan, my 2002 fare of $600 was for the exact same route, and always for the month of July. But chin up folks, I have a friend leaving TODAY on the exact same route that I take and they got a great deal: USAIR Aug 10-31 for $515 incl tx! They said they got it from Travelocity. Apparently there is a feature where you say you are flexible on the dates....you pick a fare and then it shows you when it's available. It has never worked for me, but I guess it did for them. Lucky stiffs!

Hi SalaChic, This is Kathy T. (formally from DHS in Geneva) and Gertrude S. (your colleague from SSCS). We are in Amsterdam, the Netherlands and will be returning home tomorrow. I am online looking for info about airline security. Hasta la vista.

I was just able to book a midweek to midweek fare for mid-October from Minneapolis to Madrid on Iberia for US$588 on their website. Everyone else wanted from US$750-$950.

See you there!

When I came over last March I used y Amex points. Seems that it really doesn't matter when you by your ticket because purchasing this way doesn't have anything to do with sales. I got round trip first class from United for around 90,000 miles. Funny thing is, coach was going to cost about the same then I moved my departure dates around and found a great deal with an open ended ticket good for a year.

I've noticed the same thing with the pricing going on as I'm looking to go back to Madrid in the next couple of months. My g/f family ended up buying us a Penthouse in Castellana so she wouldn't have o rent while going to grad school.

If you are flexible with your dates, even departure and return by different days of the week you can get better deals. By all means avoid bank holiday weekends or you will pay through the nose. We once waited a little too long and couldn't find a flight to La Coruna to see her parents and had to take the bus. Funny thing, we waited a couple days to come back and got a flight at the same price as the bus fare.

Just takes a little digging and flexibility.

Later, Paul