Juliet - Be careful with Sabena. They've been having financial difficulties lately. Make sure they'll be able to arrange for you to fly with some other carrier should they need to pull some of their fleet out of the air.

Just found a fair of $281 ($331 after taxes, etc.) from Baltimore to Madrid on USAirways. The fare includes a shuttle from BWI to Philadelphia, then direct to Madrid. The sale fare good through October 15th, I believe, and the available flights run through the end of February.

Yahoo! I am so excited now that I've bought the ticket! And more fun is to come as I plan the trip!

Jennifer

jmcarr, you didn't mention WHEN you were traveling.

For the USAir sale jmcarr mentions above, end October 17th, found HERE :

"All travel must be completed by 3/14/02. Tickets become nonrefundable 24 hours after making initial reservation, but under certain conditions may be changed for a minimum $100 fee ($150 for Europe). Minimum 3-day or Saturday night stay is required. Maximum 30 day stay allowed. Blackout dates of 12/14-12/24/2001 apply. Fares are valid Monday-Thursday; other days are higher."

Well, that leaves ME out. GRRRR!!! I am hoping to leave on December 21st and return January 2 and these date are in the BLACKOUT dates listed.

[ 10-12-2001: Message edited by: MadridMan ]

Sorry, MM! I'll be vacationing in February. Feb. is slow, workwise, so I can safely disappear from the office without feeling like I'm leaving a bunch of people in the lurch.

Haven't figured out yet where I'm going -- to stay in Madrid or visit elsewhere for the first time, that is the question. Looking at all of the travel books and checking out old threads on the board will help me figure that out as Feb. approaches

[ 10-12-2001: Message edited by: jmcarr ]

I keep talking about www.hotwire.com , but nobody seems to notice. Let me give you a specific great deal. LAX-MAD on November 23-29 for $423 as of 10/12/01. That is truely a goos deal. A friend who is meeting me in Madrid on the 24th just got it. I wish I bought that one instead of my $450 ticket
Of course, I waste a LOT of time playing on the airline sites.

[ 10-12-2001: Message edited by: MadridMan ]

rere, I tried www.hotwire.com again (as I did a few days ago), entered my dates (departure 12/21/01 and returning 1/2/02), but it said, sadly,
"We're sorry, but there are no matches for your search. Please change your preferences, travel dates, origin, or destination and search again."

Will the last person out of the USA please switch off the lights!On a serious note its good to see you all planning to fly soon despite Bin-Liners best efforts.

JMCarr:
It may be getting a bit off the subject but we are also planning to trip to Madrid in February and I am torn between Carnaval in Cadiz & An Troido (same thing) in Galicia. I watched the An Troido parade in Santiago in '99 - there was a 'drag queens' float. They were still talking about it on the TVE talk shows when I returned in July of that year for Santiago.
Cadiz is nice and the weather is likely to be better there in February than in Galicia. But we will miss the Lacon con grelos.

Eddie -- More off-topic stuff.

I was thinking about going north in Feb, as I've always visited Madrid and the surrounding area but would like to see all of Spain. Santiago is on my list of places to see someday -- I could spend a year in Spain and still not see everything I would like. But being something of a winter weather wimp, I decided to go south. Plus, I have to admit to being obsessed with seeing Cordoba since reading the Garcia Lorca (I believe) poem.

[ 10-17-2001: Message edited by: jmcarr ]

I just bought a one-way ticket to Madrid with USAir for $330. I know they may be cheesy, but cheaptickets is a pretty sure-fire deal if your dates are flexible. Don't let a travel agent tell you that flights are costing thousands of dollars. there are TONS of deals out there. GOOD LUCK TO ALL OF YOU!!!!