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General => General discussion => Topic started by: Cory on 27 February 2012, 12:38

Title: cheap flights
Post by: Cory on 27 February 2012, 12:38
ive been looking into getting tickets for me and the mrs to go over to San Francisco in september
but not having much luck

im getting quotes for in excess of £1000. which sounds ridiculous.
does anyone know any good websites/companies to look at?

ive never been abroad before so know nothing about finding cheap flights   :undecided:
Title: Re: cheap flights
Post by: Sam on 27 February 2012, 12:50
1k for san fran sounds about right buddy
Title: Re: cheap flights
Post by: Guy on 27 February 2012, 13:28
flights are silly money at the moment

its not just the flights but the surcharges and taxes, and on budget flights you'll get charged for baggage, checking in early, a mouldy sarnie and some tepid water and 2" extra legroom

last year Monarch charged me 50 notes for using a debit card... a disgusting practice which I think they have now stopped

don't just look at UK based carriers... destination carriers, or those using a hub, might provide a better option

Delta appear to be the cheapest.

Title: Re: cheap flights
Post by: Guy on 27 February 2012, 13:35
also if you want to try to economise you might have to play about with dep/des airports and look at transfers... eg. flying into LAX
Title: Re: cheap flights
Post by: Cory on 27 February 2012, 13:45
thanks for the info buddy!

yeah is seems to be taxes etc, they just double the price of the flight.
will have another look around. im wondering if it would be cheaper if my uncle booked them,
is he lives out there, and thats who ill be staying with?
Title: Re: cheap flights
Post by: Khare on 27 February 2012, 13:46
Have a look here

http://www.gonomad.com/transports/0011/miniguide_air_courier.html (http://www.gonomad.com/transports/0011/miniguide_air_courier.html)

It could be an option  :smiley:
Title: Re: cheap flights
Post by: Cory on 27 February 2012, 13:52
thats pretty mental . . . could be keen!

i know its a stupid question, but i honestly dont know . . . is there any 'cheaper' times to travel?
i.e mid week, in the evenings etc?
Title: Re: cheap flights
Post by: Guy on 28 February 2012, 04:44
Have a look here

http://www.gonomad.com/transports/0011/miniguide_air_courier.html (http://www.gonomad.com/transports/0011/miniguide_air_courier.html)

It could be an option  :smiley:

(http://theinspirationroom.com/daily/commercials/2009/9/pablo-the-drug-mule-dog.jpg)
Title: Re: cheap flights
Post by: Jaer007ll on 28 February 2012, 04:47
(http://www.newstarspub.info/avatar1.jpg)ive never been abroad before so know nothing about finding cheap flights
Title: Re: cheap flights
Post by: MAW73 on 28 February 2012, 09:15
Try Dial-A-Flight (They are very reasonable)

Tel: 0844 811 4444
Title: Re: cheap flights
Post by: Mk1Macca on 28 February 2012, 12:50
(http://www.newstarspub.info/avatar1.jpg)ive never been abroad before so know nothing about finding cheap flights

You know posts in this forum don't add to your post count right? Or were you just trying to be really helpful??

To the OP:

I travel to the states quite a lot. To get the bargains takes a bit of shopping around. My first port of call is usually Expedia.co.uk to get an idea of price and available flights.

Once you know what flights are when, you can try the airlines websites themselves to see if there are any better offers.

For the US, US carriers tend to be cheaper and will certainly offer you a better seat pitch than the likes of scummy BA. I've always found United to be cheapest for some reason - though their aircraft can tend to be a bit older and not have as cool an entertainment system on board. You'll find non- direct flights to be the cheapest as they all have hubs out there, but just double check the transfer times. Some can be hours and hours at an airport and US airports are utter rubbish in terms of things to do. Most have absolutely nothing.

The best by absolute far is Virgin - though are the most expensive usually. A trick I used before was to find out the time the Virgin flight was, then use one of their partner carriers to look for the same flight. So, Continental being their US partner lists the flight (which I know to be a Virgin flight), but at a saving of £300 per person, plus it's booked with a US contract - which means I can cancel the flight and get a refund. Not something you can do with UK flights.

Enjoy SF - it's a fantastic place :)
Title: Re: cheap flights
Post by: Cory on 28 February 2012, 13:25
cheers dude, thats awesome info! yeah i was thinking about looking at US carriers, as i will be visiting family that live there anyway, and they fly all over the place, all the time with work, so might be able to help out with finding deals.