International Flights

[Alesia]

My daughter's girl scout troop will be taking a trip to Europe in June 2017. We'll be flying into London and then flying home from Zurich. And, since the girls will be earning most of the money for the trip themselves, we need to do it as cheaply as possible. So, does anyone have any tips on saving money on international flights? Or any other tips for international travel?

 

[minnie mum]

I would suggest that you jump on getting your air tickets soon. June means summer pricing, which is high. Getting a TA ( in a brick and mortar agency who you can deal with in person) who is familiar with European travel will be helpful. Especially if you aren't joining a tour company with their own buses and hotel/ meal arrangements. Which brings me to my first question - are you using a tour company or travelling on your own?

 

[supersnoop]

How are you getting from London to Zurich? What you've described is known as an "open jaw" itinerary. Those can be very expensive since they're normally booked as two one-way tickets. Those types of trips are ideal candidates for redeeming miles.

 

[Alesia]

I would suggest that you jump on getting your air tickets soon. June means summer pricing, which is high. Getting a TA ( in a brick and mortar agency who you can deal with in person) who is familiar with European travel will be helpful. Especially if you aren't joining a tour company with their own buses and hotel/ meal arrangements. Which brings me to my first question - are you using a tour company or travelling on your own?

Flights won't be released until next summer, so we've got a bit of time.

No tour company. We're on our own

 

[Alesia]

How are you getting from London to Zurich? What you've described is known as an "open jaw" itinerary. Those can be very expensive since they're normally booked as two one-way tickets. Those types of trips are ideal candidates for redeeming miles.

We're flying, but I'm not super worried about the middle leg. Reasonable flights from London to Zurich are easy to find. When I was looking last summer to see what prices would be this coming summer, I was able to find flights from home to London to Zurich and back home for about $1600 through Kayak. I feel like I'm not going to find anything better than that.

 

[minnie mum]

Flights won't be released until next summer, so we've got a bit of time.

No tour company. We're on our own

Oops, my bad. I didn't see the 2017. I thought you would be ground travelling through Europe, ending up in Zurich. If you're thinking of a discount airline for the intermediate leg, don't forget all their add ons that they will tack on for checked and even carry on luggage.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

You would save a lot of money not flying through London. The fees and taxes there are extremely high.

You should look into booking your trip as a multi-city trip, from your town-LHR, LHR-ZRH, ZRH-your town. It will probably be cheaper than booking separate tickets for each leg.

You have plenty of time to research this.

 

[goofy4tink]

Also, have you considered booking as a group? You may find better deals that way.

 

[Yellowjj]

You don't mention which city you originate from. This will be key to your pricing.

If there are many of you travelling, consider a group booking where you get a block of seats at a discounted rate though this might be slightly more difficult if your the only ones who want to leave from Zurich.

London Heathrow is the most expensive airport in Europe and taxes can easily add $500+ to a ticket. I would actually suggest building a connecting ticket using ZRH as the arrival/departure point. For example lets say you live in Boston.
You would build BOS->ZRH->LHR as a one way or BOS->ZRH->LHR->ZRH->BOS as the roundtrip. If you arrive in London via a connecting flight the taxes are much cheaper; to the tune of about 75% less per person.

Look at alternate airlines and/or alternate airports in London. Kuwait Airways flies JFK-LHR nonstop with fifth freedom abilities and is usually priced cheaper because of lack of brand recognition compared to the other carriers. Norwegian flies JFK-LGW nonstop and is usually priced cheaper.

 

[tinka-belle]

From the east coast I've seen Iceland, Swiss, Lufthansa, and Aer Lingus as the lower priced Europe flights this past year on major carriers. Check Norwegian, WOW, and other low cost airlines but be aware of sometimes a lighter baggage allowance or extra fees. You'd have to connect both ways at a hub airport, Zurich for Swiss for example as in the above post. Aer Lingus is Dublin, Iceland is Reykjavik, Lufthansa is usually Frankfurt or sometimes Munich.

If you have enough passengers you'd have to call each airline's group department for a quote once you find some suitable routes. There will be a minimum number of seats to be filled, as well as a deposit up front on the flights, and a group contract to be signed. Also, they generally allow only a small reduction in the number of seats you hold without losing the deposit, for example on a block of 40 seats you might be allowed to drop just 2 or 4 seats up o a certain time limit before a penalty kicks in. Sometimes group fares save you a bit (not a steep discount though), but weigh that against an up front deposit and a possible loss of deposit on some of those seats, as well as being the contract signer who is on the hook to the airline.

You can avoid most contracts and deposits with some airlines by setting up a % off discount for certain days and destinations. You'd have a group ID number that anyone can use for those dates and that destination. A small %, usually just 5% or 10% would apply off the BASE fare (not taxes or fuel surcharges) at whatever the fare is when booked. Not all airlines have this, and there are still minimum numbers to be met, but it's not as restrictive as a contracted group. Sometimes they give you a special phone number to call to use the code for a ticket, some will allow the code on their websites. I've seen this more for domestic flights than international ones, it doesn't hurt to inquire, though this might not be offered for open jaw international trips for small groups.

Some parents might want to use frequent flyer miles they have banked to keep the cost lower for their child, so once you've decided on a route and a flight be familiar with that airline's "partners" so you can inform parents if their miles might work for this trip. Hard to co-ordinate FF miles tickets with what you might have decided on though, so give some thought to allowing parents to do this. FF eligible seats are very few, can be frustrating to parents when none are available. Using FF miles would also take control o those flights from you, and it's best to have just one group leader in charge of the flights to avoid any problems and miscommunications.

Hope this helps a bit! If it's too overwhelming just dealing with the flights, seek out a TA who can deal with this part of your trip. Might be a small fee involved, but might be worth it.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

I did basically this same trip with a stop in Paris several years ago. We did fly into London and out of Zurich. Yes, the fees are a little higher in and out of London, but the fares are often cheaper so it averages out (I often fly personnally into London as from where I live it's often the cheapest option)

We did wind up using a TA who got us a good group rate on Delta. If any of your parents have a contact with a TA I would see if they can help you.

The only person who used FF miles turned out to be me! So that wasnt' an issue. IF they parents want to use miles (which we have had on other trips) there are some issues. Once I say that it's basically the "girls job" to get to the first hotel on time they often give up on that idea! You really can't be running back to the airport every day for the stragglers!

I would definitely check Icelandic air if it's an option for you. They seem to have the best deals.

A couple of other notes.... I assume you are going to stay at World Guide Centers. In London it's a great deal compared to the hotels and in Switzerland it's an amazing experience. Depending on how long you are gone you can pay them to do laundry at Our Chalet. Best money I spent LOL (Another troop that was there with us had wet blue jeans hanging around for days because they couldn't afford the laundry!) ANd that brings up my 2nd point. "build a pad into that budget" It's better to come home with funds then to be paniced over things!

Do not include the middle flight in your booking. Trust me it's probably going to mess you up Just do as you plan and buy the London to Zurich seperately (you can also do Geneva. WE wound up doing that and it worked well)

Luggage! Somehow you need to make sure they pack lightly. There's a lot of hauling around and the best discounts often come on airlines who charge a lot for the steamer trunk. I failed on that but the girl who got "busted" on the flight from Paris to Geneva had to pay the extra cost out of her spending money. ALl of my girls said they wished they had packed lighter and were jealous of the two leaders that did get everything (including uniforms, boots etc. ) into our 22" bags.

 

[Alesia]

It's only going to be 2 adults and 4 girls, so I don't think a group rate is in the cards for us.

I don't think anyone will be using frequent flyer miles.

We'll be originating out of our tiny regional airport and connecting through ORD.

The girls will be 16- and 17-years-old. Fortunately, they're all pretty low maintenance and easy going. We are definitely planning on stressing the importance of packing lightly. I am glad to know that they will do laundry at Our Chalet - that was actually pretty high up on my list of things to look into.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

Our Chalet was wonderful when we were there. Have a great time!

Your "tiny regional" may be the issue on airfare. Is there a bigger airport within driving distance you would consider?

 

[Alesia]

Your "tiny regional" may be the issue on airfare. Is there a bigger airport within driving distance you would consider?

I had actually thought of that, but looking at next summer's flights, it would only save us about $75 per person round trip.

 

[Plaid Princess]

We're flying, but I'm not super worried about the middle leg. Reasonable flights from London to Zurich are easy to find. When I was looking last summer to see what prices would be this coming summer, I was able to find flights from home to London to Zurich and back home for about $1600 through Kayak. I feel like I'm not going to find anything better than that.

You likely could find something cheaper if you are semi flexible with your dates. Not all airlines have their schedules posted until you're within a year of departure either, so your selection right now is still quite limited.

Just one tip though: Kayak is a great search engine, but do not buy your tickets through a third party booking site. Use Kayak to find the rate, and then book directly with the airline. If you book through a third party, the airline will not be able to help you if problems arise on your trip, your seat selections will most likely not be confirmed, and you will not receive timely updates (or any updates) about flight information. You will get the same rate directly with the airline, and have much more flexibility if any problems arise.

You would save a lot of money not flying through London. The fees and taxes there are extremely high.

Ditto this! If you have a bit of time to spare, flying into Dublin and then taking the Ferry/Train to London was a great experience. I saved about $300 per person by doing this. London has notoriously high taxes.

 

[Alesia]

Ditto this! If you have a bit of time to spare, flying into Dublin and then taking the Ferry/Train to London was a great experience. I saved about $300 per person by doing this. London has notoriously high taxes.

This is a good suggestion, but my only concern is what happens if we have misdirected luggage? How difficult would it be to get it to us once we're in London?

 

[Yellowjj]

Keep in mind your luggage may still go missing even on a direct/nonstop flight to London. My mom flew London to Lagos last year nonstop on British and the luggage never made it. I got her a reimbursement from them.

As to your original question, even if misdirected the airline will still get your bags to you in a timely manner, especially if your close by in another European country. That's what they have alliance partners for. Plus your reimbursed for necessities for every day your without your luggage until it's delivered to your hotel.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

..............
As to your original question, even if misdirected the airline will still get your bags to you in a timely manner, especially if your close by in another European country. That's what they have alliance partners for. Plus your reimbursed for necessities for every day your without your luggage until it's delivered to your hotel.

Not true at all. Alliance partners are not for the purpose of sending misdirected luggage! Also, you should have said that airlines will try to get misdirected luggage to you in a timely manner. That doesn't mean they always do. Both my son and husband have had misdirected bags on trips to Europe which were not located for over a month, long after their return to the states.

You also don't get reimbursed every day for things you need. You can buy some basics, but that's about it. Check your airline's policy.

 

[Yellowjj]

Not true at all. Alliance partners are not for the purpose of sending misdirected luggage! Also, you should have said that airlines will try to get misdirected luggage to you in a timely manner. That doesn't mean they always do. Both my son and husband have had misdirected bags on trips to Europe which were not located for over a month, long after their return to the states.

You also don't get reimbursed every day for things you need. You can buy some basics, but that's about it. Check your airline's policy.

Nowhere did I say that was an alliance partner sole use. That would be illogical for anyone to think that. However if you are located in a city that a alliance partner serves and the original airline does not; it does help route your bags quicker back to you and I am speaking from experience. Otherwise they will have to utilize fed ex/ups/dhl.

Necessities equates to what you need not want, directly relating to your missing luggage. Obviously that would be clothing and some basic toiletries. One day at a time and not a whole wardrobe from Lloyd's of London. I know airline policies quite well.

 

[Plaid Princess]

This is a good suggestion, but my only concern is what happens if we have misdirected luggage? How difficult would it be to get it to us once we're in London?

Yes, that would be a bit more challenging. I'm a carry-on traveler, so this hasn't been an issue for me. All I can say, is that you wouldn't be disappointed if you stayed a night in Dublin as a precaution.