Airfare to London: OMG!!!

[sayhello]

I've been tracking the lowest roundtrip airfare from Ohio to London in mid-August for a while, hoping it would drop from the rather frustrating $1372 dollars it's been for the last few months.

Well, yesterday, it went UP to $1722!!!!

I really, REALLY hope that this is a short uptick in the price. I'm going to be really upset if this is now the price going forward!

Sayhello

 

[carpenta]

I agree airfare is out of sight to Europe in the summer months. Even with fuel costs dropping I bet the airlines keep all the profits. The only time we have purchased a half way decent price was the "shoulder" seasons.....It is ridiculous that you have to pay 1/3 the price of what the trip costs just for a 18 hour round trip airline ride. We are traveling in the US next year trying to avoid the high international cost of airfare.....but then again the domestic prices are not that cheap. On the large travel ticket site you can be notified when the price is cheaper by E-mail. I hope you find a ticket price you can accept.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

the flights themselves aren't that high. It's extra taxes/fees on international flights.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

the flights themselves aren't that high. It's extra taxes/fees on international flights.

This is correct; you're being charged very high taxes and fees when you fly in or out of the UK.

OP, you should have jumped on the fare when it was under $1400. Prices on air travel to Europe have been very high the past few summers. If prices behave as they have the past few summers, the price will only stay steady or increase.

 

[kristilew]

It's bad. DH flies to London all the time, and thank goodness his company foots that bill! Ugh!

For our upcoming Italy adventure (13 days til we leave ), we actually booked round trip tix to London, then separate tix on BA to Italy from LHR a few days later. They were $1280 pp Part of our problem is that we live in a town with a branch airport, so we always have to fly to Charlotte or Philly first. (The joke is that if you die here, you have to go through Charlotte before you can get to heaven!)

Good luck, SayHello. Maybe try middle of the night or early in the morning to book?

 

[sayhello]

This is correct; you're being charged very high taxes and fees when you fly in or out of the UK.

OP, you should have jumped on the fare when it was under $1400. Prices on air travel to Europe have been very high the past few summers. If prices behave as they have the past few summers, the price will only stay steady or increase.

I guess I should have. But I paid way less than $1400 for airfare from Ohio to London, then Edinburgh back to Ohio this summer. It's way worse this year than last.

Sayhello

 

[sayhello]

It's bad. DH flies to London all the time, and thank goodness his company foots that bill! Ugh!

For our upcoming Italy adventure (13 days til we leave ), we actually booked round trip tix to London, then separate tix on BA to Italy from LHR a few days later. They were $1280 pp Part of our problem is that we live in a town with a branch airport, so we always have to fly to Charlotte or Philly first. (The joke is that if you die here, you have to go through Charlotte before you can get to heaven!)

Good luck, SayHello. Maybe try middle of the night or early in the morning to book?

I guess the only good part about the high prices now (if you could call it good) is that almost ALL of the airlines are at this price. In the past, the domestic airlines, United, Delta, etc, were significantly lower than the international airlines. I guess I can finally fly Virgin or British Air or Aer Lingus, because it looks like I won't be saving any money...

And I have the same airport issue. I have to go through JFK or ORD or something like that. Can't get anywhere directly from here!

Sayhello

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Well if it makes you feel any better I just looked at the flights from Cle to LON and they go through either DTW or ATL. So decided to price DTW to LON as well at ATL to LON and those flights are over $2k

I thought that if either one of those city were cheaper to fly to LON from. That you could do a flight from Ohio to either DTW or ATL for a cheap price. Then buy a ticket from either DTW or ATL to LON in hopes it was a cheaper price.
So all those people who are getting on your connecting flight are paying a lot more than you did.

 

[sayhello]

Well if it makes you feel any better I just looked at the flights from Cle to LON and they go through either DTW or ATL. So decided to price DTW to LON as well at ATL to LON and those flights are over $2k

I thought that if either one of those city were cheaper to fly to LON from. That you could do a flight from Ohio to either DTW or ATL for a cheap price. Then buy a ticket from either DTW or ATL to LON in hopes it was a cheaper price.
So all those people who are getting on your connecting flight are paying a lot more than you did.

Sayhello

 

[DisFan10]

I've been tracking the lowest roundtrip airfare from Ohio to London in mid-August for a while, hoping it would drop from the rather frustrating $1372 dollars it's been for the last few months.

Well, yesterday, it went UP to $1722!!!!

I really, REALLY hope that this is a short uptick in the price. I'm going to be really upset if this is now the price going forward!

Sayhello

Have you looked into Norwegian Airlines? They have flights from JFK to London-Gatwick for about $900 round-trip during August 2015.

http://www.norwegian.com/us/flight/tips/

 

[sayhello]

Have you looked into Norwegian Airlines? They have flights from JFK to London-Gatwick for about $900 round-trip during August 2015.

http://www.norwegian.com/us/flight/tips/

That's an interesting option. The price is definitely good. It does seem to have a few drawbacks, though. a) They don't fly on Sunday, which is the day I was hoping to go b) it's an extra $81 each way for one checked piece of luggage, food & a reserved seat (all things I'd want) c) They only appear to have one flight a day, so if I miss it, I'm screwed for an entire day (assuming the plane the next day has room). And it will cost me over $400 to get to JFK. But it's still worth keeping in mind. Thanks! Options are good!

Sayhello

 

[sayhello]

Well, here's another depressing piece. I thought at least I could fly one of the nicer international airlines, since the prices are about the same as domestic. Well, now that I look at them, all the flights priced the same are actually codeshares with those domestic airlines! Flown by the domestic airlines! Now I'm really depressed...

Sayhello

 

[paddles]

I agree that airfare is out of control. Its starting to feel like travel is only for the wealthy. Right now, tix to London this summer (for our Baltic cruise) are nearly $1700 per person (and I have to buy 4 tickets!!).

It's airline consolidation and lack of competition that's driving up fares. Its easier for a few airlines to collude on pricing and they're taking full advantage. Just a couple of years ago, I was able to get tix to Turks and Caicos for ~$500-$700 per person, and now its well over $1200. Yes - I know I could probably save a couple hundred dollars if I took horrific routing and spent 24 hours in travel time....but that's not reasonable to expect travelers to do that.

My point is, I feel your pain SayHello, but I'll end up paying the fares anyway!!

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Before you buy a ticket on Norwegian Air, do a Google search; many complaints about them.

Well, here's another depressing piece. I thought at least I could fly one of the nicer international airlines, since the prices are about the same as domestic.

European airlines aren't really any better than US airlines if you're talking about flying economy; sometimes they are even worse (Lufthansa, I'm talking about you!)

You might want to investigate Icelandic Air; some of their July dates are under $1400 and you can have a free stopover in Iceland:

http://www.icelandair.us/flights/stopover/

Also check out Aer Lingus; they sometimes have lower fares, plus you can clear customs/immigration in Dublin before flying home.

 

[carpenta]

The E.U. has put a "carbon" tax on all air flight in and out. Also the U.S. dollar has gained strength in reference to the Euro. Maybe it would be cheaper to take a ship back and forth from England. After all some smaller inside cabins book for little and you get all the amenities. But I'm sure not too many people have that kind of time.

 

[sayhello]

Before you buy a ticket on Norwegian Air, do a Google search; many complaints about them.

Well, here's another depressing piece. I thought at least I could fly one of the nicer international airlines, since the prices are about the same as domestic.

European airlines aren't really any better than US airlines if you're talking about flying economy; sometimes they are even worse (Lufthansa, I'm talking about you!)

You might want to investigate Icelandic Air; some of their July dates are under $1400 and you can have a free stopover in Iceland:

http://www.icelandair.us/flights/stopover/

Also check out Aer Lingus; they sometimes have lower fares, plus you can clear customs/immigration in Dublin before flying home.

Icelandic Air looks cool. But one issue is the cost to get to one of the airports they fly from. Columbus is not one of them. But the free stopover in Iceland is attractive.

I'll check out Aer Lingus, too. I've heard good things about them.

Thanks! Sayhello

 

[DisFan10]

That's an interesting option. The price is definitely good. It does seem to have a few drawbacks, though. a) They don't fly on Sunday, which is the day I was hoping to go b) it's an extra $81 each way for one checked piece of luggage, food & a reserved seat (all things I'd want) c) They only appear to have one flight a day, so if I miss it, I'm screwed for an entire day (assuming the plane the next day has room). And it will cost me over $400 to get to JFK. But it's still worth keeping in mind. Thanks! Options are good!

Sayhello

There are definite drawbacks to flying with a low-cost carrier! If price was the only concern, then they're okay. But when you include other factors like what you described, then those higher fares on the major carriers doesn't look that bad anymore...

 

[sayhello]

There are definite drawbacks to flying with a low-cost carrier! If price was the only concern, then they're okay. But when you include other factors like what you described, then those higher fares on the major carriers doesn't look that bad anymore...

They still look bad when I paid $1242 for basically the same itinerary for summer 2014 on United...

Sayhello

 

[TXTransplant]

I just posted a thread on when to buy tickets for our trip to Germany. Prices are sitting at $2000 per person! I keep waiting for them to drop, but they haven't.

 

[DisFan10]

They still look bad when I paid $1242 for basically the same itinerary for summer 2014 on United...

Sayhello

The IATA predicts that airfares could drop by 5% next year due to lower fuel costs, so maybe you should continue to wait and see...

Here is the full article:

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-lower-airfares-next-year-20141210-story.html