Questions from a new flyer...

Old May 5th, 2004, 12:18 PM
  #1  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Apr 2004
Posts: 48
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Questions from a new flyer...

I am traveling to France the first week of September and I will be returning the last week in April. I need some help because I have no experience in purchasing tickets and I have no clue how to find the best deal.
1) When should I book my flight? Should I do it as soon as possible or should I wait and take advantage of cheap seats that open up?

2) Is it even possible to book a round-trip ticket for an 8 month lapse? I'm concerned that if I book a flight this summer I will not be able to schedule a return flight so far in advance (probably around April 30th). It seems like one-way tickets are just as or even more expensive.

3) What airlines generally offer the cheapest rates on flights across the Atlantic?

I am a student so I will have an International Student ID Card. I know Air France gives a 20 Euro discount, but I'm not sure about other airline discounts.

Sorry, if my questions are silly, but I am new to all of this. Thanks in advance!
jamie1984 is offline  
Old May 5th, 2004, 12:20 PM
  #2  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Apr 2004
Posts: 48
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
One last question I forgot to ask: I hear people mention frequent flyer miles. How do you go about taking advantage of these?
jamie1984 is offline  
Old May 5th, 2004, 12:38 PM
  #3  
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 12,885
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Jamie,

A short answer to your second post - to take advantage of frequent flyer miles you have to have some

Seriously now. Whatever airline you end up flying, sign up to the FF program. There are some that will not allow you to sign up anymore unless your first flight is a full fare or above (BA. There are some that will not give you any miles for discounted fares, but without going to any details, even 25% IS BETTER THAN NOTHING.

Back to the original question. Most if not all cheap airfares have a maxium stay limit. For the time you need you will NOT get the cheapest fare that's advertised in the local papers. Still it does not mean that you have to pay outrageous prices for the flights. In your case, the best place to start looking is the student travel office at your school(if that's a possibility), or if not, look up the student travel site on the internet(I don't know the address), but I'm sure if you Google, you will find it. Also, don't give up on any one of the major travel sites or better yet individual airline sites. If nothing else at least get an idea from these sites what you are looking at and which airline seems to offer the best flight for what you need. Finally, pick up a phone and call the airlines reservation directly and tell them exactly what you need and the reason, and many times you'll find the agents finding a special deal that's not available on the internet for people like you (students, long stay, etc.). And finally, I never use them anymore, but in your case it may be worth contacting a good local travel agent. The extra few $ they may charge you for booking, may mean a HUGE $ savings, only because that's where a good TA will shine.
Internet booking is still somewhat limited for special cases like yours. Most of the time it will do great for the regular traveler, but it falls short for anything outside the norm.

Hope this helps, and good luck!
AAFrequentFlyer is offline  
Old May 5th, 2004, 12:40 PM
  #4  
 
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 23,073
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Since you're a student, and you need a stay more than 30 days (more than 6 months too), I think your best bet is check with a travel agent specialized in student travel. You may find them on some university campi, or just off them.

You can also compare with some travel websites, or the airlines' website to see if you can get something cheaper or similar. [Most travel agents will charge a service fees these days.]

If you want more specific advice, you may want to let us know where you're flying out from.

As for FF, after you decide which airline you're to fly, go to that airline's website and sign up for the FF program. If you don't fly much, then you may never get anything - but at least it's free. Most US airlines will give you a free domestic roundtrip ticket after you've collected 25,000 miles. New York (JFK) to Paris is 3,635 miles each way, so you earn just over 7,000 for a roundtrip. Fly that route 3 more times, and you'll get a free domestic ticket. Some airlines' FF miles expire after 3 years if you don't have any activity, some don't expire.
rkkwan is offline  
Old May 5th, 2004, 01:33 PM
  #5  
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 2,049
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Here is the URL for the eurotrip discussion boards, which has relevant and current information, and which accomodates student travel. Post your question there and someone will refer you to one of the agencies that specializes in student travel.

http://eurotrip.com/forum/forum.asp?FORUM_ID=7

If it logs you in as me, just log out and register as yourself.
clevelandbrown is offline  
Old May 5th, 2004, 01:41 PM
  #6  
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 12,885
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I was on Expedia, looking for something for myself and just for fun ran your itn. Expedia is limited to the end of March, 2005 at this point, but I did the first week of Sep and last week of March from NYC to Paris and it came back with $595 R/T with British Airways. That's not a bad fare.

My point is that even though this is not exactly what you're looking for, if you do some research, you will find an acceptable fare.
AAFrequentFlyer is offline  
Old May 5th, 2004, 02:27 PM
  #7  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Apr 2004
Posts: 48
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Thank you everyone for your help! I appreciate it.
jamie1984 is offline  
Old May 5th, 2004, 03:38 PM
  #8  
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Posts: 37
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
What you need to do is call STA or check their website. Google STA for the site. STA is a student travel agency that has absorbed the other student travel agency Council Travel. They offer tickets to students that are good for one year and date changeable for around $25. With most of their ticket you can still earn miles.
globetrekker is offline  
Old May 8th, 2004, 09:07 AM
  #9  
cfc
 
Join Date: Jun 2003
Posts: 4,426
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Check with STA, for sure, but do keep in mind, jamie, that you can book a discounted round-trip fare for use within the 30 days, and then either not use the return half or else call the airline close to the return-date and say you can't use it, asking how long the return half is good for and if you can pay a fee to change the return date. This may require finding out which fare codes will let you "change itinerary" for a fee.

For example: You book a flight for 9/5 and return 10/1 and get a fare of, say, $700. Before 10/1, you call and say your plans have changed and ask if the return half of your ticket can be used at a later date. If not, you've still only spent $700.; if yes, you may have to pay, say, $100, for return change fee, but often the second half of the ticket is good for a year, so in April you can come home having spent a total of $800.

It may also happen that they'll say you have to pay some sort of fare differential for the same fare class in April, but I'm pretty sure fares to Europe in April will not be higher than in Sept. and may be lower.

Was that at all clear?
cfc is offline  
Old May 18th, 2004, 06:50 AM
  #10  
 
Join Date: Sep 2003
Posts: 48
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
STA's website is www.statravel.com

I know several people who have used STA for flights to do study abroad, which I assume you are doing. I think that discounted flights for long trips is probably the best services STA offers.
mollyjar is offline  
Old May 18th, 2004, 06:46 PM
  #11  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Apr 2004
Posts: 48
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Thanks everyone. I checked out STA and I'm going to book a flight from O'Hare to Paris for $765. I checked to see what the regular price was for non-students on United's website: $1500+! Good discount definitely!

How is United? It's a 767-300, economy class (of course). Thanks.
jamie1984 is offline  
Old May 18th, 2004, 07:06 PM
  #12  
 
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 23,073
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
United's 767-300 is okay. No personal video screen. DO NOTE THAT almost half of the economy cabin is the "Economy Plus" section with 3-4 inches of extra legroom.

They won't assign you those seats in advanced, but do call within 24 hours, or again at the airport to see if they can move you up to the E+ seats.

Check out seatguru.com to see the seat plan and comments.
rkkwan is offline  
Old May 18th, 2004, 07:08 PM
  #13  
 
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 23,073
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Oh, actually, UA's International 763s do have personal video screen in economy.
rkkwan is offline  
Old May 18th, 2004, 08:00 PM
  #14  
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 20,074
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts

Back to your last question, now that you will be flying United, you should go here:
www.mileageplus.com
mrwunrfl is offline  
Related Topics
Thread
Original Poster
Forum
Replies
Last Post
Cranachin
Air Travel
17
Oct 2nd, 2011 07:42 PM
puttakka
Australia & the Pacific
5
Dec 8th, 2008 11:25 AM
ContPlat
Air Travel
6
Jul 18th, 2008 06:42 AM
AAFrequentFlyer
Air Travel
9
Aug 24th, 2004 02:19 PM

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are On


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information -