shellio

I just tried to make reservations using miles for two business class seats on United from SF to Paris, and was told nothing was available for next September!

I was able to get seats into Frankfurt and I assumed I could find some discount airline to get me to Paris. I checked whichbudget.com but it appears there aren't any on that route. There's a Lufthansa flight that costs GBP183 one-way through opodo.com, but that's a lot more than I wanted to spend. Does anyone know of any discounter flying from Frankfurt to Paris and back?

TopMan

I was going to suggest the possibility of flying via London but I se that won't help, either.

The fastest rail connection direct from the FRA airport station using the high-speed route to Cologne with a change there would take you 4 hrs 56 minutes which I suspect is longer than you'd like to spend.

Will top this for you in case someone has some other flying ideas.

TopMan

Assume you would be returning to Frankfurt for the flight home...you only priced a one-way from FRA to Paris? Why was that? If you aren't flying back to FRA how about buying a RT on Lufthansa which might be cheaper than the O/W and simply discarding the second segment?

ira

Hi Shellio,

http://travel.mobissimo.com/travel/search_airfare.php

has RT FRA/CDG for under $250.

swandav2000

Hi shellio,

Germanwings flies from Cologne to Paris for about 31E, and you can get to Cologne in about an hour with a direct train from the Frankfurt airport.

However, it looks like there are only two flights a day, very early (06.50) or in the evening. Don't know if that'll work for you.

Hope this helps.

s

shellio

Thanks for the suggestions, IRA, TopMan, swanav.

Ira, mobissimo is a useful site that I wasn't familiar with, but the lower costs RTs are not non-stop and add several flight hours, which I don't want to do. I found a RT for about $325 that's a non-stop at a good time, but I'm still trying to figure out a routing through someplace other than Frankfurt; I'd like a city where I might want to spend a day or so and that would have cheap onward transport. I've checked Amsterdam, Brussels, London without success.

I'm stunned that United has cut FF seats so drastically this year and I can't find a pair of B class seats to Paris from anyplace at all convenient to me in the US during the whole of September. In the past, calling at the 330 day mark has worked fine.

Are the other airlines as begrudging with FF seats this year or is it only due to United's perilous financial condition?

TopMan

I'm not so sure about whether or not United has cut the number of FF seats. Given there well-known financial "problems" it may very well be that a LOT of people have already called and gotten the seats. I recently got seats on United flights for a trip next Summer and these were procured using my remaining USAirways FF miles..but I called at exactly 330 days out so who know?

I hope this works out for you but am now a little confused about your situation: have you secured the seats in and out of FRA ("I'm still trying to figure out a routing through someplace other thasn Frankfurt&quot.

shellio

TopMan, I'm holding the seats on the SFO-FRA routing, but have until tomorrow to confirm.

ira

Hi shellio,

Perhaps if you went to www.whichbudget.com and selected "I want to fly to" France, Paris Orly, you might be able to find a city that you can get to with your FF tickets.