Binkieloo

I will post this on the Airlines board too - but hoping maybe someone will see this here and think of me.

I am trying to get my sister to visit me in the US this summer but am struggling to get a really cheap ticket for her. (she's a student and I'm a nanny so we don't have much dough between us) Does anyone know where I can look for cheap tickets. The dates she can travel put her right at the beginning of high season from South Africa.

Thanks for any help.

sandi

It's very probable, as friends who live in SA have found, that prices from SA to the US will be cheaper then the other way around.

That said, why not contact Premier Tours at: www.premiertours.com

- get their 800 phone number off the site and call directly and ask for their Air Department. Speak to one of the reps and see what they can do for you. If, as you indicate, your sister is a student and has a qualifying "student ID" there might be reduced fares available.

Premier Tours regularly offers special prices from the States to JNB; they may have them in reverse. Remember, if flying SAA, they fly from JNB into JFK (NYC), ATL (Atlanta,GA) and IAD (Dulles, outside Washington DC). If you're not located close to one of these gateway airports, then you have to consider additional airfare to wherever you are living.

I doubt you will get cheap; what do you consider cheap? You can consider flying from JNB thru Europe then to the States. Premier might be able to help with routing on Virgin Atlantic.

Otherwise, check yourself, with British Air (thru London), KLM (thru Amsterdam), Iberia (thru Madrid).

Hope this helps somewhat. Let us know what luck you have.

zpenci

South African Airways is offering very cheap flights to/from Washington D.C. this summer as they are just starting non-stop service (well, direct anyway) from that airport. I got 2 r/t for $900 each, which was about 50% of what it would have cost me to fly out of New York. You can look at www.flysaa.com or www.kayak.com to search for availability. Good luck!

Binkieloo

I should have mentioned that I used to be a travel agent I've tried all the usual routes - aside from getting in front of a booking system myself. I'm trying to get something around $1000 if possible.

I'll try premier! The SAA special expired about 2 weeks ago at home - my sister saw the ad 2 days after it expired

zpenci

What dates are you looking at? I just tried some dates in August on the kayak.com site going from JNB to IAD and got a quote of $1049 r/t.

Binkieloo

Dates are June 24ish to July 31ish.

This Kayak.com site is great - I've never used it before! Thanks a lot.