I am flying from NY to London in late June. Right now all airlines are about $1,300 for non-stop. I recognize that late June is peak season but does any one have knowledge if the fares might drop a little? Also how far in advance should I buy my ticket?

If anything, they're going up.

Watch for taxes. BA, through the UK, charges about double what American airlines charge.

In all likelihood fares will rise from now - travel midweek if you can to reduce costs.

No idea what Rastaguy is on about - the UK govt. does not levy taxes (Air Passenger Duty) on inbound flights. And all airlines (US and British) are subject to UK taxes when leaving the UK.

Anyway, look at the final price you pay, that's all that matters to you.

I also don't agree with the comments by Rastaguy, the bottom line is the price you pay no matter how it is made up.

1) Read Gardyloo's comments from November 22 at 8:27 PM.

I consider him the expert in this matter. He's actually explained this issue in many links. This is an example.

http://www.fodors.com/community/air-...rfare-help.cfm

2) When I was booking my upcoming trip to Ireland and the UK on AA FF miles, I did a check on going through BA, where the total tax and surcharge was over $900 rt. Doing the same route, flying AA, the tax was approximately $450.

3)Here is the law/ruling that Obama signed exempting US airlines from the UK carbon tax.
http://world.topnewstoday.org/europe/article/3878929/

Now, maybe you understand what I'm talking about.

Try Aer Lingus via Dublin. Random dates in June give return tickets for under $700

<i>3)Here is the law/ruling that Obama signed exempting US airlines from the UK carbon tax.
http://world.topnewstoday.org/europe/article/3878929/</i>

It's not a UK Tax - and the cost of it is minimal compared with some of the other wild and wonderful "taxes" airlines add on

<i>I did a check on going through BA, where the total tax and surcharge was over $900 rt. Doing the same route, flying AA, the tax was approximately $450.</i>

But that's not important - WHAT WAS THE FINAL COST. It's no good paying $5 for the taxes & fees if the end cost is double that for the airline with $500 taxes and fees

I did a comparison of direct flights for random dates in June through Kayak. The cheapest was KLM on a Delta codeshare, then BA, then VS, then AA. However the difference in fares was under £10. And that included all taxes, charges, fees, fuel surcharges and that charge that no-one knows what it is

Ratsaguy thanks for providing those links.

My interpretation of Gardyloo's comment's (in response to a poster's round the world trip) is that he provides a way of reducing costs by planning a route to avoid flights originating from the UK, thereby avoiding UK taxes.

However, the OP at the top of this thread is taking a round trip (I assume) from NY to London. The return leg of this originates in London and, regardless of airline, would be subject to UK taxes. It's not a BA tax but a UK tax, American Airlines would pay this as well. www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Passenger_Duty

Obama's exemption concerns a separate tax - an EU carbon emission charge which the US does not agree with. This adds between €4 to €25 on the cost of a flight, to carriers using European airports.

Giving the impression that only BA levies especially high taxes is misleading. As others have said, it's the final price that's important, rather than its constituent parts.

Unless you are using miles (and the OP is not), the tax and fee difference is completely and utterly irrelevant. The only thing that matters is the ultimate price.

As to the OP, $1300 is probably roughly in the normal range for a nonstop at that time. That being said, I'm not sure you would risk that much by waiting a bit before booking. For a late June flight, I would probably hold off until May or so.

sofarsogood, there are also games to play on pricing. Easyjet to (pick a destination outside the UK) and home from there.

alanRow. The cost of the tax was my final cost.

I guessed you missed the first half of the sentence <<When I was booking my upcoming trip to Ireland and the UK on AA FF miles,>> when you were chiding me on the second half of the sentence.

My only costs were the "taxes". AA was half that of BA.

Additionally, for me, I could fly out of SJC and not have to pay for a limo to/from SFO. Same # of stops.

sofarsogood, it took me some time to find Gardyloo's original post which explains in detail the charges.

http://www.fodors.com/community/air-...ree-ticket.cfm

This may help clarify your understanding.

Rasta - why are you sidetracking the OPs question about costs of a cash ticket with a discussion of ways to minimize the fees associated with a mileage ticket? I'm sorry, but it seems unhelpful to me.

At least now the airlines are forced to show total prices....

It wasn't all that long ago that ifg you called up fares say from JFK to LHR it might show a fare of $198 each way for a total of $396 or thereabouts and as you began the booking process, you would discover US and UK taxes would boost the price to the $800 range (low season)...the taxes on this route are very very high! Very high.

<i>At least now the airlines are forced to show total prices...</i>

They've always shown you the total price. It was merely a question of when in the process they did so.

Honestly, I think this has always been a massive tempest in a teapot. Are things marginally "better" now? Sure. But I don't think people were unknowingly paying extra and I don't think the extra 30 seconds it maybe took to see the price was a significant imposition on the purchaser's welfare.

<i>the taxes on this route are very very high! Very high.</i>

High? Sure. But not the $400 you imply. The taxes and government fees for a coach ticket from the US to the UK are in the low $200-range (with the UK charging the vast majority of that). What does cause some confusion is that some carriers separate a fuel surcharge from the "fare" and this is shown as taxes and fees, depending upon the booking engine.

tg - this is not sidetracking, the cost of fees/surcharges/taxes or whatever you want to call it, is an integral part of the total ticket.

Granted that my $400 vs. $900 is for Business Class in August/September.

I don't know how you spend your $$$, but I do know that if I save $400-$500 on a ticket depending to the carrier, then I will choose the lower cost. If you save $200 in coach, wouldn't you do that?

tg - this is not sidetracking, the cost of fees/surcharges/taxes or whatever you want to call it, is an integral part of the total ticket.

Granted that my $400 vs. $900 is for Business Class in August/September.

I don't know how you spend your $$$, but I do know that if I save $400-$500 on a ticket depending to the carrier, then I will choose the lower cost. If you save $200 in coach, wouldn't you do that?

<i>I do know that if I save $400-$500 on a ticket depending to the carrier, then I will choose the lower cost.</i>

But you won't see that savings on a "cash" ticket. You only see it on an award ticket. Since the OP is buying a "cash" ticket, it doesn't matter. The difference only comes into play because BA charges fuel surcharges on award tickets while AA does not. There is no difference in taxes, even in your case. Regardless, for a cash ticket, you don't care whether there is a fuel surcharge as long as the total cost is the same, which is why your advice is not helpful.

I would further note that, as BA and AA are in an immunized JV for ALL flights from the US to LHR, there prices are unlikely to diverge for regular "cash" tickets under most circumstances (there can be some arbitrage opportunities related to the vaguaries of fare bucket allocations). Indeed, the two airlines don't even differ in their fare construction, with both charging fuel charges, base fares, and taxes.

Thank you for the help. I appreciate it!!

You might look at United while everyone is digressing about taxes; they appear to be offering something of a sale, but I didn't look at your specific flight.