Airfare summer 2002
 

I'd like to take my daughters to Norway this summer (June/July; Houston to Oslo) to visit the land of their grandparents but the airfare I've been able to find so far is brutal--over $1000 per person. Any tips on how to get better deals?

The summer fare sales do not usually start until the end of January or even February. You should then see fares come down. You can also sign up for fare watcher on Travelocity and they will notify you when the fares drop.

If you don't mind changing airports, you could try flying to London and then take one of the budget airlines to Oslo. I can't remember which one goes there - I think it might be Ryanair - but you should still be able to get pretty cheap prices from them. You will have to cross from Heathrow or Gatwick to Stansted, though.

All of the advice so far is good. I want to add this general rule of thumb: airfares after June 15 will be much higher, so try to get outbound the week before that. This is true for published fares ($840 Continental) and consolidator fares as well.<BR><BR>I actually transferred from Gatwick to Stansted this Summer to take Ryanair to Sweden and then back from Sandefjord (what Ryanair calls "Oslo" but is actually nearly 2 hours train ride south of Oslo). I saved about $200 by doing it this way--even when the airport transfer and extra taxes were factored in.<BR><BR>But also consider taking Continental or Southwest to BWI, then take Icelandair to Oslo from there. Icelandair allows stopovers in Iceland for up to 3 days at no extra airfare. I've flown them and they're a good little airline. The views of Greenland on return to the States are breathtaking.<BR><BR>Remember that children under 12 usually qualify for discounts. One consolidator I just checked is $670+tax for adult ticket (pre- June 15 departure) and $518+tax for children (Justfares.com on Northwest/KLM).

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