tinyteacup, IcelandAir flies out of JFK, so I highly recommend that option. Don't worry about what might seem to be tight connection times there in Iceland...the terminal (yes, one terminal) is very small and connection time for me has always taken 10-15 minutes, tops!

I would avoid a Canadian carrier if only because of the exchange rate. Fares may look good, but are stated in Canadian $, not US$.

well, the Canadian and USD are about equal now, so they aren't that big a difference, that isn't the reason I wouldn't do it. If it actually saved you money when including all taxes and whatever it costs to go to/from Canada, I might if I really saved a bunch.

Really? I looked at Air Canada to get to Beijing when I booked back in March and it was enough of a difference to seem misleading to me at the time. Have things leveled out that much in 4 months? <sorry, off topic, I know>

I love the ITAsoftware.com website unfortunately the prices are still really high. Maybe I will go in September.

Hi tinyteacup, I just did a quick search pricing air mid-August and then mid-Sept. and here is what I found:

I used Booking Buddy for my search engine and then compared the same flights and days on: 1) Cheapoair.com; 2) webjet.com) and 3) Onetravel.com

I put in dates of 8/15 from JFK (not sure what airport you would use) and return on 8/29. Prices on British Air, AA, and Virgin Atlantic came up $801 to $836. (give or take a few dollars).

I then put in dates of 9/15 to 9/29 and the prices were averaging around $725. pp. Virgin Atlantic (go direct to their website) had really good fares and showed what dates had the lowest fares.

If you decided to go in Sept., think you could get decent fares. $725. to me would be a good price and flights would be nonstop - a BIG plus.

If you really want to go to London, I would book my flights as soon as possible as I don't think that you will save much money by playing "wait and see". I used to do this and drove myself nuts besides. It is what it is in the world of travel so you just need to take the bull by the horns and go for it.

Hope this helps.

Not sure what price you are willing to pay, but you should know that $1000 is not a high fare these days, and for summer it is actually competitive, $1800 has been very common on Dallas to LHR routes the last 2 summers.....perhaps you need to decide your travel budget and choose your travel destinations based there upon?

tinyteacup, I was speaking w/ a travel agency yesterday as we are interested in river cruises and he told me that air is very high and going higher. Prices to fly to Germany in beginning Dec. were $1200 pp & up so think that if you are serious about going, just find the best air and book it ASAP or you will have to stay home. If you want to go to Europe you will have to pay the high price to get there.

For whatever reason even inner-European flights to London seem to be packed these days. I fly out of and into London on a weekly basis and fares in general have almost doubled vs. 3 months ago. Pretty much all the seats sell apparently, judging from the occupancy levels on the planes.

I have citi thank you points and it will knock 200 off my fare so it makes it more reasonable. I think I am going to book over labor day. ITAsoftware.com is an amazing resource!

Yes, ignore the Toronto-Air Transat option. Like many (all?) airlines, they like to be irresponsbile and not tell you up front the total cost of a flight. I have taken to driving to Buffalo to fly to US and international points.

In a similar vein, it might be worthwhile to consider changing your departure point. If there was a great deal on Northwest out of Detroit, would a Southwest flight from your NYC to there and back be cheaper? Or Boston...Philly...

When and where are you going? You were originally going in August? That might explain high fares. What is your idea of a good price?

For example..if Paris...could fly to Amsterdam/London and take HS train to Paris.

I don't think that itasoftware.com is that amazing... I've been tracking a flight JFK-ZRH, GVA-JFK which it says is $881. However, on United's site, it is $1247.

Luckily, I had been monitoring United's site also and got the ticket for $789 a couple of days ago.

I don't think Yapta is that great either.

joannyc, I have printed out the page with the fare codes from ITASoftware and taken it to a travel agent (yes, an old fashioned travel agent) who gets me those fares. Many times they just aren't available to the public.

How flexible are your dates?

London in September through mid-October is wonderful. Nice weather and fewer crowds.

Plus, with an earlier purchase, you might find something cheaper.

SS

I ended up paying 663 with my points Aug 31 - Sept 9; if I had left out of Boston it would have been much cheaper!

Wow, think you got a great price! Have a wonderful trip.

We just booked a cruise in Sept. leaving from Copenhagen and got pretty decent prices for a one-way into CPH.

Luv2travel15 - thanks for your help and have a great time! What kind of cruise?

We are doing a transatlantic on Princess cruises. It's a fabulous itinerary. We will fly into Copenhagen, then visit Reykavik, Iceland; Glasgow, Scotland; Dublin & Belfast, Ireland; Oslo, Norway, then head back across the Atlantic to Ft. Lauderdale.

Have fun on your trip. Do a post when you return so we can hear all about what you saw.