liesel

Hello,
Can anyone tell me the best airlines to keep an eye on for cheap fare flying out of Dulles Airport in Washington, D.C. to Frankfurt, Germany? Thank you.

kayd

Look at the major internet travel vendors (Orbits, Travelocity) to see which airlines fly that route. The obvious ones are United and Lufthnasa for nonstops, but all the European carriers can get you there with a change of planes. Sign up for the e-mail alerts from several airlines as well as Orbitz, Travelocity, Etc.

FauxSteMarie

Lufthansa and United fly nonstop from Dulles to Frankfurt. The code share. You may think you are flying Lufthansa and then, when you get to the airport, find out that you are flying United--or vice versa. The key thing is the flight number will be the same no matter which equipment you end up flying.

Any other flight to Frankfurt from Washington, DC, would involve a change of planes.

pandaschu

It aslo helps to call United on the phone. It seems a bit archaic, but I got the best fare that way recently. What's also great about calling, is if you do get a good fare quote, you can reserve it for a few days while you continue to search for a better fare.

Traveler863

Liesel,
As others mentioned, United and Lufthansa are your best bet from Dulles to Frankfurt, both have two nonstop flights daily. As FauxSteMarie pointed out they do code share, part of the Star Alliance, it would be a good idea to know which you are actually flying as that does make a difference in which airline you check in with. Another alternative is United does fly nonstop to Munich daily from Dulles, although I rarely have seen cheap fares for that route but you never know. Use Sidestep to search for low fares, available at www.sidestep.com its a great tool that searches numerous vendors (Orbitz, Expedia, airline websites, etc.) all at one time. As Pandashu mentioned calling the airline for lowest fare...you can try but don't waste your time, calling rarely nets a lower fare, airlines offer lower fares through the internet as they'd prefer to do business that way and want to encourage you to use it. Holding a reservation for a few days does absolutely nothing than hold you a seat, fares are not guaranteed until ticket is purchased. Good luck with it.

pandaschu

Traveler863,

I really did get a lower fare on the phone at one point- Honestly. And, the fare was actually guaranteed through my hold- I made absolute sure of that. I was surprised, but that was my experience.

I definately agree about Sidestep- Great resource.

pandaschu

I do also agree that most of the time the lowest fares will be found online. (in re-reading my post I can see that I didn't make clear).

I guess the point I want to make is that if you really want the lowest fare then you should try everything. Good luck!

Traveler863

Pandaschu,
Have a hard time beleiving lower fare over the phone...could be perhaps you thought you were getting a lower fare, could be you just didn't see it or could be it changed between the time you checked online and called (yep it can change by the minute, hour, etc.) and could even be sometimes fares don't calculate properly until you actually fare it all the way out, just price checking doesn't do it...you have to click on the flights and select, etc.

There is absolutely no way United held a reservation for you and guaranteed the fare. You must have misunderstood the agent on the phone. No airline guarantees fares until ticket is actually purchased.

ealing_calling

I'm a UA mileage plus member, and that's how I usually book: 'pencil' my reservation for 72 hours, just to be sure I get a seat on the flight I want. Then I always call back to confirm & actually pay for the flights -- or tell them my plans have changed.

I've never had fares changed on me & doubt that major airlines would do this sort of bait&switch, in the current climate. They want to get as many bottoms-on-seats as possible, and are happy to get the direct reservations without another party taking a cut.

Hubby just returned on the FRA/IAD flight (UA), said it was a full flight but very comfortable. Steak & Fitou up in business class * )

Traveler863

Ealing,
You've been very lucky you haven't had a fare change in that 72 hours, trust me it can happen. I've been traveling many many years and airlines DO NOT guarantee fares until tickets are purchased. Ask any airline person!
When you hold a reservation for 72 hours all you are doing is holding a seat! Grrrrrr.....