Bess

We are planning to fly to Glasgow or Edinburgh from the U.S. (Orlando, specifically) in late July and return home in mid-August. So far I'm having a terrible time finding a flight for less than $850 apiece. I've tried Icelandair, Virgin, Delta, Travelocity, Orbitz et al. Does anyone know something I don't about finding an affordable midsummer flight? Thanks.

red63corvette

Bess,<BR><BR>If you're going into Edinburgh you'll need some luck getting decently priced tickets. That's heading into the heart Festival time. <BR><BR>Are you flexible on your travel times? i.e. Can you leave and return mid-week instead of weekend only? I searched for a few months before I got a great price on my Chicago - Edinburgh ticket. I checked the main sites each day but found that BMI and British Air offered better prices on their own sites.<BR><BR>Another way of getting the price down a bit is to try juggling different flights on the same day. In my case, if I were willing to accept a 4 hour layover in Manchester rather than the 1 hour, it lowered the price nearly $100 USD. But if I bumped to the 7 hour layover, the price went back up. Go figure. lol<BR><BR>Hope that helps a bit,<BR><BR>~ Sheryl<BR>

rex

There are multiple daily flights on www.ryanair.com from Stansted to Glasgow for as little as 1.99 GBP each way (plus taxes brings the total fare up to about 10-15 GBP).<BR><BR>I don't know if they will be available at that price for the dates you are seeking, but you should seriously consider a search to get yourself to London, and then book your flights to Scotland separately.<BR><BR>Keep in mind that missing a flight on Ryanair can result in having to buy a MUCH higher full-fare ticket for the next available flight, no matter what the reason.<BR><BR>Best wishes,<BR><BR>Rex<BR>[email protected]<BR>

Joe_in_Silver_Spring

To follow-up on Rex's comments on Ryanair, I flew from Paris to Glasgow and back last week. If you book well ahead you can get great discounts, but I paid 200 Euros because I had to book a couple days before I left.

roboron

Last year we flew into Gatwick traveled around London for a few days and then flew to Edinburgh via Easyjet. The only hesitation I would have for flying to London and then connecting to Easyjet on the same day is missing the connection, but if you leave enough time there shouldn't be a problem (As long as you are on a direct flight from Orlando). I would probably be more concerned about finding accomodations during Festival time, but it's a lot of fun (we went at the same time you are planning).

nigel

You could fly from Orland to Manchester on Virgin or British Airways, spend a night in Manchester, and then take the train. Then, on the way back you can spend another night in Manchester, perhaps at the airport? Manchester is about 3 hours away from Glasgow or E'burgh on the train. You can book a rail ticket about 3 months ahead on www.virgin.com (go to the Value Fares area and you'll get some great bargains). The tickets can be delivered to a hotel, or you can get a PIN and pick them up at the station or at a machine at the station. You cd. also go to London, spending a night there at each end. Either way, or even if you fly, don't book a ticket for the internal journey on the same day as your flight as you might get delayed and then have to buy another ticket. <BR>If this option doesn't suit, then you will prob. have to stump up the cost of the direct flight to Edinburgh, thereby saving on the hotels and rail fares.

chas

Following on from Nigel's suggestion you can fly very cheaply to Glasgow or Edinburgh from Manchester with BMI. There are 5 flights a day midweek using an Embraer jet and the flight is only about 40 minutes.<BR>Their website is www.flybmi.com/

Ann41

I'd wait at least a few weeks to book your flight. I'm flying to Belfast in early July, and when I've looked around, prices are pretty high. It's not likely that they'll go much higher, so it's to my advantage to wait and see if they come down. I usually find the best rates about 45 days from my departure date.

KarenM

I agree with Ann. That was my experience too. I was trying to book for May 23 - June 16 in Feb. and got horrid prices. I would check everyday on the website cause the airlines play games with the prices. I finally got a decent price, even though just last week I found one $100 less. To give you an idea, we paid $1151 for 2 tickets, which included $200 in various fees. The fees jack it up pretty fast.<BR><BR>Just keep trying those websites with the flights you like. Good luck!<BR><BR>It won't help you but Continental flies directly from Newark, NJ, to Glasgow. I believe they also fly to Manchester. The only negative is you are traveling in high season so it may not be as easy as it was for usto find reasonable prices.

jor

Air fare is very high now....and they want a bail out from tax payers. Travel agents who haunt this board will tell you that a few hundred extra dollars spread over a few weeks is worth saving an airline. I disagree, and the travel agents will trash my comments.

chrisp

I've done the Stansted-Glasgow(Prestwick). Total cost return is 40GBP + the cost to and from stanstad. 13-15 from central london + Gatwick to London. Its great if you are planning a few days in London anyway but a bit of a drain if you are traveling thru. Wouldn,t do it thru. Pay the extra to fly direct . ALSO, FARES HAVE GONE DOWN A BIT IN HE PAST WEEKS. KEEP LOOKING !