Months of obsessive fare watching pay off!
 

My husband and I rarely travel in the summer, so we were dismayed when we started researching fares for our trip to Bordeaux in June. Rarely could I find anything under $1000 per person.

Well, Delta must have just posted some sale fares today, because as I was doing my daily tour of the agregators and airline sites, I stumbled upon a fare of $563, PHL-CDG, mid June, direct flight, weekend return. I had checked some sites earlier today and this fare had not been offered.

I'm pretty pleased. The only other thing that I found that was close to this would have required connections at JFK and Amsterdam, which I really hoped not to do.

That's a wonderful fare! Which consolidator site is the best, in your opinion? I have never booked a flight one, but they are intriguing.

Nice story, andd I have questions too... have you been watching many other routes? have advice for the best way to do this? and were your dates "set"? or did you have a range of possible time periods - - and make the trip fit to the fare you found? (seems difficult to track a lot of different variables).

Whatever the case, congratulations!

Best wishes,

Rex

i had been watching prices for lax-lhr and they have been going down for the last 2 weeks for the end of may...just thought i'd throw that in there.

Sales (if there are going to be any) generally start appearing 2-3 months out from the flight dates. It seems to be the time when airlines assess how ticket sales have been going on various flights.

Air France is offering attractive round-trip fares from Paris to New York (and I assume the other way around) from May 2 to June 16, worth booking required by March 16. The best case depending on the dates seemed to be 350 euros, taxes included, or about $450, round trip. May be worth checking if you want to travel on those dates.

That should read "with booking required."

I share your excitement. We live in Germany and my parents have been planning to visit in June..but the airfares from Charlotte NC to Frankfurt were outrageous (well over $1000).

After checking all sorts of sites (my favorite is www.itasoftware.com) everyday for the past month or so, I was thrilled to find Delta's sale fares. My parents were able to book their trip for $582 each! They can't wait to come and visit the grandkids!

<<Air France is offering attractive round-trip fares from Paris to New York (and I assume the other way around) from May 2 to June 16, worth booking required by March 16.>>

I can't find mention of an equivalent promotion for travel originating in the US with daes that late into the summer. But there are some good April (departure) fares, with returns as late as May 18.

Kinda putting a little twinkle in my eye, in fact...!

The prices from Philadelphia and into and out of Charlotte are probably being driven by the USAirways sale and Delta is attempting to match.

Glad your waiting paid off.

What agregators are you referring to? Is that like Orbitz or something? I'm not so great about checking multiple sites and would love to know more tips as I am now looking for a flight from DFW-CDG with flexible dates from July to Sept.

I think that mobissimo.com is a leading example of an "aggregator".

<i>Remember, I did say &quot;obsessive&quot;</i>.

In answer to Rex's (and other's) questions:

I have been checking everyday--early and late--with everything from Orbitz, Travelocity, Expedia, Sidestep, Mobissimo, Cheap Tickets, One Travel, you name it. I've also been checking airline web sites and I get a lot of newsletters and farewatcher e-mails. But until last night, <i>nada</i>.

I definitely considered alternate routes. If the price was right and made sense after adding on transportation or parking costs, we could drive to BWI or Newark and fly from there. I even considered bypassing Paris (scandalous!) and taking Virgin from Newark to London and then flying directly from London to Bordeaux. Which is not what is in our hearts--we really like to drive through France and had hoped to take two to three days to get from Paris to Bordeaux, with some interesting stops.

I had just about given up last night when I remembered that I hadn't checked qixo. They listed a fare from PHL to CDG with two connections (JFK and Amsterdam) for $583, with a direct flight on return. Because we can usually get direct flights from PHL, this was not too appealing, but it inspired me to do more digging.

I went to itasoftware and found this fare. We do have some flexibility with our dates--we need to be in Bordeaux for a trade show, but can play with the time on either end of the trip--and so this fare was the result of leaving a day earlier than we had originally planned.

From itasoftware I went directly to the Delta flight and booked it--$475 pp; with all taxes it came to $563 pp. I checked Orbitz afterwards and they also had it listed. It's a codeshare with AirFrance, so I'm hoping that even if Delta declares bankruptcy, we'll still have a plane :).

Whoops, that should be &quot;I went directly to the Delta site&quot;, not <i>flight</i>.

Thanks to this message, I went to the Delta site and booked a flight to Rome, mid July from Charlotte, leaving on a weekend and returning mid week on Aug.3.Total cost was $637 when US Airways is quoting a price of 1377!

&lt;&lt;It's a codeshare with AirFrance, so I'm hoping that even if Delta declares bankruptcy, we'll still have a plane...&gt;&gt;

I don't think that any major US carrier has ever ceased operations in close proximity (i.e., not for many months) to their filing for bankruptcy.

You're right, rex. And they always seem to have one last trick in their proverbial pockets--yet another &quot;chapter&quot; of protection to stall off the actual filing.

Congratulations Elle..$563, is an excellent price.
I was thankful to buy my tickets for $755 per person, but I live in Texas.

I was able to get a good deal last month for a flight the end of May on NWA. They were running a special that ended before the dates I wanted to travel but I put my dates in anyway and got the sale fare.

elle:

Your experience is a great example for all the doubters, disbelievers and naysayers. Depending upon your ability or desire to wait, and your perseverance on the internet, cheaper fares can often be obtained.
On Tuesday, Wednesday of this week, cheaptickets.com posted an Air India, non-stop, Newark-CDG, May 30-June 13 (entered trial dates)for $453.00, taxes included- some $100 lower than the cheapest fare 2 weeks before for those dates. Newark may not have been convenient for you, but for some New Yorkers I would think it would be.
Diligence and patience can pay off.

I have no quarrel with those who find piece of mind by locking in their dates far ahead of time, paying more in the process. That certainly is their choice. Yet, at the same time, folks should not be discouraged nor frightened from holding out a little while for better fares.