hi all,

Just a quick question about airfare this summer. We are going to london in october and had alot of ff miles to use or lose so we got great rates on airfare, but last year those miles would have gotten us business class at those rates.

I just went on the AA site and typed in a date in september and the lowest I could find was around $600. Has it been this high all summer? is this normal for this time of year. I have always gone during late october/november so I am traveling during the off season.

Also, has anyone traveled Raleigh TO GATWICK on american non stop lately. When we went in 2001, the planes were almost empty but that was right after 9/11. are they back to crowded now?

Rates have been high for a long time. I haven't seen a big advantage in booking months in advance - if a sale comes through, you're not eligible. I just keep watching orbitz or fare tracker.

I just booked round trip Minneapolis/Rome for $700 + fees = $804 on Continental. I went through an agent and paid $150 less than had I gone throught the airlines directly. Remember, most airlines have limited their international flights since 9/11. My agent told me that Continental, NW, etc. all only have one flight per day to Italy now. And, remember that as the seats fill up, the prices rise.

September fares are generally going to be higher than fares for travel in late October and particularly into November, when there are often some real deals. On your ff tickets, it sounds like you probably paid a premium in miles to avoid capacity controls since all the minimum level awards seats were already taken (pretty typical, in summer.) While you can book fares nearly a year out, that's not often going to be the most cost-effective approach. Many fall fares may not be at their very best sale prices yet, (but there are never any guarantees, either.) Frankly, $600 for a September fare doesn't sound all that bad, although there may come an opportunity to get it for less if your days and dates have some flexibility. And yes, the load factors now are MUCH higher than during the period after 9/11/2001.

in years past september was considered a prime month for england....i have found the price to always be $600-700 from boston during september....
fares will be slightly less in october but on november 1 they drop dramatically and remain so until some date in march....usually in the $250-350. range r.t.......i have paid as little as $99 each way...taxes for england range about $100 on top of these prices....

My husband travels frequently to the UK and says that the flights are almost always full. It would be nice to think that it's because people are venturing out more, but in reality, it's because there are less flights available to put them all on.

$600 r/t isn't too bad a price. It will drop further if you care to go in the winter, but if it were me, I'd pay more and go in better weather! Especially in London.

We flew AA Raleigh to Gatwick in June 2003. great flight we then took Gatwick express to Victoria, very easy! PJ

Is it just a rumor, or has AA stopped the tradition of free drinks on transatlantic flights? Say it isn't so!!!!!!!

From the AA website:
American charges $5.00 (or the foreign currency equivalent) for beer, wine and liquor in the Main Cabin on all domestic and international flights.

http://www.aa.com/content/travelInfo...everages.jhtml

Welcome to the world and the industry where the rules of supply and demand and resulting bankruptcy have been completely thwarted by governmental intervention...and the airlines themselves say it is going to get even worse...sigh.

I watch airfares every day since we are always last minute planners and have always found good fares. This summer there is nothing at all. Last summer (June booking for July travel) I found Minneapolis to London round trip for under $500 including taxes. Three summers ago we found Iceland air lucky fares for July Minneapolis to Frankfurt for around the same price. This summer the lucky fares last minute air fares are running closer to $750. The number of flights, and thus capacity, was supposed to be down last summer because of 9/11. But this summer seems to be a lot tighter.

US Airways has some excellent rates for August and early September - must be purchased by tomorrow (7/2).

I FEEL YOUR PAIN!

The best I can say for American is that you can purchase an upgrade with FF miles and use it with the lowest fare you can get..other airlines you have to pay full fare economy to get the upgrade.

I used our miles to get 1 free ticket for the dates we had to go,,,then went to Autoeurope and got a $550.00 fare for Orlando to Paris..Not great but there are never good fares from Orlando, The best I could get from anyone else that would match with my free tickets was $750.00 and that was leaving 2 days earlier on Air France..which I did NOT want..so I figured 2 extra days in Paris would cost me at the very least $450.00 so it wasn't that bad!