thanks for all the lovely advice - sorry the dates of the tickets were 5/29 to 6/21, not 6/1 and the amt. today i believe was $650.00 - God bless all
Leslie
and no comment on the God bless business, I have 6 kids becasue I am Roman Catholic - haha, only a joke

VS fare is still $820.

Only cheap fare is on USAirways, with a connection at PHL.

You're comparing apples and oranges.

btw, I apologize if I offended you, I certainly didn't mean to 'flame' you, but because there are people who will blame others for just about anything in their life, I really didn't know how to take your msg and since it's Monday,and who feels like working...I actually replied :)

I am having the opposite problem you are having, every time I look at the airfare for west coast to London, it seems to have gone up...luckily, I'm not going until late August, so I have time, but prices certainly do change from one day to the next.

BTW, it may be worth it for you to call your airline to see if they will give you a voucher from the difference. Last year, I had purchased my ticket for Venice from Delta and a few weeks after the purchase the price dropped close to $300!!! I called them and after charging me a change fee, I still ended up with $180 voucher to use. It never hurts to call..the worst they can do is say NO

LeslieMomof6, the advice to purchase your ticket back in January was good advice, if your dates aren't extremely flexible. You got a fairly good price. Airfares are like stock market prices - you can't predict what they will be. To get a great airfare, you usually have to be very flexible and purchase your ticket at the last minute. The suggestion LYB gives you to call the airline and ask for a credit or voucher is great advice, which many people aren't aware of (thise advice applies to cruise fares as well).

"after everyone advising me to do so, we booked our May trip to England and Europe back in January at $850.00" - how else can anybody reading this understand your post if not "Fodorites advised me, but now the price is down".

now get ready for a chorus of "rent apartment instead of hotel" :))

Thanks for all the input, I only ever meant to pass along info., did not mean to do anything else - I don't even know what "flamed" means, but I guess that's what I got, huh? haha - only kidding, everyone put your keyboards down! Seriously, the advice here is invaluable and I can't wait to check daily for all the great threads w/loads of information, info that can only come from experience, so I do appreciate you, one and all. 'nuff said - Leslie

We are going at almost the same time. May 31 ATL to CDG and from LGW to ATL on June 9. Flying into Paris seems higher but we paid $950 each and the same flight on the same airline is $1306. I think buying airfare is a crapshoot. I agree buy it when you feel comfortable and DONT look back. Enjoy your trip!!

Leslie's mom, I also was glad to see your news. Prices are pretty high so any break is welcome. Don't worry about being flamed. Everyone is an expert and a critic here!

I actually don't see the reading of Leslie's post as blaming or insulting as being at all inevitable -- I don't think "anyone" would read it that way at all.

I would not feel blamed unless someone wrote, Elizabeth, you told me to do such and such a thing, and something terrible happened as a result, and it is your fault.

All Leslie does is tell us she was advised to do something, and what the outcome was. I assume she was thinking we might hold a belief that it's smart to buy tickets in January, but thet she's found out that isn't necessarily true.

I understand my own asusmption also could be wrong.

I think everyone here should LIGHTEN UP. After reading the post, I felt it was just a suggestion for those who want to buy a ticket. I felt grateful for the info. Had a hard week at work???

Yup, lighten up folks.

wordsmith: my sentiments exactly. LIGHTEN UP, FOLKS.

Laughter really is the best medicine.

There are laughter clinics springing up all over the country, teaching and urging people to laugh.

Reduces aging lines, releaess thenecessary endorphins, -why the benefits are endless! :)

Oops, forgot the most important paragraph:

LESLIEMOMOF6: [REALLY? 6!? How blessed! :) ] Thanks for the info. I'm certain lots of us are grateful that you passed on the price savings.

That also happened to us. I purchased 3 tickets to London about 2 monthys ago and paid about 3100.00. I noticed yesterday that Britishairways ran a 2 day sale at $250.00 pp one way. Of course that didn't include taxes, etc. but still its alot less that what we paid.

Thanks to all who posted w/encoraging words, I sure so appreciate them. And like the glutton for punisnhment that I am, I looked today and they are even lower, but, hey, I won't look again- don't care what they ever go down to, and would probably do the same thing over again - as someone mentioned I got the flights we wanted, the tickets are almost paid for off the credit card - haha and it is only weeks away, so thanks for all the great input - youall too have safe and happy journeys, and, yes, most of all I am truly blessed to be the mother of these wonderful 6 children, yeah, even the 3 teenagers! Good nite all

Hey Leslie-
It's all how you read it. I took no offense on your posting and it was nice that you posted it. I hope you enjoy your vacation since being a mom of 6 is not easy.

I also took no offense at your posting and thought it was useful information to the various people who are often asking whether to wait to purchase airfare.

Of course, there is no way to know when prices are at their lowest. I also check airfares almost daily, before and sometimes after the tickets are purchased. It is fun to feel that I've gotten a great deal.

Leslie, is it just you and your husband going or the entire family? If the latter, you were definitely wise to book in January.

Don't forget that just because you see a low fare, does not mean you can actually book it: somebody on-line at the same time as you might beat you to the punch for the handful of tickets sold at that price. Indeed, sometimes only two seats are being sold at that price, for that flight, and on that day. Then there are the sites of which I'm suspicious, because I've NEVER been able to find, upon taking the transaction further, that the original price disclosed is actually available.

You're going, is the main thing, and you paid in the ballpark of 20 per cent of the sale price. That's not too bad. Enjoy England.

We booked our tickets April 2nd for our trip to Paris (DFW-CDG non stop Sept 21-Oct 1) for $ $1,684 or $832.00 each. Now the same tickets are over $950.00 each. You never know what the price of airfares will be.

In December I bought two tickets on Expedia for Detroit to Munich and back in May-June. Price was $560 each. Today on Expedia the same flight is $1001 each. I am HAPPY!