Aug2005honeymooner

I want to know is the flight to Italy going to go down. We are going August 2005. We have never been to Europe and are not sure of the prices. We are flying out of Pittsburgh, PA. Right now the flights are about $1,100. People have told me to wait until about June and we should be able to get our flights for about $800-$900. What does everyone think? Should we buy now or hold out?

P_M

August is the high season for travel to Europe, so it's hard to imagine it will go down much. Keep in mind that the price of jet fuel is a lot higher this year due to the high price of crude oil. You could wait a couple more weeks, but waiting until June is a gamble, as the seats you want could sell out.

One suggestion--have you checked fares from any other cities near Pittsburg? It might be worth a drive if you can save a few hundred bucks.

Intrepid1

Give us the <b> names </b> of all those people who told you that fares will go down, so we can either latch on to the millions of dollars they can make as fortune tellers or we can have them committed as unbalanced.

Have you looked for fares on aggregator sites such as www.mobissimo.com??

on www.itasoftware.com??

on consolidator sites such as www.onetravel.com

Have you checked to see if Continental is still having their sale on Europe fares?

One reason PIT is such a poor place for bargains is the lack of competition on routes out of that airport what with USAirways basically still the only game in town.

Patrick

&quot;Give us the names of all those people who told you that fares will go down, so we can either latch on to the millions of dollars they can make as fortune tellers or we can have them committed as unbalanced.&quot;

Amen, Intrepid. And while we're at it, let's add them to the list of those who say things like &quot;now isn't the time to go to Europe, the euro will come down.&quot;

Sher

I really know what you are talking about with high fares from PIT. This is where we fly from too.
I wouldn't even begin to tell you flights will go down. But I have started to look at some other gateways.

Forget New York or Newark. There is the problem of the long drive and parking the car. The fares from here to there are awful most of the time.

But since Southwest is in PHL now, I would consider trying to tie one of their inexpensive flights to carriers such as Air France. Also, Independence Air has some very nice rates to the DC area. Maybe you could fly Lufthansa from there.

It is the same problem we face every time we have to fly from here.

Good Luck.

rex

Well - - while I have not told Aug2... that fares WILL go down, you can use my name to start a list of those who would say that fares COULD be available at a lower rate, if they are willing to be diligent and watch, with some creativity in their watching... for another 3-4 weeks. And a lot depends on how flexible their plans are. Hopefully not going on a &quot;tour&quot;... which requires them to be at a specific city on a specific date.

Yes, it's true that USAir has a stranglehold on PIT, but it isn't total, to every part of the globe. Most notably, SW has fares to PHL for as low as $39 each way, taxes included. Be aware that this would be a &quot;do-it-yourself&quot; connection - - but what better do you have to do on the morning after your wedding? Fly to Philadelphia for a 4-6 hour Sunday &quot;city break&quot; and then get to the airport for your transatlantic flight at supper time. You may find many more competitive fares there (includingly, ironically, perhaps USAir will be your best bargain!)

Since you have never been to Europe at all, consider your first few days in England. You may not end up with an overall lower air fare - - but for a more-or-less same price you can have essentially a free &quot;stop-over&quot; by flying US-LON and return, and then use one of the low cost carriers from LON to Italy - - listed on www.whichbudget.com

Seek assistance also on the cheap flights forum of www.eurotrip.com - - advice from &quot;Don&quot; there is alsost always priceless.

Whatever your plans, congratulations on your new life in marriage... and ...

Best wishes,

Rex

Christina

I don't think that is so unusual for a peak season fare RT to Italy, especially from Pittsburgh. I don't mean because of competition, but just because I don't think you can expect the same airfares as flights from the east coast.

I'm from the Midwest (lots of family in Pittsburgh), and wouldn't it be just as easy or easier to go to Columbus or Cleveland than NY or Philadelphia? It's not that far to Columbus.

Anyway, I just checked and the fares are all about the same to Rome in August from either Pittsburgh or CMH or CLE. In fact, they are also that same price (around $1000-1050) from Dulles IAD, and only a few bucks cheaper from JFK. YOu can find fares around $900 from JFK that involve 1 stop.

So, I don't think this is a Pittsburgh issue as just what the fares are in August to Italy. I thnk you can wait until June to book an August fare, though, and can wait to see.

CarlosSandoval

prices varies, and you have to check constantly to get the best airfare available.

I recently booked my trip to Portugal and Spain from NYC at $600.00 for my trip in September.

kswl

From www.clarkhoward.com

These exclusive round-trip deals from American Airlines carry no ticket-by date:
• $655 London
• $789 Brussels or Frankfurt
• $797 Madrid
• $806 Zurich
• $857 Paris
Travel any available day of the week - except to London. Travel to/from London Mon.-Wed. only. Stay a weekend to 30 days. Depart July 18-Aug. 14. Returns can begin on or after Aug. 8. All travel must be completed by Sept. 12.
Code: SHAA3J

Surely you can do better than $1100. You could fly to London, then to anywhere on Ryanair cheaper than that.

kswl

ps. you can sign up to receive the weekly travel email from this site. It's fabulous. We flew to London for less than $300 rt in Nov., including all junk fees, got $218 fares to Seattle this July, and $438 tickets to Japan for next week. Altogether, that is less than you've been quoted for a single flight. I've flown US Air from Pittsburgh to London for around $500, with a leg from Atlanta thrown in.

julies

I don't live in PIT, but I live in Minneapolis where Northwest has a stranglehold on the market. I've always managed to find good fares for peak summer travel by waiting (usually until a month of so out when the airlines are starting to get desperate to fill the empty seats). You have to be diligent and try all the options mentioned above. But, if you want to play this game you have to have some flexibility.

rex

&lt;&lt;wouldn't it be just as easy or easier to go to Columbus or Cleveland than NY or Philadelphia? It's not that far to Columbus.&gt;&gt;

I lived in Columbus for 21 years - - no way its fares will ever be very competitive with PHL. And it's a hard 3.5 hr drive. The $39 fare on SW has to open up more options than going to Columbus!

Sher

I suggested Southwest to PHL or even US Airways because since Southwest came to PIT and PHL the fares are the lowest I have ever seen.
My husband is attending a one day conference in Philadelphia. Usually he would drive it since the one day fare would be very high. But he is going on a Thursday and returning on Friday for $78 total. That is on US Airways.

So Rex, you are correct it has opened up many new chances here.

moldyhotelsaregross

We've seen our flight from IAH to CDG go up more than $100/pp over the last month.

CarlosSandoval

ttt