What is a good price for London in August for airfare from U.S.?
 

I am trying to book a surprise trip for my husband's B-day to go visit his brother in London.

I am not seeing very cheap fares online.

I am looking at sometime in August but wanted to know what is a good price for airfare from the U.S. to London for August? Also any tips on good airlines would be appreciated, Thanks!

Well, a big part depends on where in the US you are flying from. East Coast cities, particularly the NYC area, will almost always be the cheapest route. Please give more info.

He will be flying out of Charlotte, NC (since US Airways hub is here we usually get direct flights).

But since US air does not have the best prices right now I am looking into any airline.

bargains are always available. I don't think I would pay any more than $450.00 r/t. To get a good fare you have to watch the websights daily and wait patiently. Sale fares usually come out on Tuesday.

The best time to buy the ticket is about 30-45 day before you leave. If you buy too early the fare can be high, too late it can be really high. Usually after the 30 day window the ticket can either rise or fall depending on demand. In the summer it is more likely to go up.

Here are three factors to consider;

1. Check rates on Travelocity.com and Orbitz.com. When viewing fares on Travelocity they may seem low but they also don't include tax. Tax can be up to an additional $75-100 or more.

2. Check rates on websights of British, American, United and Virgin Atlantic. These are the only 4 airlines with rights to fly between the USA and London.

3. Call the 4 airlines and ask for specials. Don't assume because it was one rate today that it will be the same tomorrow. It changes based on supply and demand.

4. Consider Priceline.com if you are daring.

5. On Travelocity - If your dates are flexible check the open calendar dates function (on the sight is the box to check called "search all dates"). Basically it tell you what the lowest fare is and lets you pick from available dates on a calendar. Sometimes I follow this process right up to the point where they ask for the credit card, then I call the airline direct with the exact dates and flights to buy direct from the airline. Generally it will be the same and even sometimes less! For example right now they list JFK-London at $524.

6. Consider alternate connecting routes with partner airlines such as--

Via Paris on Air France/Delta
Via Amsterdam on KLM/Northwest
Via Frankfurt on Lufthansa/United
Via Shannon on American/Aer Lingus
Via Manchester on BMI/United
Via Copenhagen on SAS/United
Via Toronto on Air Canada/United
Via Reykjavik on Icelandic (sometimes good rates)

7. Condider flying airlines that do a route as a fueling stops such as..

Singapore Airlines from Newark via Amsterdam. Probably with a conecction with partner airline BMI to London. http://www.singaporeair.com

Kuwaiti Airlines from JFK to London (sometimes cheap!)http://www.kuwait-airways.com/

Air India from JFK to London (they also do Newark-London)www.airindia.com

If you live on the west coast, Air New Zealand makes a refueling stop in Los Angeles enroute to London.

8. Consider flying to Gatwich instead, there is good transportation from gatwick to the city and the airport is less hectic. More airlines have clearance to Gatwick that can't fly to London Heathrow such as Delta, Northwest and Continental.

It's a lot of work! Good Luck.

Hi Jennifer. I like to fly US Airways from PIT because it gives us the best flights.
Richard has a lot of good points, but sometimes getting from a US Airways hub to one of the good priced gateways to Europe is so expensive, you do not save a lot.
Last year when we went to Italy, I bought the ticket through ORbitz. Although the flight was with US Airways, they did not have as good a fare on their own website or over the phone. Go figure.
ONce we drove to Philadelphia to take advantage of a good Air France fare. We stayed one night at the Philadelphia Airport Hilton which had a park and fly rate for a room. They kept our car for two weeks for the price of one night's lodging. We just went the night before and left the car in their lot (with their knowledge,of course).
Good luck. I am now trying to get to France and the best rate in August is on Cheap tickets for a US Airways flight again.

richardab,
You must live in some fantasy land to think you will get a R/T to London in August for $450.
I would say $650 would be the benchmark, and even that is low.
Good Luck!

The current Lucky Fare special on Icelandair is New York(JFK)-London for $440 and Baltimore(BWI)-London for $500. Add taxes of $112 to either of those base prices.

P.S. AAFlyer, I just returned from London and paid $424 for the fare. United Airlines from Newark. In fact I have never paid more than $450 for a ticket to europe and that included flights from Los Angeles and San Francisco! My best deal ever was $269 from LA to Munich on Lufthansa.

Right now United has a bargain fare from Newark to London for $469 inc. tax flying between July 14 and return by July 24. Direct service 777 flights.

Go to "Special Deals" link on their websight.

Unfortunately you have missed two huge summer air fare sales from Charlotte--under $500. I would take a look at Priceline since almost all flights to Europe leave in the evening and arrive in the morning--so you aren't going to get "stuck" with a bad departure time. We were just discussing whether Continental still flies from Greensboro--you could check flights from there. I guess just shop, shop,shop--and hope. There are still fewer planes going--and the sales may have filled them.

richardab,
She did say from Charlotte, NC, NOT from NYC.

i didnt see that

usairways.com - Charlotte to Gatwick, select the option "search by price: - enter - select price - select dates.

or priceline.com

You may not be finding very cheap fares b/c of the city you are flying out from- Charlotte is one of the most expensive airports to leave from. I have family in Charlotte, and when they fly they normally will drive to Raleigh (I think thats the one), and easily save $200 on their flight. May not be the most convenient way to go, and many times they have even had to connect on a flight through Charlotte, but you can really save some $$.

The poster earlier who told you about those four airlines and their rights to fly into the UK should have said that those four are the ones who can fly into Heathrow..which is why USAirways, which obviously also flies to the UK, uses Gatwick.
The issue with Charlotte being "expensive" is probably because out of that city, USAirways doesn't have any competition on the route..and that's why fares from places like New York are cheaper because of the competition..NOT the distance...American flies out of Raleigh/Durham and obviously feeds into their London flights so that's why it would be cheaper to fly out of there vs. Charlotte.
I agree with the above posters in terms of watchingall the sites such as Expedia, etc. But I would be thinking of possibly leaving from another airport..perhaps you could get a cheap flight out of Charlotte to another city and go from there.
I'm not sure getting a fare for $450 in August is very realistic...but you might also try priceline or hotwire if you're very flexible as to the time of day you leave. Hope this helps put some of it into perspective.

Another thought..what about flying USAirways into Manchester and taking the train to London...an "adventure" but perhaps worth the trouble.

JenniferW,
You are in luck. USAir is having a sale to Europe, which includes Charlotte to London for about $465 including taxes for the whole month of August. Just go to USAir.com, click on Promotions and then Europe Sale.
Hope this will work for you and your Husband.
Have a wonderful trip!

Hi Jennifer,

Here is the link to the US Air promo.
http://www.usairways.com/promotions/..._eur_26jun.htm

Read the fine print. There are about $125 additional charges, but still a very good price.

Thanks so much everyone for your information..I really appreciate it!

richardab - I just wanted to say thank you for all that detailed info! Although my next trip will likely be Costa Rica, I always have Europe in my sights, and have cut and paste your info into my travel files for future use.

Have a nice weekend, everyone!

Karen

Go-today.com has a summer madness special to London, starting at $499 (+109) pp for RT and 6 nights in hotel. That looked pretty good to me because the add-on from LV is only $150. For most East Coast, Midwest cities, the add-on is $100. This sale is good till 9AM June 30.