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-   -   What is the minimum Open-fork ticket price for Europe from US (https://www.fodors.com/community/europe/what-is-the-minimum-open-fork-ticket-price-for-europe-from-us-823369/)

junk4rp Jan 25th, 2010 05:37 AM

What is the minimum Open-fork ticket price for Europe from US
 
I am about to buy my first Europe trip (in spring) tickets. I am getting close to $700/pp with 1 stop each way. Since we are a family of five I am trying to judge whether this is close to the best price I can get. I know ticket price is dependent on many factors. However I will get an idea about the average minimum open fork price (Go from US East Coast to One city in Europe and return from Another City in Europe to US East Coast) if you tell me what is the minimum you have received pp.

Thanks for your feedback.

RP

Michel_Paris Jan 25th, 2010 05:45 AM

I think you meant to say 'open jaw' :)

Michel_Paris Jan 25th, 2010 05:46 AM

And $700 does seem good, very good

fmpden Jan 25th, 2010 05:49 AM

I assume by open fork ticket you are referring to the common expression of open jaw ticket -- into one city and home from another. Never heard of an open fork ticket.

And, of course, the answer to your question is, "Who knows ??" Remember anyone who tells you to wait, it will get cheaper, doesn't have any thing at risk. You do. In my opinion it is a fair price but we don't know you dates of travel which is a huge factor in the cost. A terrific price for June/July and a so/so price for Jan/Feb. Remember the longer you wait the less choice you will have for seats so if five together is important you may have to purchase earlier rather than later.

kybourbon Jan 25th, 2010 05:50 AM

You shouldn't be figuring stops each way as it doesn't matter. When you are searching for open jaw tickets (in to one city, out of another city) use the multi-city selection offered on the various travel/airline websites.

junk4rp Jan 25th, 2010 05:52 AM

Yes I meant open jaw. Sorry getting used to this term. Always bought round-trip only.

Lynnaustin Jan 25th, 2010 06:34 AM

Make sure that the price you are looking at includes all taxes and fees.

kamaoleman Jan 25th, 2010 07:09 AM

I've heard of a "dinner fork", "salad fork", "fork in the road" "pitch fork", "fork-ed tongue", "fork it over", and now "open fork ticket". I love this site.

scatcat Jan 25th, 2010 07:10 AM

Wish mine was only $700

travelgourmet Jan 25th, 2010 07:24 AM

The absolute cheapest you would see would be $400 to $500, but thos prices haven't been very common lately. For spring (particularly if late spring), I think $700 is a pretty fair price.

crsnyder4 Jan 25th, 2010 07:26 AM

Yes we paid $850/pp for an open jaw ticket last November for our March 2010 trip so if you are seeing $700/pp jump on it now!

greg Jan 25th, 2010 08:11 AM

When you say:

"I am getting close to $700/pp with 1 stop each way."

Is it the total airfare = out bound + in bound + tax + fees?

The industry uses a advertisement trick whereby they only show one way price (the first element of the equation) but what you pay is much more than the pp price x 2.

griz_fan Jan 25th, 2010 08:58 AM

yeah, be sure to carefully read airfares. $700 round trip is a good price, $700 each way, not so much. Also, the days of the week and duration of your stay can have a pretty big impact on the costs of airfare. In addition to researching airfare on Kayak, Bing, etc... take a look at http://matrix.itasoftware.com/. This site is very handy for researching open-jaw itineraries, giving you more search options than the others. But, you can't book through that site. Still, very accurate routes and pricing. Once you find a combo that looks good, try to book directly from the airline to avoid possible hassles. Also, if you have some flexibility on destinations, you can save a LOT by flying in/out of some cities.

If you could provide some details (what airports you are considering, what dates you are considering, how flexible you might be with dates and cities), you can get some more detailed answers.

vanderveldenton Jan 25th, 2010 09:04 AM

700 Dollars is terrifically cheap if it is all-in for a return flight. On a Dutch website I found the equivalent of 730 Dollars as minimum, flights on TAP Portugal, via Lisbon obviously.
British Airways is also quite cheap.

janisj Jan 25th, 2010 09:16 AM

Aren't you going next month? If so, it is getting very close, I'd book something ASAP.

BA did have a sale running - not sure if it is still on though . . .

crsnyder4 Jan 25th, 2010 09:20 AM

BA is still having a sale but you have to book by Jan. 28th:

http://www.britishairways.com/travel/home/public/en_us

junk4rp Jan 25th, 2010 09:40 AM

Yes, the $698 fare is including all taxes etc. BA for the same route is giving a quote of $780.

crsnyder4 Jan 25th, 2010 09:43 AM

I wouldn't wait any longer if you are seeing $698/pp for the full fare including all taxes, fees etc. It could go up in a matter of hours.

junk4rp Jan 25th, 2010 10:16 AM

Bought the ticket on Travelocity for $698/pp. Thanks,
RP

Bowsprit Jan 26th, 2010 02:39 AM

That's a great price! What airline?


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