Betty

Looking for a decent airfare from Charlotte, Atlanta or anywhere near, leaving in early June (or possibly, late May), returning about 3 weeks later. Am hoping for something around $700 or less. Is that possible? What are the best sites to check and when? Right now the best I can find is around $900-$1000. Are these fares likely to come down later? I will need 7 seats. All suggestons appreciated.

AA

First, there will be sales between now and then, so patience is the word of the day. That said, I will make few suggestions. I could be wrong, but most websites are not set-up to sell 7 tickets together, and if you do 4 first, which it would take about 15 minutes or so, and then you would have to start again for 3 more, there is always a chance you may not be able to buy tickets for the same flight, same price, etc.. So in all probabilty you would have to call them on their 800 number anyway. Since you will have to do that, I would start inquiring if you could possibly get some sort of group discount. Call the travel sites(orbitz, expedia, cheaptickets, etc...) and also call the airlines directly. Look in your local phonebook and try to find a travel agent that deals with ticket consolidators. I'm sure if you bought 7 tickets, they would be willing to make you a good deal.<BR>Good Luck!

Betty

Thanks, AA. I do have a travel agent who uses consolidators and is working on it, but she is not being very encouraging at the moment. I may need to change agents or by-pass her altogether. I understand that TA's may not have access to some of the webfares. I like your suggestion of calling the on-line travel sites. Any other ideas?

Beth

The last two summers, I have flown from Charlotte to Europe (first London, then Paris) for $500 or less in early June. I set the dates I wanted to travel, and started checking Expedia, Orbitz, etc. daily. My belief is if you check daily, you'll be more likely to find a quick sale. If you find a good fare, don't hestiate - buy it immediately. So, you have to have decided for sure to go.

AA

Why not give priceline.com a try. On international flight, they usually do pretty good. Low-ball and see what happens. They will sell up to 8 tickets at a time. True, you won't know the airline or the exect time till you buy, but again, since it's an international flight, you will in probability leave in the late afternoon with morning arrival and leave there in the morning with early afternoon arrival It's not like a domestic where they could put you on a early bird special or a 11:59pm departure. I would start at around $400(don't forget they add taxes and fees afterwards) although you will know before what it is, I guess around $150 per ticket. My guess is if you choose Atlanta, they will give you Delta, and Charlotte, they will give you USAir(I would be somewhat concerned about that one). They do a lot of business with these two.<BR>Good Luck!

browezilla

If CLT is an option for you, try the RDU airport (Raleigh-Durham). It has some of the cheapest fares in the country due to the many airlines that fly out from there competing for the consumer dollars. Also, try the airlines vacation depts. If you book a package with them, the airfare is pretty low. The number of days you stay in their "hotel" doesn't have to equal the number of days of our flights. For example, you could stay just 2 nights in a hotel with their package, and then move to a hotel of your choice for the remainder of your stay. This policy varies per airline though.

SA

There are really NO deals to Europe right now for next summer. We are going in March & still paid more than usual. In addition, they are making it difficult to use miles as well. The best thing you can do is wait & see. We've already bagged the summer trip & are going off-season in March & sometime in the fall.