Flight Comparison Help

jellybeard999

jellybeard999

jellybeard999

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I've done a search, but got no similar results :(

Considering booking flights to New York and it's straightforward getting price comparisons, however, I'm looking at doing UK (ideally Newcastle) to NY, to another US destination, then back to UK. I'm not tied to dates and am flexible on the length of time at each stop, but all the comparison sites seem to want a set date for each flight.

Any ideas? or is it not likely there'll be much difference in each date; ie will a day or two either side drastically increase/reduce cost?
 
jellybeard999 said:
I've done a search, but got no similar results :(

Considering booking flights to New York and it's straightforward getting price comparisons, however, I'm looking at doing UK (ideally Newcastle) to NY, to another US destination, then back to UK. I'm not tied to dates and am flexible on the length of time at each stop, but all the comparison sites seem to want a set date for each flight.

Any ideas? or is it not likely there'll be much difference in each date; ie will a day or two either side drastically increase/reduce cost?
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Doesn't matter, it only rises during school holidays
 
There is a site specifically for flights with variable dates and multistops.. let me raid the history, possibly when no one is looking ;)
 
skyscanner.net and choose whole month? Tells you the cheapest flight days for that month.

You don't need a site that will allow you to choose your transit airport do you? I assume if you want to actually see NY for a day or more you will need to book two separate sets of flights, if you don't want to spend time there then why do you need to go to NY, or are you meeting someone?

Or am I missing something?
 
Amp34 said:
skyscanner.net and choose whole month? Tells you the cheapest flight days for that month.

You don't need a site that will allow you to choose your transit airport do you? I assume if you want to actually see NY for a day or more you will need to book two separate sets of flights, if you don't want to spend time there then why do you need to go to NY, or are you meeting someone?

Or am I missing something?
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Stay in NY for a few days, then somewhere else for a week or so. I'm under the impression a stop over can be several days and it's cheaper to book the whole lot in one go? Or am I going about this wrong and should I be looking for 3 single flights?
 
jellybeard999 said:
Stay in NY for a few days, then somewhere else for a week or so. I'm under the impression a stop over can be several days and it's cheaper to book the whole lot in one go? Or am I going about this wrong and should I be looking for 3 single flights?
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What is the other destination you are after?

You'll probably find that booking from Heathrow is going to be cheaper and easier as well. Then sort out getting to Heathrow seperately.

Try Virgin Atlantic for an open-jaw ticket - into New York, and out of Washington DC. You can then easily sort out transit between New York and DC yourself, seperately. Probably easier and less faff to take the train. It's not THAT far. I drove.
 
Cleeecooo said:
Explain.

The only significant, sharp rise that I can think of is during school holidays.
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Transatlantic air fares are affected by a plethora of factors of which only one is school holidays. It is completely wrong to state that only school holidays cause a rise in flight prices.
 
[TW]Fox;21010947 said:
Transatlantic air fares are affected by a plethora of factors of which only one is school holidays. It is completely wrong to state that only school holidays cause a rise in flight prices.
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Fine, I'll rephrase.

The only thing that consistently causes sharp, predictable rises in fares are school holidays.

Better?
 
[TW]Fox;21010926 said:
What is the other destination you are after?

You'll probably find that booking from Heathrow is going to be cheaper and easier as well. Then sort out getting to Heathrow seperately.
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Unsure and open to suggestions. Mainly a sight seeing type holiday; group of male friends, none of whom have been to America. Was considering Las Vegas, but that's on the opposite coast, which is why I want to play about with flights - is it going to cost marginally more or vastly more? DC was another possibility, but going to have to have a good look at what there is to do and see. Was looking originally at a week/10 days in NY, but I'm not sure if that's too long for 1 city, and it would be good to see Las Vegas and the grand canyon.

So would you look at individual single flights? I'm open to different UK airports, but NCL would be the ideal.
 
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No, not really.

The only thing you could say about school holidays is that July and August are usually the most expensive times to fly transatlantic but it isn't the only thing that causes a sharp rise - there are numerous other periods where you can often find a sharp rise. The most obvious is a plane filling to capacity, that sends the last few seats well into 4 figures. US holiday periods as well, thanksgiving etc, peak holiday times outside of the school holidays, weekends, the list is huge.
 
jellybeard999 said:
Unsure and open to suggestions. Mainly a sight seeing type holiday; group of male friends, none of whom have been to America. Was considering Las Vegas, but that's on the opposite coast, which is why I want to play about with flights - is it going to cost marginally more or vastly more?

So would you look at individual single flights? I'm open to different UK airports, but NCL would be the ideal.
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I dont think anyone flies from NCL to the USA, so it's going to mean changing planes anyway so in order to get it all on the same booking it'll have to be an airline from NCL that codeshares with an airline from LHR or similar to the USA. This limits your choice.

Just get a train to London and book from Heathrow. Maximum choice, LHR to NYC is one of the busiest and most competitive air routes in the world.
 
Yea but just look at them!!! 14 hour travel time?! The similar priced flights from Heathrow are direct with a greater choice of airlines.

What are your travel dates? Are you really planning on going in 2 weeks time? Probably a bit soon for the best deals. How long do you want to stay?
 
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jellybeard999 said:
http://www.skyscanner.net/flights/n...w-york-in-january-2012-and-february-2012.html

Same price as Heathrow. Edited my post a little up too, if you wouldn't mind having a look :)
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One thing I found is that sometimes it can be cheaper to go to another country and then take a flight from there.

Before you start criticising my post fox, hear me out!

When booking to go to India, air France and Lufthansa were cheaper when I went through Germany or France, even though the route wasn't as direct so should, theoretically be more expensive than going direct. You could also go further than your destination and go back? Taking India as an example, it could be cheaper to fly to china, then take another plane to India.
 
Cleeecooo said:
When booking to go to India, air France and Lufthansa were cheaper when I went through Germany or France, even though the route wasn't as direct so should, theoretically be more expensive than going direct.
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Thats because Air France dont fly direct from the UK to India - you have to go via the hub in France. There is no direct Air France flight. Ditto Lufthansa and Germany. The fact you went through Germany wasn't a co-incidence.
 
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