nxn@ihuxm.UUCP (Dave Nixon) (02/01/85)
Are there any experts on transatlantic airfares out there? Currently, the standard advance purchase non-stop round trip fare from Chicago to London (Heathrow) is 709 dollars (travel midweek in April). The same fare in the UK, but starting from London, is 379 pounds, or 425 dollars at the current exchange rate (1.12). I understand that the carriers have applied to raise the UK fare by 25% which would make it 531 dollars, but that's still 178 dollars cheaper. Unfortunately, they won't let you buy a London-Chicago-London ticket and then fly the other way. Is there anything inherently more costly in travelling from Chicago first rather than London (:-), or is this just the regulations? Are there any plans to deregulate this route? It's almost cheaper to fly one way in both directions. If I were travelling regularly, it would definitely be worth flying one way Chicago-London, and then buying successive round trip London-Chicago-London tickets even after the 25% hike. I know that it's possible to fly to London much more cheaply on a charter or cut rate carrier like Peoples Express, but they all involve changing flights, and all fly into Gatwick, which is much less convenient for me. Any gems of wisdom out there? Dave Nixon AT&T Bell Laboratories ..!ihnp4!ihuxm!nxn
srradia@watmath.UUCP (sanjay Radia) (02/05/85)
> Are there any experts on transatlantic airfares out there? Currently, > the standard advance purchase non-stop round trip fare from Chicago to > London (Heathrow) is 709 dollars (travel midweek in April). The same Are you sure of this. Fares from Canada are $579 Canadian non-stop return to Heathrow. This requires 21 days advance booking. In general fares in Canada are more expensive than in the US. I know that TWA offers a $375 (or there abouts) from New York to London if you are willing to travel on a short notice of two days and during this time of the year I am pretty sure that you would have no problems getting seats. -- sanjay UUCP: ...!{ utzoo,decvax,ihnp4,allegra}!watmath!srradia ARPA: srradia%watmath%waterloo.csnet@csnet-relay.arpa CSNET: srradia%watmath@waterloo.CSNET
johna@haddock.UUCP (02/07/85)
> ..the standard advance purchase non-stop round trip fare from Chicago to >London (Heathrow) is 709 dollars (travel midweek in April). The same >fare in the UK, but starting from London, is 379 pounds, or 425 dollars > at the current exchange rate (1.12). Airfares are priced based on the country of origin. It is usually cheaper to buy two one way tickets (US->UK, UK->US). This fact is not known by many, including travel agents, but is perfectly legal. Tickets for UK->US flights can be purchased in the US at the UK rate. ...!decvax!ima!johna
elf@cylixd.UUCP (Leonard Bottleman) (02/08/85)
In article <11310@watmath.UUCP> srradia@watmath.UUCP (sanjay Radia) writes: > Are there any experts on transatlantic airfares out there? Currently, > the standard advance purchase non-stop round trip fare from Chicago to > London (Heathrow) is 709 dollars (travel midweek in April). The same You might want to contact a travel agent. I just bought TWO round trip tickets from New York to Heathrow for ~830 dollars (PAN AM). The total cost of airfare from Memphis to London for two people was about 1130 dollars, which is about 565 dollars each. You can probably do better than that from Chicago, since a large part of the cost for me was to get from Memphis to New York! Leonard Bottleman RCA Cylix, Inc. Memphis, TN ..!ihnp4!akgua!cylixd!elf "Look there, vampires!" "Oh, crumbs! Help! Oh, eck! Somebody do something! Oh, elp! Mommy!" "That's it, Penfold, don't show them you're scared."
shaprkg@sdcrdcf.UUCP (Bob Shapiro) (02/10/85)
In article <140@cylixd.UUCP> elf@cylixd.UUCP (Leonard Bottleman) writes: >In article <11310@watmath.UUCP> srradia@watmath.UUCP (sanjay Radia) writes: >> Are there any experts on transatlantic airfares out there? Currently, >> the standard advance purchase non-stop round trip fare from Chicago to >> London (Heathrow) is 709 dollars (travel midweek in April). The same > >You might want to contact a travel agent. I just bought TWO round >trip tickets from New York to Heathrow for ~830 dollars (PAN AM). >The total cost of airfare from Memphis to London for two people was >about 1130 dollars, which is about 565 dollars each. You can probably >do better than that from Chicago, since a large part of the cost for me >was to get from Memphis to New York! > Careful on your advice. Most of the major airlines are currently running specials to London BUT they require you to leave prior to April 1. I believe the original comment said that the travel was in April. The intent of the original article was to point out that fares from the US to overseas are not the same as overseas to the US. In that respect the writer is correct. The problem is a little tricky sometimes. e.g. Unless you are going on one-way fares it still may not be as good as a round-trip fare. Also certain countries require proof of a round-trip ticket in order to obtain entry. This is typically not true in non-communist European countries. Since you buy the ticket at a foreign currency you are subject to fluctuations in the conversion rate if you want a refund. This might make or lose money for you. Some countries have special taxes for fares bought in their countries. So the money you save can be completely eroded in taxes. Certain promotions for discounts are only good for tickets out of the USA. I think the TWA Poleroid discount is an example. HOWEVER, it is free to ask. So whenever you are going overseas, you should check out the possibility that buying your return ticket in the currency of a foreign nation might save you money. Bob Shapiro