Flights to New York

nallen

For my birthday this year I would love to fly to New York (from probably London Heathrow (LHR). I would prefer to keep things cheap, and wondered what the likelyhood is of me being able to buy tickets and book a hotel in central NY less than a week before departing...hopefully paying less for the flights due to the late booking...and if you think this is possible, where or with which company would you advice me trying to book with?

Woby_Tide

flights tend to go up rather than down the closer to the flight date nowadays as they know they will generally pick up late business travellers especially to New york, flights probably best bought as far in advance as possible(in majority of cases not always admittedly), hotels probably better closer to the time as they sell off to increase occupancy

user1234_2

Like Woby said, flights will be hit and miss as to whether you will save. Hotels on the other hand should be cheaper. With most hotels relying on email confirmations you can book right up to the day before departure.

For lastminute hotels check out:

http://www.lastminutetravel.co.uk/ (my current favourite)
http://www.hotelscomparison.com/
http://www.hotelclub.com
http://www.alpharooms.com
http://www.totalstay.com

The big boys sometimes have a couple of good last minute deals i.e. www.travelocity.co.uk
www.expedia.co.uk
www.lastminute.com

Once you think you have spotted a good deal then search for that hotel on TripAdivisor http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotels-g60763-New_York_City_New_York-Hotels.html to see if is a decent hotel. The site covers every hotel in NYC and the reviews there are generally spot on.

pin

If you want to risk it, re hotels have a look at priceline. You can bag a very good bargain with them, especially on a last minute basis.

tonys_3

Don't know when your birthday is,but the quicker you book your flight the better.None
of the no frills airlines fly there,but Aer Lingus do their best to give the cheapest flights.You can fly to Dublin from LHR for around £9 plus taxes each way-if you book in time.And you will save more than that as opposed to flying BA or Virgin from London.
Whether you think the extra time travelling is worth the saving.......

nelly_2

My advice is keep checking prices morning noon and night.

Last August 24, we flew to Toronto, I was regularly checking prices 4 to 6 weeks prior
to going on expedia/ ebookers etc.

On the day we booked at about 7.30 am the price was £1200.

At dinner time'ish it jumped up to £1600.

Then in the evening I checked again and they exact same flights had dropped to £700.

I have no clue what it was all about, but I can say it was the same flight's on the same date's, to and from the same destination.

Im doing the same thing now actually to New york aswell.

Something else I have discovered if you fly to Philadelphia and get a train up to NYC its quite a bit cheaper.

Fatboy_NSS

tonys wrote:

You can fly to Dublin from LHR for around £9 plus taxes each way-if you book in time.And you will save more than that as opposed to flying BA or Virgin from London.

Remember though that your luggage allowance for the London-Dublin flight will be much less than that of the Dublin-NYC flight if you book them separately, so if you're planning to stock up on bargains over there you may find yourself paying a baggage supplement in Dublin.

If you want to fly direct make sure you check everyone who flys the route. Air India and Kuwait Airways both fly from Heathrow to New York as well as American, United, British and Virgin. Check all of their websites as often as you can! A couple weeks ago I found flights to New York on Virgin for less than £200 at the end of June, but when I went to book the next day they were up to £450.