Usa

SeanT1992

Hi there

When is the best time (cheapest) to book a transatlantic flight? Preferably Glasgow to New York. Travelling across America this summer so we'd like to pay as little as possible for the first flight. prices are roughly £750 return just now but I'm wondering whether they decrease in spring for sales.

jpsartre

There's no way of knowing. Summer is peak travel time.

SeanT1992

do you know when the sales start? I cant see the prices increasing so I think we might be best waiting to see if they go down

richardw

They might be a little cheaper from LHR, but can you be bothered?

SeanT1992

We have had a look at that, yea but by the time we pay for travel from Glasgow to London, its not worth it and probably more expensive

pogofish

SeanT1992 wrote: »

We have had a look at that, yea but by the time we pay for travel from Glasgow to London, its not worth it and probably more expensive

From Scotland, it is seriously worth looking at transatlantic flights out of Schipol or Frankfurt - You can often get there cheaper and wiith less hassle than London.

Paris CDG too but that can be a bit of a nightmare airport, so is maybe best avoided.

There was also a recent thread on (IIRC) Norwegan Air - who were offering some pretty competitive rates to the US.

Lovelyjoolz

There have been a few articles lately on this subject. Anywhere between 8 and 4 weeks in advance is (apparently) the best time to book. I've been monitoring flights to USA over the past few weeks and this does seem to stack up. Less than 4 weeks and the prices seem to start climbing again.

Also worth bearing in mind is that if you are taking several internal flights, you can save some serious money by booking all of the direct with the carrier. In 2008 I flew:

London>Chicago>Memphis>Dallas>Vegas>LA>SanFran>New York>London

I used American Airlines and all those flights came to less than £800 per person. Because we took the transatlantic trip with them, they threw in 4 of the internal flights for free.

£800 wouldn't cover it today because airport and flight taxes have increased, but you'll still get a better deal than booking them all separate.

We went into a Co Op and they phoned the airline direct for us.

Alan_Bowen

If you want to travel at a peak holiday time in Glasgow, then do not leave it to two months before departure. There is only one airline flying the route and so with no competition and a relatively small plane to fill, they have no need to discount unless there is no demand, which won't be the case during the school holidays.


Taking a random date of 21st June, the fare on the direct flight is already higher than flying via London on BA (including the connecting flight) and KLM via Amsterdam is even higher than the direct United Airlines flight. There is often a sale after Easter launched by BA or Virgin and then copied by the other carriers and I expect good deals from London during the World Cup, if you travel then via London you might get a deal but I very much doubt it will have any effect on direct flights from Glasgow

SeanT1992

ill look at the multi-city option then cheers. checked american airlines there but they dont do certain flights on our route apparently.

our plan is
glasgow
nyc
chicago
san fran
la
vegas
orlando
miami
nyc
glasgow

ill keep on looking but thanks for the responses

stevie11

SeanT1992 wrote: »

ill look at the multi-city option then cheers. checked american airlines there but they dont do certain flights on our route apparently.

our plan is
glasgow
nyc
chicago
san fran
la
vegas
orlando
miami
nyc
glasgow

ill keep on looking but thanks for the responses

That is some itiniary, how long are you planning for that trip? Some of those cities you could travel by car if you are a driver, that may keep the flight prices down a little, i.e Orlando to Miami or Vegas to LA or SFO. Plan the trip carefully using a multi flight option will probably keep the price down somewhat or maybe try oneworld or star alliance to check for prices.

Good luck

SeanT1992

were going for about 4 weeks. were all 21 so we'll manage! Spend 3/4 days in each place and that will allow us to take in a lot of the main attractions in each city