Flight Prices Gone Mad ?

melb

hi all is it usual to have to spend well over £200 for flights to Spain at this time of year? I can't believe it - but there again we don't usually go in August as it's too hot. Has the price gone up because everyone has booked late because of the lousy weather? Does anyone have a clue? Even a grotty looking one bed (there are 4 of us) apartment late deal is about £500 a head. This is flying anywhere from East Midlands up to Teeside. I don't fancy a long to dirve to London. Any ideas anyone?

davetrousers

A grotty 1 bed? I take it you want to find flights and accommodation separately?

Why not look at a package holiday?

bargain-lil

we have booked flights with thomsonfly from Coventry to Valencia. Daytime flights both ways and worked out £593 plus £40 checked in luggage for 2 adults and 2 children going on Aug 27th & returning 3rd September. We have booked what looks like a lovely 3 bed villa with private pool from owners direct for £850 and hired a Touran from Avis at Valencia airport for £139 - around £1600 for the 4 of us - which ok is probably not the cheapest way of doing things but the accomodation we usually hire from owners direct is much better and more spacious than all of us being cooped up in 1 bedroom in a large hotel!

:j
good luck with your search

Lil
x

balsingh

I read somewhere that many internet travel agents (lastminute, ebookers etc) have seen a 100% increase in bookings in comparison to this time last year ... hence then being able to get away with charging silly money.

Its all about the weather we have been having. Now that the weather has kicked up a little, give it a week or so and hopefully those prices will drop off a bit back to something realistic.

dmg24

East Mids Airport is seeing 40% more passengers than this time last year. That combined with it being the middle of school holidays would add up to a very expensive time to travel.

bargain-lil got a great deal though, so certainly worth looking around! x

melb

Thanks everyone for replying. Bargain-lil did find a good deal and we do usually book flight and villas separately because it works out such good value. Coventry is a bit for for us - we're in Leeds - but we were looking at accommodation in Costa del Azahar around Valencia. Where is the villa you booked located - we were looking for Peniscola and villas seem to be very thin on the ground there. The "grotty 1 bed" was a package - wouldn't fancy having to pull out a sofa bed every night!

pompeyrich

XL.com have flights from Newcastle to Alicante, this thursday for £458, less with a code, total price for 4 people inc taxes, or the following thursday for £578. Or from Manchester for £578 both dates.

I think it is the lack of summer here that has persuaded people to go away, this has, as you said, pushed the prices up but still some reasonable prices if you are prepared to be a bit flexible on times, airports etc.

bargain-lil

the villa we booked is about 10 mins drive from Denia although the villa itself is within a 5-10 minute walk away from restaurants, supermarkets, pharmacy etc. even at this late stage, we had quite a wishful wish list and although we didn't get a villa within walking distance of a beach, we still got the air con, large pool and close proximity to local amenities. There were cheaper villas or apartments still available & we also widened our search area to the Costa Blanca which is around 60-90 minutes drive away from the airport depending on North or South Costa Blanca. We found our cheap flight option on holiday supermarket . com and luckily Coventry is only about 50 mins away from us - althoughg I had never thought of flying from there before!
Hope you find something suitable for you & your family!


Lil
x

melb

Thank you for your helpful reply, Bargain-lil and thank you very much to the poster who told us about excel - I must admit I had only been looking Saturday to Saturday as this seems to fit in better with accommodation rental. As you were flying to Valencia, Barbain-lil - I had assumed you were looking north of there - I don't know why. We like Javea very much - which is near Denia - but have always flown to Alicante as, due to my partner being self employed and not being able to 'book ahead' we have always had to book last minute so low cost are at their peak but charters are usually falling - apart from this year we've come unstuck. Never mind, we'll find something.

trisontana

bargain-lil wrote: »

we have booked flights with thomsonfly from Coventry to Valencia. Daytime flights both ways and worked out £593 plus £40 checked in luggage for 2 adults and 2 children going on Aug 27th & returning 3rd September. We have booked what looks like a lovely 3 bed villa with private pool from owners direct for £850 and hired a Touran from Avis at Valencia airport for £139 - around £1600 for the 4 of us - which ok is probably not the cheapest way of doing things but the accomodation we usually hire from owners direct is much better and more spacious than all of us being cooped up in 1 bedroom in a large hotel!

:j
good luck with your search

Lil
x

We booked our Coventry - Valencia flights (Sept 5 till Sept 12) last November. The total cost for us two is £138, that is £69 each. So it shows that it's usually a good idea to book as early as you can.

bargain-lil

trisontana wrote: »

We booked our Coventry - Valencia flights (Sept 5 till Sept 12) last November. The total cost for us two is £138, that is £69 each. So it shows that it's usually a good idea to book as early as you can.

We have got a school aged child though - so wouldn't be able to go for an off peak deal unfortunately - especially as this would be her first week back in her new class - wouldn't be that mean!!
I agree about booking ahead, unfortunately I have never been that organised!!:rotfl:

Lil
x