Open jaw air

Hi Jo,

I am NO professional, trust me, and I have never flown in or near Charlotte, so you can take my advice with a grain of salt...
On one hand you have time between now and next April to see what the airlines will do. On the other hand, if you've researched average prices and believe that nothing at that price will ever come again (which you can never tell), then jump on it. But then don't look at the prices again because you will drive yourself crazy wondering if you should have waited.

If I were in your shoes, I would wait, just because April is still s good distance away. If you were travleing any time this year I would suggest you grab those tickets. But like I said, I am no professional so you will probably get 20 posts disagreeing with me, in which case take their advice.

No one knows what future prices will be, but that sounds like a really good rate to me, FWIW. You can drive yourself crazy trying to anticipate whether that fare will go up or down.

Thank you, I'm already making myself crazy...I haven't done anything yet, but I have a feeling I'm going to kick myself....no matter what I do I may kick myself!

That is a good fare :)

Hi Jo, you have some time but I think $771 sounds like a reasonable fare but I'm not familiar with what fares are averaging from Charlotte as I fly out of Los Angeles. For us, that would be a great fare. If you're wanting to get the airfare issue out of the way & all buttonned up, then go ahead & book now so you can move on. Otherwise, I might wait a few months.

Check with www.kayak.com for comps. However you fare is far forward, so it is somewhat of a guess. But in gen it seems quite good for open jaw and hopefully incls all taxes and fuel surcharges. The whole fare tracking can be a dizzy experience, if you are ok with it, you have your answer.

That really is the total price, like I said it has 2 stops, as of now I haven't done anything, thanks everyone for helping me reason this

We travelled to Italy this past April. Last year around this time, we passed up a number of fares around this price (750-800) thinking they'd go down. Then, they shot WAY up (over 950) and I was checking daily. In February I finally saw a fare that was 870 and jumped on it. Granted, it was non-stop for my first flight and one stop on the way home, but still better. Next day, cost for that fare had jumped up again, and we never saw a lower fare before the trip.

Moral of the story, I wish I'd purchsed right away :) Of course, things always change so 2011 might be different than 2010. Just my 2 cents though :)

One more thing Jo - this was told to me so I'll pass it on to you:
With airlines prices never being predictable, if you see a good deal then grab it because other than that it's really out of your hands. Even if you happen to pay a little more than what you had hoped for, you can always make it up with things that you CAN control, for instance how much you pay for a hotel, or whether you choose a taxi versus take a bus or other things like that. So once you get your flight, you're set and you can finish planning the rest of the trip (a.k.a. the fun part) and work around the flight price if need be.

Trying to find the best airfare can drive you crazy. I tend to follow the Moscow rule of shopping. This requires that you buy when you see something because if you wait it may not be there when you return. Besides, what is $50 - $100 one way or the other going to do in the scale of things in the larger picture. Also, prices for anything usually tend to rise instead of falling.

Buon viaggio,

RB

Jo, I paid $800 for a flight last June 29th (a more expensive time frame)and fly open jaw (NYC to Malaga, Spain and then Paris to NYC) so I'm thinking you might be able to do better for a mid April fare. But the price I paid WAS phenomenal for that time of year.

Thanks everyone, for what it's worth I DID IT! You know I'll do the wrong thing and keep checking..but I really do feel good about the price

My wife just completed a trip in/out of Charlotte (in to Rome and out of Paris). I think you got a good fare.

It doesn't sound abd, but I never buy tickets so early.
Last year In August I found a fare Cleveland to Madrid and back from Barcelona for $600, but I think it was something weird about it for that time of year. I didn't go.
I would wait and check the price again when the gas price is lower. Plus which web site did you use?
I use kayak and onetravel.com More options for searching the best deals.

We are traveling to Italy from Birmingham, Alabama through Charlotte on US Air in September. The cost was $918. We have friends that booked another airlines and will pay almost double that. Another friend traveled from Charlotte this past March at a cost of $750. I found that Obitz had the best price of any booking agent. Good Luck with your decision.

I just talked to "Wholesale travel international", he didn't know the rate I received from "Yayama.com" but talking in general he said the prices will continue to rise because the airlines have to re-coop money. He said last year was very high and if I was taking the trip I plan this year it would be about $1500. He's seeing what he can come up with for "11" but around $1,000 would be wonderful. With all that said we both did good!!!