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Another airfare question

Posted by (Corvallis OR) on

Hi all you travel gurus. I've flown to Europe quite often and I normally I would not ask this question because I know that no one has 'the' right answer. But that being said, I would like your experienced opinion. This summer I will be flying open-jaws from Portland (OR) to Kiev (June 18 or 19) and flying back from Brussels to Portland (July 17). It's going to be an expensive flight no matter what because of destination and peak travel time, but of course I would like to minimize the cost if possible. Since I've been watching these flights they have been anywhere from $1490 to mid $1800's depending on when I check them. This is for 1-stop flights each way which is what I would prefer (I know I could get 2-stop flights that last for 24 hrs or more that are cheaper). Lately they have been steadily rising and staying around $1700. Today they are at $1634 and I'm tempted to bite the bullet and go for it but it's still 5 months out. I think I would feel ok if I jumped at this price and then it went down a bit later but I'm so nervous, it's so much money.

If you were me what would you do, jump now or wait and watch for a few more weeks?

Thanks for your insight.

Posted by
792 posts

In my opinion, based solely on the time of year you are going, they are not going to get cheaper. Sometimes, the same itinerary is cheaper when you purchase from the European airline website (even if it is the same plane) so maybe try that. I think that is actually not a bad price for that time of year and that flight.

Posted by
2081 posts

Nancy,

Since youve been monitoring the prices and know how they are trending, i would have bought them a 1500. I say that becuase i base my flight cost from r/t PDX to AMS and this year its about 1300 USD. I want to go to Russia this year and from adding my flight to there or just doing a direct flight to russia and openjaw from some other city back home, its looking like my ticket will be 1700+.

Im still in the planning stages so my flights may change, but im still monitoring and checking flights as i do.

happy trails.

Posted by
7039 posts

@Kristen - I agree they will probably not go any lower. I've usually bought my summer air tickets in Feb so will probably watch these for the next couple of weeks and see what happens. If it only goes higher then that's my fault.

@Ray - needless to say I would have jumped at $1500 if able, unfortunately when that fare was available I did not have confirmed dates from by daughter who will be travelling with me. When I finally got confirmed dates from her in late Dec it was too late so I've been watching it since then hoping it would go back down.

Thanks for your input.

Posted by
7570 posts

Without looking, part of the issue may be that flights into Kiev may be more restricted anyway, fewer airlines serving, not the same airlines as Brussels, etc.

For comparision, though it may add other costs, you might do a search on round trip to Brussels or another central city in Western Europe, then search skyscanner or whichbudget for a ticket to Kiev. Yes, it may mean a night in Brussels up front, but you could yield a savings.

When Open jaw used to save you a long train trip and several days it was a real saver, but with cheap domestic flights to get you back or out to an area, there are now more options available (maybe more choices to stress over)

Posted by
11613 posts

Nancy, do you have any flexibility on the days of the week you depart/return? It seems like mid-week flights are
a little cheaper.

Posted by
7039 posts

@Zoe, thanks for the advice. I've been looking at flying out on Wed or Thurs and flying home on Thurs. If I change it to flying home on Weds it's $50 cheaper but that means I have to cut my trip short by a day, not sure it's worth the difference, but it's something to keep watching.

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