First flight to Europe (UK)...need advice

I have no answer to your question but if you try a search on best flights it will bring up several previous threads on this subject which may be helpful.

mikey,

its like asking whats the best price on a new car.

You won't know whats "best" until you have some flights under your belt. even then, you won't know, but you will have a "feel". Or.

maybe someone that flys out of your airport to where you want to go will have several flights for data points.

what you can also do, if you choose to, is to spend some time either daily or weekly or a combo of both to monitor prices now and see how they fluctuate. check out prices for leaving next week and then look at prices for when you want to go now.

excel is a great way of keeping that data straight with date/price, again, if you choose to.

happy trails.

That's the million-dollar question. No one knows the answer. Start researching flights out of Boston and Montreal, decide on a price you are willing to pay, and buy when prices come closest to it. Don't look back after you buy, for your own sanity! :). Prices may drop after you buy, which you don't want to know. For some people the route (nonstop vs. at least one connection) is also a factor. I would pay more for a nonstop flight because of the convenience and saving time.

I understand everybody, I do appreciate the help. I pretty much know where I'm going to stay and what I'll be doing there. Just need to hammer down the flights.

To continue with cliches - like buying stock at the bottom. Rarely can be done. Just have to start watching the fares and get a feel for the range of prices and buy when you think it is good. The best way is to do a lot of homework. Some of the booking web sites will give you a range of prices for that flight. And you might try fare alert but I have never been able to get fare alert to work for myself.

AirTransat usually has the least expensive flights to the UK out of Montreal. Sadly, they only fly to London once a week, on a Sunday, I think, and only from May to September or October. They have daily flights to Paris all year long.

Mike,

I'd suggest watching the flight prices for a week or two, as you there may be some sales at some point. Also, I believe some of the firms like Kayak, Expedia or whatever have a "fare alert" feature that you could register for. You could also consult a travel agent, as they may be able to find some good deals. On international flights I usually research flights on the airline websites, but get a travel agent to do the actual booking. They often find better connections or better prices than what I found online.

Air Canada would be one possibility as they often have good prices. As Norma mentioned, Air Transat is another good possibility but I've found it very difficult to use them due to their infrequent departures. Air Transat revamped their cabins about a year ago, and if you have an option to choose "Premium Economy" (an extra cost option), I'd recommend doing that as the long flight will be more tolerable. Air Canada always flies into LHR, which I generally try to avoid, while Air Transat uses LGW which is a smaller airport and easier to navigate.

Are you flying return from London? Are you only visiting the U.K. or will you be going elsewhere in Europe?

i will certainly try out all of those suggestions!

Just the UK, the rest of Europe will have to wait until the next trip.

Mike,

British Airways has direct flights to London from Boston and Montreal. Also Air Canada has good prices on nonstop flight to London from Montreal. Good luck!

I recently purchased tickets from Boston to London on Virgin Atlantic for June 2015 for a little more than $1,000. Aer Lingus sometimes has good prices from Boston to Europe with a layover in Dublin. I have flown Aer Lingus a few times. Iceland Air is another option from Boston, as is Air Canada but make sure you have a decent layover in Montreal since you have to go through immigration/passport control there. Turkish Airlines has been offering great prices but their layovers tend to be 24+ hours.

I always use Cheapoair. It will show you the best prices especially good for you as you shouldn't have any layovers going Boston to London. You have the option, once cheap flights are identified, to go to the actual airlines to purchase if you want. I have purchased tickets direct from cheap-0-air a few times and never had a problem.

My first europe flight was easy. Took advice from a travel agent for Auto Association. That was 1995! What a different world today!
Prices skyrocket, security unnerves, anxiety runs rampant, apparently. But Do Not Worry. This a First Europe Trip. How more thrilling could be this first trip? It was for me. Yes, try expedia, cheapair, at whatever price seems best. Plan. Pack. Go. Enjoy!
Next trip (and there will be more next trips) think over how that first flight, its price, comfort, services didn't matter when you toured Europe, The travel to the trip is only the means to the end-Travel.

Seconded by Larry

also

read the fine print

I research airfares on MatrixITASoftware.com That's the computer system the airlines reservation systems sign into. I'll go to the airline directly online to purchase the ticket.

I try to fly into a European gateway city like London and fly home from my farthest destination--open jaw they call it. What's good about London is that you can catch cheap budget airlines out of 3 different airports to virtually every corner of Europe and the U.K.