Muti-city flight dilemma

What are your dates? Are you flexible to go a day early and return a day later?

Hi Sam!! We are leaving Chicago May 28 (could do 27 if necessary but prefer not to) and coming home June 13 (could do 14th too but prefer 13th).

Look at SAS. $772
I like them a lot more than United.
Change in Stockholm on the way over, Copenhagan on the way back.
PS now getting $804 for your dates.

We really like Aer Lingus. Two hours should be enough time to transfer. The Dublin airport is easier to navigate than others in Europe. There is also the advantage of being able to go through US Customs and Immigration in Dublin on the way home. The US preclearance in Dublin takes a bit of time, but if you are flying mid-week it should not be a problem. Our experience has been that if you are in the US preclearance area, then they will hold the departing flight for you.

We have also flown to Dublin and spent time there before continuing on using a budget airline. For example, you could fly from ORD to DUB round trip nonstop for around $650 on Aer Lingus, stay overnight in Dublin and fly to Munich for under $100. You could also do the same on the way home. Dublin is a nice place to recover from the overnight flight from the US. This option eliminates the problem of making connecting flights, and makes for a more relaxing journey.

Looking at both SAS and Aer Lingus now. Thanks!! Question - is it possible to get seats on both ahead of time (versus only at checkin)? Also, can you upgrade later to Economy Plus?

Out of your options the best (shortest) and cheapest is Iceland Air. Reykjavik airport is really small, they are well organized and they hold the connecting planes until all passengers get through passport control. There is a direct connection from Reykjavik to Munich and also from Amsterdam to Reykjavik. There is no free meal on Iceland Air but because I know it I take sandwiches with me. I think your choice is clear. At least mine would be.

hey melanie
yes there is so many options, depending on what your "high maintenance" means. we flew from amsterdam to sfo stop in dublin which was great. as bob says we did customs/immigration in dublin and was great, got to sfo, walk thru and hop in car.
do you have your accomodations for the cities? make sure your flight arrival and departure times are good for you. if early morning do you have early checkin, luggage storage, or pushing luggage and waiting, departing is not "dark thirty" early early morning flights and transportation to airport, usually 3 hours ahead.
maybe do a blind reservation and see what cost of baggage and seats are and compare costs. also check what cost is to upgrade your seat. you are traveling during high season with lots of travelers and tourists, your decision your vacation. be happy with all your decisions to have a great vacation, no stressing. enjoy
aloha

Flying a European airline also means that both your flight will be EU261 covered. And SAS is a Star Alliance member, so you'll earn United frequent flier points on your flight. Yes, you can reserve seats before check in but they charge for it if you fly economy (or SAS Go as they call it), but it's free in premium economy (Plus) and business. You can also have an upgrade later, like most airlines it's a bidding system.

And Copenhagen is a great transfer airport, very compact, easy to navigate and short distances. Arlanda is also pretty good.

I decided on Icelandair and had everything picked, including seats, and then I was pulled away before finishing, and when I got back, it had timed out, and now the flights are significantly more. Do the airlines know I am looking and increase prices or is it just a random thing that can happen?

I am still considering Aer Lingus and SAS but am very nervous because my kids both have violins they bring on board, and those two airlines have policies that might cause us some difficulties. Icelandair seems fine, as does United. Back to the drawing board - sigh!

I also like Icelandair. We flew with them last June to Munich.
Their site usually gives a warning when it is about to time out.
Try to clear out your browsing data, that may help.

Thank you Holly!! It worked!!! I cleared my browsing history, pulled up IcelandAir again, and was able to find and purchase the flights I had been looking at. It ended up being about $800 per flight which included seat purchases, so a pretty good deal overall! They were quite nice on the phone and put a note in our reservation about the violins, so I feel very happy with the results. I did have to book for a day earlier to get a longer connection time (very important for us because if we get on at the last minute, the violinis might not fit). So now I need to decide if we should stay in Munich a couple of nights before moving on to Augsburg or just get to Augsburg and use it as our home base. That kind of planning is fun, though, so I am just relieved we found good airline tickets. Thanks everyone for your help!!!

So now I need to decide if we should stay in Munich a couple of nights before moving on to Augsburg or just get to Augsburg and use it as our home base.

There are numerous trains into Munich all day round (look up www.bahn.com) and accomodation in Augsburg is somewhat cheaper than in Munich. Augsburg has also a couple of historical attractions (violonists will certainly want to see Leopold Mozart's house). Are you going to the international Leopold Mozart Violin Contest?

Hi sla019! Yes, we are going to Augsburg for the competition!! We are staying there at a hotel for a few days at the start of the competition, but then moving to an apartment to save money. The hotel is very expensive since we need two rooms, but the apartment was unfortunately booked for the first few days.

I looked at the hotel prices in Munich, and they aren't any worse than the hotel in Augsburg, so I am leaning towards staying in Munich for two days. It will give my daughter and I things to do while my son practices. And hopefully he can even sneak in some sightseeing if we stay central. I am looking at hotels now and think I will start a separate thread to ask for suggestions.

@Melanie

I wish your son much success! We will attend the opening and the closing concert!

With regard to your transfer from the airport into Munich: buy an Airport City group ticket, it will be valid all day and throughout the entire MVV network. For the transfer to Augsburg: buy a Bayernticket - valid on local (!) trains after 9 am (no time restrictions on weekends), it costs € 25 for the first passenger plus € 6 for each additional (children under 15 yo travel for free). Should you decide on travelling to Augsburg immediatly, the Bayern ticket will cover the entire trip from the airport to your destination in Augsburg (it covers tram & bus in A. too).

Hi sla019,

That's great that you will be there for the opening and closing ceremonies! Maybe we will see you there!! We are all really excited to see Augsburg and spend time there.

Thank you for the transportation information - very helpful!!