Priceline airfare

Hmm. Sounds tempting. Somebody has to be the Guinea Pig. Why not you? It is not really a "too good to be true" price. Just one American doesn't want to advertise but fills a couple of empty seats that would otherwise produce no revenue.

Wow. That looks like a great deal as fall fares currently stand, and it's hard to see them going lower than that, anyway. I only see one itinerary on Priceline that's non-stop in both directions. I suspect this one may not be available for too long.

I guess I'm the Guinea Pig. I booked it!
Hope and pray all goes as planned.

For future ref it might have been gd to try another consolidator like expedia etc.

Yippee to the guinea pig. I would have jumped on it like you did!! We had a great time, book your eiffel tower visit as early as possible, visit sacre-couer and montmarte, walk all over, stop at cafes and bistros, have a glass of wine, find a hotel or apartment that is right for you (what floor and an elevator). lots to see and do. Our apartment had a balcony so we had a picnic with cheese,baguettes,meats, wine and people watched, Also had two guys playing music down below us, off course we threw euros to them for the fantastic serenade! Bought a bottle of champagne and celebrated our 60th birthdays under the eiffel tower. Fabulous memories and fun times. Enjoy

Will you be inside the plane, or outside and on top?

Curious. These flights are on both BA and AA sites at about $820/round trip, which also shows the same on Google Flights and yet there they are on Priceline at $399 each. Anyone have an idea how this is happening?

New version of the bucket shop? Competitor Air France is already published the reverse (CGG-ORD-CDG) for the equivalent to $658 on the same dates. Yes, Europeans pay less for the same flights going the other way.

I don't usually recommend buy ANYTHING from Priceline...but when a roundtrip sale popped up for our spring break the price was just too good to pass up.

Yes, Dreamsparis; don't forget to let us know how it works out. Usually the airline site matches the prices on Kayak, Hipmunk, etc. I've never tried Priceline.

I don't see what the risk / downside is from buying from Priceline. As part of the booking, the OP should have gotten a six digit AA confirmation code. Using that, they can immediately go to AA web site and display / confirm their booking. Once they do that, they will be sure it is a valid, confirmed booking with AA, and they can treat it just as though they had booked directly; any questions / concerns / changes, they can deal directly with AA, since they have a confirmed AA reservation. Enjoy your trip!

I did get the confirmation code from AA and my flights are confirmed with seats assigned.

Now are those Direct Flights (with no connections) Chicago to Paris?

Jazz - they are nonstop flights Chicago to Paris and Paris to Chicago.

You were right, the price didn't last long. Price this morning on Priceline was over $1600 for 2 people.

Conclusion: Once in a while price that does not happen all the time maybe a marketing ploy. So far You struck gold but still 8 months to wait to go lol

There's no need to wonder about schedule changes - you just have to read their policy. Airline algorithms automatically put people on the next best flight if a flight is cancelled (that would be the case no matter if the fare was purchased from airline or from Priceline). If the schedule change is too adverse, Priceline advises the purchaser to call them. That seems to me to imply "they will work with you". What else can they "guarantee"? They can't control an airline from making its own decisions re: schedule changes or cancellations. Buying many months in advance comes with some risk no matter what...what's wrong with getting a low price while you're at it?

From Priceline's FAQs:

"Questions about schedule changes?
Airlines, for various reasons, will adjust your itinerary, most commonly flight times, prior to your departure. If your itinerary undergoes a schedule change, we will notify you of the changes via email. In addition, we recommend that travelers confirm their flights and check-in location directly with the airline prior to each departure.
If a schedule change results in an unacceptable itinerary, please call us as soon as possible."

MrsEB - I still don't see it as a big deal, to each his own. You have to follow the status of a flight anyway and any drastic changes will necessitate a phone call "to someone". I agree it's preferable to deal with the airline, but the cost savings are a substantial offset in this case. Also, outright flight cancellations are not "that" common - minor flight schedule changes are much more likely. The one issue I could see here is - who exactly is in charge? It is British Airlines or AA? I am not sure who would be sending out the flight change notification, if any.

MrsEB - You did something very thoughtful and it was a good idea. Not everything is as straight as it seems when dealing with third parties. You made me consider some aspects I didn't give much attention to (can't help thinking it's still a great price though). Do you happen to know who takes the lead (for notifications, any claims, etc.) when a flight is operated by another carrier, as in this case?

Hopefully it will all work out for the OP. I hope he/she returns and reports on the Priceline experience and if any troubles occurred, as well as the resolution. I'll consider using Priceline myself it it's worth it, and it's very good to know all the potential pitfalls in advance. I think as long as one accepts a certain level of risk for a certain reward, then it all turns out in the end. I figure even in the worst of worst case scenarios, where in the OP has to pay for an extra night stay (and doesn't get reimbursed somehow), the savings will hopefully still offset even the worst case scenario. Of course there's a day lost at work too, which of course has value.

Best of luck to the OP, and please report back after your trip!