creativepart Posted June 24, 2016 #1 Share Posted June 24, 2016 (edited) Since we've been working on learning the ins and outs of booking our first cruise we've centered on the cruise itself. We knew were were going transatlantic and would have to fly home one-way from Europe. When we go to Europe we always go Business Class. In fact, we refuse to travel any other way between the mainland and Europe or Hawaii. Not to be snobish, it's just that life is too short to spend 10 hours in coach if you don't have to. So, while we were concentrating on staterooms, promo packages and cruise pricing we didn't bother to look at the air fare. Well, today we did check on the air fare and to our surprise it cost fully 140% more to fly from Rome to Texas one-way than traveling ROUNDTRIP from Rome to Texas and back via Business Class. A Rome/Texas roundtrip in Biz Class was about $3,400 a person. But one-way Rome to Texas was $4,900 per person. Imagine our shock when one-way air fare after our cruise would be $10,000!!!! We're checking a number of options still, but this may just be a deal killer for us. Of course, we could always book a R/T and cancel the return portion of the trip. But even if that would work it would cost $6,800 just for the air fare home. Edited June 24, 2016 by creativepart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Scrapnana Posted June 24, 2016 #2 Share Posted June 24, 2016 Check with HAL's air program. I did a TA last year and the cruise line was able to get me a fare that was about 20% of what I could have booked on my own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freanesi Posted June 24, 2016 #3 Share Posted June 24, 2016 We are flying to Vancouver one way next year and found the same problem when looking for fares. One way was more than a return fare. I then spoke to my travel agent and was told that she could get a fare for about three quarters of the return fare. Some sort of deal available to them. This is Aus though, it may be different for you. Check with your TA? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
comcox Posted June 24, 2016 #4 Share Posted June 24, 2016 Try this website as it may reveal airlines/fares you may not have tried: http://matrix.itasoftware.com/. I have found some luck with them. Also try alternative airports close by. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krazy Kruizers Posted June 24, 2016 #5 Share Posted June 24, 2016 We always fly first class and have had to do one way fares quite often. Yes -- they are extremely high compared to round trips. And with limited flights to Pittsburgh, we have no choice but to pay the price. Now that American Airlines has bought out US Airways, more flights have been dropped and prices have soared on flights just here in the US. Wish you luck in finding a cheaper air fare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KirkNC Posted June 24, 2016 #6 Share Posted June 24, 2016 Be sure and check some of the discount airlines. We did a one way last month with Icelandair and it was significantly less then other main stream airlines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
viper79 Posted June 24, 2016 #7 Share Posted June 24, 2016 :cool: Since we've been working on learning the ins and outs of booking our first cruise we've centered on the cruise itself. We knew were were going transatlantic and would have to fly home one-way from Europe. When we go to Europe we always go Business Class. In fact, we refuse to travel any other way between the mainland and Europe or Hawaii. Not to be snobish, it's just that life is too short to spend 10 hours in coach if you don't have to. So, while we were concentrating on staterooms, promo packages and cruise pricing we didn't bother to look at the air fare. Well, today we did check on the air fare and to our surprise it cost fully 140% more to fly from Rome to Texas one-way than traveling ROUNDTRIP from Rome to Texas and back via Business Class. A Rome/Texas roundtrip in Biz Class was about $3,400 a person. But one-way Rome to Texas was $4,900 per person. Imagine our shock when one-way air fare after our cruise would be $10,000!!!! We're checking a number of options still, but this may just be a deal killer for us. Of course, we could always book a R/T and cancel the return portion of the trip. But even if that would work it would cost $6,800 just for the air fare home. Almost half of the fare price is taxes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blizzardboy Posted June 24, 2016 #8 Share Posted June 24, 2016 Since we've been working on learning the ins and outs of booking our first cruise we've centered on the cruise itself. We knew were were going transatlantic and would have to fly home one-way from Europe. When we go to Europe we always go Business Class. In fact, we refuse to travel any other way between the mainland and Europe or Hawaii. Not to be snobish, it's just that life is too short to spend 10 hours in coach if you don't have to. So, while we were concentrating on staterooms, promo packages and cruise pricing we didn't bother to look at the air fare. Well, today we did check on the air fare and to our surprise it cost fully 140% more to fly from Rome to Texas one-way than traveling ROUNDTRIP from Rome to Texas and back via Business Class. A Rome/Texas roundtrip in Biz Class was about $3,400 a person. But one-way Rome to Texas was $4,900 per person. Imagine our shock when one-way air fare after our cruise would be $10,000!!!! We're checking a number of options still, but this may just be a deal killer for us. Of course, we could always book a R/T and cancel the return portion of the trip. But even if that would work it would cost $6,800 just for the air fare home. Did you run a Multi-city search, assuming you're flying to your embarkation port? I find google flights to be a great tool. If you only need the flight home, I'd definitely check with your cruise line's air program. as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colonialinnkeeper Posted June 24, 2016 #9 Share Posted June 24, 2016 Since we've been working on learning the ins and outs of booking our first cruise we've centered on the cruise itself. We knew were were going transatlantic and would have to fly home one-way from Europe. When we go to Europe we always go Business Class. In fact, we refuse to travel any other way between the mainland and Europe or Hawaii. Not to be snobish, it's just that life is too short to spend 10 hours in coach if you don't have to. So, while we were concentrating on staterooms, promo packages and cruise pricing we didn't bother to look at the air fare. Well, today we did check on the air fare and to our surprise it cost fully 140% more to fly from Rome to Texas one-way than traveling ROUNDTRIP from Rome to Texas and back via Business Class. A Rome/Texas roundtrip in Biz Class was about $3,400 a person. But one-way Rome to Texas was $4,900 per person. Imagine our shock when one-way air fare after our cruise would be $10,000!!!! We're checking a number of options still, but this may just be a deal killer for us. Of course, we could always book a R/T and cancel the return portion of the trip. But even if that would work it would cost $6,800 just for the air fare home. High airline fares prompted us to look to alternatives and we booked the Queen Mary to return from Europe to New York and then train home. We got comparable costs and were able to extend our holiday by a weeks time returning in much more comfort. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrightwoodsbest Posted June 24, 2016 #10 Share Posted June 24, 2016 Try checking travel agents in Italy or Britain. From my experience their fares are more reasonable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SFO Peter Posted June 24, 2016 #11 Share Posted June 24, 2016 Re: Return Fare Some Airlines web site will allow you to book a lower class and then during the booking offer you the opportunity to "upgrade" to higher class for each leg for a price. You could check it out without finalizing the booking. Just make sure the first leg is your final destination when booking. We have done this before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare geoherb Posted June 24, 2016 #12 Share Posted June 24, 2016 What dates are you looking at flying home? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tampa Girl Posted June 24, 2016 #13 Share Posted June 24, 2016 (edited) Two thoughts: If you do not already have FF miles, apply for a credit card that gives you 30,000 - 50,000 miles if you spend X$ within 90 days. Then buy an economy class ticket with the applicable airline and upgrade using the FF miles. Or, Second, buy a low cost, business class seat from Rome - whatever city has the lowest fare (NY, Miami, Chicago, etc.); and then buy a second leg from that city to San Antonio in economy class. The time spent in economy class will be substantially less than a TA flight. We always go business class on TA's (will not spend 10 hours in economy class, except for BA from TPA to London). AA still has plenty of available flights, but since their merger with USAirways, business class reward seats never seem to be on their direct or non-stop flights. I also agree with the poster who recommended IcelandAir (name?) to London. Prices on intra-European flights are much less and, of course, take less time. I think BA's flight from London to Rome is 2-1/2 hours. Edited June 24, 2016 by Tampa Girl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
just_cruising_along Posted June 24, 2016 #14 Share Posted June 24, 2016 If you are working with a TA, talked to him or her. They are able to provide the best pricing on one-way fares. If not, talk to Hal directly for their flights. We have been able to get the seats, the airline and the one-way destination flights a lot cheaper working with either our TA, or HAL or and in some cases our TA works with HAL and books the flight. If you have a cruise booked and do not have a Travel Agent, call 1-877-932-4259 or 206-286-3900. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtnmusic Posted June 24, 2016 #15 Share Posted June 24, 2016 Since we've been working on learning the ins and outs of booking our first cruise we've centered on the cruise itself. We knew were were going transatlantic and would have to fly home one-way from Europe. When we go to Europe we always go Business Class. In fact, we refuse to travel any other way between the mainland and Europe or Hawaii. Not to be snobish, it's just that life is too short to spend 10 hours in coach if you don't have to. So, while we were concentrating on staterooms, promo packages and cruise pricing we didn't bother to look at the air fare. Well, today we did check on the air fare and to our surprise it cost fully 140% more to fly from Rome to Texas one-way than traveling ROUNDTRIP from Rome to Texas and back via Business Class. A Rome/Texas roundtrip in Biz Class was about $3,400 a person. But one-way Rome to Texas was $4,900 per person. Imagine our shock when one-way air fare after our cruise would be $10,000!!!! We're checking a number of options still, but this may just be a deal killer for us. Of course, we could always book a R/T and cancel the return portion of the trip. But even if that would work it would cost $6,800 just for the air fare home. We always fly BA to Heathrow and then book Premium Economy back to Texas. That is a seating class not offered by Delta, UA or AA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
summersigh Posted June 24, 2016 #16 Share Posted June 24, 2016 Call HAL to see about booking airfare through them before you do anything else. We saved significantly when we did a TransAtl - as someone else related very recently on a thread here on CC. Know what schedules you're interested in before you call. I've heard folks say they were able to actually request the flights they wanted. Let us know how all of this plays out? :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMLincoln Posted June 24, 2016 #17 Share Posted June 24, 2016 Reasonaable one-way fares are offered by IcelandAir and Air Lingus. We have used Iceland air several times. of course they will connect in Iceland. But one time we did a stay-over there for a few days and there is no additional air fare if your stay-over is 7 days or less. We like this set -up because we choose not to fly longer than about 5 hours per leg, so this suits us well. They do have a business class and first class. m-- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tampa Girl Posted June 24, 2016 #18 Share Posted June 24, 2016 We always fly BA to Heathrow and then book Premium Economy back to Texas. That is a seating class not offered by Delta, UA or AA. The landing fees for BA into the UK, however, are astronomical. We paid $500 in landing fees on BA from TPA to Gatwick on BA, versus $112 fees on AA into London. Also, it seems to me that AA or UA now offers an upgraded economy seat. At least I think I read that one of the airlines offers that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emilygrace Posted June 24, 2016 #19 Share Posted June 24, 2016 I have done two transatlantic, and both times I used the cruise line air for the one way flights to/from Europe. I booked the domestic flight portion on my own because I can use Southwest. Both my cruises were on Royal Caribbean and their one way Choice Air flights were 1/3 or less than directly through the airline. Once I booked with Choice Air I was able to take my confirmation # and go to the airline website and pick my seats and even upgrade them (for a fee, of course). Definitely look into HAL's air program. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare kazu Posted June 24, 2016 #20 Share Posted June 24, 2016 OP - do you belong to any Frequent Flier Mile programs with enough miles for one flight even? Many FF programmes let you do biz class. We fly biz class back and forth to Europe and do it with FF miles. You have probably thought of this, but I thought I would mention on the off chance you haven't. Sometimes you need to be flexible and may need to look at booking with an arrival at a major airport and then just book a quick flight to your home airport. Good luck :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mef_57 Posted June 24, 2016 #21 Share Posted June 24, 2016 Similar thread a week ago. Consensus is that HAL can book one ways much cheaper than independent travelers. Some say there is limited choice in flights while others say they were able to provide preferences and get what they wanted. Know that you can book these flights to arrive and depart a significant number of days before or after your cruise dates - should you want to do some land travel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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