Is this airfare a good price?

[SF]

Was quoted 1003.00 per person to fly to Heathrow from Miami last week of June returning mid July. The fare sounds high but I'm sure it's going to go even higher. Question is, do we buy it now or take a gamble and wait? These are the only two flights we can take so we are limited and not flexible with travel times or dates. Right now the flight is empty but I'm sure once January rolls around and all the cruise lines start scheduling their seats then it will fill up fast. I also found out via these boards that AA will refund you the money for international flights if the fare decreases but there's also several criteria that has to be met and I'm sure plenty of "loop holes" so we're not counting on that.

 

Would appreciate my fellow cruise critics opinions. What would you do?

 

Thanks, in advance.

[VentureMan_2000]

try sidestep.com... gives you all kinds of pricing for a lot of airlines. Very handy.

[wrp96]

If those are the only flights you can take, then go ahead and take it. Don't risk not being able to get seats. If you could be flexible in which flights you are taking, I would say wait and see if anything better comes available.

[PoohUnderstands]

First of all, if there are only two flights that you can use, then definitely book within the month.

 

To use as a guide: By thoroughly researching these boards, in 2005, prices for July-September were from around $600-1000 pp. The lowest being from an area where you can get your intl. flight to Barcelona directly like Atlanta, Philly, Newark, NY., etc. I booked my flight from FLL to Barcelona thru Newark on Continental the beginning of November for $750 pp. The same flights are now $1070 pp. So your price, though seemingly high, is definitely in the ballpark.

 

What airlines will you be dealing with? Sometimes, if the fares really drop, you can rebook with only a change fee.

 

If you go to bookingbuddy.com and put in your details and find the flights you are looking for on expedia.com, you will find on the first page at the bottom of each flight, where you can go into the seat selection section. That way you will know on a daily basis actually how full it is getting and if you can wait for a lower price or not.

 

Good luck.

 

Pooh

[SF]

Thanks for expressing your opinions and for the links. The plane is basically empty right now from what I can see but they told me that just because the seats don't show as taken doesn't mean that people haven't booked just that some may not be assigned seats yet. Makes no sense to me why someone wouldn't want a seat assignment at time of booking but you never know.

 

I guess I'll monitor things for a bit. Appreciate the help.:)

[Cruiser_Guy]

What are your options? American, Virgin Atlantic, and British Airways?

[ISLABONITA]

looking at fares on the weekend will be higher than looking for it Tuesday to Wed. I just looked at June 29 to July 18 and the lowest fare was from Cheaptickets at $951 without taxes. I would check also http://www.sidestep.com next week since you have time to compare prices. good luck!

[SF]

We prefer the times on American Airlines so we're looking at those. Don't really want Virgin Atlantic and last time we used British Airways and don't care to use them again.

[wrp96]

Thanks for expressing your opinions and for the links. The plane is basically empty right now from what I can see but they told me that just because the seats don't show as taken doesn't mean that people haven't booked just that some may not be assigned seats yet. Makes no sense to me why someone wouldn't want a seat assignment at time of booking but you never know.

 

I guess I'll monitor things for a bit. Appreciate the help.:)

 

If you have a large group booked on your flight, they won't have seats assigned until they get to the airport - even if they bought their seats months out - so you can't tell by unreserved seats how full the flight is.