When to book? Magic answer anyone LOL!

[skings]

Hi travelling solo on MSC Meraviglia tsa 4/12 from Miami. Want to add another week in either London or Paris (probably both) My return to Florida 5/10

Norwegian Air is the cheapest one-way that I find and it easy for me to get home from any of their FL airports. Should I wait until I finalize my plans or book

now when airfare is so cheap and work with the date I choose. Anyone see danger in Norwegian going out of business? What would be my options if that happened? I am 76 with mobility issues so changing flights can be problematic with luggage. Of course 

whatever I book will be non refundable unless medical. Right? Thanks for suggestions.

[Zach1213]

I always see a risk in Norwegian going out of business. They always seem to be right on the edge, though so far they have kept it going. Personally, I wouldn't book myself on Norwegian more than a month or two out, but I've been saying that for a while and would have been fine up to now...but you just never know, and I always prefer to spend a bit more on a more "seasoned" carrier myself.

 

Most airlines allow you to book fully refundable fares, but those are often extremely expensive. Usually (almost always), a fully refundable economy fare is more than a discounted business fare. You can always supplement with travel insurance, but do your research to know what it does and does not cover.

 

I'm not familiar with EU rules about airlines going out of business, so I cannot confidently advise on that.

[skings]

Thanks Zack, think I will wait until October to review

[FlyerTalker]

6 hours ago, skings said:

Of course whatever I book will be non refundable unless medical. Right? Thanks for suggestions.

 

From the airline perspective, it doesn't matter why you are not flying.  I doubt if you would get a "medical" refund from Norwegian, or from most carriers.  That's why one would purchase travel insurance, and one that would cover existing conditions.

[Tapi]

I’d be a bit cautious about booking Norwegian. Their business model has been dubious from the start. Recently, they have decided to terminate several routes to the USA. They are blaming this decision in part to the 737-MAX’s recertification; but on the same breath they said that they are focusing on “returning to profitability rather than growth”. Makes you wonder what’s really going on. 

 

Whatever you decide, have a great time! We sailed on the Meraviglia in the Mediterranean and absolutely loved it! 

[waterbug123]

16 hours ago, skings said:

Of course 

whatever I book will be non refundable unless medical. Right?

 

Not necessarily.  While airlines MAY allow you to get a refund or waive a change fee for medical reasons, it isn't usually something that is guaranteed in the terms and conditions of the ticket contract.  Therefore, I wouldn't count on it, particularly for an airline that is generally considered to be a low cost carrier.  The airline's standpoint is generally going to be "if you wanted the option to get a refund, for whatever reason, you should have purchased one of our refundable fares.  Otherwise, submit the claim to your travel insurance company."  Of course, not all travel insurance policies cover the same things, so if you go that route, make sure you are very clear in advance on what your policy covers.

[Gardyloo]

TAP (Air Portugal) is competing head-to-head with Norwegian for affordable one way flights; from Paris to Miami on your dates the one way fare is under $300 in economy and around $970 in business class, both with a plane change in Lisbon.  From London the prices are around $100 more in each cabin, probably reflecting the British Air Passenger Duty departure tax.

 

TAP is a member of Star Alliance (United, Lufthansa et al) and is much less likely to go under than Norwegian (not that it's particularly likely in Norwegian's case - they seem to have nine lives.)  But it might help you sleep better.

 

TAP's products are middle-of-the-road in terms of comfort and amenity.  Coach is coach, and while their business class product is not the best, the planes assigned (as of now) to the LIS-MIA route are A330 "neo" ships, with 1-2-1 business class lie-flat seats.  It might well be worth the splurge for a one-way ticket on a fairly long day's flying.  

 

 

[skings]

Thank you Gardyloo I will check it out. Thanks also waterbug, I did know about medical, purchased good trip coverage alreadt.

[cruisequeen4ever]

On 8/28/2019 at 7:04 AM, Gardyloo said:

TAP (Air Portugal) is competing head-to-head with Norwegian for affordable one way flights; from Paris to Miami on your dates the one way fare is under $300 in economy and around $970 in business class, both with a plane change in Lisbon.  From London the prices are around $100 more in each cabin, probably reflecting the British Air Passenger Duty departure tax.

 

TAP is a member of Star Alliance (United, Lufthansa et al) and is much less likely to go under than Norwegian (not that it's particularly likely in Norwegian's case - they seem to have nine lives.)  But it might help you sleep better.

 

TAP's products are middle-of-the-road in terms of comfort and amenity.  Coach is coach, and while their business class product is not the best, the planes assigned (as of now) to the LIS-MIA route are A330 "neo" ships, with 1-2-1 business class lie-flat seats.  It might well be worth the splurge for a one-way ticket on a fairly long day's flying.  

 

 

That video actually  helped me decided against TAP! 😆 Thank you for posting. I’m shocked the legroom was described as good uh economy. It reminded me of the legroom on or not crunched transatlantic flights, not the good ones. The seats looks hard, thin, and uncomfortable.

[iancal]

Just checked on the current prices for our open jaw flight to Greece next week and return from London in late Oct. 

 

The fare yesterday was exactly $33. USD more than when we booked it at the end of June ($ 530 CAD).   The delta is the same on other airlines according to matrixit.  

 

So, from our perspective, the best time to book is when the fares reach a price that you are happy with.   We are looking at Jan prices for a transpacific flight.  Current prices are high, as they have been in prior years.  We anticipate that they will come down 30 percent by the time we book in November.

 

We really do not think that you can predict when the lowest fare will hit.  Nor do we want to be stuck staycationing in our backyard.  Just do your research and grab the fare that you believe is attractive, then forget about it and savour the anticipation of your travels.

Edited September 1, 2019 by iancal