One way to Rome????

[martyap]

Need one way to FCO for October 2008. After following the fares on AerLingus for several weeks the price really jumped for the date I need. Seems they book over the phone several days prior to the 330th day when fares become available online....did not know that!! If I were to use BestTravel or Kayak am I correct that I am still buying my tickets directly from the airline? Is there a downside to using these search engines. If I'm reading correctly AerLingus tickets are non-refundable but can be changed for a fee. Tickets bought on BestTravel incur $200 penalty + $100 cancel fee. Any advice would really be helpful.....Karen

[ab0si]

I don't know about BestTravel. Kayak, however, is not a booking site. They list prices for both airlines sites and for third-party soruces...Each listing clearly notes who the seller is.

[fti]

I would check out this thread if I were you:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=667394

 

Use a consolidator. I am not sure where in NY you would be flying from but I have seen fares from JFK or Newark for about $460-$500 one way range with BA and about $500 one way with Delta non stop from JFK including all taxes and fuel surcharges for October 2008 departures.

 

When you use consolidators, you are not buying your ticket directly from the airline but you are buying a ticket for a seat on that airline. The airlines can not sell all their seats at their own prices so they sell some to consolidators (discounters) at a lower fare so that their planes will depart as close to full as possible.

 

John

[breakiron]

I purchased a one-way ticket to Rome through a consolidator a couple of years ago. When going through a consolidator be sure to depart a few days before your cruise. Consolidator tickets have very strict conditions and can be only used on the carrier you are using. If there were to be a cancellation or other problem it could take a day or two to arrive at your destination. I purchased my ticket through a consolidator using Lufthansa. I was leaving from Washington Dulles and Lufthansa has 3 or 4 flights a day to Germany with connections to Rome so I figured if there were to be a cancellation or another problem Lufthansa could get my there a day later without a problem and I would still be able to make my cruise. Ken...

[fti]

I purchased a one-way ticket to Rome through a consolidator a couple of years ago. When going through a consolidator be sure to depart a few days before your cruise. Consolidator tickets have very strict conditions and can be only used on the carrier you are using. If there were to be a cancellation or other problem it could take a day or two to arrive at your destination. I purchased my ticket through a consolidator using Lufthansa. I was leaving from Washington Dulles and Lufthansa has 3 or 4 flights a day to Germany with connections to Rome so I figured if there were to be a cancellation or another problem Lufthansa could get my there a day later without a problem and I would still be able to make my cruise. Ken...

 

That is not true of all consolidator tickets. In fact, even with normal tickets purchased from the airline, the airlines usually only rebook you onto another airline as a last resort. They want your money rather than giving it to another carrier.

 

I use consolidator tickets a LOT. In 95% of the cases, the airlines look at them the same way they look at tickets purchased directly from the airline. Same advance seat reservations, same mileage credit, same benefits for elite flyers, very close to the same cancellation and change policies (but always check the cancel and change policies for any ticket before you buy it from any source).

 

John

[greatam]

That is not true of all consolidator tickets. In fact, even with normal tickets purchased from the airline, the airlines usually only rebook you onto another airline as a last resort. They want your money rather than giving it to another carrier.

 

 

MOST consolidator tickets are NON ENDORSABLE to another carrier. They are no different than cruise air tickets-consolidators pay the airline XXXX dollars, the airline could care less what the consolidators sell the tickets for. However, along with the heavily discounted fares there are USUALLY some VERY strict restrictions-HEAVY DUTY change and rerouting fees.

 

Airlines DO NOT like to book you on another airline. However, with all the large alliances (Sky Team, Star Alliance and OneWorld), airlines are VERY prone to looking to one of their partners to get you to your destination, IF YOU HAVE A REGULAR TICKET IN A PUBLISHED FARE CLASS. A Sky Team to OneWorld booking is harder to get, but a partner booking is usually the FIRST place an airline looks for transport.

 

MOST consolidator tickets do NOT have this advantage.

 

I'm not saying not to buy them, as there are some great consolidator bargains out there. And 80% of the time, things go the right direction-especially to Europe. I use them frequently for my employees flying overseas. Just BE PREPARED if things go badly. You MAY have to pay for another ticket at walk up prices.

[fti]

MOST consolidator tickets are NON ENDORSABLE to another carrier. They are no different than cruise air tickets-consolidators pay the airline XXXX dollars, the airline could care less what the consolidators sell the tickets for. However, along with the heavily discounted fares there are USUALLY some VERY strict restrictions-HEAVY DUTY change and rerouting fees.

 

Airlines DO NOT like to book you on another airline. However, with all the large alliances (Sky Team, Star Alliance and OneWorld), airlines are VERY prone to looking to one of their partners to get you to your destination, IF YOU HAVE A REGULAR TICKET IN A PUBLISHED FARE CLASS. A Sky Team to OneWorld booking is harder to get, but a partner booking is usually the FIRST place an airline looks for transport.

 

MOST consolidator tickets do NOT have this advantage.

 

I'm not saying not to buy them, as there are some great consolidator bargains out there. And 80% of the time, things go the right direction-especially to Europe. I use them frequently for my employees flying overseas. Just BE PREPARED if things go badly. You MAY have to pay for another ticket at walk up prices.

 

Thanks for your input. However, that is not my experience with most consolidator tickets and I stand by what I said.

 

The best consolidators book directly from the airline availability and the ones I know of (especially those through the US Air Consolidator Association) have basically the same restrictions on their tickets that the airlines do themselves. There might be more fees involved for changing before departure (since the consolidator wants to get paid for changes). But I have used consolidator tickets when things go wrong, missed connections, etc. Have been rerouted to other airlines (as far as I can recall, to other airlines of the same alliance but other airlines nonetheless).

 

John

[JJPNYC]

If flying one-way, consider doing one of two things:

 

- buy a round trip ticket and just "throw away" the return leg

- buy business class as the price will be competitive to a one-way coach fare.

[fti]

If flying one-way, consider doing one of two things:

 

- buy a round trip ticket and just "throw away" the return leg

- buy business class as the price will be competitive to a one-way coach fare.

 

If you have to buy a round trip ticket and throw away the second half just because you are flying one-way, you are definitely not looking hard enough.

 

One way tickets to and from Europe have been cheaper than round trips for years now - again, mostly through consolidators.

 

Business class is generally 4-10 times economy class. I wish it were about the same as the cheapest one-way coach ticket.

 

John