Air from Kona to Europe???? Help!

[queeng]

I would like some advice on booking airfare. Here is the deal....……. We live in Kailua-Kona and our cruise starts in Venice Oct 2005. (I know, tough life! lol) We thought we would fly into a gateway city of say, Dublin, London, Paris then spend a couple of days there before going on to Venice to spend a day or two pre-cruise there. I have been checking everyday and it has been pretty consistently the same fare around $13800.00 and then on up into Dublin or London more going into the other cities. Today I found an airfare of $1170 from here to London. We are used to paying $400 to $500 even $600 sometimes just getting from here to LA of SF so this doesn't sound bad at all to me. The other good thing is that we go from here (Kona, no Honolulu. A good thing) to LA then from LA to London, no stops in the middle so no chance of delayed flights, weather ect. Which was a recommendation I have gotten from several people. We would be flying AA and then British airways which has also been recommended. So....... should I book it? Or wait to see if fares come down after the first of the year? Will they come down? Will they go up? Sigh.... I know it is a crapshoot but any input from all you world travelers is welcome indeed! I have seen other posters from Hawaii. What has your experience been? I did just contact a TA yesterday but she didn't seem to have any better fares that I can get.

 

Much Aloha and Thanks in advance

 

Ginger

 

:eek:

[vivian02]

Ginger,

It sounds like to me you are on the right track. You might run you figures through Side Step to make sure you are catching all the online booking agencies out there. In the past I have be use to the $550 to $750 airfares to Europe but this year all I see is $850 and up. You might be getting a good deal at $1300 round trip since you are flying from Kona. Make sure the Air Carrier your using has a miles card. Looks like to me you might be getting some pretty good miles on this trip. I think it would be a great idea to fly into London for a few days to recover from jet lag. From London flying on down to Venice is maybe a 2 hour flight, 2 and ahalf at the most. If you need a hotel to crash near London Heathrow you might check with Priceline. The rates on priceline are down to earth and you can get a hotel close to the airport.

Its been my opinion for two months that airfares have to drop sometime but I haven't see it this year. I woundn't wait past the end of February. If you want to feel better about that $1350 figure get a quote from the Cruise Agency you are booking the cruise with. I would bet their figure are well over $2000 and thats "Economy". Good luck on your airfare seach. Like I said before it sounds like you are on the fight track. Do your reseach. Tim and Cathy.

 

Norwegian Sky Alaska 5/03

Norwegain Star Hawaii 11/03

Royal Carribean Splendor of the Seas Meditterean 05/04

[Ine]

You can also check some european discount airlines.

 

If you have a good price for Kona-London, maybe you can coonect a few days later with easy-jet, who flies london-venice. www.easyjet.com

 

Or Northwest/KLM or even United to Amsterdam and connect with Transavia, the dutch discounter. www.transavia.nl.

[ijkh]

We are looking at lowestravel.com with good results. They have some of the best prices I have seen. Also check the Travelzoo website. They have specials sometimes.

 

Aloha,

 

Ilene

[Gardyloo]

It is always a crapshoot; I doubt if fares will come down, or if they do it won't be by much; OTOH the value of the dollar may keep tanking, price of airline fuel go up, AA may file ChAApter 11 - the future is uncertain (thus we should eat dessert first.)

 

I think $1200 is a pretty good price. However, if you use AA only on the trip, and/or if you fly AA to the mainland often, you might be able to leverage your cruise trip into some mileage program perks that would be worth a little extra effort or a few bucks more in airfare. I don't want to blether it about the web, so send me a pm at imgardyloonospam@yahoo.com and I'll explain. (Take out the "nospam" from the address.)

[mousemeat]

Be sure you check into the weight limits for baggage on the low price European airlines.

[queeng]

God help me, it's done! :eek: lol. I booked it myself and took the $1180.00 fare. The flights look good. We have a long layover in LA where we can see some friends that are only about 10 minutes from the airport. We are then on to London non stop. A few days there then to Venice and the cruise, a few days in Barcelona and then home on a two stop flight. Man, how great is that. AND I got to choose seats always a plus with my long legs. I feel good about it. I was so antsy to get this part done. Patience isn't my best asset. Now if anyone knows of a super cheap fare .......DON"T tell me!:p ;) :)

 

Ginger

[vivian02]

Sounds like you did pretty good. Air Fares to Europe have been very pricy for next summer. If you got a price under $1200 flying from Kona you did pretty good. Right now I know alot of folks are complaining about paying $800 from the East Coast. You got alot of miles to the buck. Start planning where you will stay and you will have a great trip. Tim and Cathy