International Air Fare

[Brownian Motion]

My daughter is studying in Madrid next semester, and we need to buy her round trip air fare. I have checked out Orbitz and Travelocity, but the round trip tickets they offer seem to triple in price if I try to buy one--1200.00 becomes 3800.00. Any advice would be welcome.

[Big Wheel]

Review airfarewatchdog.com first for all the best fares, then book directly with the airlines when possible. Also, try moving back a day - try different dates/days of the week if you can be flexible. I can't imagine that the East Coast to Madrid in winter should set you back much more than $600-700. I flew Thanksgiving weekend Boston-London one year for $250.

How much of a pain in the ass are you/your daughter willing to tolerate to save money? It may be much cheaper to use major hubs rather than try to make the most direct route. For example, I bet NYC-Dublin on a major carrier, then Dublin-Madrid on Ryanair would likely save a big pile of cash. What is your preferred starting airport?

Edit: ah, I just realized the return leg of this journey is going to be in April-June. My hunch is that fare sales for the high season haven't happened yet and that for this trip you'll save the most money by buying a one-way ticket now and another one-way in a couple of months. Does your daughter have firm dates set on when she needs to be back in the US?

Edited November 25, 2007 by Big Wheel

[BERIGAN]

Consumer advocate Clark Howard was a travel agent, and often talks about deals(And where to find them) on his show on Fridays. Anyway, his site has some links that may or may not be of use to you....

http://clarkhoward.com/shownotes/category/10/

[David Ayers]

What they said. Day and even time of travel are key, and flexibility on making a transfer a must.

If you fall into your or their holiday times then the fare will likely be high... again, flexibility can definitely help.

[Brownian Motion]

Thanks to all for the valuable input.

[catesta]

How much of a pain in the ass are you/your daughter willing to tolerate to save money? It may be much cheaper to use major hubs rather than try to make the most direct route. For example, I bet NYC-Dublin on a major carrier, then Dublin-Madrid on Ryanair would likely save a big pile of cash. What is your preferred starting airport?

Good advice.

British Air from JFK to London is usually decent.