Summer Europe airfare challenge

[Spence Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Spence]

I'm looking for tickets from Washington DC to Rome on 27Jun08 return 12Jul08. I have one-stop tickets on hold. For all you airfare sharks out there, beat the deal I have and I'll give you a week in DRI-THE Club.

What can you come up with? camachinist, others?

[djyamyam Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close djyamyam]

I'm looking for tickets from Washington DC to Rome on 27Jun08 return 12Jul08. I have one-stop tickets on hold. For all you airfare sharks out there, beat the deal I have and I'll give you a week in DRI-THE Club.

What can you come up with? camachinist, others?

What's the price you have that needs to be beat and how many? Does it have to be those exact dates?

[Spence Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Spence]

What's the price you have that needs to be beat and how many? Does it have to be those exact dates?

The price is currently confidential and will be divulged later, it was obtained on the internet, it's for four tickets for those exact dates to match with already reserved timeshare stays in Rome and Florence. United has a non-stop but I don't have $1469/ticket unless someone knows how. No FF mileage can be used.

[camachinist Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close camachinist]

Bucket shops are out, right?

Ok, I'll see what I can do. What's the time limit?

Pat

[bigfrank Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close bigfrank]

I am not even going to try to compete, I am betting Pat beats your price.

[katiemack Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close katiemack]

...don't have $1469/ticket unless someone knows how. No FF mileage can be used.

Then I am also guessing it isn't a combo ticket with Eurofly and Jet Blue for $1232.40 p/p.

[camachinist Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close camachinist]

Working...

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$1232.40 in US Dollars
1 adult @ $1232.40
Hide booking details

This ticket is non-refundable.

No changes may be made to this ticket after purchase.

Airport legend:
IAD: 	Washington Dulles
JFK: 	New York J F Kennedy
FCO: 	Rome Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino
	
Washington, DC to Rome, Italy: 4490 miles 	12 hrs 25 min
JetBlue Airlines 	JetBlue Airlines Flight B6 1308 on an Embraer RJ-190 (jet) in coach class 	
Departs Washington, DC (IAD) 	Fri, June 27 	5:35p 	 1 hr 28 min
Arrives New York, NY (JFK) 		7:03p 	
	1 adult in booking code L, covered by fare (A1) below
	Layover in New York 	2 hrs 42 min
Eurofly S.p.A. 	Eurofly S.p.A. Flight GJ957 on an Airbus A330 (jet) in coach class
     (lunch, snack, movie) 	
Departs New York, NY (JFK) 	Fri, June 27 	9:45p 	 8 hrs 15 min
Arrives Rome, Italy (FCO) 	Sat, June 28 	noon 	
	1 adult in booking code V, covered by fare (B1) below
Note: 	The flight from New York (JFK) to Rome (FCO) is overnight.
Note: 	You must change terminals in New York (JFK).
 
Rome, Italy to Washington, DC: 4490 miles 	14 hrs 46 min
Eurofly S.p.A. 	Eurofly S.p.A. Flight GJ956 on an Airbus A330 (jet) in coach class
     (lunch, snack, movie) 	
Departs Rome, Italy (FCO) 	Sat, July 12 	2:50p 	 9 hrs 15 min
Arrives New York, NY (JFK) 		6:05p 	
	1 adult in booking code V, covered by fare (B2) below
	Layover in New York 	4 hrs 5 min
JetBlue Airlines 	JetBlue Airlines Flight B6 1315 on an Embraer RJ-190 (jet) in coach class 	
Departs New York, NY (JFK) 	Sat, July 12 	10:10p 	 1 hr 26 min
Arrives Washington, DC (IAD) 		11:36p 	
	1 adult in booking code L, covered by fare (A2) below
Note: 	You must change terminals in New York (JFK).


Booking details
If you want to buy this ticket, it's probably best to use a travel agent (this ticket involves multiple airlines, which can get complicated).  If you use a travel agent to buy this ticket:

    * If your travel agent is online and has an e-mail address, e-mail this itinerary to them
    * If your travel agent is not online, print out this page and fax/give it to them 

It is very important to use exactly the same booking codes and fare codes that we've used on this page in order to match the price we've found.

Fare (A1): 	B6 WASNYC L21D57 fare (rules) 	$68.84
Fare (B1): 	GJ NYCROM VPPX1MU fare (rules) 	$409.50
Fare (B2): 	GJ ROMNYC VPPX1MU fare (rules) 	$409.50
Fare (A2): 	B6 NYCWAS L21X57 fare (rules) 	$54.88
Tax: 	US International Departure Tax 	$15.40
Tax: 	US International Arrival Tax 	$15.40
Tax: 	Italian Council City Tax 	€2.50
Tax: 	Italian Security Bag Charge 	€2.05
Tax: 	Italian Security Charge 	€1.81
Tax: 	Italian Embarkation Tax 	€7.41
Tax: 	US Customs Fee 	$5.50
Tax: 	US Immigration Fee 	$7.00
Tax: 	USDA APHIS Fee 	$5.00
Tax: 	GJ YQ surcharge 	$200.00
Tax: 	US September 11th Security Fee 	$7.50
Tax: 	US Passenger Facility Charge 	$13.50
Total for 1 adult passenger: 	$1232.40
(as of Thursday, January 3, 2008 12:07am; fares loaded Wednesday, January 2, 2008 3:06pm)
Fare construction (sometimes useful to travel agents):
      	WAS B6 X/NYC 68.84L21D57 GJ ROM M 409.50VPPX1MU GJ X/NYC M 409.50VPPX1MU B6 WAS 54.88L21X57 NUC 942.72 END ROE 1.00 FARE USD 943.00 XT 5.50YC 7.00XY 5.00XA 30.80US 7.50AY 3.00EX 3.70HB 10.80IT 2.60VT 200.00YQ 13.50XF IAD4.50 JFK4.50 JFK4.50

[camachinist Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close camachinist]

Working.... not bad VS...

$1455.80 in US Dollars
1 adult @ $1455.80
Hide booking details

This ticket is non-refundable.

Changes to this ticket will incur a penalty fee.

Airport legend:
IAD: 	Washington Dulles
LHR: 	London Heathrow
FCO: 	Rome Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino
	
Washington, DC to Rome, Italy: 4560 miles 	12 hrs 50 min
Virgin Atlantic 	Virgin Atlantic Flight VS56 on an Airbus A340 (jet) in coach class
     (breakfast, dinner) 	
Departs Washington, DC (IAD) 	Fri, June 27 	10:55p 	 7 hrs 25 min
Arrives London, United Kingdom (LHR) 	Sat, June 28 	11:20a 	
	1 adult in booking code X, covered by fare (A1) below
	Layover in London 	2 hrs 55 min
British Airways 	British Airways Flight BA556 on an Airbus A321 (jet) in coach class
     (meal) 	
Departs London, United Kingdom (LHR) 	Sat, June 28 	2:15p 	 2 hrs 30 min
Arrives Rome, Italy (FCO) 		5:45p 	
	1 adult in booking code S, covered by fare (A1) below
Note: 	The flight from Washington (IAD) to London (LHR) is overnight.
Note: 	You must change terminals in London (LHR).
 
Rome, Italy to Washington, DC: 4560 miles 	13 hrs 20 min
British Airways 	British Airways Flight BA549 on an Airbus A321 (jet) in coach class
     (meal) 	
Departs Rome, Italy (FCO) 	Sat, July 12 	1:35p 	 2 hrs 45 min
Arrives London, United Kingdom (LHR) 		3:20p 	
	1 adult in booking code S, covered by fare (A2) below
	Layover in London 	2 hrs 10 min
Virgin Atlantic 	Virgin Atlantic Flight VS55 on an Airbus A340 (jet) in coach class
     (dinner, snack) 	
Departs London, United Kingdom (LHR) 	Sat, July 12 	5:30p 	 8 hrs 25 min
Arrives Washington, DC (IAD) 		8:55p 	
	1 adult in booking code X, covered by fare (A2) below
Note: 	The layover in London (LHR) has relatively little room for delays, and for this route a missed connection would likely be very inconvenient.
Note: 	You must change terminals in London (LHR).


Booking details
If you want to buy this ticket, it's probably best to use a travel agent (this ticket involves multiple airlines, which can get complicated).  If you use a travel agent to buy this ticket:

    * If your travel agent is online and has an e-mail address, e-mail this itinerary to them
    * If your travel agent is not online, print out this page and fax/give it to them 

It is very important to use exactly the same booking codes and fare codes that we've used on this page in order to match the price we've found.

Fare (A1): 	VS WASROM XHWUSEU fare (rules) 	$566.00
Fare (A2): 	VS ROMWAS XHWUSEU fare (rules) 	$566.00
Tax: 	US September 11th Security Fee 	$2.50
Tax: 	US International Departure Tax 	$15.40
Tax: 	US Passenger Facility Charge 	$4.50
Tax: 	Italian Council City Tax 	€2.50
Tax: 	Italian Security Bag Charge 	€2.05
Tax: 	Italian Security Charge 	€1.81
Tax: 	Italian Embarkation Tax 	€5.06
Tax: 	US International Arrival Tax 	$15.40
Tax: 	United Kingdom Passenger Service Charge 	£35.20
Tax: 	US Customs Fee 	$5.50
Tax: 	US Immigration Fee 	$7.00
Tax: 	USDA APHIS Fee 	$5.00
Tax: 	VS YQ surcharge 	$182.00
Total for 1 adult passenger: 	$1455.80
(as of Thursday, January 3, 2008 12:07am; fares loaded Wednesday, January 2, 2008 3:06pm)
Fare construction (sometimes useful to travel agents):
      	WAS VS X/LON BA ROM 566.00XHWUSEU BA X/LON VS WAS 566.00XHWUSEU NUC 1132.00 END ROE 1.00 FARE USD 1132.00 XT 5.50YC 7.00XY 5.00XA 30.80US 2.50AY 69.80UB 3.00EX 3.70HB 7.40IT 2.60VT 182.00YQ 4.50XF IAD4.50

[camachinist Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close camachinist]

I've found some substantially cheaper fares on IB and TP but I'd likely have to call a bucket shop to get them. Don't know that you'd like those airlines anyway. See below for raw data from the GDS...

Routing Details
Search: Departing WAS on 06/27/08 for FCO
Fare basis code NHAX1MUS
Flying IB

WAS-ROM FRI-27JUN08 IB
TAXES/FEES NOT INCLUDED
ADULT FARES
CX FARE FARE C AP MIN/ SEASONS...... MR GI DT
USD BASIS MAX
1 IB 846.00R NHAX1MUS N | SU/1M 01JUN4-31AUG4 R AT

SPECIFIED ROUTE: 7123
WAS(AA/IB)NYC/MIA/BOS/CHI/WAS-MAD/BCN-MAD/BCN-ROM
WAS-MAD/BCN-MAD/BCN-ROM

I'll see what AZ/DL can do....

All for tonight...

Edited to query are co-terminals for WAS OK? (IAD,DCA,BWI). That might be a factor with a bucket shop.

Pat

[katiemack Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close katiemack]

The fare I see on Iberia is $1149 with one stop.

[Spence Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Spence]

Bucket shops are out, right?
Ok, I'll see what I can do. What's the time limit? Pat

Anytime...

I am not even going to try to compete, I am betting Pat beats your price.

What would you want to risk?

I've found some substantially cheaper fares on IB and TP but I'd likely have to call a bucket shop to get them. Don't know that you'd like those airlines anyway. See below for raw data from the GDS...
I'll see what AZ/DL can do....
All for tonight...
Edited to query are co-terminals for WAS OK? (IAD,DCA,BWI). That might be a factor with a bucket shop.
Pat

Bucket shops/calls are OK. Any DC area airport coming/going although I've got DCA both ways, most convenient.

The fare I see on Iberia is $1149 with one stop.

Getting there!

[Spence Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Spence]

Thanks Pat for your effort and all others, too. What was the total on your Post#9? Was it the same as Katie's?

Here's the deal.

eBay search for Go to Europe for two, seller is POL. You can win it for $1450 + $10 = $1460. The prize is an AA voucher for two in V-class. Check class availability before you bid.

$735 per ticket but I understand you have to pay security/taxes at the counter. $89.40 on this ticket makes it $825. AA sells my routing for ~$1650. Won't say it's half price as I had found that Iberia fare also.

[camachinist Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close camachinist]

Yes, the pricing I provided from ITA was the same as what Katie supplied. I generally provide the fare construction details so it's easier to target the precise deal so that's why the price is lost in the gibberish

The eBay seller IMO is either a bucket shop or is perhaps a "direct" MLM travel seller (like those pyramid schemes). I'll look at the details more and edit as necessary.

Personally, if you expect oil to go higher or remain static, I'd make a buying decision now. If you have some risk tolerance, I'd cherry pick between now and Easter. I think you can do better.

As recently as last year, I was seeing "better" pricing to FCO from the west coast, like 750 all-in. I've flown MR's to there from my local for 560 all-in shoulder season (not June).

I think, with the tools out there, most people who are timeshare-savvy can and are travel savvy too, except when it comes to the details of what we mileage runners do, maximizing routing and flying mistake fares and premium cabins. That's a whole different art Straight pricing to a certain location? That's a contest you'll always win

I've got a couple searches running and will update as appropriate. I don't expect much movement, short of a mistake, between now and Jan 31. We'll see

Pat