Skip to main content

Tagged With "award tickets"

Comment

Re: Ryanair's O'Leary: I have a way to make flying free

GarryRF ·
It's a shame to see the man who has opened up Europe for flights at bus fare prices being kicked again. He has many ideas to generate income - away from ticket prices. Some are just a reflection of his Irish sense of humour and others are worth listening to. He has succeeded in breaking the mould in Europe where flying was just for the wealthy. A man to be praised - not criticised !
Comment

Re: Just how much tax is in your ticket?

Ron B. ·
My recent, free Air France ticket - LA to Paris to Barcelona and then Venice to Paris to LA the tax was $577.97.
Comment

Re: Just how much tax is in your ticket?

DrFumblefinger ·
Originally Posted by Ron B.: My recent, free Air France ticket - LA to Paris to Barcelona and then Venice to Paris to LA the tax was $577.97. That's a lot of travel, Ron, but it certainly makes one relook at the definition of "free".
Comment

Re: Norwegian bank is out of cash, on purpose

Travel Rob ·
On my last trip to London, I arrived at night and the Tube stopped running. The ticket machines for the buses weren't working and now the buses are cashless. Luckily the drivers let me on anyway, but I think as more places don't accept cash ,those type of scenarios will be more common.
Comment

Re: Now an airline charge for NOT flying!

GarryRF ·
If you do call the airline to cancel your return ticket you get no refund. They will probably sell your seat for more than your two-way ticket cost. If you try to reschedule your return for another day they will charge full price with no discount for being polite and doing the right thing. So you just walk away and find another airline. The Philosophy of W.C. Fields. "Never give a sucker an even break"
Comment

Re: Has the Revolution Started? Ryanair allows 2nd bag and reduces fee

Former Member ·
Are you saying that the primary goal is not to sell a mere flight ticket but to sell the whole tamale ? $$$
Reply

Re: Finishing college. Need help planning trip to U.K,

GarryRF ·
I frequently fly from NY JFK to Manchester UK. With Delta ! I know you are in Chicago but will Delta do you a thru Ticket ? We'll sort your Visit to Penny Lane, Strawberry Fields and The Cavern Club nearer the time!
Reply

Re: Finishing college. Need help planning trip to U.K,

Hank ·
Wow, this is turning into a real education!! I checked with my uncle and yes, I can fly Chicago to Manchester and return from either London or Paris to Chicago. The ticket is free to him and he said he would cover any fees as a "graduation gift to me" (he's a pretty cool dude!), but I don't want to burden him with a heavy departure fee, so maybe Paris would be the way to go. I'd like to leave about Friday, May 9th and return 4 weeks later, June 6th. A few days later and returning a few days...
Reply

Re: Finishing college. Need help planning trip to U.K,

Hank ·
That's helpful too, Rob. So with your guys advice, I'm thinking of the following plan, which still has holes I need to fill. I actually like the idea of Paris more than Scotland for this trip, plus I worry about the cost of travel to Scotland back so unless I can get a really cheap plane ticket or train ticket to Edinburgh, I think I'll drop that and focus on eastern UK and then on to Paris. So this is where I'm at now: 1) Arrive in Manchester. Maybe ??2 days 2) Travel Liverpool. 3 days 3)...
Reply

Re: Finishing college. Need help planning trip to U.K,

Paul Heymont ·
or more. This is one case where he might be better off with a Ryanair or the like to Amsterdam and then an AMS-JFK ticket separately. Price it out both ways...
Reply

Re: Finishing college. Need help planning trip to U.K,

Hank ·
Everyone's been very helpful! I can't tell you what a great welcoming and helpful group of people you are. My uncle is an employee of Delta, so he has some kind of free ticket that requires me to fly on Delta only (no partners). I will have him check into the dates. I like the idea of flying up to Manchester, slowly working my way to London then returning from Paris. I think going to Amsterdam is more than I can bite off now, plus I want to spend the time seeing stuff, not traveling all the...
Comment

Re: Sri Lanka: A Land Like No Other. (Part 5) The Elephants of Pinnawala

DrFumblefinger ·
Thanks, PortMoresby! And we've not even been to the sacred tooth relic in Kandy, the medieval ruins of Polonnaruwa, the beautiful hill country filled with tea plantations and "The World's End", a wildlife safari at Yala National Park, nor any of the nice beaches (but keep reading -- reports on these are coming). Sri Lanka is a great destination, especially now that the civil war is over. I was doubly lucky to not only be able to visit a dear friend there but to have time to leisurely explore...
Comment

Re: Sri Lanka: A Land Like No Other. (Part 5) The Elephants of Pinnawala

PortMoresby ·
Lots to consider. I can't go through Thailand without hanging out a few weeks so the 2 ticket plan may suit me better. I see Cathay Pacific also flies to Colombo, connecting in HKG. Will have to do more research to see if any of the low fare Asian airlines can facilitate a plan. What season is your favorite there? Is there an off-season when there are bargains to be had?
Reply

Re: Finishing college. Need help planning trip to U.K,

Hank ·
Hi everyone! I'm back. Just arrived at my parents home for Thanksgiving. Not had a lot of time to work on this trip since I last visited TravelGumbo, but some progress to report. I have a firm ticket reservation for Manchester, returning from Paris, though a few days off the dates we talked about. But 29 days in Europe! Whooppeee!! I have a guidebook from the Library which I'm going to go through this long weekend (one by Fodors). I think this will help. Anyone know of a good pocket size...
Comment

Re: The World's Best Airlines

DrFumblefinger ·
Grouchy, I thought you had a magic carpet and didn't need to bother with such trivialities as plane flights
Comment

Re: United's Award Chart: Premium Award Cost Goes UP

DrFumblefinger ·
I've seen a lot of "award creep" in my days, and I think there's more to come. A "mile" is worth less and less all the time. It's clear that airline miles aren't worth banking for any period of time. Use them when it's logical to do so. They likely will be worth less in the near future. Thanks for the link, PHeymont.
Comment

Re: United's Award Chart: Premium Award Cost Goes UP

Paul Heymont ·
Not sure I agree with the "burn 'em" philosophy. At the premium class end, there's certainly been a lot of creep, but not so much in coach, which is more price-sensitive, even for awards. True, summer awards to Europe have generally gone from 50K to 60K, but on the other hand, off-season at American went DOWN to 40K--and with the flexibility of taking one-way awards and combining them in interesting ways...it's actually a better situation. Also, there are some card-linked sales on flight...
Comment

Re: United's Award Chart: Premium Award Cost Goes UP

DrFumblefinger ·
I think you'll find reward trips from the Western USA are harder to get for European travel than from the East coast. But if your schedule is flexible, you could be lucky.
Comment

Re: United's Award Chart: Premium Award Cost Goes UP

JohnT ·
I think for premium travel,it makes sense. It has always surprised me that premium travel is so much cheaper from a frequent flier perspective (2:1) vs economy than when you actually buy the ticket. Just as a side note, aeroplan has recently reduced miles required on some of their reward charts as well.
Comment

Re: United's Award Chart: Premium Award Cost Goes UP

Paul Heymont ·
John's point about the ratio between the two tiers is interesting (we looked at that a little in a forum post this week on value of miles). My guess--and it's just that--is that the same kind of yield-management used to set prices has taken a look at this and is carefully balancing loyalty vs. burn... I can't really compare East vs West availability personally; my school schedules have defined when I can travel well enough that I'm able to start hunting tickets 330 days out, when the...
Reply

Re: Air Miles vs Low Fare Airline

PortMoresby ·
This is sounding very promising, Rob. I can think of no reason to pay more money to pay with miles than for a ticket on Norwegian. I have enough miles to go around the world and only the first leg (or last, depending) is more expensive using miles. It makes no sense. So you were able to carry on your main bag plus a smaller one? I'm speaking of the limits for discounted coach tickets (aka "steerage").
Comment

Re: No more TGV: France says 'Oui' to new name

inOui ·
Why would they want to name it something that sounds like "boredom, difficulty, tedium, obstacle?" I don't get it. Seems strange. Or were they going more for, "Je m'ennui de toi" so I'm going to hop on a fast train! Also reminds me of, "Gimme a ticket for an aeroplane Ain't got time to take a fast train. Lonely days are gone, I'm a-goin' home My baby, just-a wrote me a letter" In any event, still not getting it for the TGV's new name. I know the pronunciations are a bit different but reminds...
Comment

Re: Museum Island, Berlin (Where Gumbo was #271)

GarryRF ·
An amazing collection of sculpture. Worth a few days exploring the Museums alone. Fly Liverpool to Berlin with Ryanair return ticket for a 2 day trip. £105. Serious thoughts ......
Comment

Re: Why tickets stay high while fuel prices drop

DrFumblefinger ·
I think I'm seeing better ticket prices than I have for several years now, so I'm not sure if this is completely true. But it could just represent a biased sampling (Canada, more than US flights).
Comment

Re: Why tickets stay high while fuel prices drop

GarryRF ·
The cost of an Airline Ticket has little to do with the cost of a barrel of oil. That's why I can fly to Sydney Australia for the same price as I can to New York. That's 3500 miles to New York or 10,500 miles to Sydney. Same price. It's solely based on the principle of how much juice you can squeeze from an orange.
Comment

Re: Dismaland - the new 'post-apocalyptic' bemusement park in England

Travel Rob ·
Mac can fill us in in better, but I remember reading that the ticket was only 3 pounds. Since Disney is over $100, it's a steal. I still think whether Disney can win or lose a lawsuit is not the question. It's whether Disney would get worse publicity going after them vs just leaving them alone. In 2010 , The Simpsons got a lot of credit for letting Banksy do their opening. Even though he poked fun at the Simpsons outsourcing and treatment of foreign workers
Comment

Re: Family kicked off flight

Paul Heymont ·
The most interesting part of the article, to me, was the identification of which language each of the people quoted was speaking...and apparently their words were not falling on deaf ears. Except for the tone-deaf parents (and I'm not usually a parent-basher) who apparently allowed their 3-year-old to decide what rules apply. They should have turned their attention to buckling the child in, and not to arguing with the flight attendant. Perhaps, like the anti-vaccination crowd, they think...
Comment

Re: Airports, Airlines battle over passenger fees

DrFumblefinger ·
What I dislike are when fees are not used for what they're charged for. If airport improvement fees really are used to fix up and improve airports, I think most consumers are fine with that. But when they just get put into the general revenues of a city's cash pool, that bugs most of us. What a find far more unreasonable than this are the fees to change or cancel a flight. Often they approach or exceed the value of a ticket. That's really gouging the consumer.
Comment

Re: Budget airlines pushing seat squeeze on new planes

GarryRF ·
Thomas Cook charter flight Paul. I think they give 31" per seat. (Says on my ticket) So I've gone for the extra space.
Comment

Re: Waived Booking Fees on AA Award Travel

Paul Heymont ·
Really good news, because some of those partner flights are hard to book online even when you know they exist. This should make it easier to make connection to a number of areas in Europe without having to do Heathrow...
Comment

Re: France to Send 120 Extra Police to Secure Channel Tunnel

Ron B. ·
Prior to me leaving for Europe I had read about the stoppages. But I had purchased my ticket back in the winter when there wasn't any such talk, and I foolishly didn't spend the extra $2/ trip for refund insurance in the event of a halt to the service. But I made the crossing and next time that $2 will be well spent for worry-free travel.
Comment

Re: Belgium: International trains causing delays

George G. ·
When our son came for a visit to see us in the early 1990's, he had to change trains in Hamburg which has many stations. He wasn't sure where to get off, so he asked the German conductor. The conductor pointed to our son's ticket and said your arrival time is 12:10, so at 12:10 get off the train and you will be at your correct station. Guess that doesn't work anymore.
Comment

Re: Is bad PreCheck planning responsible for TSA delays?

Travel Rob ·
I don't like the whole concept of PreCheck because when they started this added security at airports, they insisted terrorists could be anyone and that's why we need to check everyone. We enter trains, buses and metros without a PreCheck, and it doesn't take forever. There is a history of attacks on those means of transportation too. And now attacks could just as easily happen at the ticket counter at the airport as on the plane.
Comment

Re: Delta likes its 'basic economy,' will expand it

Travel Rob ·
I'm excited to fly in a C-Series and will go out of my way to buy a ticket when they start appearing! I also like the trend of one way tickets being less because that opens up lot's a route opportunities
Comment

Re: Flying Emirates Business Class: a review

GarryRF ·
A small taste of self indulgence. Reminds me of a TV ad. "Because I'm worth it" On a First Class BA flight from London - San Francisco the only problem I had was staying awake. Not paying all that money for a good sleep ! OK - I paid for a Round - the - World Ticket but the first flight was overbooked. It pays to be well dressed in economy. But I would have enjoyed the Black Forest Gateau you had instead of my French Champagne.
Reply

Re: How do you buy your travel?

Paul Heymont ·
Few more thoughts, following HistoryDigger and DrFumblefinger... 1. Definitely check all your affiliations on car rental; after years of getting better price through AAA than any other way I knew, I recently found that going to the same vendors through USAA (my car insurance) gets me even better. 2. Not only does Priceline have good pricing on cars, I've often found I can get 30-40% lower through their blind-bidding (Name Your Own Price) service. 3. RailEurope is something of a red flag for...
Comment

Re: Baseball Hall of Fame - Cooperstown, New York

Travel Rob ·
Thanks Samantha, I'd love to visit Cooperstown. When I saw Hank Aaron's boyhood home at Mobile's minor league stadium with all it's incredible baseball memorabilia, I knew I had to see the Baseball Hall of Fame one day. Thanks for showing me what to expect!
Comment

Re: Baseball Hall of Fame - Cooperstown, New York

Samantha ·
Hi Rob, it is a really cool place to visit. I had been to the Negro Hall of Fame in Kansas, but not the one in Cooperstown. It was so worth the wait! Thanks for mentioning Aaron's home in Mobile. I would like to see it someday too. Have a great weekend
Comment

Re: Baseball Hall of Fame - Cooperstown, New York

Travel Rob ·
You can't help but be impressed with the Aaron family after seeing the place! Glad to see the Hall of Fame has a great Hank Aaron section too! My blog on Hank Aaron's childhood home: https://www.travelgumbo.com/blo...ron-s-childhood-home
Member

Trainman

Trainman
Comment

Re: Don't Speed in France!

DrFumblefinger ·
The punishment does not fit the crime. Yes they were speeding. A speeding ticket is reasonable. The rest seems overkill to me. But we don't know how the interaction was. They might have given the cop some lip and....well, he was proving a point about who's really in charge.
Comment

Re: Still Seats at this Price ! Philadelphia-Dallas $94 RT

Travel Rob ·
UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE A few seats at those prices left.I just checked and Jan.22 -Jan 28 is still $94. Hurry if u need it. Trip cost Flight Airline Ticket( 1 ) $94.00 (Adult: 1) Total due at booking $94.00 Taxes and fees included
Reply

Re: I get to Boomerang to Spain ! Cheap !

WorkerBee ·
It required 40,000 miles for a round-trip economy ticket. All were in-seat miles and all were from a few years ago.
Reply

Re: I get to Boomerang to Spain ! Cheap !

Paul Heymont ·
Originally Posted by WorkerBee: It required 40,000 miles for a round-trip economy ticket. All were in-seat miles and all were from a few years ago. That's one of the things I like about AA...aside from the one-way awards. When everyone else was 50K to Europe, they were 40K offpeak and 60 peak. Now everyone else is 60K peak, and AA still has the winter bargains. Hope it lasts!
Reply

Re: Spain or Portugal?

Paul Heymont ·
Portugal's rail system feels a bit worn in places, and some trains look terrible from outside...but the interiors are clean and the system seems to work. Not a terribly large country, so that time between the two largest cities (Lisbon and Porto) is about 3.5 hours. If you add in getting to the airport early and getting in from the airport at the other end, it's probably faster than flying. Other significant points in Portugal also have reasonable rail service, including Coimbra, the...
Comment

Re: Ripley's Aquarium of Canada, Toronto

DrFumblefinger ·
Thanks for your comments, Garry. The kids there were all having a lot of fun, so it would be the kind of place for families to visit for sure. They have special kid-focused exhibits and play areas, perfect for keeping their attention and letting off some steam. The Dangerous Reef exhibit is especially impressive and worth the ticket price all by itself. But there are a lot of unusual exhibits and aquatic animals. My favorite aquarium still remains the Monterey Bay Aquarium, which I hope to...
Comment

Re: Ryanair Offers 'Business Class'

Travel Rob ·
I don't know if I like it that budget airlines are raising their ticket prices for better service. At least with the old "non customer friendly" service, I was always able to get crazy bargains and good seats easily.
Comment

Re: New expanded version of Boeing's 787 ready for take-off

Travel Rob ·
I've been waiting to fly in the 787 and hopefully i'll find a route where the ticket prices are reasonable. Has any members of TG been in a 787 yet.I'd love to hear a review !
Comment

Re: If you're happy and you know it...press here, please!

Paul Heymont ·
It certainly has seemed to me that Heathrow doesn't care (it's probably true for JFK, too, but I'm not a stranger there). In fact, I go out of my way to avoid Heathrow. Between the airport experience itself (especially with a T3-T5 transfer) and BA's high surcharges, I've taken to trying to make all my transfers through Madrid or Barcelona. In fact, on my trip this month, I save a good bit by taking American on award tickets to Barcelona and paying my way on Vueling to Marseille. I could...
Reply

Re: May 31, An Epic Reenactment in France.

PortMoresby ·
I suspect not. There was a question, a few years back when Eurostar came into London's Waterloo Station from Paris, whether it was to make the point to every French person who bought a ticket.
 
×
×
×
×