How much do you pay for flites to the US?

My hubby and i have been discussing cheaper options on flites to the US...we usually fly directly from Gatwick to Detroit and we were considering flying into either Chicago or New york then renting a car and driving to detroit area...

Flites to detroit seem always so much more expensive then to new york...i know detroit isnt exactly a popular tourist area for the brits and that is why...we seem to pay from 500-800 pounds per person a flite..once we got lucky and paid 240 i think

anyone fly into new york regulary and know what the prices are usually at difft times of year or chicago..

Andrew and I are going to Ohio in December (4th - 18th) and I think we're paying £766 for both of us.  That's with B.A.  We could have gotten it cheaper, but Andrew definitely wanted to go with B.A.   (We’re paying £ 456.20 BOTH to get us to Atlanta, then $400.00 BOTH to get from ATL to the Akron/Canton airport. We could have gotten a little cheaper to New York, but we would have had to fly into Cleveland and we wanted to go to CAK.)

My opinion is that I would rather pay a little more to go to CAK and avoid the driving time from CLE… my time is worth more money than the surplus cost on the ticket.

I can't imagine paying £500 - £800 per person even in the height of tourist season.  You should DEFINATELY shop around more.

And I'm sorry, I'm sure I'll be hated... but I can't help it -- flights.

We are going to NY for Thanksgiving, leaving on Wed coming back late Monday and John paid £360 rtn for both of us (BA special, couldn't pass it up).

Our next trip to the US...this week...is costing us about £120, round trip for both of us, Heathrow to Dulles.  

It was either that or 70,000 tickets to see a movie. Had to do something with the Nectar points!

We tend to fly Virgin all the time and don't look for the discounts because we save up points. Right now, for instance, we can both take a round trip ticket anywhere in the world and only have to pay the airport tax. That's a huge potential savings of almost £2,000. and because of our loyalty, we've also been upped to First Class once.

But that's not to say Virgin isn't competitive. We've gotten roundtrip NYC tickets for less than £200 each. The big factor is if you can be flexible on travel times/dates. Try trips in October or May, spending at least one Saturday night at your destination and flying out/back in on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday.

David & I always fly into Detroit since we are in the British Airways frequent flyer thing, prefer non-stop flights, and Detroit has a non-stop service that's convenient for our family as far as picking-up & dropping-off goes. Brother lives in Toledo about an hour away.

Our flights to Detroit last July were £1000 for both of us.
Our flights to Detroit this November will be £540 for both of us.

We book our flights direectly with BA, since we get more airmiles for it. Other than that, we use Expedia and have had fabulous results with them.

It's been more expensive, every time we've looked, to fly into Chicago and drive to the Detroit area. Also, driving in Chicago is a b*tch, and the Detroit airport could not be ANY easier to find or get out of (in my opinion) - so it's a lot less stress for us. You can still get flights cheaper to Chicago, but it's never by much, and by the time you rent the car, apy the tolls etc - it comes out even anyway. The flight into Chicago is nicer, it's a bigger plane, but that's the only incentive as far as David & I are concerned, so we don't use Chicago at all anymore.

We've also considered flying into other areas, in Ohio, in New York etc - and iether catching another flight or driving... but again, when we've ast down and really figured out all the costs, it's wasn't enough of a savings to justify the hassle of it all.

Hope that helps.

I'm using my miles on Virgin to get the four of us to Orlando for Thanksgiving for less than £900.  Not too bad, considering it's holiday time and there are four of us.

Supposedly American is trying to get business back from London and is offering competiive rates.  Unfortunately BA is the only airline that flies out of my area so we are somewhat restricted in choice.  However, we have also had free flights from our miles.  Good luck with searching for a bargain!

Glenn just booked mine and julionas online and it cost 318 pounds for the 2 of us of course jules is only 10% of the cost but the flight is with Northwester.

I can let everyone know about American.  I'm flying to London on December 30.  Frankly, I wasn't happy with the price $400.50 r/t but that's my fault I guess.  When I first started looking the flight was $356.96.  British Airways at the time was about the same rate.  BUT the flight times weren't as good as American.  Since its a 3 hour drive from Wales to Heathrow I'd prefer to fly later in the day.  American was the only one that offered a late afternoon flight.  So they got my business.  I'll tell you all how the service is when I get back.

Kiz, thats not a bad price, all things considered. I've flown American a few times and theyre not bad at all. What I'm going to suggest to peeps on this side of the pond for the best deals is this...if you know the dates you wanna fly, and you know them at least 6 weeks prior to your departure then check out:
     www.expedia.com
     www.travelocity.com
     www.orbitz.com
compare the three and choose the best deal. I use one of the three 99% of the time and usually score a decent deal. The key to booking is doing it as far in advance as possible in order to get the best deal. I booked a flight for my wife to go home at Xmas time (12-19/1-04) for $500 (still not dirt cheap but it IS a week before Xmas) on B.A....just for giggles I checked that same exact flight this morning....its now $1500
Theyre ALL bandits around holiday time, school vacation time,peak summer months, etc. and booking well in advance is the only way I've ever found to avoid getting completely ripped off. I've flown in November on B.A for as little as $220 and exactly one month later the same flight is $300 more. Thats why I can't take any of them serious when they look to the government to bail them out when things get slow like post-911....theyre ALL bandits.

I tend to fly to Amsterdam from my local airport, then to the USA via KLM airlines, then connect to my destination

I have a flight booked ..
North east England (Teeside) to Amsterdam to Detroit- Atlanta-
One week later a Flight to Louisville KY- then Back from Louisville- Minneapolis-Amsterdam - Teeside

total cost £415

this was via expedia.com

I'm curious as to why all the connections. Is it purely for price, or for lack of better connection from your place to Heathrow or Gatwick, or is it that you like to visit these other places as well? You must be utterly exhausted at the end of the trip!

My flight-picking motivation is the fewest connections possible, even if it means driving a further distance, or paying a higher price.

Really brings up an interesting general question though...what motivates you to pick the flight you do?

 Hey Rikki,I know this is off subject,but since you mentioned my home town of Louisville....It just made me feel  

Lisa..
I am one of those strange people who actually enjoys flying.. and airports

But the main reason is price...

Rhia..

Louisville is every year my holiday destination.. I go under the pretext of a trip to a trade show at the EXPO center..
and always stay at the same hotel on Phillips Lane near the Airport

Louisville is a beautiful city.. and the whole area is steeped in history...

 Ta very much for your nice comment  Rikki about my hometown

Being we are not as well known(except for maybe the Kentucky Derby)and not as large as some places like NYC,It always makes you feel proud to have someone compliment your hometown