Strangely high prices on British Airways?

I'm beginning to research flights back to the USA for March, and the prices are a lot more than what I am used to paying.  I usually pay around 600GBP round trip from Orkney to Washington, DC in March (done it every year for the past 3 years).  Now, even with my islander discount, BA is quoting online about 1500GBP  ! Is this just because it's the holidays, even though I'm not travelling during the holidays?  Just wondered if anyone had any insider info.....

The school holidays are all weird this year.  Does your trip fall over a school holiday? 

Hi bookgrl- I'm planning on staying for the entire month of March, and I've adjusted my possible departure dates around the first two weeks of March on BA.com to try to see if there's any difference on when I travel, but it seems to be the same price for the first 2 weeks.  Maybe they are just using those prices as "placeholders" until the new year when hopefully the prices will reduce a bit (wishful thinking on my part, haha)?

I wonder if the pricing has something to do with the upcoming holidays. I don't know if the same has historically been the case with international flight pricing, but from past experience domestic flight rates drop dramatically if you book immediately *after* the New Year.

I'm also looking at prices for flights back to the Ohio in March and they're crazy high, like near $900 in some cases. That's nearly summer travel pricing. I'm hoping they'll drop in a few weeks.

I'm also looking at prices for flights back to the Ohio in March and they're crazy high, like near $900 in some cases. That's nearly summer travel pricing. I'm hoping they'll drop in a few weeks.

Me too! I'm looking at visiting the US in Feb/Mar, so I hope the prices go down before then.

If you want a good airfare and would like some adventure you could sail on a ship to Iceland and they have real cheap flights from there on an airline that is comparable to the UK super fare airlines.

I don't know if that ship has departures year round.

I have never investigated in detail this route but I would if I could save a buck.

I hope all is well with you in Orkney.

Cheers

When was the last time you travelled?

I flew roundtrip to the UK in 2009 and my mom flew the exact same cities, same airlines, booked in advance through the same website and flew in the same month as me but one year later (2010) and her flight was twice as much as mine was.  Apparently the prices for this year were just drastically higher than last year.

British Airways pricing is also going up as announced today. I think there's an extra £10 being added to those taxes and fees portion of the overall ticketing price. They're blaming the increasing cost of oil.

I decided a long time ago not to fly British Airways, but had to recently and it only confirmed that I still didn't like them. I'll give them perhaps another 5+ years before trying them again to see if they've improved.

This latest price increase from them isn't surprising really given the fact they've got the problems in their business...

There are the factors of demand, holiday times, off/on peak etc as well, but air travel is looking very expensive again nowadays..

Cheers, DtM! West London & Slough UK!

I think prices are just high. For me, hubby and a lap baby we are looking at close to 1200 from london to portland in feb. And that's with every company.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1338481/British-Airways-increase-long-haul-surcharge-10-108-flight.html

Thanks everyone for the information and suggestions!  I will continue to check the prices and if I happen to notice a drop in price will let you all know here

If you want a good airfare and would like some adventure you could sail on a ship to Iceland and they have real cheap flights from there on an airline that is comparable to the UK super fare airlines.

This was such an off the wall idea that I'd never, ever heard before that I actually went and researched if it exists.

Seat 61 (the authoritative site on train and ferry travel) says there's a weekly ferry that runs from April to October only, and you have to get a ferry to Denmark, and then Denmark to Iceland. And there's no info on prices, but seeing as how it takes 2-3 nights, I seriously doubt it's cheaper than even the most expensive direct flight!

But thanks for the interesting diversion this afternoon!

Hi Friends,
I discovered today while doing my daily check on BA that the prices have mysteriously dropped!  I am now able to fly round-trip in March from Orkney to Washington DC for 525 GBP ! Now that's more like it!   Thanks to everyone again for their ideas