Cheap tickets to California

My brother is getting married AGAIN for the 4th time.     This time I was asked to be part of the wedding party. I was going to say "Sorry, can't afford it but I'll catch the next one"  but did'nt want to sound mean.      I've never flown from the UK to CA. How long of a flight is it and does anyone know any cheapish airline I can fly? I think the largest international airport is LAX.

Try Aer Lingus out of Dublin.

Where in California does your brother live? Remember that Cali is a long state so if he's up north you could be looking at a 12 hour drive if you fly into LAX.

I haven't flown from California but I flew direct from Seattle to London and it was close to a 12 hour flight. I'd imagine California being similar and I would guess your flight will be somewhere between 10 to 12 hours.

Try Aer Lingus out of Dublin.

Yes I checked already. Not bad. I'm not sure how much tickets cost normally to CA.

Where in California does your brother live? Remember that Cali is a long state so if he's up north you could be looking at a 12 hour drive if you fly into LAX.

I haven't flown from California but I flew direct from Seattle to London and it was close to a 12 hour flight. I'd imagine California being similar and I would guess your flight will be somewhere between 10 to 12 hours.

Yes I know. I used to work for the airlines and am used to checking all the surrounding airports for cheaper fares. He lives near LA.

I just checked their website for travel in August and they were offering 271 each way, that works out pretty good, the lowest they get is around 186 in winter.

I just checked their website for travel in August and they were offering 271 each way, that works out pretty good, the lowest they get is around 186 in winter.

Thanks! When I checked it gave me prices in Euro and I didnt realise 
Do you know if that price includes airport charges and taxes?

Play around with the dates, and go through the website process right up til they charge you, that will give you the final price (1 adult + 2 kids traveling in Aug to LA = RT 1140stg when I checked it, taxes and all). And you can choose which currency to do it in, I do it in euro and then use a currency converter in the other tab.

Thanks! The dates are pretty much fixed from 7-11 July as it's the only days my husband can get off but thanks for your help!! 

No problem good luck

Best of luck, R! And to your brother, too. I hope it's lucky number 4! 

My brother is getting married AGAIN for the 4th time.     This time I was asked to be part of the wedding party. I was going to say "Sorry, can't afford it but I'll catch the next one"  but did'nt want to sound mean.      

                               

To San Francisco it's a 9 1/2 or 10 hour flight (depending on the gulf stream, etc). It's a route I know all too well. To So Cal it would be a different route probably but I'd think the time would be roughly the same - into SF the planes generally go over Canada and then down through Idaho/Washington/Oregon. To LA they might go through more of the US to cut the time.

If you find a cheap(er) flight into SF you could look at a connecting flight to either LA or San Diego, but if he lives in So Cal you definitely don't want to drive from SF or San Jose - it's a long, hot, icky drive.

We usually find BA to be cheapest but use Virgin sometimes too. Because it's such a long flight we usually opt for comfort and BA has most leg room but Virgin has better entertainment....

It's 10-10 1/2 hours London - LAX.  I always fly Virgin.
I also HIGHLY suggest if you can get someone in the states to book the tickets for you on their card, then you reimburse them - so you can purchase in dollars

There is British Midland that flies into Las Vegas which is 4 hours by road to LA or there are cheap flights by Pacific Southwest Airlines or Jet Blue flies into Long Beach. Check them out and good luck.

I did a quick search on US Airways (PSA), Dublin > Long Beach (stops in Philly), same dates and number of passengers (1 adult 2 kids), it's a 17 hr + flight (vs 11 hrs non-stop Dub > LAX), and came out to 3,224 USD or 1,610stg - yikes! Not only that, check out all these extra charges:

Tax: US International Arrival $15.10
Tax: US International Departure $15.10
Fee: US Immigration $7.00
Fee: US Animal & Plant Health Inspection Svc. $5.00
Fee: US Customs User $5.50
Fee: US Passenger Facility Charge $18.00
September 11 Security Fee $10.00
Fee: Irish Passenger Charge $14.05
Fee: Irish Airport Security Charge $4.74


What is a September 11 Security Fee, and an Irish Passenger charge, do Irish people cost extra?

Haven't looked into Jet Blue yet. There is also supposed to be a flight from Belfast to Las Vegas starting this summer, which might be worth looking into.