I grabbed an odd pricing glitch IAD-FRA-VCE/ZRH-IAD that seemed only available on Expedia -- I'm talkin' July @ ~ $500.

(not a mileage run worthy glitch -- but all other itineraries were > $1k and the united website and everyone else wanted that same $1k.)

now I have to figure out how to get from HER-ZRH to connect home!

Hapag Lloyd Fluggesellschaft shows a non-stop in the CRSs but their website doesn't even show the carrier as flying to Zurich, let alone offering flight 1858 between the two cities. What's more the CRS shows the fare @ > US$900. :confused:

How would I go about verifying that the flight in the CRS even really exists and will operate in a few months? Any idea if the discounted inventory just isn't loaded yet and I should wait? (Is it a new flight?)

Otherwise, is the best option one-stop via Air Berlin?

The Hapag Lloyd Fluggesellschaft flight times nicely with the United ZRH-IAD non-stop (a bit over 2hr connection). Air Berlin would mean overnighting in ZRH.

And how do you pronounce Fluggesellschaft anyway? :cool:

Hapag Lloyd Fluggesellschaft has recently renamed to "Hapagfly" just to make it easier for you to pronounce their name. However, "Fluggesellschaft" is pronounced like "flougguesellshufft"

HF 1858 HER-ZRH must be either a new seasonal flight or not existing as it is not bookable through their website. Availability throughout July shows wide open on Sabre and Galileo, but the flight does not appear on Amadeus.

If the HF flight is not existing or bookable: The cheapest way would be to take Air Berlin, Hapagfly, Condor or LTU from HER to Germany/Austria and connect to a flight to ZRH. These four German low cost airlines have plenty of flights to HER in summertime, but Air Berlin is the only one of them that serves also ZRH (but not from HER). The one stop option on Air Berlin seems to be a good option unless you are able to book the HF flight to ZRH.

Be aware: All these carriers reserve the right to change the schedule at short notice giving you the choice to either accept it or take a refund. They only guarantee the day you booked, not the time. Therefore I'd plan to spend a night at ZRH in any case.

If you want to fly between Heraklion & Zurich, you'll have to go via Athens with Olympic or Aegean and then onwards with Swiss

Here are my suggestions:

Edelweiss Air (flies weekly between HER and GVA, then it would be a five hour train ride to ZRH, there are train stations right at both airports, www.edelweissair.com)

Belair (flies HER-ZRH daily except Tuesdays, twice on Saturdays, all summer long, www.flybelair.com)

You could also fly into Munich or Stuttgart and use www.bahn.de to find a train to Zurich airport.

Thanks for all the excellent suggestions.

I still can't figure out how Hapagfly can display a flight via GDSs with specific flight # (that I can even buy via various outlets) to a destination they don't even claim to serve on their website :confused:

So I'd be reluctant to purchase that! :eek:

Best bet way Air Berlin one-stop, and to do it on the 3rd and overnight in ZRH before flying UA back to the States.

But this Belair idea intrigues me -- schedule would work, any chance they have an english version of their website? I see German and French and I think I know what I'm looking at, but... ;)

Thanks!!

Hapag-Lloyd use to be purely a charter airline (the aviation arm of a centuries-old shipping company), and they may well be running flights that are only bookable through tour companies as part of an inclusive tour package. This could explain why the HER-ZRH service is listed on tour operators' sites but not their own web site.

HF does have flights from HER to BSL, which isn't that far from ZRH - slightly difficult to find on the pull-down menu on their web site because HER is listed under K for Kreta (German for Crete)

Had a look at Belair's web site and couldn't see any way of booking flights originating in HER - the web site seems to be very much aimed at Swiss holidaymakers. I'm sure there must be some way of booking itineraries that start in HER, but you will probably have to do it the hard way - i.e., by talking to someone!

PM me if you need any help with translating things from or into German!

But this Belair idea intrigues me -- schedule would work, any chance they have an english version of their website? I see German and French and I think I know what I'm looking at, but... ;)

It looks like you can only book flights ex-ZHR on the website. I also don't think it's available in English. You could email them (internet-travelshop@hotelplan.ch) -- the odds are they'll understand what you want -- or you can find a FTer to translate your email -- PM me if you need help.

Had a look at Belair's web site and couldn't see any way of booking flights originating in HER - the web site seems to be very much aimed at Swiss holidaymakers. I'm sure there must be some way of booking itineraries that start in HER, but you will probably have to do it the hard way - i.e., by talking to someone!

PM me if you need any help with translating things from or into German!

I agree with what Aviatrix said - Belair is Charter for Swiss customers, they'll probably be very surprised to see you on board.

There is no English website, it appears, but booking ex-Greece is definitely possible. You will have to deal with them directly though. Here are their contact details:

eMail: internet-travelshop@hotelplan.ch

Phone: +41 43 211 88 85. (The office is staffed Monday-Friday from 08:00 am to 06:00pm and Saturday 10:00 am to 1:00 pm Central European Time (EST +6).

My suggestion would be to do this by phone.

I just called them to check prices for you, their prices in July range from 294 to 464 Swiss Francs (about 225 - 350 USD) all-in for the one-way HER-ZRH, depending on the date.

They have no problem booking the tickets by phone and will send the ticket out to you to a mailing address of your choice. Alternatively, they can also have the ticket held for you at HER airport for pick-up on departure, though there would be an extra fee of about 15 USD for this.

The guy I spoke to seemed pretty competent, and the Swiss tend to be quite multilingual. English should get you through without too much trouble.

In case it does not, feel free to PM me for translation help (though it appears you've got quite a few offers for that already).

Advance warning - I'm travelling through Lebanon and Syria for 10 days starting on Saturday evening, so I may not be online much.

HF1858 seems to be a charter flight that is part of this package deal:

http://www.travelnetcenter.com/cgi-bin/proxy.pl?tnc_c=1e9fd162ebccb8954dd8e4bca25dc1f5



Hinflug HF1857 Charterflug Zürich-Heraklion
15.05.2006 11h05 - 15h05 Economy

Rückflug HF1858 Charterflug Heraklion-Zürich
22.05.2006 07h55 - 10h05 Economy

Just returned from 3 yrs overseas, and here's a good site that's updated with all of the LCC that seem to pop up every month or so:

www.attitudetravel.com

If you're staying in ZRH overnight, check out the hotel bar in the ZRH Hyatt - it's a popular place for the Zurich crowd, and the hotel is brand new, just opened last spring, I think. Sheraton Neues Schloss (New Castle) is also right down the road, rates there are usually cheaper than at the Hyatt. Both hotels are right by the Zurich lake.

Good luck with the Crete - ZRH leg; am interested in what airline you choose - Belair is a new one to me!