Plunging EU fares - when to rebook my $$$ tix?

elitefreak · Mar 6, 09, 6:21 am

Booked for two from EWR to ATH 6/10-6/20. Original ticket price $1400 apiece.

A week ago - $990

This week - $790

Rebooking will cost $250 per ticket for the change so we only want to make the change once.

What are your opinions on when we should pull the trigger? Similar fares in May are as low as $300.

Thanks.

bmw303 · Mar 6, 09, 6:36 am

I would rebook it now, since you will be making a sizeable savings. You cant be sure what is going to happen in terms of fares later on. Its possible that with the economy's current state, fares will continue to drop, but that's not a certainty.

pbarnette · Mar 6, 09, 7:58 am

I would probably rebook now, but I'm sort of chicken when it comes to stuff like this.

That being said, I think fares will continue to drop for TATL routes and that there will be a lot of deals and that they will continue into the summer. I think ex-EU deals may be even better.

bspencerco · Mar 6, 09, 8:56 am

I wouldn't expect June fares to drop to the May fare levels you see now, I'd say rebook now.

elitefreak · Mar 6, 09, 2:16 pm

Asking it a different way, would anyone expect the prices to go up unexpectedly in the next few weeks? I can't imagine TA bookings will get any better in this lousy economy. That would give me a few more weeks to "wait and see" if the fares drop even more . . .

Thanks.

pbarnette · Mar 6, 09, 4:33 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by elitefreak

Asking it a different way, would anyone expect the prices to go up unexpectedly in the next few weeks?

Absolutely not. I think there is very limited upside (for the airlines) to TATL fares right now.

channa · Mar 6, 09, 5:15 pm

Has the schedule changed at all? Significantly enough to get a full refund?

elitefreak · Mar 6, 09, 5:28 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by channa

Has the schedule changed at all? Significantly enough to get a full refund?

It changed once by minor minutes. What is required for this - is there a cutoff in terms of "signficant"?

OptionsCLE · Mar 6, 09, 6:28 pm

I'm glad I saw this thread. I just got over $400 back from my two EU tickets for April. The change fee was only $50 because I originally booked them less than 30 days ago. Can anyone comment on why that would be? I'm not complaining, but it seemed odd.

elitefreak · Mar 7, 09, 7:56 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by OptionsCLE

I'm glad I saw this thread. I just got over $400 back from my two EU tickets for April. The change fee was only $50 because I originally booked them less than 30 days ago. Can anyone comment on why that would be? I'm not complaining, but it seemed odd.

Good for you!

I never heard this rule about a lesser change fee within 30 days - did they tell you this when you changed your tickets?

Has anyone else ever heard of this, especially on Intl flights?

ijgordon · Mar 7, 09, 6:39 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by OptionsCLE

I'm glad I saw this thread. I just got over $400 back from my two EU tickets for April. The change fee was only $50 because I originally booked them less than 30 days ago. Can anyone comment on why that would be? I'm not complaining, but it seemed odd.

Some fares only have a $50 change fee. It has nothing to do with 30 days. Are you by chance flying to Ireland?

elitefreak · Mar 8, 09, 11:38 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by ijgordon

Some fares only have a $50 change fee. It has nothing to do with 30 days. Are you by chance flying to Ireland?

Athens, Greece.

OptionsCLE · Mar 8, 09, 11:48 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by ijgordon

Some fares only have a $50 change fee. It has nothing to do with 30 days. Are you by chance flying to Ireland?

CDG actually. The agent told me the new policy is if you've booked in the last 30 days and are repricing your itinerary, the change fee is only $50. Like I said, it doesn't sound right to me because he actually stated that the change fee should be at least $200 on those tickets. I didn't ask him to clarify any further! I'll take the $50 fee.

ijgordon · Mar 8, 09, 6:12 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by OptionsCLE

CDG actually. The agent told me the new policy is if you've booked in the last 30 days and are repricing your itinerary, the change fee is only $50. Like I said, it doesn't sound right to me because he actually stated that the change fee should be at least $200 on those tickets. I didn't ask him to clarify any further! I'll take the $50 fee.

I've never heard of that policy either, but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist. And I don't think we hear that much about people simply re-pricing nonrefundable tickets because it's not often that the fare drops enough to outweigh the change fee. But in any event, I wouldn't rely on this "policy" going forward unless I could see it in writing!

worldwidetraveler · Mar 9, 09, 9:02 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by ijgordon

I've never heard of that policy either, but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist. And I don't think we hear that much about people simply re-pricing nonrefundable tickets because it's not often that the fare drops enough to outweigh the change fee. But in any event, I wouldn't rely on this "policy" going forward unless I could see it in writing!

For several months I've been keeping a close eye on RT fares to europe from IAH for travel to take place during the "shoulder seasons". So far the fare hasn't dropped at all, running $100 higher compared to a similar trip last year.
So looks like I'll have to "bite the bullet", since even competitive airfares have been static.
In reading the fine print under the fare rules (appearing on itasoftware.com), if one wanted to take advantage of a fare drop in the future, reticketing would incur a $250 fee. However, canceling the ticket would only cost $150, so that would obviously be the way to go assuming buying a new RT ticket would be cheaper by more than $150.
I also wonder where the $50 fee for reticketing within 30 days policy mentioned previously might appear in print?