Aeroplan Flight Newbie, Booking for Europe
Sep 22, 2019, 3:33 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2007
Posts: 6
Aeroplan Flight Newbie, Booking for Europe
I've been doing some preliminary research around booking flights to Europe. I thought I had the hang of it, but now that we are actually getting ready to book our Rhine River cruise and the flights, I seem to have forgotten all the tricks and now I see that the rewards plan has changed anyway. My end goal is to fly for the least amount of cash out of my pocket which I understand will be best achieved if I book the transatlantic portion of the flight originating from a US airport AND choose a Star Alliance partner with the least amount of fees. My first attempt had me going from Ottawa to Boston to Zurich and then back to Ottawa for less than $300 in total costs for two tickets. I was very happy with that, but that was 18 months ago. I would like to utilize stopovers and open jaw flights where I can because in addition to the river cruise we would like to visit other places in Europe. I am in Ottawa but can easily fly out of Montreal if that makes sense and gives more options. The river cruise we have chosen starts in Amsterdam and ends in Basel. We will also be spending a few days either before or after the cruise in Manchester, UK. Can I fly into Manchester, have a 4-5 day stop over, then fly to Amsterdam, and do an Open Jaw to Zurich and fly home from there? Would I need to do the Open Jaw from Manchester to Zurich and just hop a cheap flight from Manchester to Amsterdam for the cruise? Or am I completely mixed up and misunderstanding how this works?
I am happy to pay a fee to have someone sort this out for me, if you are allowed to recommend any people/companies that provide this service. We are looking at a cruise departing end Sept so I'll be within the booking window on that soon.
I am happy to pay a fee to have someone sort this out for me, if you are allowed to recommend any people/companies that provide this service. We are looking at a cruise departing end Sept so I'll be within the booking window on that soon.
Last edited by fayew; Sep 22, 2019 at 4:42 pm
Sep 22, 2019, 5:29 pm
#2
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: sqrt(-united states of apologist)
Programs: *$ Green
Posts: 5,403
Could always try something like this http://flyermiles.ca
Sep 23, 2019, 5:17 am
#3
Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 187
Can I fly into Manchester, have a 4-5 day stop over, then fly to Amsterdam, and do an Open Jaw to Zurich and fly home from there? Would I need to do the Open Jaw from Manchester to Zurich and just hop a cheap flight from Manchester to Amsterdam for the cruise? Or am I completely mixed up and misunderstanding how this works?
I am happy to pay a fee to have someone sort this out for me, if you are allowed to recommend any people/companies that provide this service. We are looking at a cruise departing end Sept so I'll be within the booking window on that soon.
I am happy to pay a fee to have someone sort this out for me, if you are allowed to recommend any people/companies that provide this service. We are looking at a cruise departing end Sept so I'll be within the booking window on that soon.
unfortunately, rules have changed since September 1st, you are allowed to 1 stopover plus destination or 1 open jaw. see thread above
another point to consider, if your turn around is manchester or amsterdam, your routings might be limited due to low mpm.