advex

I've been checking into this and it looks like it's going to cost $3,000+. I'd like to do it for less.....

I need to fly from DC (IAD) to a wedding in Seattle on Sept 2. I'd leave SEA on 9/5 for FRA (trade shows there and in London), and fly back from LHR to IAD on 9/10. Perhaps I should think about renting a car in Portland so that I can take Lufthansa's N/S to Frankfurt? The problem is that flights from the West Coast appear to arrive in Europe around noon....I'd really like to arrive early morning.

Would 2 tickets on separate alliances be the cheapest way to do it?

Thanks for your input!

YVR Cockroach

How about a D.C.-SEA r/t then a D.C.-FRA + FRA-LON ticket?

Or maybe buy a D.C.-SEA r/t (or OW - see later) with return after 10 Sept. Buy a SEA-LON ticket leaving after the 2nd, and a LON-FRA) or wherever your trade show is. On your way back, if you can route through D.C. (IAD or BWI), you can drop the last leg to SEA and the return of the SEA-D.C. unless you want the miles.

Your short travel times may not allow this and combined with no weekend/Saturday night stay, the airlines are going to hit you for full-fare OW segments.

WillTravel

Well, the obvious thing that comes to mind is that you could take Ryanair for the FRA-LHR segment (except it would actually be Hahn to Stansted). And the aggravation and time required to travel to and from various airports would obviously be increased significantly. But it might shave quite a bit from your price.

whlinder

As terenz said, the lack of a Saturday night stay is going to shoot your fare way up. Yes, you have one in Seattle, but the major portion of your intinerary is going to be transatlantic, and not have a saturday night stay across the pond.

Pushing your return date out until Sunday 9/12 should lower your fare considerably. I pulled up $1100 on Orbitz for an entire itinerary for you by staying till the 12th.

$564 per person
Flight 1 Sunday, Sep 5 Lufthansa 419 Non-stop
Depart: 6:00pm Washington, DC (IAD) Economy | 7hr 40min
Boeing 747
Arrive: 7:40am Frankfurt, Germany (FRA)
This is an overnight trip.


Flight 2 Wednesday, Sep 8 Lufthansa 4726 Non-stop
Depart: 9:45am Frankfurt, Germany (FRA) Economy | 1hr 40min
Airbus A300
Arrive: 10:25am London, United Kingdom (LHR)


Flight 3 Sunday, Sep 12 United Airlines 919 Non-stop
Depart: 12:20pm London, United Kingdom (LHR) Economy | 7hr 50min
Boeing 747
Arrive: 3:10pm Washington, DC (IAD)



As for IAD-SEA-IAD, I'm pulling up $424 for 9/2 return 9/5. You should be able to do better than that by watching fares, as with 4 airlines publishing fares for nonstop flights on that route, you should be able to get something for about $300.

WillTravel

Try pricing this at ITASoftware.com . I took a stab with your dates and came in well under $2K on major carriers.