^^RDU is not a major hub for any airline.

Charlotte is a hub for US Airways. The next nearest hubs are DCA/BWI/ATL (all 5-6 hours from raleigh). You aren't going to find hidden city fares through Raleigh (and you will get flagged for doing that anyway).

^^Yep look at flying into London. Also look at what award ticket availability is. If you can find cheap award availability it can save you as much as half the full fair price to buy the miles for an award ticket.

However I doubt your going to get much better of a deal. Summer is peak season to Europe and the fares skyrocket from May-Sept. If you went in mid-may instead you can get RT tickets for under 700 bucks.

2/10/2011 5:29:12 AM

Netstorm:

Try flying RDU > MAN. Manchester, UK is even closer to Scotland via train, and Manchester is well known as a cheaper place in Europe to fly into. It's very easy to get to. I'm doing RDU > ATL > MAN next month.

2/10/2011 8:25:12 AM

If using Kayak or one of the other search engines listed earlier, would I just do round-trip RDU to MAN (or London, whatever) and it'll consider hub cities for layovers, or does that classify as multi-city? Et cetera.

Trying to figure out if it would maybe be better to take two different flights instead of round-trip?

At some point here I might just be willing to pay for the luxury of not having to put up with a bunch of shit.

2/10/2011 10:55:46 AM

Tried flights into Manchester. They were about 100 cheaper, but had the same amount of stops (longer stops in general), and the round-trip ticket to Scotland was still $170, so it kind of ruined the point.

2/10/2011 11:08:59 AM

Netstorm

Quote :

"Ugh, I'm mucking through all these tips trying to determine what I'm going to do for my European study abroad in Edinburgh, Scotland this June 19th-June 2nd. "

I LOVE EDINBURGH! I was in the UK twice last year and spent a week or so in Edinburgh both times. The second time we actually flew into London and just rented a car and drove up to Edinburgh stopping in York halfway through. We saved a bunch of money with 4 people. Car rental is CHEAP and it's only 7-8 hours.

Although flying into Edinburgh the first time was only ~$750 out of DC. We even planned 16 hour layovers in Paris the way up and back just for fun. Although the price is because we went in December though. It looks like over the summer the prices almost double for flights unless you look really hard.

I assume you mean June 19th to July 2nd? If you need any advice on things to do, places to stay, people to meet up my brother (at UNC) studied abroad at the University of Edinburgh for a year in 2009-2010 and loved it. I also have a Polish friend who lives in Edinburgh and is a major host for couch surfers and loves showing people around the city.

If you're into hiking I highly recommend taking a road trip up into the highlands and checking out the Isle of Skyee. There's an awesome B&B there and the island is just beautiful. There's some pics in my gallery. Both times we did road trips from Edinburgh up into the highlands to Inverness and back down. We ended up getting caught in a blizzard in the highlands in March but it was completely worth it. Ben Nevis is a very popular hiking destination.

Sorry to get off topic. Shoot me a PM if you'd like some contacts or things to do.

2/10/2011 11:56:34 AM

In just a real quick search (by no means exhaustive or even the smartest), I found a much cheaper alternative to get to Edinburgh:

RT Raleigh - Dublin departing 06-18-11 (arriving 06-19-11) Returning 07-02-11
$763 (found on kayak)

RT Dublin to Edinburgh departing 06-19-11 Returning 07-02-11
$119

So there are cheaper options available out there, but in some instances they may not be as convenient. If you've never travelled outside of the US it may be worth the extra cost to just book RT to edinburgh.

Edit: I just saw a RT ticket RDU-EDI for $1056 - same dates as above

[Edited on February 10, 2011 at 12:43 PM. Reason : o]

2/10/2011 12:41:12 PM

you could also fly into london, and get a one way car rental or take the train

I drove from London to edinburgh last summer.

2/10/2011 1:54:12 PM

If you want a direct flight RDU to Vegas, Southwest has one.

2/10/2011 1:58:03 PM

this may be a shot in the dark, but perhaps you guys like to play travel agent. i need to fly into tambor, costa rica (smaller airport near san jose) 5/22 and depart from tambor 5/29 for my honeymoon. having never flown to costa rica, i have no idea what would be considered a good deal for this itinerary...prices currently hovering around $750 round trip. any insight on what is considered a good price for flying into costa rica from charlotte or rdu and how long i should hold out to get the best price?

2/11/2011 6:30:10 PM

Quote :

"In just a real quick search (by no means exhaustive or even the smartest), I found a much cheaper alternative to get to Edinburgh: RT Raleigh - Dublin departing 06-18-11 (arriving 06-19-11) Returning 07-02-11 $763 (found on kayak) RT Dublin to Edinburgh departing 06-19-11 Returning 07-02-11 $119 So there are cheaper options available out there, but in some instances they may not be as convenient. If you've never travelled outside of the US it may be worth the extra cost to just book RT to edinburgh. Edit: I just saw a RT ticket RDU-EDI for $1056 - same dates as above"

How in the... I've been on Kayak a million times the last two weeks and prices are never like that.

Or I could be doing it wrong maybe.

EDIT: I just tried what you did on Kayak, definitely not seeing the RT RDU to Dublin for those prices.

Quote :

"you could also fly into london, and get a one way car rental or take the train I drove from London to edinburgh last summer."

Flying into London was only a 100 dollars cheaper, and a train ticket to edinburgh and back was more than 100.

neodata686, I too have been to Edinburgh, but it was only for two days. My Aunt lived there for a long time, and I currently have a friend getting his PhD there. I may still ask you some questions later into this trip planning.



...and can a 21yo American really rent a car in the UK? You know, what with the restrictions here in our own country.

[Edited on February 12, 2011 at 1:30 PM. Reason : f]

2/12/2011 1:27:20 PM

we took an overnight train from London to Edinburgh in 1998, had bunks and stuff, it didn't exist at the time, but it felt Harry Potterish

2/12/2011 1:55:41 PM

bump

might want to check out hipmunk

message_topic.aspx?topic=614094

6/22/2011 11:05:02 AM

Southwest has $40, $80, and $120 one-way tickets available for purchase to celebrate their 40th anniversary until tomorrow (June 23) night at midnight.

According to fine print, you can only travel between Aug 23 and Nov 16. Blackout dates: 9/1, 9/5-6, and 10/10.

This is PERFECT for a wedding I need to attend in Vegas during fall break.

6/22/2011 11:06:50 AM

Man too bad about the Labor Day black out.

6/22/2011 11:33:13 AM

Friday and Sunday also excluded...

6/22/2011 11:41:24 AM

^Yeah I knew I left something out! I'm gonna end up having to fly Wed & Sat to get this deal, but it beats the normal $400 flight out there.

6/22/2011 12:40:51 PM

you can use http://yapta.com to track flights. it recently told me the flight i booked months ago is down about $100 . if it goes down $250 or more, American Airlines will give me credit toward a future flight. Domestic flights have a cheaper difference. Yapta has all of the airline policies written out so it's easy to know.

6/22/2011 1:35:18 PM

Wow, hipmunk is freaking awesome. Thank q!

6/22/2011 3:50:46 PM

AirTran is also having $40 one way fares to select markets

You can also get a $10 off coupon here: http://www.airtran.com/littledebbie/

It doesn't state that the coupon has to be for roundtrip airfare


So my brother booked two one-ways (RDU-LGA, LGA-RDU) for September travel and was used two differerent coupons (sent it to two diff. emails). Total after both one-ways including tax was $101.00

[Edited on June 22, 2011 at 4:16 PM. Reason : g]

6/22/2011 4:15:48 PM

what markets?

6/22/2011 4:20:00 PM

http://www.airtran.com/sale/default.aspx?saleid=514

you can find all the info there

6/22/2011 4:25:58 PM

thanx!

6/22/2011 4:32:38 PM

At first I was since I booked tickets to Chicago yesterday, but then I was when I looked up my dates and Air Tran is $20 more than United lol.

6/22/2011 4:41:22 PM

trying to find tickets for Detroit -> NYC (Sept 1st to Sept 5th)

Cheapest i found is spirit ($206). Should i buy them or wait? or anyone knows if i can find a better deal?

thanks

[Edited on June 24, 2011 at 10:33 AM. Reason : roundtrip]

6/24/2011 10:32:02 AM

That seems like a lot for a really short hub->hub flight.

6/24/2011 11:04:58 AM

^but it's about the same that he'd pay from RDU->NYC and way less than CLT->NYC.

6/24/2011 11:21:26 AM

Charlotte to LGA was always a $150 or less flight until a few years back

Now you're lucky to find one under $220

6/24/2011 12:40:01 PM

Pondering going with some friends to thailand here over winter break. looks to be about $1600 PP though . . .

[Edited on June 24, 2011 at 9:42 PM. Reason : .]

6/24/2011 9:42:01 PM

^ That's actually not bad. Not great but not bad. Winter break is peak tourist season for SE Asia so I'd be surprised if you could find better.

6/24/2011 10:00:24 PM

Yeah, it's not my pick for time to go but that's when they are going, also dunno if I'll have to find logding or not, not that it's expensive, well for a really nice hotel it's 90-100 usd/night but for a solid guesthouse it's ~20 usd/night.

6/24/2011 10:04:47 PM

I stayed in a guesthouse in Bangkok and had rats and bed bugs as roommates. Won't make that mistake again lol.

6/24/2011 10:32:21 PM

So glad i found this thread!

6/24/2011 10:38:09 PM

^^ Totally depends on the place, but yeah you get those in any place not super modern. The worse thing is the air. Newer modern buildings just smell clean inside, the air is refreshing. Outside after a few days makes your lungs feel as though you've been breathing in acid (which is probably not far off) constantly.

Do you know if you can take the train from the new airport into downtown now?

6/28/2011 1:13:40 PM

Fly.com with air fare from rdu to Vegas for $52 each way.

http://www.travelzoo.com/newsflash/79137398-1062860/

7/7/2011 4:54:28 PM

^^ When I was there it was during the riots when they took over the airport and trashed the train stations so I have no idea

7/7/2011 5:17:13 PM

^^Your post bums me out since I jumped on the Southwest/AirTran deal a few weeks ago.

But then again it looks like you have to use CheapO air to purchase and I had a bad experience with them last fall...so I guess I'll suck it up haha.

7/7/2011 6:48:54 PM

^ what kind of bad experience? because I am about to pounce on that $52 deal

7/7/2011 6:52:00 PM

I was flying over Thanksgiving into West Palm Beach. They only do that flight once or twice a day. Anyhoo, they called/emailed twice I think to tell us the time of the flight back home had changed to earlier and earlier in the day. (Supposed to originally leave around 6pm, ended up leaving at 2. That cut down on a lot of stuff we could've done as a family.) I didn't want to use them this time because my schedule is pretty tight as far as flexibility goes. Vegas is obviously a more popular venue though so that probably wouldn't happen, but I'm not taking my chances!

7/7/2011 7:05:19 PM

JetBlue is doing a $64 each way flight for RDU to/from JFK in NYC. Only catch is that you have to leave on a Tuesday or Wednesday. Everything with taxes came to $150.00

Continental is running an incredible deal from RDU to Newark nonstop this weekend for $140 roundtrip with taxes and fees. You could leave Saturday and come back Monday/Tuesday. I considered buying a ticket and going to see my family this weekend but we're planning on going to London next month for 2 weeks.

7/7/2011 7:29:22 PM

^x5....what kind of bad experience did you have? I have contacted both continental and united, to verify that everything is checked out.

Also, it shows that you can get similar rates via travelocity, expedia, united, continental, and or hotwire. (rates might vary by like $10)

[Edited on July 7, 2011 at 8:08 PM. Reason : .]

7/7/2011 8:06:05 PM

help me find the cheapest fare from RDU to vegas. depart 12/27, return january 1.

Trying to get to brian head, Utah.. vegas is the closest major airport.

7/7/2011 9:30:42 PM

American Airlines is the worst airline. Just throwing that out there.

7/7/2011 9:45:09 PM

^ I don't know, Northwest was pretty damn terrible when they were still around

7/7/2011 9:55:09 PM

I've had the worst luck with US Airways. I got delayed literally every time I've flown with them.

7/7/2011 11:57:05 PM

I know it's one of those things where depending on who you ask, everyone's got some kind of horror story, but man -- fuck American Airlines.

With any luck, I'll be able to get turn this weekend's clusterfuck into vouchers for my girlfriend to use, because I really can't see myself getting on another one of their planes.

7/8/2011 12:01:23 AM

Follow-up to my previous post: I bitched and got $200 from AA.

New content: The US Excise Tax on flights expired this morning at midnight, meaning that any flight you book currently has (essentially) no taxes or fees on it. Just booked my thanksgiving flight for about $40 less because the "Taxes and Fees" portion is only $1.91.

Also, per AA's site, there's the possibility that if you booked any travel before 12am today that taxes place after 12am today, there's a chance you might be eligible for a tax refund.

So yeah, if you want cheaper flights, now is a pretty good time to look.

7/23/2011 12:50:55 PM

Damn wish I had known about the tax thing earlier!

7/23/2011 1:05:34 PM

I'm trying to book a flight now and it's making me pay over $40 in tax.. im confused

7/23/2011 4:18:31 PM

anyone know how often southwest web only rates change? Do they ever go down?

7/23/2011 8:17:53 PM

^ They tend to go down the closer you get to your flight date IF they are having trouble selling out a flight.

7/23/2011 9:21:24 PM