Airfare Questions

[scotters]

Hi all,
Just a general question, I"m heading to Europe in early April 06. How far ahead of time should I be looking to buy my plane ticket (going from SFO to London)? Also any prefrences? Virgin Air, British Airways, etc (good or bad).

Also, in order to keep the weather in my favor I've decided to go north to south which means I'm starting in Greece and ending in London, but I'm going to hop a ValueJet from London to Athens (only $50! I can't believe it). On that note any reason not to do this or any ominous warnings about ValueJet?

Thanks!

[xanthuos]

I don't know of a low-cost European airline named ValueJet. Sure you have the name correct?

[omisan]

a. Start looking now. It doesn't hurt, and if you find an SFO-LHR deal that sounds amazing for that time of year (say, under $400) jump on it. I'm looking at going to the UK around the same time, and right now I'm finding $500-600 to be the norm. There's a good chance it'll fall below that at some point, though, but maybe not for very long.

b. I love Virgin and BA. BA has better legroom and food, but Virgin has the best in-flight entertainment and a frequent flyer system that earns rewards much more quickly. Not to mention the hottest flight attendants Aaaaanyway, sign up for specials at both their web sites. You'll find that when one of them has a sale, the other will try to match or outdo them. I got from SFO to London for $200 that way a couple of Novembers ago.

c. Hell, sign up from emails from other places, too - I like travelzoo.com's weekly alerts in particular. I've had a few spur-of-the-moment trips because of those. *sigh*

d. You're probably talking about EasyJet, and they're nice for a no-frills airline... and they fly out of Heathrow, which is a big bonus compared to RyanAir. Just remember that luggage weight restrictions are tighter on budget airlines than on the major carrier you take to London, so pack accordingly.

[Somnambulation]

Ive never flown Virgin, but BA was great when I flew from SFO to LHR and back this year. A nice selection of movies and TV shows in the headrest in front of you, free drinks (including alcohol) and snacks all flight long, stewardesses made for nice eye candy after a few beers, and they were very accomodating when I missed my flight - gave me another one that day at no cost.

[scotters]

Thanks for the tips. yes I meant EasyJet not ValueJet. I'm thinking hot stewardesses with british accents are necessary for a smooth journey :-)