Kiwi Bills fan Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 Hi guys, My wife and I have decided to fly the family back to the States for a visit this September. (My father-in-law is battling Cancer in Colorado.) Since we'd be all the way in America already, we'd certainly want to visit friends and family in NY. (Maybe even check out a Bills game or at least an Amerks game.) Anyway... we'd be flying from New Zealand to Colorado and then Colorado to Rochester and then back to New Zealand. (2 weeks in each destination.) We have two children. (5 and 8) I've already searching Travelocity and Orbitz but thought I'd approach you all to see if you can give me any other advice on how to find the best deals. So far it looks like I'll be shelling out about $10,000 for flights alone. With the rise in fuel prices I assume that the sooner I buy the tickets the better, right? All advice would be greatly appreciated. Cheers, Mark Go Bills Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WWVaBeach Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 Kiwi, Unfortunately you're in a tight spot here. Flying is no longer for the everyman. I recently flew round trip from Va Beach to Jacksonville Fla and even though the ticket was purchased well over a month in advance a round trip ticket in coach was $809! I wish you luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Jack Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 Can't help on pricing, but I liked my flight on Air New Zealand when we came back from our cruise last year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KD in CA Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 Hey Kiwi -- we spent our hooneymoon in NZ and Tahiti last year; found pretty reasonable flights by taking NZ Air to Tahiti and Tahiti Air (which was much nicer than you might assume) back to New York. Sorry about your F-I-L. Cancer sucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi Bills fan Posted June 28, 2008 Author Share Posted June 28, 2008 Thanks for the replies guys. Yeah... Air New Zealand is a really nice airline. (I like the free quality wine too!) I just thought I'd come and ask around here since there is always a lot of people willing to give out a lot of advice. (take that how you want. ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KD in CA Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 Yeah... Air New Zealand is a really nice airline. (I like the free quality wine too!) We flew business class from LA to Auckland and it was a very nice trip. But that early morning puddle jumper from Rotorua back to Auckland....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi Bills fan Posted June 30, 2008 Author Share Posted June 30, 2008 A couple people have mentioned to me that it may be cheaper to buy tickets if I wait a month or so, while I was under the impression that airline tickets are going to be more expensive due to the high price of oil. What do you all think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloBud Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 KBF - Wife and I booked our Sept trip to France back in Jan (approx $800). I logged the trip into Yapta to track the airfare in case it went down. Of course, we know how that has played out (currently $1100). I have found that Orbitz and Travelocity are pretty comprehensive in their searches. I compare them to a couple of airline sites directly just to have a sanity check. Just by chance you might want to check eBay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Fong Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 When I lived in Thailand I found that if I went to the small travel agents that seemed to be everywhere and I shopped around there I always found a better deal than booking through a website. And I certainly always got a better deal when I bought over there and travelled here than my parents could when they would purchase tickets in the US and visit me. SO I'm not sure if there are equivalent travel shops in New Zealand, but that's where I'd start. Go to where the backpackers go. Even if they don't have an exact equivalent definitely try to book through some kind of New Zealand company. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrDawkinstein Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 A couple people have mentioned to me that it may be cheaper to buy tickets if I wait a month or so, while I was under the impression that airline tickets are going to be more expensive due to the high price of oil. What do you all think? not sure about international flights, but i waited on flights from Atlanta to Buffalo for next week and now im not going. they went from $250 to $500 to no flights even being available. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chilly Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 I think Southwest is likely to be your cheapest - they dont' show up on Orbitz or the other sites. Check southwest.com. Also, jetblue.com is worth checking out. Both fly out of Denver. I'm not sure if Southwest flies into Rochester, but they do fly into Buffalo - might be cheaper flying into Buffalo and driving to Rochester. Also, flying on tues-thurs is likely to give you a better rate then flying fri-mon I believe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.Biscuit97 Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 Kiwi, Unfortunately you're in a tight spot here. Flying is no longer for the everyman. I recently flew round trip from Va Beach to Jacksonville Fla and even though the ticket was purchased well over a month in advance a round trip ticket in coach was $809! I wish you luck! Wow, that's pretty horrible rate right there. Using priceline, I booked a trip from Buffalo to Los Angeles for this weekend (4th of July) a month and a half ago for under $300. I also booked a trip to Puerto Rico in February for under $250. The deals are there, you just gotta do some searching. Try leaving in the middle of the week and I find priceline and kayak.com to be the values. Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fan in Chicago Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 Hi guys, All advice would be greatly appreciated. Cheers, Mark Go Bills Try www.momondo.com as it searches multiple places for the fares. Within the continental US, Southwest may have the best deals. I did an Auckland - Denver R/T and get ~ $7000 for 2 adults and 2 kids including taxes. Also, October flights might be cheaper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloBud Posted July 2, 2008 Share Posted July 2, 2008 Article about airline travel in Columbus paper noted these sites to compare fares. • Farecompare.com • Bestfares.com • Airfarewatchdog.com • Smartertravel.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi Bills fan Posted July 8, 2008 Author Share Posted July 8, 2008 Thanks again for all who replied. We got a much cheaper deal flying Air Tahiti Nui for our long haul flights to and from the states. (Thanks KD!) We saved so much, in fact... that we extended our 2 hour lay-over in Tahiti to 5 days! Yeah baby! (I'll start another thread asking for any Tahiti suggestions.) Orbitz with the best search tool for all of our US based flights. I can't wait to be back in the good ol' US. (Although I'm a little leary about an "October Surprise." while I'm back there.) Go Bills! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloBud Posted July 9, 2008 Share Posted July 9, 2008 For future reference, another resource: Lessno.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts