plane tickets

[MHandMB 0]

Hey everyone,

Amed and I are looking at tickets to go visit his family in Algeria in the late spring. I've done some research on expedia and on a couple of airline websites, and the cheapest I'm finding is $1200/each. Is this as good as it gets? Is there somewhere else I should be looking? I've never been to ME/NA. I'm pretty good at finding cheap-ish flights to Europe, but when going farther afield, it seems to be a whole different ballgame.

I'd welcome any tips! Ideally, we'd like to spend a couple of days in Paris before heading to Algiers.

Thanks for any help you can give!

[doodlebug 3]

cheaptickets.com

hotwire.com

priceline.com

Those have the cheapest I've seen, although suprisingly enough sometimes the actual airline sites have cheaper tickets so it's always good to check there first to have something to compare the prices too. If you don't care about layovers and such you can always try to bid on priceline instead of taking their list price. betterbidding.com always has good tips on bidding on priceline.

[DelcoCouple 1]

Hey everyone,

Amed and I are looking at tickets to go visit his family in Algeria in the late spring. I've done some research on expedia and on a couple of airline websites, and the cheapest I'm finding is $1200/each. Is this as good as it gets? Is there somewhere else I should be looking? I've never been to ME/NA. I'm pretty good at finding cheap-ish flights to Europe, but when going farther afield, it seems to be a whole different ballgame.

I'd welcome any tips! Ideally, we'd like to spend a couple of days in Paris before heading to Algiers.

Thanks for any help you can give!

As a newbie I am unsure what the rules are about posting links if I am breaching TOS I apologise and ask the Mods to deal with the link accordingly.

Before people suggest various travel agencies I would point you a step further up the food chain. This is a non commercial site which allows you access to the systems the travel agents use and shows the base fares plus a full breakdown of taxes charges etc and the booking classes and type of fare. You can not book with these people it is an industry search engine. What you can do however is take the information to a local travel agent and have them book it for you. I hope that made sense

There is a FAQ link on the site and instructions on how to you it. You do need to register an account which is free and painless. If anyone gets stuck on it please feel free to PM me and I hope you find this useful.

http://matrix.itasoftware.com/cvg/dispatch/prego

[Jenn! 918]

I always use www.kayak.com

[doodlebug 3]

I just did that travel agent link posted above and it gave me prices about $100 more expensive than what I found on priceline. I think prices in general suck lately though.

[DelcoCouple 1]

I just did that travel agent link posted above and it gave me prices about $100 more expensive than what I found on priceline. I think prices in general suck lately though.

If you are referring to the ITA link I urge using caution. ITA is NOT an Agent but rather provides real time availability and ACCURATE pricing which changes literally by the minute It is much more up to date than price line, expedia or anyone else. They show base fares before the application of an agents mark up. Many times on 3rd party travel sites you will be presented with a fare only to find when you go to book it is unavailable and the price has changed. My own practice is to use the month long search facility and identify the best fare then grasp the phone and contact the airline directly to avoid mark ups and quote them the fare class and ticket type.

Airfares are governed by yield management which is not only extremely complex but also very boring

It is also important to remember than some classes of fare issued to consolidators are rigid and allow for no flexibility at all such as change of date, time, return etc without incurring large fees which can be up to 100%+ of the original fare.

As with any purchase it is a question of buyer beware however the airlines suck more than most suppliers in baffling the heck out of their customers!!!!!

Happy fare hunting and have a great trip

Edited January 19, 2007 by DelcoCouple

[appletree352002 0]

Try ASAP Travel Services, I found tickets to Morocco in the midle of the Summer for $890.00 dollars when in other sites they where $1300.00 to $1450.00.

Best of luck

[Henia 11]

Hey everyone,

Amed and I are looking at tickets to go visit his family in Algeria in the late spring. I've done some research on expedia and on a couple of airline websites, and the cheapest I'm finding is $1200/each. Is this as good as it gets? Is there somewhere else I should be looking? I've never been to ME/NA. I'm pretty good at finding cheap-ish flights to Europe, but when going farther afield, it seems to be a whole different ballgame.

I'd welcome any tips! Ideally, we'd like to spend a couple of days in Paris before heading to Algiers.

Thanks for any help you can give!

MHandMB: for Alger all I can suggest is not to take the Paris route. Most time it is the most expensive. Flights to Algerie are generally more expensive then to Morroco or Tunezia. You can take Lufthansa, Air France, Air Italia or Iberien Air. I always fly Lufthansa. Reasonable priced and good service, on time and better airport Frankfurt for layovers. I have bought tix online but always got a better quote from my local agent. He is an Algerien and always helps me out. He works for Adam Travel, a reputable travel agency. If like I could PM you the tele. He quoted me tix for next month (the prices good until late May) for about 890$USD, summer tix for about 1400$USD.

[Henia 11]

Hey everyone,

I'd welcome any tips! Ideally, we'd like to spend a couple of days in Paris before heading to Algiers.

Ooops overead this part, but anyway that agent has always given me the best price and you could even go to frankfurt then to paris, if you donnot that.

As a newbie I am unsure what the rules are about posting links if I am breaching TOS I apologise and ask the Mods to deal with the link accordingly.

Before people suggest various travel agencies I would point you a step further up the food chain. This is a non commercial site which allows you access to the systems the travel agents use and shows the base fares plus a full breakdown of taxes charges etc and the booking classes and type of fare. You can not book with these people it is an industry search engine. What you can do however is take the information to a local travel agent and have them book it for you. I hope that made sense

There is a FAQ link on the site and instructions on how to you it. You do need to register an account which is free and painless. If anyone gets stuck on it please feel free to PM me and I hope you find this useful.

http://matrix.itasoftware.com/cvg/dispatch/prego

Hmm this is thing. Thanx for sharing.

[Private 1]

This is the best trend every. I am in a libo myself. I found great price tickets for 2 people on Iberia. Iberia is about 200 less than Air France. The thing is Iberia is about 3 flights compared to Air Frances two. Also I have flyer miles with Air France, I am almost a silver member. On top of this I am famliar with Air France and since I am taking my son I want to us something that I am familiar with. BUt should I just go with the cheapest flight? Has anyone used Ibeira how is the service, do they trip out when they see you are muslim like in France. I do not like the service from France to Morocco or visa versa. But to go to Chicago and then to Spain and then Morocco, I do not know.

If this is your first flight and you care about price go with the easiest one. I know french so I like the traveling to France and the french movies and the little layover I get, it is like a little pop quiz you know. I think the food is good, becuase I just can not wait until they feed me. The service from America to France is good, but that airport is crazy. I think using the website you get the best prices and when you buy online it is good to. The key is to wait for the sales right now Air france has a sale and the fares are normally cheaper. Happy shopping!!

[Sofiyya 1,687]

I've gotten good deals with AirFrance around this time of year because they often have a Valentine's Day hoilday fare.

[Henia 11]

This is the best trend every. I am in a libo myself. I found great price tickets for 2 people on Iberia. Iberia is about 200 less than Air France. The thing is Iberia is about 3 flights compared to Air Frances two. Also I have flyer miles with Air France, I am almost a silver member. On top of this I am famliar with Air France and since I am taking my son I want to us something that I am familiar with. BUt should I just go with the cheapest flight? Has anyone used Ibeira how is the service, do they trip out when they see you are muslim like in France. I do not like the service from France to Morocco or visa versa. But to go to Chicago and then to Spain and then Morocco, I do not know.

If this is your first flight and you care about price go with the easiest one. I know french so I like the traveling to France and the french movies and the little layover I get, it is like a little pop quiz you know. I think the food is good, becuase I just can not wait until they feed me. The service from America to France is good, but that airport is crazy. I think using the website you get the best prices and when you buy online it is good to. The key is to wait for the sales right now Air france has a sale and the fares are normally cheaper. Happy shopping!!

Private: Have you had trouble with them blackout dates and not giving all the points. I had problems with this, that is why I left.

[yassmine2878 1]

I just bought round-trip tickets on CheapoAir for a tad over $800. www.cheapoair.com

[Henia 11]

I just bought round-trip tickets on CheapoAir for a tad over $800. www.cheapoair.com

That is about average for Morrocco.

[MHandMB 0]

Thanks for the tips everyone! I guess I will keep looking around. When we get serious about exact dates, I might call one of those travel agents. It's just a shocker to be paying more than double what we paid to go to Hawaii, and almost double what I normally pay to go to Europe.