Cost of flights

[Tredegar Boy]

Morning all from a slightly drier South Wales than of late - I have a question.

Normally by this time I've booked our flights to Corfu for July, however I haven't this year because the prices seem to be incredibly high regardless of the carrier. Last summer I paid roughly £250 each for our flights with Thomas Cook. The same flights for 2013 at roughly the same time are £360+ at the moment. Easyjet's prices have ballooned mainly I guess because you have to book your seats now.

Is this just a problem in Bristol and Cardiff or are the prices much higher regardless of where you fly from? If so are the prices going to stay this way because paying roughly £1200 (3 tickets) is a lot more money to find than £750. 

[swedebasher]

Flights for two in May from Norwich £777!!!!

[tenbeech]

Flights for two in May from Norwich £777!!!!

  Don't forget the £10 per person Airport Development Fee,

[Gill C]

We had to pay high price on easy jet from Bristol for Last two weeks in August yet two weeks prior was a lot cheaper !!It is also a lot cheaper in June flying from Birmingham with TC than from Bristol.Why are Bristol flights so dear .?

[Bee]

I have just checked and I can get a Monarch flight for June for £187.44 from Luton

[Bee]

I have just checked and I can get a Monarch flight for June for £187.44 from Luton

Then I saw the flight times so have revised it to £214.44

[Bristle Boy]

Morning all from a slightly drier South Wales than of late - I have a question.

Normally by this time I've booked our flights to Corfu for July, however I haven't this year because the prices seem to be incredibly high regardless of the carrier. Last summer I paid roughly £250 each for our flights with Thomas Cook. The same flights for 2013 at roughly the same time are £360+ at the moment. Easyjet's prices have ballooned mainly I guess because you have to book your seats now.

Is this just a problem in Bristol and Cardiff or are the prices much higher regardless of where you fly from? If so are the prices going to stay this way because paying roughly £1200 (3 tickets) is a lot more money to find than £750.  

Hi Tredegar

We fly from Bristol all the time. We're frequent users of Easyjet.
Prices have shot up - it's more true than in the past that u have to try and book as soon as Ejet flights come out. And by that i mean the day they come out.

We fly to Faro, Portugal once or twice a year - we privately book an apartment so always fly Ejet. In July this year we paid £280 return for the two of us (thats the total price, so £140 each). We paid about the same for September this year. A couple of years ago same flights would've been about £100 each.
In June 2011 we paid £75 return for flights to Fuerteventura - the other week, 1st wk of November cost £140 each to Fuert.

I'm currently accessing Ejet website about 4 times/day waiting for September 2013 flights to Faro - sad maybe but i want to get best prices. I' m afraid it's the only way to get cheapest flights these says, esp on the popular routes.

Another development with Ejet this year and onwards is the following:
They signed a partnership deal with Thomas Cook - effectively some Thomas Cook package hols now use Ejet planes - TC have stopped using their own aircraft to some S European airports. This increases demand for Ejet seats, so prices ratchet up quite quickly. Good for Ejet, not so good for Ejet frequent flyers.
The days of cheap air travel are over, unless travelling in off peak season and that's not often.

So plan yr hols way in advance, watch Ejet website a few times/day and book as soon as the flights are released. Worry about accomodation booking after.

EDIT:
Bristol to Corfu is one of the routes that TC is using Ejet for its package hols next Summer - so i'm afraid the BTL to Corfu route is going to be v high demand, with a mix of Ejet independent travellers and TC package holidaymakers.
Bang goes that cheaper route! Too late now but for Summer 2014 book on the day Ejet summer flights are released if u want to travel to Corfu with Ejet.
At the mo only flights to Corfu from BTL with Ejet are out up to 1st week of Sept 2013.

[loftyscot]

Agree Bristle Boy, direct flights from Edi are v. expensive compared to previous years for the school holidays

[Tredegar Boy]

Hi Bristle Boy

We used to use Ejet every year but got fed up with the flight times (I hate late evening flights getting back to the UK at midnight) so we used Thomas Cook this year.

Next year our holiday starts on a Friday and the prices for flights then are more expensive than a Monday - why's that for flip sake.

When we used to book Ejet the prices went up the more people booked - that can't be happening this year for next as the prices for July have been high since they came out (£320 quoted for July when first released - thats a heck of a rise).

Thomsons are quoting £420 each from Cardiff on the day I want!!!!! I ask you, £420 each. I don't want to buy the plane just borrow it for a while.

Oh well I'll have to think of something else we need to do without to save the money.

Cheers 
 

[Bristle Boy]

Hi Bristle Boy

We used to use Ejet every year but got fed up with the flight times (I hate late evening flights getting back to the UK at midnight) so we used Thomas Cook this year.

Next year our holiday starts on a Friday and the prices for flights then are more expensive than a Monday - why's that for flip sake.

When we used to book Ejet the prices went up the more people booked - that can't be happening this year for next as the prices for July have been high since they came out (£320 quoted for July when first released - thats a heck of a rise).

Thomsons are quoting £420 each from Cardiff on the day I want!!!!! I ask you, £420 each. I don't want to buy the plane just borrow it for a while.

Oh well I'll have to think of something else we need to do without to save the money.

Cheers  
 

I'm convinced the main reason for the quick rise in Ejet flight prices, so soon after they are released, is down to the TC issue on some routes.
And agree Ejet flight times to Corfu are awful, hence why we havent been to SS since June 2010.
Maybe we'll look at a Thomson package in 2014.

[Jimbo]

It could be that the days of ridiculously cheap flights are over. Let's face it, it was daft that you could fly a thousand miles for £20 if you were lucky.

I just checked what it would cost me to go to London and back tomorrow by rail: £229 - that's a 186 mile each way journey. Corfu is about 1,300 miles each way.

Mile for mile - that's 2,600 divided by 372 times 229 - the price for Corfu should be about £1,600

We have lived, I think, through a ridiculous period of unrealistic air fares.

[Bristle Boy]

It could be that the days of ridiculously cheap flights are over. Let's face it, it was daft that you could fly a thousand miles for £20 if you were lucky.

I just checked what it would cost me to go to London and back tomorrow by rail: £229 - that's a 186 mile each way journey. Corfu is about 1,300 miles each way.

Mile for mile - that's 2,600 divided by 372 times 229 - the price for Corfu should be about £1,600

We have lived, I think, through a ridiculous period of unrealistic air fares.

I'm afraid you're comparing apples & pears there Jimbo.

Most air routes have competition in the form of a number of airlines.
Rail lines in UK - only one co. operates each route between two points.

But yes air travel did get v cheap mainly due to increased competition in last 10 years, now correcting itself somewhat.

[YANNIS26]

I believe that the reason the cost of  Thomsons flights are so high is simply they want to fill their flights with package holidaymakers.They are very concerned that they are being undercut by the rise in direct bookings.This being the case they have no intention of cutting their own throats by offering cheap flights.They will only offer cheap flights last minute to avoid empty seats.Check their prices for last minute winter flights.
As for the argument that rising prices in the airline industry are the reason for Thomsons prices I do not agree.I base this on the fact I fly from Newcastle to Dubai with Emirates .An airline that is among the best in the world.For my money(420 pounds/head) I get an A/I package of food ,drink & inflight entertainment plus a luggage allowance of 30kg/person .Compare this withThomson flight from Newcastle to Corfu on the 21st June my holiday date.No entertainment or food at a cost of 461 pounds/head with 20 kg of luggage.Some people may not agree but that is why I am driving twice the distance to Manchester to fly Easy Jet.Granted the return flight does not arrive in Manchester till 0100 HRS.I have got around this problem of a 2.5 hrs overnight drive by staying at an airport hotel overnight.This include 15nights car parking and a full English breakfast for  my wife & I.All this at a total cost of 450 pounds which is half the price Thomsons want to charge me.
This is why I book direct.Our total cost of 2 weeks at the Romanza including taxi transfer is 950 pounds.The last time I checked Thomsons package it was in excess of 1300 pounds plus 50 pounds to park the car.
I fully understand that everyone does not have access to easyjet due to their location but I stiil consider the 400 pound saving well worth the extra 70 mile drive.
The added bonus of the overnight stay is I no longer need to have a quiet last day in preparation for the overnight drive.
Yammas
Yiannis

[Jimbo]

Jet2 from Leeds/Bradford £181 pp round trip in July is not bad - that's with 22kg luggage

[Lesley]

Not bad Jimbo less than a return flight from Corfu - Athens which is a 35 mins flight before we consider anywhere else as an onwards flight......