Flight Bidding

[gcapp]

I am trying to book a trip to France to bring my mother back home to visit. With 2 adults and 2 children it can be quite costly. Has anyone ever used the bidding option to book a flight to France? My concerns - 1. Do they really give you flights for what you bid? 2. Are they reasonable flight times? Help is greatly appreciated for someone that has only been on a plane twice in her life and both times has been close to home never over seas. Any info would be great!

[Romelle]

I am trying to book a trip to France to bring my mother back home to visit. With 2 adults and 2 children it can be quite costly. Has anyone ever used the bidding option to book a flight to France? My concerns - 1. Do they really give you flights for what you bid? 2. Are they reasonable flight times? Help is greatly appreciated for someone that has only been on a plane twice in her life and both times has been close to home never over seas. Any info would be great!

My son has used bidding quite a few times to get flights from Minneapolis to Amsterdam. He usually ends up with US Air. He has been happy with the results. While hotel and auto bidding are more commonly used, people have had good results with air bidding.

Yes, they really give you the flights for what you bid (after they add in some taxes and fees, but this is spelled out before you finalize your bid).

Almost all US to Europe overseas flights start in the afternoon or evening and fly overnight, so that is most likely what you will get. There are some guaranteed minimum times between different legs of the flights that are reasonable. The amounts are different for domestic and international flights, but are spelled out by Priceline.

The list of airlines you could get is listed on Priceline. It is all major carriers, not unknowns.

You might also use something like Kayak to get a good general idea of what you might have to pay conventionally. Also check the airline web sites themselves. There are quite a few links to such things under the Support/Travel Links tab up above. This will keep you from bidding more than you might have to pay elsewise.

It sounds like you might have some discretion in when you fly. This is good as even changing from a weekend day to a midweek day can save money.

You might post your origination city so people can help give you more specific advice. And there are lots of places in France in which to land too. Your destination city would also be helpful.

Romelle