Striking out on CLT to AMS June/July

[PapaCat]

Posted airfare is running ~1300 round trip. I bid up to 975+ fees and no dice. I am trying CLT to AMS, depart June 27 return July 5, but I am a little flexible on the dates (I must be in the city June 28-July 3, but want at least a couple extra days). Looking around at other sites it does not seem to make much of a price difference which dates I choose in that range and no airport within 300 miles of CLT seems to be doing any better for airfare...

Any advice?

[thereuare]

What is the breakdown of base fare + fees/taxes for the $1300 ticket?

How high are you willing to pay all-in at this point in time to justify giving up control of your flight times and layover cities/length?

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases.

[PapaCat]

As an example, a ticket on ITA's matrix shows 970 as the fares proper, +389 in taxes and fees, $1,359 total.

We are looking for tickets sub-$1,000 total.

Here are the details on the fare:

Fare (A1): UA CLTAMS WHX5NCE fare (rules) , psgr type ADT $485.00

Fare (A2): CO AMSCLT WHX5NCE fare (rules) , psgr type ADT $485.00

Tax: US International Departure Tax $16.10

Tax: UA YQ surcharge $140.00

Tax: US September 11th Security Fee $7.50

Tax: CO YQ surcharge $140.00

Tax: USDA APHIS Fee $5.00

Tax: US Immigration Fee $7.00

Tax: US Customs Fee $5.50

Tax: The Netherlands Passenger Service Charge €14.52

Tax: The Netherlands Noise Isolation Charge €2.00

Tax: The Netherlands Security Service Charge €12.94

Tax: US International Arrival Tax $16.10

Tax: US Passenger Facility Charge $12.00

Total for 1 adult passenger: $1359.30

Thanks for the help.

[thereuare]

I bid up to 975+ fees and no dice.

As an example, a ticket on ITA's matrix shows 970 as the fares proper, +389 in taxes and fees, $1,359 total.

So how much was your previous failed bid... it appears that it was $975 (bid) + $389 (fees) which would have been more than the current price of a retail ticket? (or was your bid amount roughly $600 + 389 (fees) = $975 you're referring to?)

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases.

[PapaCat]

So how much was your previous failed bid... it appears that it was $975 (bid) + $389 (fees) which would have been more than the current price of a retail ticket? (or was your bid amount roughly $600 + 389 (fees) = $975 you're referring to?)

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases.

weird thing is, when I bid on priceline, it is only adding $7.45 in fees... So my 975 bid was before the fees of $7.45. Oh, and I should mention that I did try up to 3 stops, as I know a number of flights from our area to AMS require two stops.

Here's an example, swapped dates around a little but same idea:

Your Trip Summary

Airfare Details

Depart:

Sat, June 26, 2010

Return:

Tue, July 6, 2010

Departing Airport:

Charlotte - Douglas Intl (CLT)

Arrival Airport:

Amsterdam - Schiphol (AMS)

Flight Times:

The airlines will choose your flight times. Your trip may start anytime from 5am on your travel dates to as late as 2am the next day, and may arrive anytime on the day after departure.

Connections:

Maximum of 1 connection each way.

Ticket Delivery:

Electronic Ticket Passengers:

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Aircraft:

Jet aircraft

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Summary of Charges

Airline Ticket Offer Price with Taxes: $800.00 per ticket

Airline Ticket Fees: $7.45 per ticket

Number of Tickets: 1

Airline Ticket Delivery: $0.00 (Electronic Ticket)

Airfare Subtotal: $807.45

Total Trip Cost:

(All prices are in US dollars) $807.45

Many airlines charge extra fees for checked baggage. These fees are not included in your trip cost.

[thereuare]

Looks like a recent change where the bid amount is inclusive of taxes... thanks for posting the summary.

Rounding the 'retail' ticket above to $1400 let's call it $1000 base fare + $400 taxes/fees.

Your $1000 bid = $600 base fare + $400 taxes

Since you won't receive any discount on the fees/taxes portion of the airline ticket, if your bid was accepted, you'd be looking at a 40% discount in the base fare (even though your total price of $1000 doesn't represent a 40% discount to the total price of the 'retail' ticket) While 40% is not unheard of in airfare discounts, it's not that common in the current environment either... as capacity is down, seat occupancy is up, and there just aren't that many empty seats on flights these days.

Is this a trip you won't be taking if you can't be successful at $1000 or less... or would you then book thru conventional channels?

[PapaCat]

Thanks for the info.

The trip is one I must take and I only have a small amount of flexibility on dates (I have to be in the city June 29-July3). I may just have to wait in hopes the airfares come down some in the remaining months before the trip. I have tried hotwire, ITA, kayak, mobissimo, and all the standard travel sites. Best I have found is just under 1300. That fare just seems awfully high.

Thanks again for the help.

[PapaCat]

Tried playing with the dates a little and bumped my bid up to 990, still no luck. Priceline keeps kicking back a 1294 counter-offer.

[travelguy2]

Unfortunately you are looking to go to Europe in the peak summer season. Fares to Europe for summer, right now, are extremely high. Even from Washington to AMS (or anywhere else on the continent) would be around $1400 for those dates. You could fly to London for around $1000 R/T and possibly find a cheaper way of getting from London to AMS, but that won't likely save you that much money when it's all done, and would be a headache.

At this point the fares are what they are. I would suggest just watching and waiting and if the fare gets closer to acceptable, book it. Be aware that it may be impossible to do CLT to AMS in the summer for around $1000 - that's why I say closer to acceptable - but if the fares do drop to that level, by all means, book it.

Part of the problem may be that airlines are forecasting better demand this summer and have set fares higher. If demand does not materialize as expected, fares could drop modestly at some point in the next month or two. However, be aware that you're only 3.5 months out now, and it may also just be that all the cheap fares are already sold.

Good luck!

[PapaCat]

Well, I decided if I was going over $1,000 it would have to be for a 1-connection flight, so I tried everything I could with dates and airports keeping myself to only one connection and bid up to 1200. Still failed. It kept kicking back 1292 for my less desirable dates and 1342 for the more desirable dates. I think I will just book directly through my preferred airline (KLM or Delta) for 1400 and get a nice short 1-stop flight on exactly the dates and times I want. I love priceline for hotels, but for airfare they fail me almost every time.

By the way, the difference between a 2-stop flight and a 1-stop flight would be somewhere between 6 and 9 hours, based on what I have seen for available schedules for the cheaper 2-stop flights.

[PapaCat]

Oh, I should add that I did use the new Matrix2 search function at ITA and the best fare anywhere within 300 miles of me to any airport within 50 miles of AMS that fits the dates I am obligated to be in Amsterdam was coming in at $1300 from an airport almost a four hour drive away.

[thereuare]

Sorry this airfare ticket didn't work out, but as mentioned, and as your experience is evidence of... bidding on airfare for big savings can be a tough proposition. Sometimes a great deal does come thru, so it's always worth trying, but a true win is usually more of a surprise then an expectation. However, this is only based upon the current airline environment and i'm sure at some point in the business cycle we will see excess supply and the deals to be a bit more forthcoming.

Have a good trip.