A question about : American Airlines big flight sale: New York Ј334, Boston Ј344, Miami Ј408 and more
What's this about?
Update 8 June: Amex customers can get an extra Ј35 off sale flights (see below).
American Airlines has just launched its summer sale with a multitude of slashed-price transatlantic seats, from London Heathrow and Manchester, for bookings made by 25 June.
Return journeys to New York start from Ј334, Boston Ј344, Miami Ј408, LA Ј424 plus others, including most taxes & charges, and availability is vast.
While those who remember pre-2007 sub-Ј200 transatlantic flights may think these sound costly, at this time of year and with the recent volcano strife, plus taking into account the massive fuel cost hikes in recent years, a low Ј300s fare is a very competitive price.
How to find them...
Know the sale details.
Travel must be between 22 August and 31 October from either Heathrow or Manchester airport to New York JFK, Chicago, Orlando, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Fransciso and Miami (plus Boston and Dallas/Fort Worth from Heathrow only).
Your travel must include at least one Saturday night.
Originally journeys between 1 and 30 June from London Heathrow to Boston or New York JFK were included in this promotion too, but due to a scarce amount of seats remaining this date range is no longer included.
Got a specific date & location in mind?
If you fancy going away to a certain destination on specific dates, don't bother looking at this sale direct, as the results are included in the cheap flight screenscrapers Kayak* and Travelsupermarket*.
So use those and not only will they show the sale's flights but also if any other airlines have cheap deals, just in case American Airlines is beatable. For more screenscrapers and options see the full Cheap Flights guide details.
Just browsing for a bargain?
In this case, it's worth looking at the specific sale at American Airlines London departures or American Airlines Manchester departures yourself for available dates and destinations, and seeing if it's worth planning your getaway around them. Then compare them to the best of the screenscrapers above.
Remember, for safety, pay on a credit card to get extra protection. See the Section 75 guide for full info.
Extra Ј35 off sale prices if you've an Amex card
Amex customers can get Ј35 off Ј200+ flights using a special code at flight broker Opodo*, until 31 August. Opodo includes most flights, so this works with the American Airlines sale. You can fly any date.
As an example, we found an AA London-New York return for Ј334 on Opodo. Take off the Ј35, and the total cost was Ј299 inc. most taxes and charges.
How to book
Once you've found the flight you want on Kayak or another comparison site, go to Opodo* and search for the same flight, checking it doesn't cost more than Ј35 more
Enter the code AMEXFLY in the promo codes box to take off Ј35 flights over Ј200 when you pay by Amex. The discount is valid against each booking, not per person. Read full offer details.
Anything to watch out for?
Pay by credit card, including Amex, and Opodo charges a 2% fee. While you wouldn't pay this if you bought direct from AA, the Ј35 should far outweigh Opodo's fee, ie, for Ј299 flights it's Ј6.
Plus do also check the terms and conditions when booking flights, cheaper deals tend to lack flexibility and individual brokers can have their own terms.
Opodo usually doesn't charge a booking fee for AA flights. However, pop the flight in your basket to check, as then it'll include the 'booking fee' it sometimes adds (it clearly says if there is one).
What if my flight's grounded by that unpredictable Icelandic volcano?
According to the EU Denied Boarding Regulations, if a flight is cancelled, for example, because of volcanic ash, if the carrier is EU based OR if the flight in question is departing an EU country, the airline has a responsibility to cover reasonable accommodation and food costs until it is able to get you on a flight.
So American Airlines isn't obliged under these regulations to help customers if its flights in the States are cancelled due to circumstances out of its control. Though some airlines without obligation have shown compassion and helped customers, others have kept a harsh stance, which may be worth bearing in mind. Ensure you check what your travel insurance covers before booking.
For more detailed information see the ABTA website.
Ј334 return to New York: doesn't sound THAT cheap, does it?
Some will remember the Ј160 London to New York returns with Delta in September '06. However fuel costs have rocketed since then, plus taxes and charges, so currently anything under Ј350 is very good and under Ј300 is practically impossible.
The cheapest flights this year had limited availability at Ј270 return in the New Years' sales using a special Opodo Ј20 discount code.
Typical prices for flights to New York (outside of summer months) are now floating around the Ј400 mark across the board (for example, BA, Delta, Virgin and Continental). So as you can nab 'em for just under Ј340 right now, it's a comfortable saving if you planned to book anyway, especially as taxes alone cost around Ј210.
Yet the real advantage here is that there is good range of availability for a large range of dates.
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Best answers:
- Can I just add a word of caution about American Airlines, if your flight is cancelled because of an “Act of God” incident such as the Iceland Volcano you will not receive any help from AA.
This happened to my family and myself in April when we were stuck in Chicago for a week, AA rebooked the flight but that was it, we were left to find our own accommodation etc for the 7 days delay.
Also please make sure that your insurance will cover you for this type of delay, the insurance I have from Insure and Go refused to cover me for the Iceland Volcano incident.
Paul - Stevens706 is right, as AA are not an EU based airline then they do not have to provide accomodation and meals if you the flight is cancelled due to volanic ash. They do have to provide you with an alternative flight (when available) but in the meantime you would be stuck.
Most insurance companies will not cover for volcanic ash as it is now a known risk. However, a couple of companies are offering add on's to their policies to cover 'Emergency Travel Cover' for any unforeseen circumstance that results in delayed travel where you are stranded abroad. I have purchaed insurance with Columbus Direct who now offer this option. Aviva were also supposed to be offering this add on from 1st June, but couldn't see it as an option on their website yesterday (it is available over the phone).
An annual policy with this option for a couple cost us Ј104 Worldwide (incl. USA) with 16% topcashback to come from Columbus Direct.
Hopefully we won't need to use it, but having been stuck an extra 10 days in New York in April its better to be safe than sorry (off to Chicago next week!). - actually if you read your policy wording, it normally says something along the lines of they do not cover you if the CAA close the airspace - nothing to do with volcanic ash or acts of god.
my argument is that volcanic ash is not the problem, it is the wind blowing it into the flight paths and therefore should come under weather conditions so should be covered, but im just a little number in a big pot.
EU airlines do not have to provide accommodation, those who have had it paid for are doing it out of goodwill eg BA, but others havent paid anything (ask unhappy LiarAir customers), hence the airlines trying to claim back from the government for closing the airspace in the first place.
American Express cover things such as emergency cover if you have booked your flight using your credit card. - Just be careful booking with AA if you want to take any luggage. You will be charged for each second item of hold bags you take, so the price might be cheaper going with BA or Virgin in the long run. I priced up going with them to MIA with my wife, when I added 3 bags to the total it came out to Ј50 more than going with BA who also allowed us 4 cases free.
- How do I get more details on Ј408 flights to Miami
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