Flights within Europe

[lordtiberius]

Folks,

A question to the European adventurers, which flight web sites do you recommend for travel from Frankfurt to Kiev?  I have a special deal that gets me across the pond to Frankfurt where I will spend a day in Frankfurt to visit my brother and his family up and back.  But any G2 on how to get to Frankfurt to Kiev cheap but safe?  Thank you in advance

(posted on the other forum as well apologies to those who seem annoyed by this)

[mendeleyev]

LT, please allow me to explain why I buy tickets from the major airlines and not from travel websites:

With rate parity the norm these days, the net paid to the airlines by the travel agent/website is based on a parity system; in truth no travel website has an advantage over another. Those supposed savings are because Website A shaved a few bucks off their commission in order to appear cheaper than Website B but in reality they both pay the same net rate to the airline for that flight.

Does that matter to you?

Yes, especially in the number and status of frequent flyer miles and sometimes in customer service if something goes wrong on a flight.

You are beginning to fly over there more often and thus in a position to accumulate frequent flyer miles. By accumulating 100,000 to 140,000+ miles you can fly FREE or almost free from your home. On any Skyteam (Delta, Aeroflot, Czech, KLM, etc) it is 140,000 miles for a free ticket from Phoenix to Moscow. Perhaps you pay $60 to $100 bucks more this time but after a few trips that $1000-$1400 flight is free.

Why for you, a US resident, it is important to purchase the ticket from a US based carrier?

Most European carriers limit the number of miles a North American citizen can earn on an international flight. It is usually about a third of the total miles flown. The most important thing is which airline you book the ticket through so that you keep all the miles earned. Code-share partners can sell each others tickets and schedules and if one has a lower price that the other you'll get the lower price.

I buy all my SkyTeam tickets from Delta. No matter which Skyteam airline I use to fly, those frequent flyer miles accumulate in my Delta Skymiles account.

For Star Alliance carriers I buy all tickets via United and all miles flown, no matter which airline, accumulate in my United account. 

OneWorld Alliance: American, British Airways, Jet Blue, Alaska, Cathay, Quantas, etc. I buy tickets on any of these carriers from American and all those miles go to my American AAdvantage miles account.

There are a million advantages to accumulate miles in one account per alliance rather than miles spread across a bunch of different carriers.

Let's say you travel on Aeroflot from Los Angeles. Buy the ticket from Delta, always cheaper than Aeroflot, but fly on Aeroflot. The total round trip from LAX-SVO-LAX is 12,154 miles. At twice in a 12 month period you're close to earning "Silver" elite status (25K miles) with a free checked bag allowance, free adult beverages if traveling in Economy Comfort, discounts on Economy Comfort ($59-79 to Moscow), bonus miles and a chance to be upgraded to first class on any domestic segment when available.

By comparison, that same flight via KLM, Air France or Aeroflot would have limited you to around 3,000 miles instead of the 12,154 you actually flew. At that rate you'd need to take 8+ flights in a 12 month period to gain any frequent flyer status benefits.

Once you attain the 25k status you'll earn bonus miles (over 3,000 additional bonus miles for LAX-SVO-LAX) which means that before long you'll be at 50K miles (Gold status) and with 2 checked bags free, free upgrades to Economy Comfort with more leg room and adult beverages, companion status (she gets the same benefits as you on the flight) and about half the time on domestic segments you'll be bumped into First Class. 

A lot of guys fly to Turkey and it may be good to know that Turkish Air is a Star Alliance member so you can book a ticket and collect all your miles by going thru your local Star Alliance carrier, United is just one domestic example. Same schedule, same Turkish Air plane, same low rate, but with your United ticket you get 100% of the miles.

Don't sacrifice the miles you deserve just to get a slightly cheaper ticket. In many cases you can have both.

[lordtiberius]

Thank you for posting.  I think I am at 30K with the Star Alliance.  When do you start getting free tickets?

[Ooooops]

I think I am at 30K with the Star Alliance.  When do you start getting free tickets?

Amount of points required differ depending on distance and class of tickets.   You should check with the particular airline you gonna use.   


About Turkish Air - we used them few times and they are pretty good.   The best part is that their Economy Plus is just like an old Business class in United or American, but half the price.   

[mendeleyev]

Star Alliance: Call the airline where you have those 30K and ask. 30K won't get you a free flight internationally but you need to know at which level to aim. By concentrating all your flights on your main Star Alliance carrier you'll get to rewards faster.

Once you attain a "rewards status" with 25K flown in one calendar year, easy to do with just a couple FSU trips, you'll also begin to see additional benefits like a free checked bag, discounts on upgrades to economy comfort, and occasional bumps up to first class.

[Shadow]

On the other hand if you do not fly often, it does not hurt to shop around.

Generally I start at Amadeus.net as they provide the backbone service for many reservation sites and ther for offer an overview of all fights. Next would be Expedia and Octopustravel.

However you may simply book your ticket to final destination using a stopover. The stopover is not limited in time. Some people from India I know will always use their ability to book a free stopover, and as a ticket can be vaid for 1 year they use them at a later visit, making it eventually possible to fly around Europe for free.

[lordtiberius]

On the other hand if you do not fly often, it does not hurt to shop around.

Generally I start at Amadeus.net as they provide the backbone service for many reservation sites and ther for offer an overview of all fights. Next would be Expedia and Octopustravel.

However you may simply book your ticket to final destination using a stopover. The stopover is not limited in time. Some people from India I know will always use their ability to book a free stopover, and as a ticket can be vaid for 1 year they use them at a later visit, making it eventually possible to fly around Europe for free.

I have had more than a few wrinkles (good ones) in the grand plan since I posted this.  Still shooting for September . . .  thank you all for the good g2

[neo]

The best flight deals are usually on STA travel, its a student travel service but anyone can use it.


That said as mentioned its usually better to book direct with the airline.


Lufthansa will have the best options out of frankfurt, while you can get budget flights they are loaded with extras and lufthansa have always been good at rebooking me if i miss my connection.

[lordtiberius]

The best flight deals are usually on STA travel, its a student travel service but anyone can use it.


That said as mentioned its usually better to book direct with the airline.


Lufthansa will have the best options out of frankfurt, while you can get budget flights they are loaded with extras and lufthansa have always been good at rebooking me if i miss my connection.

Thank you!