Flights to Nice with Aer Lingus - very dear on certain dates

podgeandrodge

Was thinking of going with Aer Lingus to Nice, France in May - flights very expensive going out on Saturday 14th specifically - €112 one way before bags (much cheaper during the week which is to be expected probably) but when looking at the seat selection on the Saturday only 25 out of the 180 seats are gone - but I suppose it could be well booked and people haven't paid for advance seat selection.

Anyway....would you gamble and wait for a reduction or, with only 7 weeks to go, book now? (ps, Ryanair times are crap so not going there)

Thanks!

Graham

The lowest prices around that period are only about €40 cheaper. The highest price I can see between now and May 14th is almost €300.

Put it another way, by holding off you're gambling that you might save €40 or the flight might cost you an extra €190+.

Working on the basis that flights rarely get cheaper the closer you get to departure personally I'd be booking now.

Strumms

Definitely pull the trigger now, those flights will only get more expensive not cheaper.

I usually go down to Nice in May myself and the trick is to book in the Aer Lingus January sale. I have gotten some great fares, last year 90 odd Euros although that's before bags I only take carry on. I couldn't commit to going that early this year but last week was looking at the end of May and it does seem quite expensive. Even selecting to go out on a Saturday didn't even seem to help which is odd considering they have 3 outbound flights for a few weeks on Saturdays.

podgeandrodge

thanks all. Went ahead and booked.

On the way back they also have a sharing arrangement 3rd flight operated by British Airways on the Saturday too. Seems more popular than normal and no point in taking risks!

Graham

podgeandrodge wrote: »

thanks all. Went ahead and booked.

On the way back they also have a sharing arrangement 3rd flight operated by British Airways on the Saturday too. Seems more popular than normal and no point in taking risks!

That sounds like it's the wet lease Embraer E190 from BA Cityflyer covering summer weekends. Nice little jet and 2 + 2 seating.

podgeandrodge

Graham wrote: »

That sounds like it's the wet lease Embraer E190 from BA Cityflyer covering summer weekends. Nice little jet and 2 + 2 seating.

Yes, I think it is. I went for the normal Aer Lingus flight which was a bit dearer but allowed seat selection in advance, the BA option only allowed seat assigning at check in, and I didn't want this.

Mr rebel

Trying to figure out when is the best time to book flights to get the cheapest deal is always a gamble and there doesn't seem to be a particular trend.
For instance, I am going to Stockholm in May and booked my flights back in February thinking that booking as early as possible would be better and paid €400 return. As of now, the same flights have been slashed almost in half to €270 return so I have lost out big time:(
Of course the lesson here is never to check flight prices again once you have booked!

JCX BXC

Mr rebel wrote: »

Trying to figure out when is the best time to book flights to get the cheapest deal is always a gamble and there doesn't seem to be a particular trend.
For instance, I am going to Stockholm in May and booked my flights back in February thinking that booking as early as possible would be better and paid €400 return. As of now, the same flights have been slashed almost in half to €270 return so I have lost out big time:(
Of course the lesson here is never to check flight prices again once you have booked!

I generally follow this rule.

UK- 1-2months before departure.
Europe (Except holiday destinations) 2-3 months beforehand
European Holiday destinations: 3-6months beforehand
Longhaul 6-12 months beforehand.

Turtle_

Late May a lot of people will be heading over to France ahead of the Euro 2016 thing...

Places like Nice are unlikely to go down any closer to the summer... It's a very popular spot for holidays.

Strumms

Turtle_ wrote: »

Late May a lot of people will be heading over to France ahead of the Euro 2016 thing...

Places like Nice are unlikely to go down any closer to the summer... It's a very popular spot for holidays.

Spot on. People will be avoiding Nice in June as the prices will sky rocket (flights and hotels) due to it not only being peak but because of Euro 16. Also in advance factor in that there will be a lot of support staff going there a week or two in advance of the tournamnet that will drive prices and demand up. Flightwise if you want to go towards end of April or very early may some good deals around.. Scouted a Ryanair return for 71 Euros...

coylemj

Nice is the gateway for Cannes and Monte Carlo, both popular spots for corporate jollies business conferences so on any particular day midweek there could be a lot of seats block booked by a large US corporation based in Ireland i.e. you don't need the Cannes Film Festival or the Monaco Grand Prix to suddenly shove prices in the wrong direction.

duffman13

There is an app available called Hopper which I've used with some success. It's a prediction tool for airfares. It's saved me a lot travelling last year and this year I managed to get a return flight to Oz for 850 euros with Emirates. It's rarely let me down if you use it with a bit of common sense.