[Mother Goose]

Hi, I need to fly from London to Athens. Apparently, my only option is to get to the Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and take a 90 minute taxi to Athens. There is a smaller airport in Athens, but it doesn't seem to serve any use.

I'm familiar with using expedia to find the prices of flights, but unsure of how to get the best price. What are some other good systems? And what do you guys suggest?

[mattspalace]

orbitz.com was okay when I used them - I typically go through the air carrier's website so I can get miles and such..

[Mother Goose]

Originally Posted by mattspalace

orbitz.com was okay when I used them - I typically go through the air carrier's website so I can get miles and such..

Dear lord, no wonder I was so confused. The prices are all out of whack because the American dollar has been doing so strong against the British pound. I realised that after I went to orbitz.

It looks like I should stick with British sites.

[mattspalace]

I hear Virgin Atlantic has pretty good prices back to CONUS - might give them a look, although I'm not sure if they fly into Atlanta or not, but expect they would.

[cullam3n]

Originally Posted by mattspalace

I hear Virgin Atlantic has pretty good prices back to CONUS - might give them a look, although I'm not sure if they fly into Atlanta or not, but expect they would.

Everytime I fly back home to JFK from the UK I fly Virgin Atlantic. A little more expensive then the rest but well worth it, I would recommend it to anyone.

Try going to www.sidestep.com that searches all the orbitz/expedia/airline sites and then when you find the cheapest one, go to that site and search on their site again as sometimes you can get a slightly cheaper price.

[Mother Goose]

Originally Posted by Cullam3n

Everytime I fly back home to JFK from the UK I fly Virgin Atlantic. A little more expensive then the rest but well worth it, I would recommend it to anyone.

Try going to www.sidestep.com that searches all the orbitz/expedia/airline sites and then when you find the cheapest one, go to that site and search on their site again as sometimes you can get a slightly cheaper price.

Yup. That helps.

Can someone let me know what airline I should choose between Northwest (NWA) and KLM Royal Dutch.

[mattspalace]

Northwest sucks.

[LoneWolf121188]

Personally I use kayak.com. Meta-searches all of the major travel sites and returns the results together in a very clean interface.

Originally Posted by Mother Goose

Yup. That helps.

Can someone let me know what airline I should choose between Northwest (NWA) and KLM Royal Dutch.

European airlines are always better than US ones in service and comfort. Remember that just about all US airlines are bankrupt, or close to it, or recovering from bankruptcy. Never flown either internationally, but my intuition says go with KLM.

[JerkasaurusRex]

I second KLM. Great Airline. I have actually taken it about 3 times roundtrip in the past 6 months. They actually have good food (at least for an airplane) and their planes and pilots are good. I only took KLM once roundtrip trans-atlantic and it was really good and comfortable.

[TommyHolly]

I travel alot....a REAL LOT. One of the best sites out there is www.sidestep.com

Side Step is a search engine that searches almost all the other search engines!! So you get the combined power of Sidestep, Hotwire, Expedia, Travelocity, and sometimes others.

I found an average price of $630 (with taxes) roundtrip for most dates. I'm not sure if that is better or worse then what you found in Europe?

[Mother Goose]

Originally Posted by TommyHolly

I found an average price of $630 (with taxes) roundtrip for most dates. I'm not sure if that is better or worse then what you found in Europe?

Worse, actually. It's to do with the exchange value. I have plenty of flights for £445 = $612.

Unfortunately, it looks like paying in American is out. I'd either have to convert from my Canadian bank or my British bank. Both currencies aren't faring so well against the US dollar.

Originally Posted by Constantinos

I second KLM.

Sounds good. Looks like I'll book my flight for KLM then.

[Mother Goose]

Thanks for your help. I ended up booking a ridiculously cheap ticket on Air France for only about $400 USD return, with the condition that I simply spend 10-or-so hours in the Atlanta airport -- I've done much worse and much longer, so I was fine with that.

I'm fairly sure of the answer to this question, but I better ask it anyways: Canadian citizens are allowed into US through international flights without obtaining a visa beforehand, right?

[TommyHolly]

How did you find the deal on Air France? Did you just call them up?

Canadian citizens need thier passports but as far as I know, I haven't heard anything about them needing a Visa? (...Maybe a Mastercard or American Express might be helpfull...thank you, thank you, I'll be here all week folks. Don't forget to tip your waiters.)

[LoneWolf121188]

Originally Posted by Mother Goose

Thanks for your help. I ended up booking a ridiculously cheap ticket on Air France for only about $400 USD return, with the condition that I simply spend 10-or-so hours in the Atlanta airport -- I've done much worse and much longer, so I was fine with that.

I'm fairly sure of the answer to this question, but I better ask it anyways: Canadian citizens are allowed into US through international flights without obtaining a visa beforehand, right?

Good deal!

As for your question, the answer is no. Just bring your passport; you get a form called an I-94 on the flight over that you fill out and hand to the passport control guys when you land.

[Mother Goose]

Originally Posted by TommyHolly

How did you find the deal on Air France? Did you just call them up?

Canadian citizens need thier passports but as far as I know, I haven't heard anything about them needing a Visa? (...Maybe a Mastercard or American Express might be helpfull...thank you, thank you, I'll be here all week folks. Don't forget to tip your waiters.)

It was on expedia.co.uk. The prices really jump up and down depending on what day you choose -- going a day early saved me almost £200.

[cursor]

I assume you need to get from Hartsfield to UGA, right?

My guess is that if you contact the university they can give you some advice on how to get there. Taxi would be insane. Maybe as a last resort you could take a greyhound bus.

[Mother Goose]

Originally Posted by cursor

I assume you need to get from Hartsfield to UGA, right?

My guess is that if you contact the university they can give you some advice on how to get there. Taxi would be insane. Maybe as a last resort you could take a greyhound bus.

How did you know I needed to go to the university?

In any case, it seems that it's a 90 minute ride from Hartsfield and the only choices are,

Taxi and Shuttle Companies

Shuttle Service to/from Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport
• AAA Express, 1-800-354-7874; reservation required; call for schedule.
• Bulldog Limousine, 706-613-5206.
• Southeastern Stages, 706-549-2255; check with representative before departure.
• Embassy Limousine, 706-227-3255.
• The Limousine Company, 706-227-1324; very limited service, call for services and prices.

Athens Taxi Services
• The Limousine Company, 706-227-1324.
• Top Dawg Taxi Service, 706-552-0744.
• Your Cab, 706-546-5844.
• United Taxi, 706-549-0808.

Athens Auto Rental Companies
• Enterprise (will bring a car to you), 706-546-8067.
• Budget, 706-353-0600.
• Hertz, 706-543-5984.

I probably don't want a limousine. Which just leaves AAA Express, I guess. They charge $45 one way. It's not cheap, but It's pretty standard for a 90 minute ride, I suppose.

[cursor]

Originally Posted by Mother Goose

How did you know I needed to go to the university?

In any case, it seems that it's a 90 minute ride from Hartsfield and the only choices are,

I probably don't want a limousine. Which just leaves AAA Express, I guess. They charge $45 one way. It's not cheap, but It's pretty standard for a 90 minute ride, I suppose.

Seems quite reasonable to me.

I figured that's where you were going as there isn't much else in Athens. Been there many times--my uncle is a retired professor from there. If you're new to the US, then you should experience a Georgia football game next fall. Wonderful sport.

[LoneWolf121188]

Originally Posted by Mother Goose

They charge $45 one way. It's not cheap, but It's pretty standard for a 90 minute ride, I suppose.

That's not bad. I paid $110 roundtrip for a 1 hour bus ride from Ithaca to the Syracuse (NY) airport when I went home for break.

[JLK03F150]

Depending on what time you get into Atlanta, the limo is a better option than a taxi. The limo's price is fixed and the taxi's price is based on travel time. It's possible for a '90 minute' trip to take much longer than that. My 7 mile work commute (one way) takes up to 45 minutes at least once a week.
http://www.georgia-navigator.com/maps/georgia