The potential for fun is endless…
“You know – fish, chips, cup o’tea, bad food worse weather, Mary Poppins – London!” This line, stolen from the Guy Ritchie cult classic movie “Snatch” is only partly true. London is full of fish and chips, but it’s actually also one of the gastronomic capitals of the world now. And believe it or not, the all too famous weather is steadily improving too. Don’t take it from us though – you can fly to London for just $63 one way, thanks to a crazy deal from an upstart airline – with real planes and stuff and discover London all for yourself.
The Deals
Primera Air is a real airline, and they’ve actually been flying for quite a few months now. The airline is using new Airbus A321LR planes, and the seats even have power ports. Basically – it’s not as bad as you may be fearing. The airline is offering absurdly low one way flights from New York, Washington DC and Boston, starting at a mere $63 bucks. Give up your overpriced Starbucks habit for a week, phone up that old college friend who’s living in London, and you’ve got most of your trip sorted. This deal is really cool, because you can use points to fly home for next to nothing, or if you don’t have points, you can just book one of the $150 Primera Air deals back to the US, for a grand total of $250 all in.
The Dates
These deals are for spontaneous October, November and early December getaways. You’ll find the very best prices in October, but plenty more deals under $100 one way in November and December as well. At these prices, there’s a whole lot to love. And keep in mind – the flight from East Coast US to London is just a short overnighter. Flights from New York to San Francisco take almost exactly the same time.
How To Book
Don’t worry, this is easy too. You can pull these deals up on Google Flights, seeing an entire calendar month of prices at a time. Once you find one that works for you, just follow the links from Google Flights to Primera Air and get booked. Going carry on only is a lot easier than you think, we even have tips for you. Here’s a link to the deals from Boston, Washington DC and from New York. And here’s examples of low prices for the return flights to New York, Boston and Washington DC, if you don’t have miles or credit card points to book something else for free.
Since you’d arrive at Stansted, you are in one of the best airports in Europe for low-fare flights. Ryanair and EasyJet have tons of cheap flights to just about anywhere. Plan on a 3-4 hour layover to be on the safe side, and cross your fingers since you’ll be flying on separate PNRs. But, if you’re willing to go through the hassle, you can get to most cities in Europe from your US gateway for around $100.
^^^^^^ This is why I haven’t deleted the comments section. Great contribution, and too true. I live near STN: )
Well…it *is* a joke, to a certain extent. At least the $69 fare is. You’re allowed one personal item that can be no larger than 25 x 33 x 20 cm (10 x 13 x 8 in), and must fit under the seat in front of you. My regular TUMI backpack — TSA-compliant so I won’t have to remove my computer — is larger than that, at 16.5″x12″x7.5″, and will not (easily) fit under the seat were I to try to carry any clothing or toiletries in it. So, if you’re traveling with anything larger than a tablet and/or clothes, you’re forced to pay for carry-on. Apparently that’s another $12 online, or $24 at the airport (if you think it will fit but gets rejected at the ticket counter/gate). Not willing to risk that, I’d certainly pay the $12 in advance…STILL hope my bag fit under the seat, and use a real carry-on.
I am not suggesting that Primera is a bad deal — not in the least! — but I always find the way that ULLCs price out their tickets (indeed, now it’s practically the entire airline industry) to be more than a little disingenuous. (“Sure, we’ll take you to Europe for an unbelievable price, but you can only bring the clothes on your back.”). Yes, well, that’s why it’s unbelievable.
;^)
While these are great deals, be aware that Primera are not using the A321LR at the moment due to Airbus delivery delays. Instead they are using B737-800 which means a refuelling stop in Reykjavik. Still a great deal though