Cheap, trustworthy international airline suggestions

[Azaelia]

I'll be going over to visit my S/O over in America for the first time in December, and as a 16 year old, obviously I do not make too much money. One of the conditions of me going over to the states, is that I pay for the trip, not my mum. So, because of this, does anyone have any cheap but reliable airlines or websites for plane tickets from the UK to the US? As cheap as possible, please!

[80anthea]

Check comparison sites like skyscanner. If you can travel outside of common vacation times it is cheaper but you won't ever get it supercheap I'm afraid.

[Azaelia]

Thank you! I've looked on there, but I've heard that sometimes it can be untrustworthy, but it depends on what flight you choose. I'll look further into it, thanks again!
I'm planning on going from the 24th to the 31'st.

[80anthea]

Thank you! I've looked on there, but I've heard that sometimes it can be untrustworthy, but it depends on what flight you choose. I'll further into it, thanks again!
I'm planning on going from the 24th to the 31'st.

You're travelling at peak time so you're unlikely to get something cheap. I've used skyscaner for all my trips to the states and never had a problem with reliability. However, for your dates I'd be surprise to get anything under £1000. If you can travel at another time you will find deals for half that price.

[Moon]

That's an expensive time to travel, you won't find cheap holiday tickets, I'm afraid. Also, assuming you're traveling to Pennsylvania, if it's the Philly area, Philadelphia International is not a good hub to travel to internationally. You'll have very few, very expensive choices. If it's for the Philly area, you will save hundreds by flying into any of the New York airports and arranging transportation, I've had to do that for most of the flights I take. Check kayak.com also, and remember that no matter what you use to search, airline prices can change as much as a few times a day. It's said that ideally 8 weeks out is generally when you'll get the best price for international travel.

[S41r4]

try budgetair.co.uk

I've used them for the first trip for my upcoming trip. They were hundred of £'s cheaper and I've not had any problems.
Booked with American Airlines, my flight and everything is confirmed with them.

[lucybelle]

Yeah if you can manage a London-JFK flight you will have much better prices. But if you have to connect to anywhere else it will go way up in price.

Dec 24-31 is probably the most expensive time to travel during the year. Flights can be double their normal price.

[xxcazaxx]

I have never had a bad experience with skyscanner. It has saved me a fortune

[C.C.]

You could always check the site of an airline to make sure and find out other deals they have~

[sasad]

Yup... pretty much the worst time to travel. Can you do flexible days? I think it was cheaper by a hundred or so if I landed on the 25th vs the 24th...
Book in advance! I have an account with united, and I will get the difference if the price drops, but wont pay more if it goes up.

[Azaelia]

Thank you everyone for your suggestions! I'll make sure to look into all of the suggested sites.
I'll be flying into New York, as it's cheaper and still close to my S/O's home. Unfortunately, as we are both at school, the dates are a bit awkward. His Christmas holiday is the 24th-31st, whereas mine is a week longer, so if the dates changed then he'd be at school during the days. That's a possibility, but obviously not preferred. Due to the differences in our holidays, the next available time to visit would be next summer, which isn't ideal.

[BFG]

I've done my fair share of travel, extravagant and budget, domestic and international and i've found that 90% of the time if you book at least 3 months in advance and with the airline, it will be hard to beat that price. Usually.

You see the occasional deal with some fly by night online booking agency - the flights all get booked legit with the airlines and then the agency goes belly up and for some reason it all gets cancelled and you're left in the cold.

For peace of mind, simplicity, reliability and transparency i nearly always book direct through the airline. Occasionally I use expedia but very rarely. There's a lot of little things that come with those booking agencies - depending on the airline sometimes you can't change or alter your flight, they may be non refundable etc etc. The terms and conditions are not always the same so as with anything: Caveat Emptor.