There’s something special about New York in winter. The festive feel, the crisp cold air. OK, it’s not exactly like the movies, but it’s close and it’s a fabulous city to spend a long weekend.
But it’s not cheap so when we found London to New York flights for just £295 return with British Airways, we just had to share.
The catch? You have to fly to Oslo. Either just for an hour or two, or you can spend some time there, which having been there myself, is no bad thing. We factored that into our costs, so the £295 is for separate flights to Oslo too, taking a slice out of the cost of a Big Apple trip, with the next cheapest flights £340ish per person (non-direct).
How do I find a flight?
Let’s not be stupid, the first thing you need to do is check sites such as Kayak* or Skyscanner* to benchmark the cheapest direct and non-direct flights.
Next search British Airways* for return flights from Oslo to New York (they normally go via London). Finding the right dates is trial and error, but we found a few across November, December and January which all worked (look for prices around 1,300 – 1,500NOK each way – when we looked, that’s around £112 – £140 according to TravelMoneyMax).
As your journey starts in Oslo, and lands back there, you’ll then need to book a separate return flight to Oslo from London. Search for the cheapest using screenscraper sites – when we looked you could get one for about £50 all-in with Ryanair (though that’s hand-luggage only).
All-in, we found the complete set of flights for £295 travelling at the beginning of January, including taxes and booking fees if paid by debit card (additional fees apply for credit card bookings), but checked luggage only between Oslo and New York.
Yes it takes a little longer – layovers are usually less than two hours, and there’s the extra flights which to Oslo take about two hours – but flights to NYC at this price with a reputable airline are rare. If you’re flexible and just want the cheapest price, this is a cracking deal.
There’s no set end date, but tricks like this are usually slight price glitches so it may not last long and dates are limited. But having been to New York several times (I have family there, I’ll use any excuse…), whenever you go it’ll be a great trip.
How does it compare to standard New York flight prices?
If you can get a flight for £350 return, you’re doing pretty well, so under £300 including flights to Oslo is a bargain. We checked Kayak for flights around the same time in January and prices varied from £342 with Air Canada (non-direct) to £355 with British Airways (direct) and £371 with Virgin Atlantic (direct). So at the very least, you’re saving just under £50.
But when flight prices are so good, it’s highly likely they’ll go quickly, so make sure when searching you find the best deal possible – full details including tips to slash costs and what to watch out for in our Cheap Flights Guide.
Is luggage included?
On the separate flights you need to book to get to and from Oslo, luggage isn’t included. If you want to add it, Ryanair charges £15 per bag, max 15kg (beware of budget airline fees and see our guide to Budget Flight Fee-Fighting).
But on the booking to New York, standard British Airways luggage allowances apply, so 23kg per person.
What about visiting Oslo too?
There’s nothing stopping you amending your dates to spend some time in the Norwegian capital.
Medium range hotels are about £60/night and the city is easy to walk around and get to from the airport (there’s a direct train). But it can be expensive to eat and drink, so factor that in if you’re looking to keep costs down.
So, if you have any luck with finding cheap New York flights, start spreading the news in our comments below or in the forum.
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