Flying from London to Miami... for cheap?

oddment

Hi there! I've been reading H&A for a while, but haven't yet posted here. And now I have a problem I could use some help solving!

My partner is currently working on a cruise ship in the carribean (his ship docks in Miami every Sunday). He's been away for almost two months so far, and has another 4 month or so to go. As you can imagine, I miss him a whole lot, and would really like to go and see him. He has also said he wants me to go over, but by gum, finding a flight cheap enough is seemingly impossible.

Okay, so I'm in Manchester, obviously meaning my nearest airport is Manchester Airport. However, flying from there to Miami costs over £400 (thats $800 or so) return. I figured out I could get a train from Manchester to a London airport like Gatwick for only £30 ($60) return, so although it'd take a good few hours to get to the airport, it'd possibly work out a tad cheaper as flights seem cheaper to Miami from London.

The next problem is, I have one day of holiday left from work before Christmas, so I would have to take some unpaid leave to go see him. This being the case, the absolute maximum I can afford to take off is 5 days, plus the 1 day of paid holiday I have.

SUMMARY
I need to get to Miami from London for as cheap as possible. I need to be IN Miami between 10am and 2pm, and able to get a plane after 2pm on the following Sunday. Doesn't matter when I go date wise, so long as its before Christmas. Please help me H&A! I'm all searched out! Any questions, don't hesitate to ask.

SporkAndrew

I think that your problem is you're trying to get the most expensive flights cheaply -- direct flights and flights on weekends always have some sort of premium attached.

Manchester - Miami, flying with US Airways on Monday 5th November to Sunday the 11th (with two stops on the return flight) costs $720.71 (£352.72). It gets $100 cheaper when you fly Monday - Monday.

It seems like you're flexible with regards to travel dates so the best advice I can give you is just to keep trying different dates / days until you find something ideal.

Muramasa18

A connecting flight would be cheaper but I don't know if it'd fit your times. Say, London-NY-Miami. I've done that a few times and it's cheaper.

oddment

I also forgot to say that his ship docks at certain times in Miami... so its during the day on Sunday. Therefore I need to be able to get on the ship between 9am and 2pm, and off it the following Sunday between the same times, then get to the airport to catch the plane.
I'm considering flying out on the Saturday, staying overnight in Miami then getting on the ship the next day. On the way back, obviously I cudn't catch a plane until like 3pm or later.

Does anyone know any obscure sites I can check for flights at all?

DrZiplock

www.kayak.com

Cheapest flights I've found anywhere. I just got back from a trip to ireland that cost me $450 round trip. Not a direct, but the cheapest never will be.

Mr_Grinch

going from www.majortravel.co.uk

Manchester to chicago, chicago to Miami then the return journey is working out at £444.20.

The problem you have is the taxs. In this case £160.20 of the final figure is tax so I doubt you'll find anything amazingly cheap.

oddment

I found out from a college at work that Delta are a good airline... fly out of Manchester every day, and the layover is in Atlanta... had a check on the website, and I can get a return to Miami, with one stop in Atlanta, 13 hours there, 10 hours back, for £350 including taxes and such. Not too bad! Gonna run it past the boyfriend, as he's the one paying.

Thanks for all the links and stuff aswell. 8-)