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Who do you all use to get your tickets when going to the FSU?

I met a guy who was going from Dallas to Rome for $385. He got it off of BetsFares.com. But apparently, they don't consider the FSU part of Europe. I saw no such fares to there...

I know that --the now banned-- Mdante99 always talked about how he could get good fares because they bought in bulk.

Seems to me there are a couple of other members who are travel agencies who are on here. If so, please feel free to email me. I need to start setting up my next trip.

Thanks

                 I have been monitoring the airfares to St. Petersburg on a daily basis at either
                 Travelocity, Orbitz, or specific airlines' websites (mostly Finnair & LOT Polish). For
                 weeks now, the fares between Sarasota, Florida & St. Petersburg, Russia have
                 been just slightly over $1189 for travel in April. Of course, you'll usually get a lower
                 fare if you book directly from New York to LED, and then from your home city to
                 New York. By checking the 2 individual fares, I was quoted a little over $1100, by
                 pricing Finnair & Delta Airlines separately.

                 However, those of you who read my nightmare travel report from August know that it
                 is extremely advisable to get your entire itinerary on one ticket contract. This
                 ensures that one airline or the other is responsible for you in case there is a delay or
                 missed flight, etc, anywhere in your itinerary. At least Delta was nice enough to
                 send me a $75.00 voucher as sort of an apology for my last trip hassles.

                 Finally, a few weeks ago Finnair cut fares by about $150.00 (on Travelocity & Orbitz) for
                 travel on 4/26/02. This was the slight break I was looking for. Current combined fares
                 on Orbitz showed R/T at $959.00. I decided to just call Delta & inquire about the
                 fares, in addition to receiving credit for my $75.00 voucher. After giving the C.S rep
                 my preferred itinerary with both Finnair & Delta, he surprised me by offering me the
                 complete itinerary for $923.00 minus the $75.00, for a total of $848.00 R/T from
                 Sarasota to St. Petersburg.

                 In my opinion, I don't think that anyone could substantially beat this price, while
                 giving me piece of mind on one contract, and convenience of preferred itinerary. For
                 those who aren't familiar, Sarasota/Bradenton airport is not exactly a huge hub or
                 very convenient airport, such as Tampa, Miami, Atlanta, etc. However, it's very
                 convenient for me to depart from there.

                 Ok, so what's my point, you ask? Continue to monitor your preferred flight itineraries
                 using a number of internet sources (travel sites, AND airline sites). It's usually
                 cheaper to check flights from New York to Russia/Ukraine, and then from your home
                 city to New York. Also, after checking the best internet published fares, it might be
                 advisable to have a travel professional see if they can do any better. The one I
                 contacted (Mark) could not, and just congratulated me for finding the best fare. Don't
                 rule-out calling the airlines directly. I was surprised by an additional savings just by
                 calling Delta.

                 Finally, I realize that some of you spontaneous fliers are finding better last-minute
                 bargains. However, I'm not going again until April, and I prefer to have my plans in
                 place months in advance, if possible. You know guys, this is one aspect of every
                 one of our adventures in seeking a RW or UW that we ALL have in common.
                 Eventually, every one of us has to set-out and plan our trips to Russia/Ukraine, etc.
                 Like someone above said, it's a shame there isn't a clear-cut winner in the travel
                 business with the most consistent fares.