A London Airfare Primer

First the good news: It's generally cheaper to fly to London than to any other European destination. Now the bad: Fares are still sky-high.

Competition is the key reason it's cheaper. Virgin Atlantic, United and British Airways offer nonstop flights from Washington Dulles to London Heathrow, and British Airways offers nonstop service from BWI. Many other airlines, including American, Continental and Delta, offer connecting flights. Three things to consider:

· Sales are fairly common, although discounted fares rarely go far below $1,000. A recent sale on United, with very limited travel dates, offered round-trip fares of $886, including taxes. Virgin Atlantic is offering a sale fare of $951 round trip for summer travel, but act fast: Deadline to buy is June 16. And British Airways is offering those who register at http://www.ba.com a $100 discount on a round-trip flight purchased by June 30.

· Investigate fares from the New York area, where seven carriers offer nonstop flights to London. Fares are often cheaper than those from Washington: For example, round-trip fares on nonstop Continental flights out of Newark were recently $833. But the cost and hassle of getting to New York may negate any savings.

· Check fares on third-party booking sites, including http://www.vayama.com and http://www.cheaptickets.com. Vayama, for example, was recently offering a round-trip fare of $723, including taxes, from JFK to London on nonstop Air India flights, while the airline's price was $918.

-- Carol Sottili