[sak9645]

I don't know where you are looking, but you certainly don't have to pay those prices!

A lot depends on when you travel, of course. If you travel during the big April trade show, expect premium prices and little seat availability. Otherwise, you are likely to find seats as low as $750 per person, round trip.

A lot also depends on whether you insist on flying business class, or whether you are willing to fly coach. As an example, I just looked at
Continental Airlines. For a coach round trip flight in February, there was a quote of $772.39 per person in coach. For business class, the fare was $4,805 per person -- a huge difference.

My advice to you is to fly coach and, possibly, purchase a seat for your child, instead of having him/her on a lap ticket. The extra one-way seat on the flight above will cost as much as a round trip ticket, but it's probably worth it. Or, to save money, use only the lap ticket, which will cost under $100.

A third consideration is whether you are willing to lock in a date and time. You will pay the lowest fare for a flight, if you buy a non-refundable ticket that has large penalties for changes in date or time. The flight I quoted above is non-refundable, but changes in date can be made, I believe, for $150 per ticket.

I would suggest that you see if your agency can get you any good deals on flights, especially using refundable tickets or tickets with small change penalties. If you cannot, buy two coach seats with change policies like Continental's for your own use, and one one-way ticket for your child with similar restrictions.

Sharon