Adelaide to USA - LAX/JFK?

[littleellabella]

Hello everyone..
I'm travelling to the US next July (I know, very long way away) and will be starting off in New York (doing contiki tours)

I'm wondering if it's best to get a return ticket to LA, as that is where I will be finishing 6 weeks later, and then get a one way connection to NYC via Delta, AA etc

- or -

Get a multi city ticket, so ADL-SYD-JFK on the way there, then LAX-SYD-ADL on the way home..

How much is reasonable to pay for a return ticket to LA? Unfortunately I will be departing on 1st July, obviously the busiest time for travelling in the US, so I do expect it to be a little dearer than normal.
When is best to book?

I've been looking at return tickets for earlier dates and some are up around the $2 - 3,000 mark :shock:
These are probably silly questions but this is my first big overseas trip, I'm going alone and trying to be as organized as possible

Thankyou for your responses
Ella

 

[Hvr]

Welcome to AFF, littleellabella, I hope your time here is long and productive.

How to get to New York? Well have you considered CX (Cathay Pacific). You can fly ADL-MEL-HKG-JFK. Two flights and you're there. There are of course other routes and you'll get lots of suggestions here.

When to buy? Well as soon as you determine your route then I suggest ASAP. As you've noted you're flying at a busy time especially around July 4th. So get in quickly, especially for intra US travel.

 

[serfty]

Welcome to AFF


Your questions are interesting, but maybe a few your way to allow some pertinent feedback for you.

What is your budget around about?

Are you looking for status, lounge access, anything else?

 

[littleellabella]

Hmm well I've worked out that I want to fly with Qantas, departure flight which goes direct from SYD-JFK on the 1st July, then returning LAX-SYD direct on the 6th Aug. I guess my question is, will the prices for these fares get cheaper in time, or will they stay the same/increase?

 

[whatmeworry]

Better off waiting till Qantas has a sale. Who knows when that will be and if it will be for your travel period.

 

[littleellabella]

Better off waiting till Qantas has a sale. Who knows when that will be and if it will be for your travel period.

Yeah you're probably right. There's a USA travel expo in my city this Sunday so I'll probably go and get some info then. Thanks.

 

[serfty]

Note that sales often don't encompass many June/July departure dates.

 

[Robert Qld]

Qantas normally will have its 'early bird' sale for the following Northern summer around October-November. I wouldn't buy this far out short of a super-duper one day type sale (often only given when an airline is opening up a new route or stuff like that). I wouldn't suggest buying your airfares prior to November anyway, at this point sales haven't started so in alot of ways the figures/prices are basically just placeholders.

Could I also suggest looking at going via DFW instead of LAX? It is a much nicer airport, immigration is much friendlier and less-stressful and connections are much better then LAX (it is AA's main hub). It is my preference for flying to the US at the moment, especially the east coast (though I have no experience with taking the QF flight to JFK either to be fair).

Also booking multi-city will save you a bit of money as well as opposed to different bookings for different segments.

 

[Katalyze]

Hi,

Sorry to Hijack this thread but my question is very similar and I didn't want to clutter up the forums with another thread. I'm planning to fly from Adel to NYC in the last week of Feb. When would the best time to be booking these flights be? Since my destination is NYC I'm thinking DFW or JFK direct would be better stopover destinations over LAX. Thanks.

 

[Robert Qld]

Katalyze - wait until the early bird specials come around for tickets. They're Traditionally in November. It is to early to book at the moment.

 

[Travel Guru]

Katalyze - wait until the early bird specials come around for tickets. They're Traditionally in November. It is to early to book at the moment.

Earlybird fares generally only take in post April travel so waiting for them for travel in Feb wouldn't yield any benefit; they're also generally only for Europe ticket (or flights to Europe via US in one direction).

You'd be best just to keep an eye out for a sale and jump on it when you see a price you're comfortable paying.

TG