VAustralia to LAX late Nov/early Dec - when to book?

[lisa31jane]

We are planning a trip to the USA with our 4 kids at the end of this year and I'm after advice as to when I should book the air tickets.
I have been waiting (and waiting) for some early bird specials with VA which are yet to appear - not sure if they ever will, and wondering whether to bite the bullet and just book now as the "standard" VAustralia fares are cheaper than the current Qantas "specials" for that time-frame.

As there is 6 of us travelling, even a saving of $100pp is magnified 6-fold - I'm stressing what to do.
Does anyone have any knowledge from last year as to if/when these cheaper fares go on sale with VAustralia?
VA flies on "special" now earlier this year for $1288 return to LAX but currently sitting at almost $1700 pp for end Nov.
Grateful for any help, with thanks.

 

[Travel Guru]

The airlines (including VA) don't have "earlybird" airfare as you'd likely see advertised for Europe flights, it tends to be exclusive to that continent.

Personally if it was me I'd hold off a couple more months and see what happens as its a bit early to see any specials released for November, but whatever happened last year isn't really indicative of what's going to be offered this year as it depends on demand (which is high due to the high dollar).

At the end of the day, you need to ask yourself what's going to annoy you more, if you wait and it goes up $200 per person or if you book now and a special is released later.

The other issue is that often getting 6 seats in the one fare bucket for these specials can be challenging unless you're onto it as soon as its released so I'd recommend signing up to any email alerts you can.

Hope that helps.

TG

 

[MelUser]

Personally I would wait - 3 months out is a reasonable time to start getting serious. Where from AUS are you leaving from?

The only exception to this is if you want to fly a certain day of week - eg a Saturday then it can pay to book in advance as airlines (especially QF) can be very tight with releasing the correct fare bucket to get the special in the first place.

So, if you see the day of departure and return with a fare you can live with that can also be an indication to grab it.

I am helping relatives now trying to book to USA for Easter and it is tough to get anything supercheap which is what they are after although Air NZ is still quite good.

 

[lisa31jane]

Thanks TG. Might I also ask - we will be doing a number of internal flights in the USA - do you know, is it best to book those early, or do cheaper deals become available closer to the time?

 

[lisa31jane]

Oh, and thanks MelUser - we are departing ex-Brisbane

 

[The Rok]

Two weeks ago I booked & paid for a round trip with V-Australia. Perth-Sydney-Abu Dhabi-Dublin-Abu Dhabi-Sydney-Perth for two adults in Economy.

10 days later I cancelled the flights, copped a $500 cancellation fee and rebooked the whole thing for the same price in Premium Economy.

We are travelling in April, so if I were you I would wait a bit. It seems to get cheaper closer to the day! However that is a bit of a gamble... it could cost you more.

I was so petrified about travelling in Economy I kept checking the prices for the flights.

 

[MelUser]

If you are using a good travel agent they can rebook you in a higher fare class at no penalty.

IE - there was no reason to cancel the economy travel. Your travel agent could have simply rebooked into higher cabin - there may have been a ticket reissue fee but this is usually about the $55 per person mark.

 

[The Rok]

If you are using a good travel agent they can rebook you in a higher fare class at no penalty.

IE - there was no reason to cancel the economy travel. Your travel agent could have simply rebooked into higher cabin - there may have been a ticket reissue fee but this is usually about the $55 per person mark.

I did not book with an agent, I booked directly with V-Australia. They wanted $1,000 PP to upgrade. When I queried as I could see cheaper pricing available on the website theire response was "Sorry sir, we have to go with what comes up on our computer screen"..

BULLCRAP.

That is why I cancelled and rebooked. I was actually tempted to tell VA to stick it and book with VS but I didnt.

 

[MelUser]

OK - this is one of the pitfalls of not using a good (usually independent) travel agent.

Even so, VAustralia call centre staff should have been able to rebook the flight into a higher fare bucket for no penalty.

In the world of fares, moving to a higher fare is penalty free - this is an incentive to spend more with the airline.

Perhaps whoever you dealt with was not experienced.

 

[The Rok]

Perhaps whoever you dealt with was not experienced.

That pretty much sums up Virgin's call centre!

 

[MelUser]

My approach with AA call centre staff is that if I don't like the answer I hang up and call again and hopefully deal with someone who can help.

I suppose for next time (not that this helps you) you could say - could you please check with your supervisor about whether I can do blah.

One way to get call centre staff to check properly is to say that a friend or relative has been able to do X (whatever it is) - this way they are likely to hunt more to find what you want.

Trouble is that anyone can work in a call centre as it is all computer driven.

I find that when I call a call centre, I know more than most of the staff that I am speaking too - this applies for QFF too in some regards.

 

[Travel Guru]

OK - this is one of the pitfalls of not using a good (usually independent) travel agent.

And people said we'd be out of business by now thanks to the internet...no way, business is booming!

Experiences like Dermot's only serve to give people who value service more reason to use a quality TA :mrgreen::mrgreen::mrgreen:

TG

 

[woolnough04]

Just on my experience l flew to lax in June on V Australia.I was booked from Brisbane to Melbourne on Virgin Blue then transfer to V Australia.Flightcentre Got the tickets around $100 cheaper each way than i could get on V Australia's web site.Also as V australia didn't mention any penallty for changing my domestic leg to Melbourne i didn't get charge a penalty for the change in flights from Brisbane to Melbourne. It was also my first time on V Australia . Last year Air Pacific , Previously Qantas . V australia were the best in my opinion and that was in economy. Food is typical economy food .