Rough guess for a fare
Mar 17, 2017, 1:00 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: AKL, YUL
Programs: NZ*GE, UA*G
Posts: 319
Rough guess for a fare
Hi, it looks like if I purchase one WLG-LAX leg in J I'll make it to Elite. I have to do the trip at the end of May anyway so am considering it. Any guesses as to how low the fare might go for that leg? Currently seeing about US$2750 but a couple of days ago it was $2350, so I'm wondering if it will continue to go up or decrease.
I've done something like 10 round trips in Y in the last year so am very good at playing the price guessing game in Y but have never paid for J ... can someone with more experience weigh in?
thanks!
I've done something like 10 round trips in Y in the last year so am very good at playing the price guessing game in Y but have never paid for J ... can someone with more experience weigh in?
thanks!
Mar 17, 2017, 2:53 am
#2
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: BNE
Programs: NZ*G, QF Bronze, VA Red
Posts: 563
You can often get the leg significantly cheaper by booking ex-Australia rather than ex-NZ, despite that being counter-intuitive as it involves an extra sector.
Try going SYD-WLG-LAX instead of WLG-LAX and see whether it reduces it. Bear in mind positioning costs in order to do it though.
Try going SYD-WLG-LAX instead of WLG-LAX and see whether it reduces it. Bear in mind positioning costs in order to do it though.
Mar 17, 2017, 2:55 am
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: AKL, YUL
Programs: NZ*GE, UA*G
Posts: 319
Sorry do you mean booking it with SYD as the starting point? I'm coming from WLG, so would that mean that I would just skip the first leg of the flight? (is that allowed? on US tickets I think if you miss the first leg, your whole itinerary gets cancelled)
Mar 17, 2017, 3:01 am
#4
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: WLG/BKK
Programs: TG*G, NZ*GE, QF G, Accor Gold
Posts: 10,174
Sorry do you mean booking it with SYD as the starting point? I'm coming from WLG, so would that mean that I would just skip the first leg of the flight?
It can be a lot cheaper depending on the markets involved.
Mar 17, 2017, 8:54 am
#6
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: New Zealand
Programs: NZ Elite, QF Platinum (LTS), VA Platinum
Posts: 1,672
I used to keep track of what sale prices were like and had 3199 one way for AKL-LAX but I remember some of the prices going lower for other routes than what I had.
Aussie website for some dates in May are 4688AUD so 5151NZD return from BNE - AKL - LAX.
A number of airlines it's cheaper to fly through the hub rather than direct from the hub. I've heard of 4100 AUD before. It's annoying Aussies get good deals but at the same time At the moment I can't be bothered flying backwards to fly forwards. But it would save you a few thousand if you bought cheap Y fares to Oz. And no I don't believe you can skip the first leg. You could make a little weekend out of it in Oz?
Aussie website for some dates in May are 4688AUD so 5151NZD return from BNE - AKL - LAX.
A number of airlines it's cheaper to fly through the hub rather than direct from the hub. I've heard of 4100 AUD before. It's annoying Aussies get good deals but at the same time At the moment I can't be bothered flying backwards to fly forwards. But it would save you a few thousand if you bought cheap Y fares to Oz. And no I don't believe you can skip the first leg. You could make a little weekend out of it in Oz?
Mar 17, 2017, 6:19 pm
#7
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: New Zealand (most of the time)
Programs: Air NZ Elite *G, Honors Gold, IHG Platinum Elite
Posts: 6,099
This is pretty much the case with all airfares.
Mar 17, 2017, 6:22 pm
#8
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: New Zealand
Programs: NZ*S plus various hotel programs
Posts: 945
Google "hidden city pricing" to learn a lot about how potentially skipping a flight can save you money, however it is normally done by missing the last flight, not the first.
Mar 18, 2017, 4:47 pm
#11
Moderator, Hilton Honors
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: on a short leash
Programs: some
Posts: 71,419
To get the Australian fare you need Australia to LAX to be a separate ticket from WLG-Australia. Just remember to have enough time built in for delays in your flight from WLG since separate tickets do not offer misconnect protection.
Mar 18, 2017, 6:07 pm
#12
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: AKL, YUL
Programs: NZ*GE, UA*G
Posts: 319
The J fares from AU were all already above AU$4000 so the additional separate ticket from WLG-SYD pushed it to over NZ$4500. I think if the SYD-AKL-LAX fare had been closer to AU$2000 I'd have considered it given the 50% increase in travel time, but I doubt it ever goes that low.