Other European Frequent Flyer Programs - Fare Wars...EI vs. AA

I was making a relatively short notice (within 3 weeks) booking to fly to Chicago from Dublin and on to another destination withing the US. Naturally I gave no thought any other airline (not sure why after the trouble I had last time) and went straight for EI's website to check prices. The EI/Untied alliance quoted me c. €760, which I thought was resonable enough.

Then I needed to move my booking back one day at each end, flying now on a Sunday instead of a Monday and it seemed my connecting flight wasn't operating that day, so I decided to do what I did last time I flew this route, fly EI DUB to ORD and onwards with AA. This worked out at around €820, getting a bit pricy now.

I then decided, out of curiosity, to check out an itineary with the Multi-City part on AA's site. The price it came back with for the four flights was €580!!! EI's sale price to ORD alone was €570.

It seems I got the connecting flight free and a discount on the AA DUB-ORD fare. Dunno how it works, but it's booked :D

In the meantime, a day later EI now want €1,020 for the same flight. AA saved me €440, are getting me to an airport closer to my destination and getting me there earlier:p

P.S. Having already been to the US in the past two months, does anybody know if I need to re-register for the US-VISIT online thingy for this trip too? Or does the last one cover it?

Interesting fare comparison for your routing Shamrock125 and you have certainly saved yourself quite a few bucks by choosing AA on this occasion.

I have noticed this undercutting between EI/AA for some time on the Ireland AA website in particular, which targets low fares to many of the destinations served by the EI/Jet Blue alliance. This has probably been heightened since the break up of the EI/AA alliance on TATL routes. Fares to ORD are quite often available for €450 - €600 return on AA.

At the moment it seems that US originating customers can get much better deals with EI. For example, Premier fares for the coming winter are available from all of the direct US destinations served by EI for $799 each way, which works out to be extremely good value given the current exchange rate.

Regarding the US-VISIT scheme, your last application should hold, however you will have to update the address section for your upcoming trip to the US.

EI Premier.

I've never flown TATL with another carrier other than EI and Delta (not a great experience), so it'll be a change. I don't think it could be much worse than my flight from BOS-DUB on EI-JFK a few months ago. Cramped, dirty, air hostesses forgot to close some overhead bins and the toilet cabinets, the Pink Panther 2 as "entertainment" and so on.

Regarding the US-VISIT scheme, your last application should hold, however you will have to update the address section for your upcoming trip to the US.

Thanks, I just did that now^

I've never flown TATL with another carrier other than EI and Delta (not a great experience), so it'll be a change. I don't think it could be much worse than my flight from BOS-DUB on EI-JFK a few months ago. Cramped, dirty, air hostesses forgot to close some overhead bins and the toilet cabinets, the Pink Panther 2 as "entertainment" and so on.



Thanks, I just did that now^

Just some comments since first time on AA

So time to register with AA and get miles for your trip- far superior to EI TAB
If you plan to start flying AA now, sign up for their FF fast track option
Note: AA will start flying a 757 in November to ORD( not good)
Have you noticed some of the connection times with both the Ei/B6 and EO/UA-5 hours in some cases to get to LA area, AA much better
Same terminal connection on the way back to Ireland in ORD when going AA all the way
EI better for Entertainment if in Y though

Just some comments since first time on AA

So time to register with AA and get miles for your trip- far superior to EI TAB
If you plan to start flying AA now, sign up for their FF fast track option
Note: AA will start flying a 757 in November to ORD( not good)
Have you noticed some of the connection times with both the Ei/B6 and EO/UA-5 hours in some cases to get to LA area, AA much better
Same terminal connection on the way back to Ireland in ORD when going AA all the way
EI better for Entertainment if in Y though

I signed up for AAdvantage but after I made the booking so I'll need to figure out how to add the miles from this trip if I can.

I'm not a great fan of the 757 long haul, there's not much seperation between it and a 738/A321 really, so I'm glad I'll be on the 763 for this trip. 5-6 hours plus should be widebody only:p

All my connections are approx 3 hours, which is perfect for me. I'll arrive at my final destination at 17:30 local time, as opposed to 21:30 for EI/UA. The only connection problem I have is that I have to fly into one airport on the way out and another on the way back to avoid an 8 hour layover in ORD. It means a little more driving but it's no biggie.

Just go to AA.com, click on reservations, my reservations, enter the record locator and add you AA FF number.

As eireman suggested above, sign up for their FF fast track option. This trip alone will earn you Gold status until Feb 2011. It's basically fly 5,000 miles in three months for GLD or 10,000 for PLT.

http://www.flyerguide.com/wiki/index.php/Challenge_(AA)