Norwegian starting LGW-DEN/SEA

Old Apr 6, 2017, 4:31 am
  #16  
 
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without hijacking the thread, yes 21k for a return J ticket does sound steep, but that's where the airlines make their real money: when the customer simply has to travel then and there...


Similarly, I have occasionally had to pay (well, the company paid) up to 12k for a pretty simple Club World return to places like JFK and ORD...if you really need to be on a specific flight, tomorrow, sometimes with a flexible return date and no Saturday night stay well....you're gonna pay for it!


Anyway - really interesting to see Norwegian really taking the competition to BA on some of these 'secondary' North American routings: I do wonder how much traffic they will lose out on given:


(i) more limited European connections (where BA picks up a lot of traffic for these kind of US cities which have no direct service to Continental Europe); and


(ii) lack of corporate contracts - i.e. a lot of fares to/from Seattle in Club World will be corporate contracts for conferences, Microsoft, Boeing etc.


But given BA's cutbacks in World Traveller, you really have to question why anyone travelling in Y and without status (and no ambition to status) would choose BA. BA may say they are not really after those customers, but in the long run this kind of competition could yet hurt them...
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Old Apr 6, 2017, 4:50 am
  #17  
 
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Originally Posted by sts603
Indeed it was from NYC to Kurdistan - there is not a lot of competition and that was indeed the going full fare J rate for workable flights.
Where is kurdistan? You mean Erbil Airport?
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Old Apr 6, 2017, 5:52 am
  #18  
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Originally Posted by ahmetdouas
Where is kurdistan? You mean Erbil Airport?
Yes, Erbil is in Kurdistan.
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Old Apr 6, 2017, 5:59 am
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Originally Posted by ratypus
But given BA's cutbacks in World Traveller, you really have to question why anyone travelling in Y and without status (and no ambition to status) would choose BA. BA may say they are not really after those customers, but in the long run this kind of competition could yet hurt them...
I purchased my first WT ticket on BA since early 2015 last week, although I am gold. The total fare price was 29, for UK-LHR-LAX-LHR-UK. Total price with taxes was 298.45. Used the avios the trip earnt to bring the cash price down to 188.45. So considering I will get the following:

Prebooked 80A/B both ways on the A380
2 visits to the flounge (can probably drink most of the ticket price in that time)
1 visit to the LAX First lounge (One of the best in my opinion)
No avios, infact -2000 odd.
60TP'S I think.
Oh and aprox 25 hours of flying.

For 188.45, I think that is pretty amazing value.
For Joe Blogs at 298 without all the gold perks, it's still pretty good vaule, although I would not of have done it at that price and without the gold perks but a non FT type person would of jumped on that deal.

As for the new DEN flights, I'm very happy becuase BA might start selling LHR-DEN at a reasonable price now.
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Old Apr 6, 2017, 6:17 am
  #20  
 
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Originally Posted by jjka
Seems like Seattle -London has too much capacity right now, especially since Virgin Atlantic just started Seattle as well. How might BA respond to these new flights?
I would argue Seattle is still very much underserved. While direct flights to Europe and Asia have increased over the past 10-15 years, flights are still generally always full and during much of the year quite expensive. Seattle may not be huge and not on the minds of many tourists, but they forget the city is host the likes of Boeing, Microsoft, Starbucks, Amazon, and many more smaller companies (especially in biotech). Then consider SEA is the primary hub for Alaska Airlines with many regional flights and a major (and growing) hub for Delta, there is plenty of room for further growth and competition. In 2000 the BA lounge and S satellite terminal were often ghost towns. Now both are usually heaving with passengers. London was Seattle's most exotic destination. Now you can fly to Shenzhen, Dubai, Munich... keep the flights coming. BA needs the competition anyway.
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Old Apr 6, 2017, 6:41 am
  #21  
 
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Originally Posted by Calum
I purchased my first WT ticket on BA since early 2015 last week, although I am gold. The total fare price was 29, for UK-LHR-LAX-LHR-UK. Total price with taxes was 298.45. Used the avios the trip earnt to bring the cash price down to 188.45. So considering I will get the following:

Prebooked 80A/B both ways on the A380
2 visits to the flounge (can probably drink most of the ticket price in that time)
1 visit to the LAX First lounge (One of the best in my opinion)
No avios, infact -2000 odd.
60TP'S I think.
Oh and aprox 25 hours of flying.

For 188.45, I think that is pretty amazing value.
For Joe Blogs at 298 without all the gold perks, it's still pretty good vaule, although I would not of have done it at that price and without the gold perks but a non FT type person would of jumped on that deal.

As for the new DEN flights, I'm very happy becuase BA might start selling LHR-DEN at a reasonable price now.
How did you get 298 GBP for a return ticket LHR-LAX-LHR with cash only? I have never seen it that cheap! It is usually 500 GBP minimum!

Last edited by ahmetdouas; Apr 6, 2017 at 6:48 am
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Old Apr 6, 2017, 7:28 am
  #22  
 
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Originally Posted by jjka
Denver will be 2x/ week year round.
Seattle will be 4x/week year round.

Both begin Fall 2017.

Seems like Seattle -London has too much capacity right now, especially since Virgin Atlantic just started Seattle as well. How might BA respond to these new flights?
More competition is always welcomed. Not that I'm going to take Norwegian, because with extra charges it will probably cost the same as BA, but there's a chance BA price will go down. I liked Norwegian on shorthaul to Norway but never took long haul.

I use SEA to jump to Alaska. I took LH last year but plane arrives after all other internation flights and there was huge queue to customs. So no LH for me again, even with Global Entry which I obtained in the meantime.
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Old Apr 6, 2017, 7:36 am
  #23  
 
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Originally Posted by sts603
DEN is a very large and growing city with very limited Europe service. There is significant business and leisure traffic flowing in both directions. I don't think 2 additional flights is going to change the dynamics for BA too much. Indeed, the times I have tried to use the DEN flight, its quite pricey. The one time I had to use it to get to do a quick trip for a wedding in Vail, it was the most expensive ticket I have ever purchased for personal travel.
Having relatives in Denver and visiting them a couple of times I noticed this as well.
The prices both in the summer and winter are always steep (Colorado is awesome all year round + proximity to high end ski resorts). It's sometime cheaper to book a J flight to NYC and then continue with miles the next day.
Hooray for competition and hopefully lower prices.
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Old Apr 6, 2017, 12:52 pm
  #24  
 
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Originally Posted by ahmetdouas
How did you get 298 GBP for a return ticket LHR-LAX-LHR with cash only? I have never seen it that cheap! It is usually 500 GBP minimum!
Indeed, even ex-INV I'm struggling to see any sub 500 fares. Nor have I seen any recently.
Maybe the poster was quoting a cost post a 200-off for a bucketful of avios?
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Old Apr 6, 2017, 1:11 pm
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Originally Posted by ahmetdouas
How did you get 298 GBP for a return ticket LHR-LAX-LHR with cash only? I have never seen it that cheap! It is usually 500 GBP minimum!
Originally Posted by littlefish
Indeed, even ex-INV I'm struggling to see any sub 500 fares. Nor have I seen any recently.
Maybe the poster was quoting a cost post a 200-off for a bucketful of avios?
Just checked my e-ticket which reads:

Code:
Ticket Number(s)	125-********** ()
Card Type	Visa Delta/Debit
Card Holder	** CALUM ***********
Card Number	****************
Billing Address	********************************************
Payment Total	GBP 188.45
Payment Date	6 Mar 2017
Flight tickets issued by	British Airways, Newcastle, UK
IATA Number	********
Avios debited	17,000
Saving	GBP 110.00
Endorsements	Pax nonrefundable restrictions apply -bg:ba
Fare Details	GBP 29.00
Fare breakdown	The price of your ticket includes a carrier imposed charge or fuel surcharge, where applicable, per sector levied by the carrier. All taxes, fees and charges are to be paid by the member (not British Airways).
I did actually buy that fare a month ago, although my friend also got that fare to LAX about 8/9 days ago. Back in early March, my sister-in-law also got INV-JFK with a total fare price of 14, or 246 with taxes/fees ect.

It was indeed ex-INV. If you have access to expertflyer (I don't), you can check historical fares.
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Old Apr 6, 2017, 2:00 pm
  #26  
 
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As a four times a year traveller to DEN I'm delighted that BA at long last has competition. As it happens I've just booked my March 2018 DEN trip (as a BA holiday).

For March 2018 the Y fares Norwegian return of 480 is a lot less than BA's 750. But I travel WT+ and the Norwegian is 1110 cf BA's 975. OK you get much more legroom on Norwegian than BA but it's interesting to see they're not trying to compete with BA on price. From my experience BA regularly fill their WT+ cabin on this route so it will be interesting to see if BA are facing any real competition in the premium cabin.

BA's proposition remains stronger for me (especially since I have a domestic leg) - I pay less up front, get lounge access (and DEN lounge has good food), FastTrack security and by paying and other spending with Amex get enough Avios to get an upgrade to CW (hence the year ahead). It brings home to me just how important BAEC is to BA for retaining existing pax. The occasional upgrade also helps.
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Old Apr 6, 2017, 2:55 pm
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Originally Posted by Calum
.....

I did actually buy that fare a month ago, although my friend also got that fare to LAX about 8/9 days ago. Back in early March, my sister-in-law also got INV-JFK with a total fare price of 14, or 246 with taxes/fees ect.

It was indeed ex-INV. If you have access to expertflyer (I don't), you can check historical fares.
Aha, thx. Looked it up on expertflyer. Got it. Up to 7/3/2017 there was Fare Basis OLX4S4T1. INV-LAX rtn, 14 +tfcs. Available for flights between 1 Nov'17 and 22 Dec'17 and early 2018.
Worth keeping in mind
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Old Apr 20, 2017, 7:41 am
  #28  
 
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Have friends in SEA so welcomed competition, although doubt it will effect BA F or J prices much, but well times for the reduction of the EK service.

Last edited by navylad; Apr 20, 2017 at 8:04 am
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Old Apr 20, 2017, 7:43 am
  #29  
 
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Originally Posted by Worcester
Good, BA needs the competition. With luck some airlines should sue to get more slots at LHR and IAG will be forced to compete on price and service properly.
It is going to be our luck that BA and Cruz are going to see moving to BoB in Y as a way to "compete on price and service properly"
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