woodduck

Hi,

I am trying to book from US to Australia, departing from Maine.

I'm using Google Flights for the first time.

I do the search and it shows a bunch of different options and prices. But Google Flights doesn't seem to take you directly to a booking site (at least not for this route) and instead gives you a number to call.

The message is "Call Virgin Australia to book: +1‑855‑253‑8021".

However, when I call them they say they can't do that routing and I have to call Delta (partner airline that does the US domestic legs). The problem with this is that when I go to the Delta website to check the same routing the prices are much higher.

What's the deal with Google Flights? Why is it directing me to Virgin if they can't do it? How else can I get access to the prices on Google Flights?

Thanks in advance for any help!

serfty

Try a TA? (A 'good' one)

Or perhaps ITA Matrix with the userscript. (I haven't used it for such a booking however)

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trave...-lh-lx-tk.html

Nugget_Oz

ITA Matrix is google flights, as in they now run the same script.

Can you access the virgin australia website - www.virginaustralia.com.au

When you do the google flights search does it give a VA flight number on all the segments?

serfty

Actually, ITA matrix is supposed to be less up to date than GoogleFlights.

I do know they sue the same engine.

What I was referring to was the Grease/Tamper Monkey script referenced in the thread I linked to.

woodduck

Well, not all the segments. The flights from PWM to JFK come over as Delta...

Marketed as DL 5597, VA 6531, VA 8, VA 449, VA 1458, VA 23, VA 6637, DL 4025.

I tried the Virgin Australia website and they don't recognize PWM as an airport so there's something about my origin airport that Virgin can't seem to deal with I guess.

Nugget_Oz

You should be able to get VA to ticket you on the VA coded flights and then DL on the hop from PWM. VA only has a limited number of cities which it codeshares on into the US and can't ticket into all airports.

serfty

This is true - I suspect a lazy/dud VA agent.

woodduck

OK thanks, but my main worry here is that the VA and Delta flights won't be on the same ticket. Is there some way you can make them talk to each other and put it on the same ticket?

irishguy28

Talk to a good old-fashioned, real-life, living, breathing travel agent. Print out your desired itinerary as shown on Google Flights and ask them to replicate it for you.

woodduck

OK, yeah, those are hard to come by nowadays! I think it's probably a good idea though.

woodduck

I finally got Virgin to put together a ticket for me. It took them a long time to do it so it was certainly not something they are used to doing or have the infrastructure in place to deal with quickly.
I think they may have had to purchase the Delta tickets separately in some sort of weird way.
The problem I have at the end of all this - when I use the ITA Matrix I was quoted about $1,000 less per person, so there is a big discrepancy.

Nugget_Oz

Sorry - you might be within the cancellation window though.

You should have gotten VA to ticket you the VA flights. Then have DL ticket you the DL flight (when ITA puts together the itinerary they will pull the cheapest flight for each set of segments or combined segments for the cheapest flight option). On your earlier question you then call DL to link the itineraries (PNRs)).

woodduck

I should have mentioned that I didn't actually purchase the tickets - I just got them to price it for me. Far too expensive for me to buy.

I didn't know you could get Delta to link the PNR's. Is this normal? Could I get VA to link the PNR's instead?

Thanks for your input.