Originally Posted by
dvs7310
That was precisely my reaction reading this as well. $1400 is way too much for that route. Look at flights within 3 months to get a better gague on what you should be paying, flights way out in the future tend to be opened only in higher fare brackets.
For the OP, I have never flow AC in economy, so can't comment there, but have never heard anything good about it. UA vs OZ is a tossup. I'd probably take OZ on the A380 from LAX if it still exists when you take your trip, however if may not. If there is no A380 then space-wise both are similar. Food is arguably better on OZ (in economy) and cabin service usually more professional, but the entertainment system on UA beats them by miles to help pass your time. (assuming you want English language content).
You are correct. I was searching for flights in June 2020 since that's when kiddos are out of school. Searching within next 3 months (SAN-ICN 1 stop) and the price is closer to $1000. J is still around $4000. So that puts mileage valuation of awards at 1.4 cents/mile in Y and 2.5 cents/mile in J; However flights might be more expensive during summer travel season. I'll have to do another search in March 2020 to confirm.
Originally Posted by
Kacee
If flying economy, OZ is the clear choice for seat comfort, service, and food.
In business, it would be a close call among the three, except I personally would avoid the YVR transfer if possible. You're most likely to find award space on OZ.
I will note that while air travel overall is incredibly safe, relatively speaking, OZ is not exactly your safest airline.
What's so bad about YVR transfer?
Originally Posted by
Mwenenzi
If wanting awards
availability may/will be the issue. The more awards (people) on the same flight the harder it will be.
So you may not end up with a choice of carrier/route if using awards
Have you looked as what awards are available now?
A guide-->
https://www.awardhacker.com/#f=SAN&f...=0&c=y&s=2&p=1
This is precisely my issue- I'm looking to book 2 separate itineraries. Family of four, for a 2 week trip. And a solo travel (mother in law) for a 4-5 week trip, but share the same airline on departure. Luckily, I'll have around 150k united miles and 450k Chase UR to work with. This is looking more like a 2021 travel date, but i'm doing test bookings for 2020 to get an idea of what's available.
If I had to book this tomorrow, it would look like this:
SAN-YVR-ICN on AC ~15 hr total travel time in Y for (35K miles x 5 =175K total)
ICN-SFO-SAN on UA metal ~14 hr total travel time in Y for (35K miles x4 =140K total) and probably book mother in law similar flight 4 weeks later.
There is the option for J on OZ only for return flight ICN-LAX-SFO-SAN for 17.5 hr total travel time (80k x 4= 320K miles); And it states 5 J tickets left (but mother-in law would be flying back later so only need 4 tickets for return)
If I decided booking J on OZ, I would consider booking ICN-LAX (11.5hr duration) and rent a one-way car rental in LAX for $100 and drive to SAN (3 hr drive at 5pm) shaving off 3 hours of travel time.
While there is currently no J availability for the departing flight, I'm hopeful I can find 5 tickets if I book 330 days in advance. If not, then we fly Y.
If I decide to book 330 days out, would it be better to book outbound flight first as a one-way so I can snag 5 J seats together? Then book separate one-way for return flights. We are planning 2 week trip plus or minus several days so have some flexibility on return dates to choose award flight with least amount of stops/total travel time.
I would much rather fly on J outbound to start my vacation out right and settle on Y for return flight. I don't have the miles to book RT in J unfortunately.
Thanks for all the tips!