Originally Posted by
docbert
I don't recall the last time I've seen a W or V fare to Australia as the cheapest option. Even during peak periods UA plays with the fares themselves more than the fare codes on these routes. eg, if you want to head from the US to tomorrow on a return flight, the cheapest ticket is an S fare with no advance purchase requirements, at around ~$1200 each way!
In general the cheapest W fares to Australia normally run around $1800 return. Other fares are frequently sub-$1000, and are almost always available cheaper than W, even if only by a few dollars but normally by far more.
There are multiple fares published with different advance purchase times. eg, I just priced a trip in June and it gives a 90 day advance purchase G fare, and a 50 day advance purchase W fare. I didn't check, but I suspect there's also a 28 day W fare, maybe a 21 day one, and a 1 day one as those are the normal combinations I've seen.
OK, fair enough; different markets, different experiences. I’ve mostly been looking at travel in and out of AUS (which, somewhat coincidentally, is also where OP is headed). If nothing else, it’s worth looking at the fare rules for the lowest available fare. If it has a 50-day advance purchase requirement, it might make sense to book something soon and waitlist something. If it has no advance purchase requirement, it might make more sense to wait.