Originally Posted by
walkdmx
I'd like to try my first paid Premium Economy or Business Class trip, at least one way Business class LAX to Sydney, with premium class or economy return from Melbourne if it saves a lot of money. My target dates are first two weeks of February but are flexible. I'd like to know how to get alerts for fares, specials or where/how to check daily if necessary to find the best fare. Right now fares for round trip multi City are around $950 for economy, $3500 for premium plus and $5-7,000 for business class. I'd especially like to try Qantas A380 but it is priced at the higher end now for business class although competitive for premium plus and coach. My priority is business class on the outbound so I can sleep, not so much on the return where I prefer a daytime flight but a comfortable enough seat to nap. I have a disability so may be able to get Economy Plus on the return comped as I frequently do on US airlines. Any and all suggestions are welcome. Like many of you I am a flying hobbyist and spend several hours a day doing flight and hotel searches of every configuration for my frequent travel. Having retired recently I am eager to learn the additional search tools and strategies for premium plus and business class which I can afford for the first time. Thank you.
Nobody knows, especially with travel demand dropping significantly (both tourism to the US and recession fears within the US). If you book with a US based airline (regardless of actual airline flying the flights), you should (the major exception being basic economy) be able to cancel/change for a credit should the price drop. You can use Google Flights to set alerts for price changes to individual itineraries or all matching itineraries on a specific day.
Despite the timings, both flights will be overnight, although yes the return will be less overnight since you'll be going the opposite way of the sun, therefore the duration of darkness will be shorter.