salfcl

Any suggestion for departure from YYZ?

I have been doing YYZ-JFK-LAX-PVG most of the time for 18,600 milles for MR. Price is always about $1k ai. Trying to find MR that can fetch 25,000 miles.

And thanks to Science Goy for the ITA primer.

mosquito

Though the price has been vacillating, the ORD-LAX same day turns are currently at their low of $219 right now.

Science Goy

Yep, just put one on hold. If you want to be clever, you can nest a LAX-ORD-LAX with a ORD-SFO-ORD in a single 24-hour period, too.

ORD-TGU

ORD-SFO-ORD $219
Combine DEQAA & DEQ11 for 3X EQM/RDM = 11,076 = 1.9cpm
Use costco gift card = 1.78cpm
PLT/EXP

tucsnaz

Just booked PHX-LAX-BOS-LAX-PHX on 1/27 for $360.80 ai. 12,444 EQM $0.028 cpm Works for me as a one day turn from PHX on a Friday. Mid-week is just $270.80 ai

AA_EXP09

KVS/ITA

vasantn

PVG is very cheap but not a pure MR as it requires a 3-night minimum stay. From LGA, $859.20 ai.

Ambraciot

That's crazy, it's now cheaper to go BOS-JFK LGA-ORD-PVG than BOS-ORD-PVG.

envgeo

Time for a couple dfw-lax runs in january to start the new year. 9880eqm for each trip is pretty sweet. that's a dfw-lhr rt without dbeqm.

JMN57

I priced JFK-LHR-LAX-SFO-JFK. 11798 miles (x2 with DEQ) for $781.

Yotel in LHR for nap & shower on the flip, Westin @ LAX one night, biz meeting on SFO (believe it or not, I can do this for business) and then back.

So, rather than a simple JFK-SFO-JFK Sun-Mon-Tues run, leave a day earlier and go to LHR for breakfast (unfortunately, probably can't get to Plane Food in T5 but their breakfast menu is boring anyhow).

So, if the SFO meeting is set...

FlyMeToTheLooneyBin

And you can get your company to pay for the detour into London?

mingw

AUS-SFO $220.8 AI many days in January (1/7 rate has increased).
could do either same day or overnight redeye return.

10784 EQM 10784 RDM for PLT EXP
= 2.0 cents/mile

JMN57

Well, as the CEO, I could but I won't, the company will cover the RT cost to SFO and I'll cover the difference. (Our company travel policy is coach and I believe in the rules applying to everyone so status matters to me).

We'll see if the AA bankruptcy screws things up. One of my people just passed 5mm miles and is EXP and he's seeing them hold the upgrades to the last minute. If that becomes the norm, it may be time to bolt.

JohnDCA

Deleted

JMN57

I haven't flown since AA filed 11 so I have no direct experience (December is a slow travel month and I qualified for Plat in November, no use for a MR now).

By holding back, I am not saying they are not ultimately issuing the upgrades but that they aren't clearing them early. The theory being they want to increase probability of full fare Biz/1st ticket sales.

I have talked with a couple of EXP's - one who i work with and one is a friend - and they have seen AA holding upgrades and not releasing them until the last minute. One said they talked to a gate agent and was told that was the case and his observation was they were holding until after boarding. That starts to make waiting for an upgrade a problem as overhead bin space gets taken.

Along those lines, they keep tightening capacity to get higher load factors and that's making it harder to get upgrades. On certain flights out of hubs (try an Monday AM from DFW-PHL) and you've got a lot of EXPs. My DFW guy was in a non-exit row in coach 3 across with EXPs one AM. All those pressures combined start to diminish the value of status.

For me, I like AA. In the past I've been Plat/Exec Plat equivalents on AA, DL and UA depending on what I was doing and where I lived and AA has been pretty good. My problem with them today is that I travel out of 2 cities (different homes) - NYC and PHL - with PHL more weight these days and I just can't get to certain places on AA from PHL so I have to split miles. So, switching to USAir is awfully tempting. In addition, they are simply mercenary as you can write them a check and buy status.

Finally, you're entitled to the residue of your deductive powers about my role in my company, I have no use to spar with you over them.