BA Holiday - Adding AA flight & Hotel Transfers afterwards
Sep 23, 2018, 3:41 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2018
Posts: 16
BA Holiday - Adding AA flight & Hotel Transfers afterwards
I’ve done a quick search & couldn’t find the answer, Tweeted BA, but the reply wasn’t clear... I’m wanting to book LHR-SFO (BA) / LAS-LAX (AA) / LAX-LHR (BA) for next September. BA flights go live next week or so, but AA flights don’t look like they’ll be on sale for another month or so. Does anyone know if I’d be able to book the BA flights next week (as part of a BA Holiday) and then add the AA flight to the booking next month, as well as add Hotel Transfers etc.? BA tweeted back saying I’d have to pay a £150 fee to change flights, plus fare difference, but I wouldn’t be changing anything, just adding an extra sector.
Would I be okay booking the UK-US-UK flights & hotels as part of the holiday & just booking the domestic AA flight separately, would this affect the holiday booking at all?
Any advice greatly received!
Would I be okay booking the UK-US-UK flights & hotels as part of the holiday & just booking the domestic AA flight separately, would this affect the holiday booking at all?
Any advice greatly received!
Sep 23, 2018, 4:00 am
#2
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Welcome to Flyertalk and welcome to the BA forum DD1976, it's good to see you here and it would be good if you could continue to be active here.
The reason for including that flight would be either cost, convenience (in terms of checked luggage particularly) and protection if you missed a service. Now if LAS-LAX is on a separate date to the longhaul sectors, the second and third factors do not apply, AA are very good on protecting missed connections anyway; and if it's LHR-LAS-LAX on one day the luggage factor isn't a biggie either -you have to clear baggage in LAS anyway.
The cost factor - where effectively the LAS-LAX flight is almost no extra cost - would only apply several months down the line, buying at the first instance is usually the most expensive time to buy.
So personally if the longhaul sectors look affordable and you're looking to get a deposit payment process going, then I would buy just that aspect of the trip and simply buy a revenue or redeemption flight for the LAS-LAX hop as and when, and not necessarily at the first moment either. If you add a flight it is a change potentially and so a change fee would apply plus potential fare difference (if the longhaul fares have shifted) plus ticketing hassle. Why so? Well the 3 factors I mentioned come at a cost, you are getting a service and that has a price.
The reason for including that flight would be either cost, convenience (in terms of checked luggage particularly) and protection if you missed a service. Now if LAS-LAX is on a separate date to the longhaul sectors, the second and third factors do not apply, AA are very good on protecting missed connections anyway; and if it's LHR-LAS-LAX on one day the luggage factor isn't a biggie either -you have to clear baggage in LAS anyway.
The cost factor - where effectively the LAS-LAX flight is almost no extra cost - would only apply several months down the line, buying at the first instance is usually the most expensive time to buy.
So personally if the longhaul sectors look affordable and you're looking to get a deposit payment process going, then I would buy just that aspect of the trip and simply buy a revenue or redeemption flight for the LAS-LAX hop as and when, and not necessarily at the first moment either. If you add a flight it is a change potentially and so a change fee would apply plus potential fare difference (if the longhaul fares have shifted) plus ticketing hassle. Why so? Well the 3 factors I mentioned come at a cost, you are getting a service and that has a price.
Sep 23, 2018, 4:06 am
#3
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Sep 23, 2018, 6:10 am
#4
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2018
Posts: 16
Thanks for the replies & welcome!
The flights would be on different days, so the connecting flight aspect shouldn’t be an issue. We’re spending 5 nights in SFO, 2 in LAS and then on to LAX for 3 nights. I intend to book SFO-LAS on Alaskan as I couldn’t find a nonstop connection with AA.
The prices on AA LAS-LAX don’t look too bad (as far ahead as I can see, £118pp in F) and the BA sectors seem quite reasonable, again, as far ahead as I can see. Would they be liable to come down in price or just go up?
The flights would be on different days, so the connecting flight aspect shouldn’t be an issue. We’re spending 5 nights in SFO, 2 in LAS and then on to LAX for 3 nights. I intend to book SFO-LAS on Alaskan as I couldn’t find a nonstop connection with AA.
The prices on AA LAS-LAX don’t look too bad (as far ahead as I can see, £118pp in F) and the BA sectors seem quite reasonable, again, as far ahead as I can see. Would they be liable to come down in price or just go up?
Sep 23, 2018, 7:25 am
#5
Moderator, Iberia Airlines, Airport Lounges, and Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Feb 2010
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Sterling is likely to vary more than the USD fares. You can get £118 fares up until 1 month before departure. Unless there is Thanksgiving or something similar in the same week, you don't need to rush. Looking at late October this year there are plenty of flights with this fare going.
