May 29, 2019, 7:12 am
Last edit by: corporate-wage-slave
Welcome to the Find me a good BA fare ticket clinic.
This is essentially for BA / BA codeshares and partner only. If your booking is essentially on Qatar, Qantas, AA or anyone else, please go to those forums and pursue the matter there. These forums have good subject matter experts to hand.
- Please avoid very vague questions. Specific questions get specific answers. Give exact dates, start point, end point, what flexibility you have.
- As a courtesy to the other forum members, please at least read some of the advice in the posts above, and find one fare as a start point. It's a lot easier to provide constructive feedback that way.
This is essentially for BA / BA codeshares and partner only. If your booking is essentially on Qatar, Qantas, AA or anyone else, please go to those forums and pursue the matter there. These forums have good subject matter experts to hand.
- Please avoid very vague questions. Specific questions get specific answers. Give exact dates, start point, end point, what flexibility you have.
- As a courtesy to the other forum members, please at least read some of the advice in the posts above, and find one fare as a start point. It's a lot easier to provide constructive feedback that way.
Find me a good British Airways fare - ticket clinic [Beta / draft: BA FARES ONLY]
May 29, 2019, 7:41 am
#62
Join Date: Sep 2015
Programs: A3*G,BA Silver
Posts: 2,010
May 29, 2019, 7:56 am
#63
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Amsterdam and London
Programs: Mucci Platinum Hairbrush des Bonnes Nouvelles. BA LTG, Bonvoy LTP, AA LTS, KL LTPt, Easy Flight Club
Posts: 378
In all my time here at FT, I have never known such generosity as some of the members here present. You come here and without hire or favour provide us with genuine help in dealing with some of the Byzantine mazes of airline pricing. Of all, you dear OP are one of the most active. You and others give their time and one cannot ask for more than that, I for one follow these threads with interest, and am even going to do B2Bs out of Inverness thanks to you.
What a lovely man you are and I sincerely hope that this excellent resource that you have created will not be abused.
What a lovely man you are and I sincerely hope that this excellent resource that you have created will not be abused.
Cheers all
Fritz
May 29, 2019, 10:18 am
#64
Moderator, Iberia Airlines, Airport Lounges, and Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2010
Programs: BA Lifetime Gold; Flying Blue Life Platinum; LH Sen.; Hilton Diamond; Kemal Kebabs Prized Customer
Posts: 63,774
YVR isn't a great one for competitive fares, because there aren't many other airlines from Europe going there, and even if changing at (e.g.) Toronto then the cost of getting across Canada can be high. You may find it better to go somewhere cheap in the USA, then use Avios or revenue to get to either YVR or SEA.
May 29, 2019, 12:19 pm
#65
Join Date: Sep 2018
Posts: 28
11)
Best Price Guarantee
BA does offer a best price guarantee that should you find an alternative provider of the same flights for less money then they will refund you twice the difference in e-vouchers up to a cap of £200 for the doubled amount. If the claim is more than £200 anyway then there is no doubling up but the original amount should still be paid. See post 12 for links to this, but note once you make a booking with the e-voucher, even if for just a part of the booking, you can’t make a further claim for the Guarantee on that booking
Best Price Guarantee
BA does offer a best price guarantee that should you find an alternative provider of the same flights for less money then they will refund you twice the difference in e-vouchers up to a cap of £200 for the doubled amount. If the claim is more than £200 anyway then there is no doubling up but the original amount should still be paid. See post 12 for links to this, but note once you make a booking with the e-voucher, even if for just a part of the booking, you can’t make a further claim for the Guarantee on that booking
Allow me to suggest a few additions to the price guarantee section:
- For the doubling up to be applicable, the claimant must be an Executive Club member.
- Eligible flights are only those operated by BA, so don’t try to claim for BA codeshare tickets on flights operated by other airlines. The reverse works very well, though: On several occasions I’ve used Skyscanner to find IB and AY codeshare tickets for BA operated flights to the US, sold by various OTAs. These have been significantly cheaper than both BA’s and the OTA’s cost for a BA ticket and my price guarantee claims have been successful.
May 30, 2019, 4:11 am
#67
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: London
Programs: BAEC Gold, Accor Live Limitless Gold, Hilton Honours Gold, Avis Preferred Plus
Posts: 1,806
Mrs wilsnunn's family have decided to have a big family gathering in Bali in December this year. Whilst I am sure it will be great fun, getting there from the UK looks like it will not be an easy feat (the majority of her family are based in SE Asia so it is very easy for them)!
Dates are currently unknown as Mrs wilsnunn's work is very inflexible and we will not know until much closer to the time when we can travel.
Does anybody have any advice about how to get to DPS or anywhere nearby and then I can use Avios on MH or use LCCs to get to DPS from wherever we arrive.
We would like to spend less than £1000 each and to travel in as high a class as possible!
Obviously QR would probably be an option in Y but that is not particularly exciting and I am sure with the collective wisdom here there must be a better option, and would like to travel as much as possible on BA instead!
I did happen to find this fare: https://www.google.co.uk/flights#flt...90*2.GBP.86490 but it isn't showing on ITA Matrix (so I assume it is something to do with dual inventory fares) and therefore I have no idea if it is going to be around for very long.
That fare would get me 380TPs which would get me within reaching distance of gold.
Dates are currently unknown as Mrs wilsnunn's work is very inflexible and we will not know until much closer to the time when we can travel.
Does anybody have any advice about how to get to DPS or anywhere nearby and then I can use Avios on MH or use LCCs to get to DPS from wherever we arrive.
We would like to spend less than £1000 each and to travel in as high a class as possible!
Obviously QR would probably be an option in Y but that is not particularly exciting and I am sure with the collective wisdom here there must be a better option, and would like to travel as much as possible on BA instead!
I did happen to find this fare: https://www.google.co.uk/flights#flt...90*2.GBP.86490 but it isn't showing on ITA Matrix (so I assume it is something to do with dual inventory fares) and therefore I have no idea if it is going to be around for very long.
That fare would get me 380TPs which would get me within reaching distance of gold.
May 30, 2019, 6:04 am
#68
Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: UK
Posts: 10,143
Mrs wilsnunn's family have decided to have a big family gathering in Bali in December this year. Whilst I am sure it will be great fun, getting there from the UK looks like it will not be an easy feat (the majority of her family are based in SE Asia so it is very easy for them)!
Dates are currently unknown as Mrs wilsnunn's work is very inflexible and we will not know until much closer to the time when we can travel.
Does anybody have any advice about how to get to DPS or anywhere nearby and then I can use Avios on MH or use LCCs to get to DPS from wherever we arrive.
We would like to spend less than £1000 each and to travel in as high a class as possible!
Obviously QR would probably be an option in Y but that is not particularly exciting and I am sure with the collective wisdom here there must be a better option, and would like to travel as much as possible on BA instead!
I did happen to find this fare: https://www.google.co.uk/flights#flt...90*2.GBP.86490 but it isn't showing on ITA Matrix (so I assume it is something to do with dual inventory fares) and therefore I have no idea if it is going to be around for very long.
That fare would get me 380TPs which would get me within reaching distance of gold.
Dates are currently unknown as Mrs wilsnunn's work is very inflexible and we will not know until much closer to the time when we can travel.
Does anybody have any advice about how to get to DPS or anywhere nearby and then I can use Avios on MH or use LCCs to get to DPS from wherever we arrive.
We would like to spend less than £1000 each and to travel in as high a class as possible!
Obviously QR would probably be an option in Y but that is not particularly exciting and I am sure with the collective wisdom here there must be a better option, and would like to travel as much as possible on BA instead!
I did happen to find this fare: https://www.google.co.uk/flights#flt...90*2.GBP.86490 but it isn't showing on ITA Matrix (so I assume it is something to do with dual inventory fares) and therefore I have no idea if it is going to be around for very long.
That fare would get me 380TPs which would get me within reaching distance of gold.
If the dates are unknown then no one can really specifically assist in that way re any BA Fares or codeshares, but if it's between Christmas period and the New Year or just after I think bargains may be scarce however who knows what any BA sale, promotion etc may bring between now and then.
As for getting to or from DPS then if your doing it this way, say a BA fare to HKG, KUL etc then I would personally build a good gap in between any long haul Far East flight and then thereafter on a redemption so it is a calculated risk I suppose which I'm sure your aware of.
In the first instance once your other half knows dates, (can she push for confirmation given it's a special family holiday?) then I am sure specific (BA or codeshare) suggestions will come in.
May 30, 2019, 11:10 am
#69
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Las Vegas
Programs: BA Gold; Hilton Honors Diamond
Posts: 3,227
I have done some interim updates, keep the great ideas coming in, it really adds a lot of value when so many people pitch in. Thanks again for the all the kind words, but I highlight that I have been helped by other FTers and even the stuff that I wrote was probably lifted from someone else's original idea.
- many typos removed
- section 1 simplified and made less ponderous (since we ponder anew in post 12)
- a new bit about codeshares
- ditto one way fares
- discount arrangements (Forces, AARP)
- a few more tips on finding cheaper fares.
- many typos removed
- section 1 simplified and made less ponderous (since we ponder anew in post 12)
- a new bit about codeshares
- ditto one way fares
- discount arrangements (Forces, AARP)
- a few more tips on finding cheaper fares.
I would like to add a couple of thoughts if I may?
Firstly, when booking Premium Economy I have found that booking the AA codeshare of a BA operated flight is often significantly cheaper than booking the BA prime flight number, especially where you can get availability in AA's "P" class (equivalent to "T" on BA). There are some caveats to this of which the primary one is that you would be booking with AA and therefore UUA won't be an option.
Secondly, again with AA rather than BA, it is sometimes possible to get better pricing by manipulating the point of sale. For example, my recent US - UK trip was significantly cheaper booking via AA's UK website and paying in GBP rather than their US one and paying in USD. Last year's trip to HKG and SIN was considerably cheaper paying in EUR than in USD and was booked through AA's German site albeit using a UK credit card. I would like to emphasise that these were all itineraries starting and ending in the USA so not ex-EU or similar. Using the ITA Matrix PowerTools extension definitely helps with doing this. Making changes to the booking also usually requires a phone call, whereas booking via aa.com will generally allow you to make changes via the web instead.
Thirdly, when booking itineraries that include AA flights within the USA, it is usually possible to get a Same Day Flight Change for zero cost if you're happy to be placed on the standby list or else you can pay $75 for a confirmed seat. This may be of benefit where a specific itinerary has a long layover but is significantly cheaper than one with a shorter layover. You book the cheaper one, and then ask AA for a SDFC either at the airport or via the AA web site. As a Gold / OWE you will usually end up very close to the top of the standby list. Of course there's no guarantee you'll clear and get on the earlier flight but I am struggling to think of an occasion where I wasn't able to get an earlier flight this way. I appreciate that this doesn't really help in terms of making the initial booking per se but if you have a degree of flexibility in your schedule this may be a way of getting on to that more expensive flight and getting to your destination earlier for zero cost.
Hope that helps and gives some additional food for thought.
May 30, 2019, 12:27 pm
#70
Join Date: Dec 2016
Programs: BAEC GGL/CR; Hilton Diamond; Mucci des Puccis
Posts: 5,608
Bali, without dates it’s impossible but options to consider would be PE to Abu Dhabi and then Sri Lankan business class to Jakarta, picking up a direct air Asia flight to Bali. All separate tickets which carries a little risk but that is often around £1k
Then Cathay Pacific ex DUB via HKG is worth a look, PE. Seems the best fares, including ex lgw or Lhr are only to be found on their website.
Then Cathay Pacific ex DUB via HKG is worth a look, PE. Seems the best fares, including ex lgw or Lhr are only to be found on their website.
May 30, 2019, 3:50 pm
#71
Join Date: Nov 2018
Posts: 11
London to CPT
Hi guys, I always read the threads in the forum but I’ve never contributed so far. I’m London based, but I’m open to everywhere in Europe, especially Italy.
I need to be in CPT on October 27 and I can fly back and forth between October 22nd- October 30th, but it seems there is not a single decent J seat from London for those dates. I was wondering if you have any ideas. I’m also open to Premium Economy.
I need to be in CPT on October 27 and I can fly back and forth between October 22nd- October 30th, but it seems there is not a single decent J seat from London for those dates. I was wondering if you have any ideas. I’m also open to Premium Economy.
May 30, 2019, 4:01 pm
#72
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: London, UK
Programs: BA GGL, HHonors Diamond
Posts: 910
Hi guys, I always read the threads in the forum but I’ve never contributed so far. I’m London based, but I’m open to everywhere in Europe, especially Italy.
I need to be in CPT on October 27 and I can fly back and forth between October 22nd- October 30th, but it seems there is not a single decent J seat from London for those dates. I was wondering if you have any ideas. I’m also open to Premium Economy.
I need to be in CPT on October 27 and I can fly back and forth between October 22nd- October 30th, but it seems there is not a single decent J seat from London for those dates. I was wondering if you have any ideas. I’m also open to Premium Economy.
Update - £2210 from MAD, £2141 from JER
More update haha - £2083 direct from London isn’t bad.... what else are you finding and what do you define as “decent J seat”....?
Last edited by David_Doyle; May 30, 2019 at 4:13 pm
May 30, 2019, 4:07 pm
#73
Join Date: Dec 2016
Programs: BAEC GGL/CR; Hilton Diamond; Mucci des Puccis
Posts: 5,608
Hi guys, I always read the threads in the forum but I’ve never contributed so far. I’m London based, but I’m open to everywhere in Europe, especially Italy.
I need to be in CPT on October 27 and I can fly back and forth between October 22nd- October 30th, but it seems there is not a single decent J seat from London for those dates. I was wondering if you have any ideas. I’m also open to Premium Economy.
I need to be in CPT on October 27 and I can fly back and forth between October 22nd- October 30th, but it seems there is not a single decent J seat from London for those dates. I was wondering if you have any ideas. I’m also open to Premium Economy.
EDIT - for some reason the price goes up when you click through. Not sure why, anyway it gives a place to start looking.
https://www.google.com/flights?hl=en...0*2.GBP.147220
May 30, 2019, 4:38 pm
#74
Join Date: Nov 2018
Posts: 11
This would have been nice. By the way, when I said 22nd-30th October I meant that I will be free in that window, but I’m open to any duration, even just 3-4 days. Thank you both anyway for your help!
May 31, 2019, 2:51 am
#75
Fontaine d'honneur du Flyertalk
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Morbihan, France
Programs: Reine des Muccis de Pucci; Foreign Elitist (according to others)
Posts: 19,172
If I may add by quoting OSL shows this as an example fare from Wed 29th Jan to Wed 19th Feb to SYD.
If I may guide you to the first posts to say that this thread is designed for primarily BA fares and codeshares on ba.com.
Section 12
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/31142095-post12.html
so I'll only post that and if I may refer you to section where there are many links (Premium Fare Thread on this board and on it's own too including some sage advice from CWS in the opening posts)
See section 12 for more info re QR etc and they are known for companion 2-4-1 deals now and again but I'm digressing there.
BA - £2,391 OSL-LHR-SIN-SYD (best to take the BA11 and then the BA 15 for maximum TP's)
As to whether it's best to wait or not then I'm not really sure to be honest but the lowest I've seen (BA and the following QF/CX codeshares) it is around the £2,200k mark on ba.com but that's usually off peak.
If I may guide you to the first posts to say that this thread is designed for primarily BA fares and codeshares on ba.com.
Section 12
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/31142095-post12.html
so I'll only post that and if I may refer you to section where there are many links (Premium Fare Thread on this board and on it's own too including some sage advice from CWS in the opening posts)
See section 12 for more info re QR etc and they are known for companion 2-4-1 deals now and again but I'm digressing there.
BA - £2,391 OSL-LHR-SIN-SYD (best to take the BA11 and then the BA 15 for maximum TP's)
As to whether it's best to wait or not then I'm not really sure to be honest but the lowest I've seen (BA and the following QF/CX codeshares) it is around the £2,200k mark on ba.com but that's usually off peak.
There is an excellent fare but I would like to "fiddle" with it is possible.
Does anyone have an idea of by when I would need to book this. This is not a TP run, it's a holiday.
Thanks to all who have pointed me in the right direction so far.
PGxxxxxxxx