T8191

My fault for lack of clarity … the August and December ones I have been booking in recent years have, of course, been in WT+ [followed by MFU to CW].

There is never (?) a global sale in all classes and all routes at the same time, I believe. ISTR there was one for CW ex-UK a few months ago - but I don't track CW activity.

orbitmic

I agree - and also with what I see as your more general point here, which is that waiting for sale fares on your destination can be risky in some cases: the sale may not include the dates or class or destination that you want, some fares could increase or availability disappear on destination XXX or class X as destination YYY or class Y become cheaper thanks to the sale, etc. Sometimes, it is just a case of spotting what is a 'good deal' for you in terms of date, destination, class (and if need be additional factors such as MFU availability) rather than be blinded by the 'sales' marketing talk. Also some sales are utterly poor and not worth it while others are very good.

Of course, the more flexibility you have the more it is worth waiting for a sale. If, for instance, you just know you want to go on holiday to somewhere exotic, and you are flexible on destination and dates, then by all means wait for a sale and you'll be bound to find some great deal. However, if you know you need to go to XXX on AA/BB/2012 in CW then the wait and see may well not be your optimal strategy.

golfmad

Great spot, thanks. I may have a trip mid Sep and I can see those prices too. I can get from TPA-AMS return WT+ with UUA for $1,350 + 24,000. CW price is over $6K. Looks like a special deal to Europe (not UK though).

Wozza2404

Question:

Booking the WT+ rtn from NYC-LHR-PAR as described above would actually be an option for me rather than booking a OW CW award flight.

How much trouble could I potentially get into for dropping not only the LHR-PAR leg, but also the entire return trip?

golfmad

My view would be that as long as you don't make a habit of it it's probably safer dropping the entire return leg than just dropping the last sector.

Globaliser

Quite so.

Amazing the number of people who look at a stonkingly low time-limited fare and then say: "Will there be a lower fare when there's a sale on?"

T8191

Perpetual price-tracking is the answer, isn't it?

You need to have a decent feel for what is "normal", and what is "cheap". Diving into the pool without knowing how deep it is leads to a broken [something]. Not so easy for newcomers on this Forum, but you really do need to know the 'shape' of the marketplace. That's why we track not just prices, but when we booked them. Then you get a feel for the price of the places you might want to go … it doesn't take long to build a spreadsheet.

I confess I have no data on BA prices in any class to some obscure destination in Russia. YMMV

Globaliser

It's one answer, but best for someone who's frequently looking at a particular route or routes.

Another tool, particularly for those who don't fly a particular route regularly, is EF (or similar), which easily gives you a year's worth of base fare data.

T8191

Or "expert flyer" for those unfamiliar with the vernacular

Never needed it, as I do DIY, but a very significant point. I must explore that in parallel.

stifle

It's far more useful if you're on a North American airline, as most allow you to get a travel voucher for the fare difference less change fee if the price drops after you book.

rhenkt

I know it's impossible to predict these things, but do you guys usually find that some BA prices spike for a short time then go back down?

Here is my situation. The specific flight I'm looking for was $850 about 3 weeks ago. I didn't buy it because my plans weren't final yet. Now the same flight is $1200, seems like a drastic change.

My dates are early November which is usually a low fare period but I don't have much flexibility. There are only a couple flights that will work for me.

orbitmic

It sounds like a change in the specific buckets available for your flights. It means that during that period, bookings on that flight have looked healthier and therefore availability in the cheapest buckets have disappeared, moving buyers to more expensive buckets. From there, two possibilites, RM got their guess 'wrong' (in an over-optimistic sense) and availability in cheaper cabins reappears later as bookings appear not to be as good as they one looked, or they got it 'right' (or wrong in an over-pessimistic sense) and then the new buckets you are currently seeing as available also disappear as BA only sells even more expensive seats on that flight.

rhenkt

That's a great explanation, thank you.

aurelien75017

Building on this and my previous post, I just booked a Xmas trip NYC-PAR via LHR for 1095 USD in WT+ with the Chase 10% discount. Leaving NYC on 12/21, returning on 12/26. I didn't think these prices would be available around Xmas time.

Super happy about that ! Now will try to upgrade with Avios...

BA5E

OMG have been looking for F LHR-SYD and no such luck of fares going down, infact looked today and they have gone up for Feb/Mar/Apr, am just hoping tht at some stage this will change and lower fares will appear, not at present a happy bunny