Omei Posted November 10, 2010 Posted November 10, 2010 Okay so I will have 600$ Canadian saved up to fly my SO down here after I get paid again next week, Phoenix to Winnipeg I hope from leave Dec 26,27 or 28th to return Jan 16th are the dates I wanna plan the fight around. I am worried about prices because they're not budging or just going higher as time passes by and I am not able to book the flight for another week till I get paid right now the cheapest flight is $580-ish and I wish there was something cheaper I have looked on other sites lots of sites I haven't found a huge much of a difference! Maybe 20, 30, 40, 50 bucks different I would love to find a flight around 400ish rather than 600ish which all there seems to be right now. I have never booked a flight around Christmas time and I hate how expensive it is! I wish out of the $600 I have saved 150 or 200 of it I could of used for more outings when we're together but if a flight at Xmas cheap as $400 is near impossible I will just gladly pay the 580$ it is right now...Hopeeeeee for me that it doesn't go much higher! Btw the reason why I am not willing to take a flight thats cheaper by 40$ or whatnot on another site is because I am bad at this kinda thing and Air Canada site is so user friendly I try figuring out other sites but their layouts are so damn confusing and messy sometimes and I have booked a flight twice with Air Canada before so I know how to do it I have no idea on how to do it on these other sites, some of them look cheesy and fake with there big blue bulky lettering and confusing booking system it makes me wanna just forget about trying to book with them even if it IS cheaper slightly lol. Anyway that's just my little flight booking rant. Lol :p:p
LisaLee Posted November 10, 2010 Posted November 10, 2010 (edited) The worst thing for me (especially when my SO comes and visit) is the drive. He usually flies into St. Louis because my local airport is very expensive! We're talking a price difference of $300-$500 between the airport in my town and Lambert. So I have to drive 3 1/2 hours to St. Louis to pick him up, and then drive that 3 1/2 hours back because he doesn't know how to drive stick shift. We have gone back and forth on this issue; the most frustrated I have ever seen my SO is when I tried to teach him how to drive stick. He finally just gave up completely. That being said my mom bought a new car, so she is giving me her old one, and it's an automatic. In December he will be doing the driving. Edited November 10, 2010 by LisaLee
Els Posted November 10, 2010 Posted November 10, 2010 As someone whose SO had to pay $4000-5000 of our currency for each visit while we were LD, I can only tell you you're lucky.
carhill Posted November 10, 2010 Posted November 10, 2010 Although I was a bit unclear about the O&D (you said 'down' but 'PHX to YWG'), here's my current offering for a non-stop, priced in $CA.... Phoenix (PHX) to Winnipeg (YWG) - Tue, Dec 28 WestJet 1343 Dep: 8:35PM Arr: 12:43AM 3h 8m Boeing 737 Coach (M) Wed, Dec 29 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Winnipeg (YWG) to Phoenix (PHX) - Sun, Jan 16 WestJet 1342 Dep: 8:30AM Arr: 10:54AM 3h 24m Boeing 737 Coach (P) FARE AND BOOKING DETAILS Provide this information to a travel agent to help them match the fares found. Make sure to provide the exact booking and fare codes shown. Fare 1: Carrier WS MCRO3 PHX to YWG CA$219.32 Passenger type ADT, one-way fare, booking code M Covers PHX-YWG (Coach) Fare 2: Carrier WS PCRP3 YWG to PHX CA$219.32 Passenger type ADT, one-way fare, booking code P Covers YWG-PHX (Coach) US International Departure Tax (US) CA$16.10 US September 11th Security Fee (AY) CA$2.50 US Passenger Facility Charge (XF) CA$4.50 USDA APHIS Fee (XA) CA$5.00 US Immigration Fee (XY) CA$7.00 Winnipeg Airport Improvement Fee (SQ) CA$20.00 Canadian Goods and Services Tax (XG) CA$1.00 US International Arrival Tax (US) CA$16.10 Canadian Air Travelers Security Charge (CA) CA$12.71 Subtotal per passenger CA$523.91 Number of passengers x1 Total airfare & taxes CA$523.91 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fare construction (can be useful to travel agents) PHX WS YWG 219.00MCRO3 WS PHX 219.00PCRP3 USD 438.00 END XT 12.71CA 20.00SQ 1.00XG 7.00XY 5.00XA 32.20US 2.50AY 4.50XF PHX4.50 This ticket is non-refundable. Changes to this ticket will incur a penalty fee.
TMichaels Posted November 10, 2010 Posted November 10, 2010 You really should get over your "online booking angst," Omei. I just did a search on Vayama.com for flights departing Phoenix on 12/26 to Winnipeg returning on 1/16 and the lowest fare (from Delta Airlines) is $438.94 USD*including* taxes... Best, TMichaels P.S. Why are *you* paying for your BF's ticket and worrying about having extra dollars to spend on activities while he visits? Isn't he pitching in for anything? He should be.
carhill Posted November 10, 2010 Posted November 10, 2010 (edited) Here's my recommendation for the Delta itinerary. It leaves room for a misconnect outbound (later flight available) and adequate layover time inbound. Given the time of year, holiday traffic and weather at the intermediate point, you'll want to balance the price savings over the non-stop versus the flight time and connection point factors. Also, the DL route between MSP and YWG is a regional jet which is more prone to wx (weather-related) issues during winter ops, both from ATC and airline zone control. Hope that helps --------------- Phoenix, AZ (PHX) to Winnipeg, MB (YWG) on Sun, 26 Dec 201012:22pm PHX6:53pm YWG1-stopMinneapolis/St Paul (46 min layover) 5 hr 31 minDelta 2392 Boeing 757 Coach (L) Delta 3353 Canadair Regional Jet operated by Mesaba Dba Delta Connection Coach (L) Winnipeg, MB (YWG) to Phoenix, AZ (PHX) on Sun, 16 Jan 20111:34pm YWG8:11pm PHX1-stopMinneapolis/St Paul (2 hr 41 min layover) 7 hr 37 minDelta 3993 Canadair Regional Jet operated by Pinnacle Dba Delta Connection Coach (T) Delta 2899 Boeing 757-300 Coach (T) Price per passenger: $357.98 (USD) Taxes/Fees: $80.70 (USD) Subtotal per Passenger: $438.68 (USD) Total for all passengers (1): $438.68 (USD) ======= Edited to add baggage fees on Delta: or travel within or between the United States and Canada, U.S. Virgin Islands or Puerto Rico: First checked bag: $23 USD/CAD* if checked in online or $25 USD/CAD* at the airport kiosk, ticket counter or curbsideSecond checked bag: $32 USD/CAD* online or $35 USD/CAD* at the airport As a point of reference, between the US and Canada, Westjet allows the first bag for free and the second bag is 20.00. The weight and size limits are similar for both, and equivalent to domestic airline policy: 50 lbs and 62 linear inches. Edited November 10, 2010 by carhill
Author Omei Posted November 10, 2010 Author Posted November 10, 2010 P.S. Why are *you* paying for your BF's ticket and worrying about having extra dollars to spend on activities while he visits? Isn't he pitching in for anything? He should be. Of course he is, I am doing the ticket purchase he just gives me his half when he gets here, how do you guys do it? I worry because I am new at the whole travel thing and like to save as much money as I can, don't wanna find out later I could of saved myself 100$ if I only knew how to look up flight prices correctly. Thanks guys who linked some sites and lower prices in my preferred range, this helps a lot. (Sorry if you think I am lazy I am really bad at looking it seems)
carhill Posted November 10, 2010 Posted November 10, 2010 All my pricing comes directly from the GDS and is bookable on the airline web sites or through a travel agent. If he flies Delta or another major domestic carrier, make sure he signs up for a frequent flier account prior to travel. If he likes to visit, there are ways to do it cheaply or for free. Just gotta play the game. Good luck
Citizen Erased Posted November 10, 2010 Posted November 10, 2010 Anyone want to find out for me why it's says on the United Australia website that his ticket will be about $400 less than it does on the United USA website. Same dates, times etc. A slight difference of paying $1600 rather than $2000. It's not conversion rates, our dollars are pretty even right now.
carhill Posted November 10, 2010 Posted November 10, 2010 It's likely a sales city issue. Also, the YQ (fuel surcharge) may be different ex-Oz. IIRC, right now, ex-CONUS, it's 160USD but may have changed of late. Hardened mileage runners like myself know how to trick the reservation system into doing things to even out pricing, but it takes time, effort and skill. Think of United's reservation system like a slot machine in Vegas. You just never know what the next pull will bring up. Also, when you get pricing discrepencies, be sure to click all the way through to the payment page. When you get to that point, the system is doing a live CRS query and pricing can change from previous cached numbers.
LittleTiger Posted November 10, 2010 Posted November 10, 2010 Whatever you do, Omei, do it ASAP!!! I booked my flights to NZ (from UK) for the Christmas period over a month ago. That's out early Dec back mid Jan - so peak season but not actually Christmas week (which I know is even higher!). I got the last seat available on the date I wanted to go with my preferred carrier - we always use the same one so we can collect air miles and therefore free flights and upgrades etc - and it cost us double the usual price. If I look online now, there are literally only a handful of seats available on limited dates and they are now triple the price we normally pay - an economy seat for the price of a first class! It's criminal - but it's supply and demand - so get your flights sorted as soon as you can. If you don't want to do it on the internet, ringing an agent and getting them to do it for you is the easiest way to get the best available flights.
carhill Posted November 10, 2010 Posted November 10, 2010 Here's what I see for LAX-SYD: United Round Trip Fare (KKAU60) Fare price: $778 Cat 12 Surcharges: $0 YQYR Charges: $160 Taxes: $140 Advance Purchase: 0 days Cabin: Coach Effective Date: November 05, 2010 Discontinued Date: Fare Type Code: XPN Booking Codes: K $1078 SYD-LAX: United Round Trip Fare (KLAUS6) Fare price: AUD709 Cat 12 Surcharges: AUD0 YQYR Charges: AUD160 Taxes: AUD153 Advance Purchase: 0 days Cabin: Coach Effective Date: October 29, 2010 Discontinued Date: Fare Type Code: XPN Booking Codes: K AUD1022
carhill Posted November 10, 2010 Posted November 10, 2010 Oh, also, though not of real critical importance to the OP, but definitely a potential for Pyro/CE, try a bucket shop (consolidator). Expect spot sales in advance of the Thanksgiving holiday here in the US.
HeavenOrHell Posted November 10, 2010 Posted November 10, 2010 It really sucks how they charge more over Xmas, they're going to be making way more anyway that time of year My partner is paying much more than usual to fly over at Xmas even though he booked at least 2 months in advance
Citizen Erased Posted November 10, 2010 Posted November 10, 2010 That's weird, Pyro is flying here on the 27th and back on the 7th (maybe 10th) and the flights are cheaper than when I went there in March and June. With New Years, plus it's summer, I'd have thought it'd be more expensive.
Rollercoasterr Posted November 10, 2010 Posted November 10, 2010 For some reason prices were always more expensive during the summer than than when it was closer to the holidays for Mathew and I. I paid right around $440 when it was closer to christmas and close to $650 when it was the summer. Of course, I probably could have gotten the summer flight for cheaper but considering my intense hate of Chicago O'Hare airport I would have done pretty much anything to avoid that place. If there's one thing we learned during our LDR it was that airmiles are the best thing since wonderbread if you can get a good program without blackout dates.
folieadeux Posted November 10, 2010 Posted November 10, 2010 Rollercoasterr beat me to the punch, but airmiles are really your best friend for those of us in LDRs, or who just travel alot for work/pleasure. My SO and I have never paid full price for a flight yet.
aerogurl87 Posted November 10, 2010 Posted November 10, 2010 Good luck on finding flights, and yeah they are really expensive around Christmas. I have to book two separate flights to go see my boyfriend and I usually prefer booking the second flight with Air Canada. Especially since they have up to two free checked bags on domestic Canadian flights. This last time my whole flight was $700 and that was a steal since on almost all the other sites it would've been $1,000 at the least. Maybe you can take a different route or fly early in the morning to get cheaper tickets.
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