Need Lots of Air Advice

[Landlubber54]

OK, here's the set-up -- We're new to cruising and the open jaw flying involved in an Alaskan cruise tour. As of today we are set up through the cruise line, including air fare, for a trip that will take place in late-July and early-August. We will be flying from Ontario, CA to Fairbanks on the front end, and from Seattle (after an included bus ride from Vancouver to SeaTac) back to Ontario at the end.

 

I have struggled looking for comparable air fares, knowing that I will have to arrange (or at least pay for) some ground transportation to either SeaTac or YVR. What suggestions do you veterans have for me to minimize air turmoil (if not the costs)? :(

[katmai]

You can go to airline website to book "multiple destination" trip.

In this case, Alaska airline is probably the only choice because they are the major airline within Alaska and also between Alaska and west Coast.

Then you'll know how much this kind of open jaw trip costs.

[1cruiselvr]

It's been my experience that the best price for open ended flights like yours are thru the cruiselines. Sometimes you can beat CL airfare pricing when it's RT from one destination but in this case, I would stick with the CL airfare. I just had a friend try to beat the CL airfare for an Alaskan cruise similar to yours. He waited months for pricing to drop and researched intensely. Final result - CL had the best pricing, he couldn't touch it so he didn't want to lose the option so he booked with the CL. BTW, they only have so many seats available. When they fill up, you have to book your own airfare. My advice - stay with the CL. Happy Sailing!

[parody]

You can go to airline website to book "multiple destination" trip.

In this case, Alaska airline is probably the only choice

 

It's certainly worth going to the Alaska Airline's website to see how much this open jaw trip will cost. However, by doing so, keep in mind that it will only put you on Alaska (and its affiliate) Horizon airline flights. A better option, I believe, is to conduct a multi-city search using something like itasoftware.com. While Alaska Airlines, being a major carrier in that market, will serve the major portion of the travel, you'll note that some connecting flights will include Continental and Frontier and will be cheaper than an all Alaska itinerary. Also, if possible, consider nearby airports such as Burbank.

[Landlubber54]

I'm afraid that 1cruiselvr mght be correct. I have tried Alaska Air's site, all the discount web sites, etc., and the conclusion I have come to is that, without a round trip, you can't beat the offer from the CL -- especially when you include the charges for connecting transportation (and I think HAL charges you a fee on top of that if you make arrangements on your own). Even if I did come up with air travel that beat the price offered by the line, I would still be stuck with a significant number of connections.

 

I do appreciate the responses, though.

 

I will keep looking...:(

Note to Parody: We live 25 miles east of Ontario (never to be confused with Eden). The only other reasonable options distance-wise are Palm Springs or John Wayne (the OC) which really don't have decent pricing.

[Hate 2 W8t]

Landlubber,

 

Didn't notice before that you are in my neck of the woods, or more appropriately "desert". ;) I am running into the same problem as you with flights out of ONT. I also checked San Diego and no dice. Can't even come close to CL pricing. Be sure to let us know if you find a deal and I will do the same if I catch on to something.

[billybob123]

The reason you cannot match the cruise line's price is that the proposed trip is NOT an "open-jaw" as defined by the airline. An airline prices an open jaw ticket as sectors A-B, and C-A, where B-C is the "open" segment. The only way an open jaw is legal by the airlines standard is if the B-C segment is SHORTER than BOTH the A-B and C-A segments. In your case, the open segment is ANC-SEA, a distance of approx 1400 miles. Your A-B segment (ONT-ANC) is 2300 mi (which is ok), but your C-A segment is SEA-ONT (~900 miles). I.e. you are not looking for an open jaw with the airline, as they won't sell you one, instead you are booking two one-way tickets (one from ONT-ANC, the other from SEA-ONT) and invariably, most airlines charge more for one-way than any sort of round trip or open jaw.

 

Good luck... the only thing I can suggest is finding an airline that allows one-way sales (e.g. Delta) to book your tickets. You might want to consider flying out of another local airport (SNA or LAX) if it's at all possible. Otherwise, go with the cruiseline airfare, it's hard to beat.

 

Enjoy your trip

-bb123

[hotmike98]

I was told by United Airlines staff in Anchorage that the reason we kept getting bumped on the Anchorage to LAX run (stops at either Seattle or San Francisco) is because they honor almost daily cancellations of underbooked Alaska Air flights which were canceled for "weather" reasons which were in fact just too few pax to make the flight cost effective. Naturally, non-revenue pax like us flying stand-by were bottom of the list.

[vivian02]

I have done alot of Air travel (leasure) over the past couple of years and have found some amazing airfares for those who don't mind doing their homework. First of all I know there some bargain fares going on for Alaska by one of the Major Air carriers. That sale ends late tomarrow (28th). I purchase round trip tickets yesterday on one of the online discounters and got a pretty good price. Unfortunately I will not be cruising. This will be a land tour.

Now for the open jaw thing. I'm not sure what is considered good for an open jaw going to Fairbank but this is what I just found:

 

Open Jaw...I found this on a consolador's site that allows you to plug in the cities and dates. This is what I used... July 14th out of LAX going to FAI, returning July 28th SEA going to LAX. The price including taxes came out to $874.

 

Now if I were to do it this is what I would do: LAX going to ANC (July 14) return SEA to LAX (July 28). The price was $555 including taxes. You can fly into Anchorage spend the night.(Not cheap) The next day rent a car and drive up to Denai. From there go to Fairbanks. On returning to Anchorage you can drive back by way of Delta Junction so you will always be seeing different scenery. If you have the extra time drive down to Seward, Whittier, or Sodona. Just make sure you get to the port in time for you Cruise back to the lower 48. These prices that kicked out really suprised me! They look fairly cheap to me.

 

I'm just sharing the things I have learned over the past few years. If anyone out there knows more please let us know. Tim (Going to Anchorage in July)