Airfare Strategies

[CRUISENAV8R]

With the season about to begin, and me having to wait another year :( , I would like to solicit your best strategies for saving money (from the US) flying downunder. When you are talking $2000 each, for a family of 4, every little bit of savings counts! Like most folks, I have a 2-port itinerary, starting in Sydney, ending in Auckland.

 

Thanks

Jon

[mike35]

We leave on December 19 for Auckland and return from Sydney on January 8. The best deal I could find was on Air Pacific (out of LAX). We stop in Fiji (where the airline is based), both outbound and return, but the fare was a few hundred dollars less than on the more well-known carriers. Air Pacific uses 747-400's.

 

Mike

[got2go2mo2]

Jon -- We will be on the Auckland to Sydney cruise 23 Jan 2007. Airfares are usually available 330 days out. A few weeks before we could purchase our airfare, I was monitoring the fares through Travelocity, Expedia, Orbitz, and the individual airlines on the Internet sites. A few days before we could purchase, there was an unbelievably low fare posted on United Airlines Website, so the first day it was available, we bought our tickets. The price we paid from LAX to AKL, then SYD to LAX was $835 per person. The flights are nonstop and the fare included all taxes and fees. I thought it was a mistake, so I called United and spoke to a reservations agent who told me the same fare could be purchased on the phone through their reservations agents. So I just told the agent to book it for us. It cost $10 more per person by going through United Reservations via telephone than purchasing on the Internet, but at the same time they made the booking, we got our seat assignments, and they also obtained our Australian VISA for us free of charge (VISA is good for a year). This is usually $20 per person. Since the VISA fees are generally included in the cost of the cruise, I telephoned the cruise line to let them know we had already obtained a VISA, and they deducted a total of $40 from our cruise cost. United is part of Star Alliance, so we will still earn miles. And the big plus for us is that the carrier used from LAX to AKL is Air New Zealand -- our favorite airlines:). On the down side, that fare class is not available for business class upgrade using FF miles.

 

Kathy

[CruisinMK]

If you can deal with multiple tickets, you could fly to Hawaii and then use jetstar from there to Australia. Bonus vacation to Hawaii!

[2manyplaces]

Check the Air New Zealand website. They frequently have specials posted. Or check with your travel agent. Sometimes they know about specials or consolidator fares which they can get for you, although most agent now charge a fee to process a ticket.