Pacific price war hots up

[Gold Member]

Saaaweeeet!! Just booked MEL-LAX-JFK return for $1093! AND, the two Pacific flights are on A380. I went out of my way to find the A380 flights which only appeared once or twice per week in July.

 

[Mal]

Saaaweeeet!! Just booked MEL-LAX-JFK return for $1093! AND, the two Pacific flights are on A380. I went out of my way to find the A380 flights which only appeared once or twice per week in July.

So Qantas are silently matching UA... amazing!

Congrats to all who get onboard - Qantas is a tonne better than United!

 

[Warks]

Crikey! You're right about QF. I posted this afternoon in the other thread that it was going to cost about $5500 to fly QF in September. Just checked Qantas again and it's now under $4000 for my family of 4 (2 kids under 11). Should book it right now!
QF will hold it until Sunday. Might have the Gold MC through by then to pay for it to cover the travel insurance.:shock:

 

[Flashback]

I just did a dummy booking in September for my parents, and it's 1600 return each for PER-LAX or JFK! :shock:

 

[Bundy Bear]

I have a couple of trips in the planning stage.

BNE-SYD-LAX-SEA/SFO-SYD-BNE is pricing at $1671 Oct 2009
BNE-LAX-JFK-LAX-BNE is pricing at $1450.00 Jun 2009

I am not finding prices that are the sub $1200 range.

Part B: Have been been doing some research into a trip to UK: November is likely but thought a quick trip in April would be nice.

It is interesting that BNE-SIN-LHR is still over $2,400 and I am surprised that those prices haven't dropped.

APR 20 LHR-BNE £363 ( there is some cheaper some more expensive.

NOV 15 BNE-LHR £229 dirt cheap AUD $572.50

APR 15 BNE-LHR AUD $1465

APR 20 LHR-BNE AUD $1362 same flight starting from the UK = $907.50

NOV 15 BNE-LHR AUD $1233

NOV 28 LHR-BNE AUD $1355

So if you had make 2 trips to the UK you are mad not to book a ticket from the UK, as the same seat is more than double the cost.

 

[Alanslegal]

Crikey! You're right about QF. I posted this afternoon in the other thread that it was going to cost about $5500 to fly QF in September. Just checked Qantas again and it's now under $4000 for my family of 4 (2 kids under 11). Should book it right now!
QF will hold it until Sunday. Might have the Gold MC through by then to pay for it to cover the travel insurance.:shock:

Glad to see you have locked in the reservation. Less than $4k for a family of 4! I can't see these fares getting any lower - the airlines would rather park their planes than fly the thing!

 

[Alanslegal]

I'm thinking SYD-JFK-SYD will net close to 30,000 points as a SG, plus 2,200 points using ANZ QF platinum, plus 1,333 points loyaly bonus (120SC / 450 SC x 5,000) = say 33,533 points for $1,100 spend.

33,533 can redeem a one way award to SIN, BKK or HKG

Now I am very tempted to visit NYC a 2nd time in '09.

 

[taswegian77]

Delta's business class fares start at $7,777 plus taxes and charges if you can afford that straitman

I would never recommend anyone sit through Delta's business/first offering. I have done a lot of LAX-CVG on Delta in their so called First cabin in the front of a 757 and the product is best described as sitting in my 90 yr old grandmothers old leather chair she's had for 50 years. Take the plunge, spend the extra 2.5K on a RTW with OW and sit in comfort.

We can only hope that Delta's offering across the pacific will be an upgraded plane with a product that can compete with QF, UA and VAustralia.

 

[Warks]

Glad to see you have locked in the reservation. Less than $4k for a family of 4! I can't see these fares getting any lower - the airlines would rather park their planes than fly the thing!

The cheap flight out already has the 'Hurry!' on it so I feel better having jumped in the deep end now!

I was thinking that I should have booked the LAX-YVR segment at the time but I checked this morning and that sends the total price spiralling to ...

$8658.80!!:shock:

Methinks I'd better look elsewhere!

 

[Gold Member]

The Qantas website has been down for the past couple of hours. I wonder if the price match has caught on or if its just a coincidence.

FWIW, late last night, Qantas still had the old 'sale' pricing on their homepage ($1360 JFK return) despite offering the cheaper price when performing a booking. Must've been a very prompt price match that didn't offer sufficient time to adjust their homepage material.

 

[Nigelinoz]

I would never recommend anyone sit through Delta's business/first offering. I have done a lot of LAX-CVG on Delta in their so called First cabin in the front of a 757 and the product is best described as sitting in my 90 yr old grandmothers old leather chair she's had for 50 years. Take the plunge, spend the extra 2.5K on a RTW with OW and sit in comfort.

We can only hope that Delta's offering across the pacific will be an upgraded plane with a product that can compete with QF, UA and VAustralia.

I was under the impression that Delta were planning on using 777's on the
SYD-LAX route.

 

[NM]

I would never recommend anyone sit through Delta's business/first offering. I have done a lot of LAX-CVG on Delta in their so called First cabin in the front of a 757 and the product is best described as sitting in my 90 yr old grandmothers old leather chair she's had for 50 years. Take the plunge, spend the extra 2.5K on a RTW with OW and sit in comfort.

I think you are making a poor comparison. You are comparing a domestic product with a premium international product. It is like comparing a Qantas 737 business class seat with a Skybed Mk II. they may both use the word business class, but they are very different products. The same goes for Delta's domestic First Class on a 757 when compared with their Business/First lie-flat bed on their new 777-200LRs.

looks pretty good for a trans-Pacific flight to me.

Some more images from Airliners.net:
Photos: Boeing 777-232/LR Aircraft Pictures | Airliners.net
Photos: Boeing 777-232/LR Aircraft Pictures | Airliners.net

 

[Nigelinoz]

United has cut it's J fare to sub $7000.00 SYD-LAX $6876.00,MEL-LAX $6859.00 ,there's a condition that the tickets have to be purchased 90 days prior to travel and no refunds.
Details at:
http://www.travelweekly.com.au/dirplus/images/travelweekly/TravelTodayPDF/17_03_2009.pdf

 

[JohnK]

Some of these airfares are unbelievable. How low can they go?

Don't forget the lack of directional air vents ... :shock:

Am I imagining the QF 767 the other day with air vents. I sat down and felt the air coming out of the vent but was too lazy to get up and turn it off.

 

[serfty]

... Am I imagining the QF 767 the other day with air vents. I sat down and felt the air coming out of the vent but was too lazy to get up and turn it off.

I was specifically referring to the Ex BA 767-336's. (VH-ZXA/B/C...) They do not have directional air vents ... all other Qantas 767-338's (VH-OGA/B/C ...) do have them.

You resemble an ex BA 767 ? :mrgreen:
Does that mean you're rather tatty and things are falling off at a rate of knots?

 

[oz_mark]

I was under the impression that Delta were planning on using 777's on the
SYD-LAX route.

Indeed they are
http://www.nwa.com/asia/delta-sydney/schedule/index.html

 

[cove]

The price difference between economy and business class has probably never been greater with the current price stoush.
If you end up with a full economy section and the rest empty that certainly would mean a loss.
Has anyone seen a two for one deal for business or first to LAX?
It must be close.
I loved the Delta comment about a Granny leather chair...

 

[Alanslegal]

If you end up with a full economy section and the rest empty that certainly would mean a loss.

Not exactly the case, as we know, the same economy seat does not have the same pricing on it (ie different fare buckets) - and I'm sure the the smart folks in the revenue team won't be releasing every seat as a cheap one - and the person next to you? well he/she could be paying 4x what you paid but still in economy.

 

[Gold Member]

The price difference between economy and business class has probably never been greater with the current price stoush.
If you end up with a full economy section and the rest empty that certainly would mean a loss.
Has anyone seen a two for one deal for business or first to LAX?
It must be close.
I loved the Delta comment about a Granny leather chair...

You just missed the boat Kagitower... Qantas had a 2 for 1 Business class sale to many destinations including the USA. They had one late last year so based on the timing between offers, it may be possible they will offer another 2 for 1 sale later this year.

 

[Nigelinoz]

Received this in an email today.
Dear Nigel.

Celebrate the launch of Delta's daily non-stop Sydney to Los Angeles service^ with this special offer. It's the perfect opportunity to explore glamorous L. A.! Book your tickets on or before April 9, 2009 and depart Sydney from July 3, 2009 to October 31, 2009.

Fly from Sydney to:Roundtrip Fare*Los Angeles$1,101

^ Subject to government approval
*Price in Australian dollar. Fare includes fuel surcharges, passenger facility charges and taxes as of March 20, 2009 and may fluctuate due to changes in fuel surcharges, passenger facility charges and taxes. Terms and conditions apply.
To book your ticket, call 1800 144 917 (toll-free) for Australia, 09 977 2232 for New Zealand, your travel agent or visit delta.com. Click here to see our flight schedule.

Reservation/Purchase Period
On or before April 9, 2009
Booking Class
Economy Class - T class Travel period
Depart from Sydney between July 3, 2009 to October 31, 2009.
Minimum stay is 4 days. Maximum stay is 12 months.