Best way to book flights to/in the US?

Joey Hoffnaagle wrote:
Howdy Campers,

I'm currently planning a visit to Canada/US based to spend Christmas with a
friend and New Years at Times Square based on the rough itinerary;
22nd Dec - Sydney to L.A.
23rd Dec - L.A. to Vancouver
29th Dec - Vancouver to New York
4th Jan - New York to Las Vegas
7th Jan - Las Vegas to Sydney (Via L.A.?)

Book the Sydney to L.A. round trip and then book the flights in North
America separately.

You might look into renting a car for Seattle to Vancouver and back if
your objective is to save money. The flights to/from Canada are likely
to be very pricey. There are also buses for about $55 each way.

Check out JetBlue who prices each segment of their flights separately
and doesn't charge extra for non-round trips. The downside of JetBlue is
if they cancel your flight and can't book you on another one of their
flights, they refund your money for the segment and leave you to
purchase a full fare, no-advance purchase, ticket on another airline.
Happened to my mother, and happens to quite a few people apparently.

"Joey Hoffnaagle" wrote in message
...
Howdy Campers,

I'm currently planning a visit to Canada/US based to spend Christmas with
a friend and New Years at Times Square based on the rough itinerary;
22nd Dec - Sydney to L.A.
23rd Dec - L.A. to Vancouver
29th Dec - Vancouver to New York
4th Jan - New York to Las Vegas
7th Jan - Las Vegas to Sydney (Via L.A.?)

Having never really booked a trip with stop-overs, can anyone advise
whether I'm likely to be better off trying to book a multi-city flight
plan with the stopovers - or just buying a normal return or one way ticket
to L.A. and then just organising the other legs (and return flight)
separately? Obviously, it's not exactly cheap season, so I'm trying to
keep the price as reasonable as possible and I've got a good deal on the
table for the first leg to L.A. that I'd like to book if it's the best
way?

Can any seasoned travellers throughout the US recommend whether I should
lock it in and set about looking online for the other legs, or is buying
the one multi-stop ticket usually more cost-effective. Likewise, what
timeframe (ie one week before, three months before etc) is generally the
best time to book the cheapest flights? Finally, can anyone recommend any
decent websites for domestic flights throughout US and Canada?

Any and all help is appreciated.
Check the oneWorld, Star Alliance, and Skyteam web sites for Circle North
America fares. Using Qantas and American, United, Air Canada, Continental,
and US Airways, or Delta, you should be able to put together an itinerary at
a tolerable airfare. An alternative might be a round-the-world fare using
one of the alliances and continuing eastbound all the way back to Sydney.

Based on your particular itinerary, I would suggest Star Alliance as
follows:
1. United from Sydney to LAX
2. United or Air Canada from LAX to Vancouver
3. Air Canada, US Airways, or United from Vancouver to New York (via
Toronto, Phoenix, or Chicago, respectively)
4. US Airways, United or Continental from New York to Las Vegas (via
Philadelphia or Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland or Houston depending on the
airline, then US Airways from Las Vegas to LAX and United home.

One nice thing about this type of itinearary is that they might have a
favorable Business Class option available, at least on the long haul
segments.

Have a great trip.

Jeff

I would suggest he carefully look at the time he has allowed himself!!



"Dan C" wrote in message
news
On Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:23:11 +1000, A Mate wrote:

Are you aware of how much time you will be spending in the air covering
those huge distances. Sydney to LA can take up to 19 hours (depending on
the routing). LA to Vancouver; Vancouver to NYC; NYC to Las Vegas - all
are loooong flights

How would you suggest he shorten those distances...?


--
"Ubuntu" -- an African word, meaning "Slackware is too hard for me".
"Bother!" said Pooh, as he garotted another passing Liberal.
Usenet Improvement Project: http://twovoyagers.com/improve-usenet.org/

One nice thing about this type of itinerary is that they might have a
favorable Business Class option available, at least on the long haul
segments.

A good point -- I just spent a total of 14 hours on airplanes in the
course of a 22-hour-long (body time) travel day, in coach and most of
it on pretty full flights, which is quite common now that a lot of
airlines have cut back their capacity to meet lowered demand.
Fortunately most of this was on Air France, one of the airlines that
still act as though they appreciate your business, but nonetheless
the people forward of the curtain seemed to be having a better time.

By sticking to one alliance as much as you can, you also concentrate
your frequent-flyer miles instead of spreading them among several
places where you might never accumulate quite enough to use.

Something worth mentioning about the Vegas-LA (or really, Vegas-
anywhere) bit of the itinerary is that it has some of the most
flexible flight options. You can even take a bus to any number of
points in the LA area if you're yearning for a ground-level view of
the desert (well, okay, probably looks a lot like your own desert...)
and a better or at least different chance to meet people. Getting
you to and from Vegas, either on a planned basis or on the spur of the
moment (before your luck runs cold or the girl changes her mind about
marrying you or whatever), is a big business in the US, and there are
a lot of choices. Even a one-way car rental might not prove to be
completely silly if you'd rather try that.

Alas, I don't think the train service lasted long (1999-2001?) and
more-recent talk about a futuristic high-speed train was sidetracked
when the economy derailed. Amtrak offers some ability to book you
on that route, but AFAIK they just sell the ticket as part of their
overall service, and the actual trip occurs on a bus.

--Joe

On Nov 8, 10:00*am, "Joey Hoffnaagle" wrote:
Howdy Campers,

I'm currently planning a visit to Canada/US based to spend Christmas with a
friend and New Years at Times Square based on the rough itinerary;
22nd Dec - Sydney to L.A.
23rd Dec - L.A. to Vancouver
29th Dec - Vancouver to New York
4th Jan - New York to Las Vegas
7th Jan - Las Vegas to Sydney (Via L.A.?)

Having never really booked a trip with stop-overs, can anyone advise whether
I'm likely to be better off trying to book a multi-city flight plan with the
stopovers - or just buying a normal return or one way ticket to L.A. and
then just organising the other legs (and return flight) separately?
Obviously, it's not exactly cheap season, so I'm trying to keep the price as
reasonable as possible and I've got a good deal on the table for the first
leg to L.A. that I'd like to book if it's the best way?

Can any seasoned travellers throughout the US recommend whether I should
lock it in and set about looking online for the other legs, or is buying the
one multi-stop ticket usually more cost-effective. Likewise, what timeframe
(ie one week before, three months before etc) is generally the best time to
book the cheapest flights? Finally, can anyone recommend any decent websites
for domestic flights throughout US and Canada?

Any and all help is appreciated.

Note: your baggage will add a variable cost to your domestic flights
(except on Southwest,
which makes a point of not charging for baggage); be prepared to pay
at the airport. I have
yet to hear of a ground transport company that charges for baggage.

-d

"Carthell" wrote in message
...
On Nov 8, 10:00 am, "Joey Hoffnaagle" wrote:
Howdy Campers,

I'm currently planning a visit to Canada/US based to spend Christmas with
a
friend and New Years at Times Square based on the rough itinerary;
22nd Dec - Sydney to L.A.
23rd Dec - L.A. to Vancouver
29th Dec - Vancouver to New York
4th Jan - New York to Las Vegas
7th Jan - Las Vegas to Sydney (Via L.A.?)

Having never really booked a trip with stop-overs, can anyone advise
whether
I'm likely to be better off trying to book a multi-city flight plan with
the
stopovers - or just buying a normal return or one way ticket to L.A. and
then just organising the other legs (and return flight) separately?
Obviously, it's not exactly cheap season, so I'm trying to keep the price
as
reasonable as possible and I've got a good deal on the table for the first
leg to L.A. that I'd like to book if it's the best way?

Can any seasoned travellers throughout the US recommend whether I should
lock it in and set about looking online for the other legs, or is buying
the
one multi-stop ticket usually more cost-effective. Likewise, what
timeframe
(ie one week before, three months before etc) is generally the best time
to
book the cheapest flights? Finally, can anyone recommend any decent
websites
for domestic flights throughout US and Canada?

Any and all help is appreciated.

Note: your baggage will add a variable cost to your domestic flights
(except on Southwest,
which makes a point of not charging for baggage); be prepared to pay
at the airport. I have
yet to hear of a ground transport company that charges for baggage.

-d

If the OP books the entire itinerary on one record, including a special fare
(i.e., Star Alliance / OneWorld visit North America, etc.), the entire
journey gets the international baggage allowance which is probably 2 free
bags.

"Jeff Hacker" wrote in message
...

"Carthell" wrote in message
...
On Nov 8, 10:00 am, "Joey Hoffnaagle" wrote:
Howdy Campers,

I'm currently planning a visit to Canada/US based to spend Christmas with
a
friend and New Years at Times Square based on the rough itinerary;
22nd Dec - Sydney to L.A.
23rd Dec - L.A. to Vancouver
29th Dec - Vancouver to New York
4th Jan - New York to Las Vegas
7th Jan - Las Vegas to Sydney (Via L.A.?)

Having never really booked a trip with stop-overs, can anyone advise
whether
I'm likely to be better off trying to book a multi-city flight plan with
the
stopovers - or just buying a normal return or one way ticket to L.A. and
then just organising the other legs (and return flight) separately?
Obviously, it's not exactly cheap season, so I'm trying to keep the price
as
reasonable as possible and I've got a good deal on the table for the
first
leg to L.A. that I'd like to book if it's the best way?

Can any seasoned travellers throughout the US recommend whether I should
lock it in and set about looking online for the other legs, or is buying
the
one multi-stop ticket usually more cost-effective. Likewise, what
timeframe
(ie one week before, three months before etc) is generally the best time
to
book the cheapest flights? Finally, can anyone recommend any decent
websites
for domestic flights throughout US and Canada?

Any and all help is appreciated.

Note: your baggage will add a variable cost to your domestic flights
(except on Southwest,
which makes a point of not charging for baggage); be prepared to pay
at the airport. I have
yet to hear of a ground transport company that charges for baggage.

-d

If the OP books the entire itinerary on one record, including a special
fare (i.e., Star Alliance / OneWorld visit North America, etc.), the
entire journey gets the international baggage allowance which is probably
2 free bags.

We did SYD-LAX-ATL-ORF-ATL-HOU-ATL-LAX-SYD on Delta in October. The
stopover in Houston was for 4 days and for the travel from Norfolk to
Houston, we were charged for baggage even though it was on the same
itinerary.