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#11
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Best way to book flights to/in the US?
"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 |
#12
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Best way to book flights to/in the US?
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/ |
#13
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Best way to book flights to/in the US?
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 |
#14
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Best way to book flights to/in the US?
John Levine wrote:
If that what you want to do, I would first get my round trip from Sydney to North America. The only cities with service to Sydney are L.A., San Francisco, and Vancouver, Uh no ... you miss the really important one: Honolulu. so if you want to fly back from Vegas, you'll have to change in S.F. or L.A., and will probably need a separate ticket for that. I suspect you can fly Vegas-Honolulu, and have a nice restful stopover. I usually stop in Honolulu when flying to Australia or New Zealand. Doug McDonald |
#15
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Best way to book flights to/in the US?
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 |
#16
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Best way to book flights to/in the US?
"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. |
#17
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Yea I would recommend visiting your local travel agent for some good ideas on how to plan your trip the most effectively- and then you can go ahead afterwards and check with prices online. You can often get better rates on flights to the US online, but you will no-doubt want at least the innitial help of a travel agent to get a grounding on what's required. Once you've got more info you should def check out some sites already mentioned. All the best! |
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