Understanding Flight Prices (Las Vegas)

bigadaj

marsman802 wrote: »

And people moan about BA being 'London Airways' - you get good deals with not being near London!

But BA is probably behind several other airlines regionally, air France and klm certainly, Emirates, Qatar and etihad probably, and several others probably have more options from outside the south east.

PeacefulWaters

Heliflyguy wrote: »

You need to check the classes that you quoted with in each case.

Often lower fare classes will be available MAN-LHR-LAS than MAN
-LHR / LHR-LAS

Below is an example in 3 days time of booking a connection or booking each flight individually see Q class.

1 MAN LHR 1400 1505 BA1395 J9 C9 D9 R9 I8 Y9 B4 H4 K2 M2 320 C*E
«B» L2 V2 N2 Q1 OC S2 G1
2 LAS 1640 1920 BA 275 F7 A6 J9 C9 D9 R9 I8 W3 E2 T1 744 C*E
Y8 B4 H3 K3 M3 L3 V3 S3 N2 Q1
OC G0


4 MAN LHR 1400 1505 BA1395 J9 C1 DC R9 IC Y9 B4 H4 K1 M0 320 C*E
«B» LC VC NC QC OC SC G1

2 LHR LAS 1640 1920 BA 275 F7 A6 J9 C4 D1 RC IC W3 E2 TC 744 C*E
«B» Y8 B4 H3 K3 M3 L3 V3 S3 N1 QC
OC G0

And in the real world, what does that actually mean?

Heliflyguy

PeacefulWaters wrote: »

And in the real world, what does that actually mean?

It means that the lowest fare available MANLHRLAS is in Q class but if you just book LHRLAS it will have to be in the higher N class.

Its a messy example granted but both flights show Q class when combined as a through fare but Q is not available if you show them as separate availability.

Doshwaster

bigadaj wrote: »

But BA is probably behind several other airlines regionally, air France and klm certainly, Emirates, Qatar and etihad probably, and several others probably have more options from outside the south east.

BA is a long way behind other airlines when flying "East of Suez" but for transatlantic Economy there are as good (or as bad) as other European airlines and better than US carriers.

If Emirates could fly UK to US direct then they would clean up on the routes.

bigadaj

Doshwaster wrote: »

BA is a long way behind other airlines when flying "East of Suez" but for transatlantic Economy there are as good (or as bad) as other European airlines and better than US carriers.

If Emirates could fly UK to US direct then they would clean up on the routes.

My point was about route availability and options rather than quality of service, though I think several US Airlines have as many if not more regional options than BA.

marsman802

PeacefulWaters wrote: »

A typical connection from the sticks is still going to add four hours onto journey times though.

Mind you, I did a Dublin>LHR>Vegas run last month and got upgraded from business to first. Maybe the early check in for the connecting flight increases upgrade opportunity too.

Shame the service in first was mediocre.

Ah I know - you pay for convenience in reality.
Funnily enough my last route to Vegas was pretty similar.
LHR>DUB>LHR>LAS to save about £500 in economy as I was booking a matter of days away. I only did it on my own - wife certainly wouldn't entertain it.

Murphy_The_Cat

marsman802 wrote: »

Ah I know - you pay for convenience in reality.
Funnily enough my last route to Vegas was pretty similar.
LHR>DUB>LHR>LAS to save about £500 in economy as I was booking a matter of days away. I only did it on my own - wife certainly wouldn't entertain it.

Mrs Cat used to think along the same lines as Mrs Marsman, but the reality of saving £500 x 4 and having a night in Dublin before the "proper" holiday has won her over.

baza52

Flown to Vegas from Gatwick many times with Virgin Atlantic.
Check out Norwegian Airlines as last time we went we used them and it was at least £300 cheaper per person and its still a direct LGW-LAS flight.
After 20 flights with VA i will never use them again. They used to be good to fly with but now are like a budget airline as they have cut back on everything.

photome

Heliflyguy wrote: »

It means that the lowest fare available MANLHRLAS is in Q class but if you just book LHRLAS it will have to be in the higher N class.

Its a messy example granted but both flights show Q class when combined as a through fare but Q is not available if you show them as separate availability.

that still doesnt mean anything to most people.

what is the difference between Q and N

Doshwaster

photome wrote: »

that still doesnt mean anything to most people.

what is the difference between Q and N

https://insideflyer.co.uk/2016/09/british-airways-fare-class-booking-class-i-find/

Basically the fare class determines if the ticket can be changed/refunded and how many miles/points you will get. Unless you are a frequent flyer or want some flexibility then it really doesn't matter and you should just go for the cheapest fare.