Austrailia/New Zealand/USA airfare?

[OzKiwiJJ]

I agree, just get it over and done with with!

 

I bought tickets with Qantas Perth to LAX for June 2014 for only $1650 each return. 15 hours plus the 5 hours Perth to Sydney with just a 1.5 hour layover in Sydney, last year the same flight cost me $2400 each:eek:

 

And prices are often cheaper when the flight originates outside of Australia or NZ. Not sure about the US, but London-Sydney return prices can be up to 50% less than Sydney-London return. :eek:

 

Either talk to a TA, or use an online booking agent like Expedia, or use the online booking systems of the various airlines to compare prices for various options. It's worth doing the research.

[Alaskanb]

Quite often it's the taxes etc that are the culprit.

[OzKiwiJJ]

Quite often it's the taxes etc that are the culprit.

I don't think so, as you incur the same taxes at each end.

 

I did some serious research on this about three years ago, comparing prices across a twelve month period. Here's a summary of what I discovered.

 

Economy: The prices ex Sydney ranged from 9.67% dearer to 91.84% dearer than prices ex London. The variations were all over the show and there was no clear pattern. The ex-London prices (in AUD) ranged from $1250 to $2254, and the ex-Sydney prices ranged from $1900 to $2868.

 

Business: The prices ex Sydney ranged from 19.13% dearer to 60.38% dearer than prices ex London. However the 19.13% seemed to be anomaly, most varied from 46.57% upwards. The ex-London prices (in AUD) ranged from $3148 to $4238 and the ex-Sydney prices ranged from $7772 to $9862.

 

Those differences certainly aren't taxes.

[Alaskanb]

Wow--well researched. I find the entire airfare pricing and variations mind-boggling. I just keep a cost in mind and grab when I can. I'm thinking of Hawaiian Air from LAX to AKL with an overnight in Honolulu and maybe something similar from SYD to LAX, for Feb 2015. I may look at one-way prices and see about Air Tahiti Nui or Fiji Air on the SYD-LAX leg. Sometimes it works well-sometimes not!

[OzKiwiJJ]

Oddly enough the research was triggered by comparisons of book prices. I decided to also look at a few other things that Aussie seems to have to pay up to twice as much for. Airfares are a biggie as they are large-ticket items.

 

I do my research well in advance for most trips. We travelled to the UK in June last year and I started researching airfares a year in advance. It's hard to get good discounts from Australia, especially for business class fares, but early bird specials are offered starting in late September. I was able to get the perfect flights $4,000 cheaper than the original price for that airline and up to $15,000 cheaper than the dearest airline. I have a knee problem so find it hard to fly long distance economy, which restricts our travel somewhat unless we can pick up bargains.

[OzKiwiJJ]

Wow--well researched. I find the entire airfare pricing and variations mind-boggling. I just keep a cost in mind and grab when I can. I'm thinking of Hawaiian Air from LAX to AKL with an overnight in Honolulu and maybe something similar from SYD to LAX, for Feb 2015. I may look at one-way prices and see about Air Tahiti Nui or Fiji Air on the SYD-LAX leg. Sometimes it works well-sometimes not!

 

Sometimes it's worth paying a little more to get good combinations of flights.

 

I think I might have been able to get a cheaper deal to the UK but only with airlines where I would have had to fly to Dublin via Heathrow (ie two stops), and the Heathrow - Dublin sector would have been economy which would have limited our baggage allowance. The airline we chose flew direct into Dublin with only one stop at Abu Dhabi and our luggage was checked in the whole way.

[Kiwi Kruzer]

Sometimes it's worth paying a little more to get good combinations of flights.

 

 

We are in that age bracket now , where we look for convenience in flight times. While always on the look out for a bargain , we will consider paying a a little bit more to travel at a time that suits us , not the airline.

 

We used to fly all hours of the night and day on very circuitous routes to save a few dollars , but now realise that there is no Travel Agent in the graveyard.

[Mercruiser]

We will be flying out of LAX next February to AKL and return from Sydney. I like the idea of a break in the long flight.

How does the Hawaii layover work in terms of spending the night between flights --do you pick up luggage when you arrive then recheck-in the next day?

Re Moorea: Is the multi-day layover option available year round?

Does anyone have any experiences to share? Thanks

 

If you are flying LAX to AKL and want a stopover, Tahiti is a very good choice. It's right on the way, see this link: http://www.gcmap.com/mapui?P=lax-akl%2C+color%3Anavy%2C+lax-ppt-akl&MS=wls&MP=o&MC=PPT&DU=mi

 

Air Tahiti Nui allows free stopovers when flying between LAX and AKL. The LAX - PPT (Tahiti) flight will be on Air Tahiti Nui aircraft. The PPT - AKL flight will be on an Air New Zealand aircraft (as an Air Tahiti Nui code share).

 

We made this stopover in November, 2013, 5 nights in Moorea, as part of our Auckland to Sydney cruise trip. If you ever want to see French Polynesia, this is an economical way to do it.

 

Because we spent 5 nights in Moorea, we retrieved our luggage between flight segments. The stayover option is available year round. Air Tahiti Nui also offers a reduced cost hotel option for stopovers. It is advertised on their home page. You don't have to use their hotel package to get the stopover. I didn't use their hotel package because I had Hilton points to use at the Moorea Hilton.

 

If you do want to stay on the island of Tahiti, the Intercontinental is a great choice. It's close to the airport and has a wonderful view of Moorea island in the distance.

 

 

Edited February 28, 2014 by Mercruiser

[Alaskanb]

What a great map link!

I've used all my Hilton points --since I retired a few years ago my point supply in all departments is diminished!!!

Tahiti is a good option and the hotels much cheaper than Honolulu. How were the other costs in Tahiti? Taxi, meals etc….

[Mercruiser]

What a great map link!

I've used all my Hilton points --since I retired a few years ago my point supply in all departments is diminished!!!

Tahiti is a good option and the hotels much cheaper than Honolulu. How were the other costs in Tahiti? Taxi, meals etc….

 

A taxi from the airport to downtown is $25. The ferry ride to Moorea is $26 round-trip.

 

Meals can be very expensive if you eat at the resorts.

 

You can get all your Tahiti questions answered on the Pacific Islands forum.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=104