View Full Version : Flight prices. VA vs everyone else
Hi
I am continually surprised by some posts on flights. I see people recommending indirect flights, Thomas Cook flights and flights into Sanford.
Whenever I see these comments I always check out some dates next year and am always surprised by the high prices compared to direct Virgin flights from Manchester.
Am I missing something or are the miles plus money flights I search for with VA blowing everyone out of the water?
We are looking to go next October so will be sorting flights out early December.
Also, did i see VA having a sale early December last year?
I've contacted quite a few brokers too (like Pillinger) to get quotes and they aren't cheap either??
There are 10 of us going next October.
Thanks in advance for anyone who replies.
G
freddiehollie
17-10-2012, 20:26
Hi Garry
I've just booked for next August (school holidays) with US Airways, out of Manchester.
Way, way, cheaper than Virgin. We don't mind going via Philly, especially as they were hundreds of £££ cheaper. Also a "far" better baggage allowance[msnwink][msnwink][msnwink]
Got a price from VA including car £4200, even after my FF discount.
US flight, car from here £3449. For that saving I'm happy to go indirect.
Wow Mike that's unbelievable!
I've tried price comparisons before without success.
So the VA price was miles plus money?
How many passengers did you put in and what dates? I'm going to try it, not because I don't believe you obviously but to get a like or like system going for when the time comes for booking.
Cheers
Katys Grandad
18-10-2012, 03:23
I don't think there's any doubt that Virgin's fares are pretty consistently the highest from Manchester and, while there is very likely to be a fare sale at Christmas, it won't necessarily cover October 2013. Obviously, having miles to throw into the equation will help and it might be that actually tips the balance towards them although it's difficult to make a true comparison until all the airlines publish their fares for that period.
My own experience has been that it's possible to make real savings by keeping an open mind on carrier/routing and having the patience to hold off until something comes along that suits you and then being ready to jump in. I would expect that for 10 passengers the savings could be very significant doing that.
sarahnmitch
18-10-2012, 03:52
One of my favorite sites compares all major airlines (so Thompson won't be on there). It is only a comparison site, but gives you all of the booking code info to take to your travel agent. Gives you a good idea of what you can expect to pay. Google 'matrix airfare search' and you want the one from ita software.
I just did a quick check and they don't have info for next October yet, but a departure on Sept. 30th with United and a layover in Newark is currently £501
freddiehollie
18-10-2012, 13:42
Hi Garry
Its not miles & money. It's just money. I have "never" been successful at getting M&M with Virgin, as we go during the school holidays. (End August 13)
I've just double checked.... VA now showing £4144.56 (so slightly lower) US Airways £3023.00 (so slightly higher £100) than when I booked
Car from here £482.00 (7 seat People Carrier) We like the space[msnwink]
So I'm nearly £100 better off already & "still" £1200 (ish) cheaper than Virgin[msnwink][msnwink][msnsmile2][msnsmile2]
That saving goes a long way towards our Premium Annual Passes.
That saving for your party of 10[clap][clap][clap][beer][beer][beer]
I got those prices Direct from VA & US Airways web sites.....
Just one tip, I always compare US Airways.com, with US Airways.co.uk.... They "Do" vary so i book with the cheaper one....
Sorry Robert, Thank you for spotting my (deliberate) mistake..... Its for 4 people...
Robert5988
18-10-2012, 20:00
Am I missing something about how many people travelling for the various prices quoted above?
freddiehollie
18-10-2012, 20:31
Sorry Robert, Thank you for spotting my (deliberate) mistake..... Its for 4 people...
freddiehollie
18-10-2012, 21:25
Got prices from VH. For same dates, although they include car hire. (full size, not 7 seater) £4200 even after discounts.
That was from Manchester. They could do slightly better from Gatwick, but they didn't get, that was "No longer" a direct flight for us..........
So its still £750 ish cheaper via Philly. With a better car..... Its another £100 cheaper if I compare with a Full size, from here......
I have to say, I prefer to get flights/car/parking etc booked ASAP, I don't like playing Russian Roulette, hoping I get a better deal.. Once booked I stop looking at Flight prices............ So I can start planning[msnwink][msnwink]
Well that's not really true.[msnsad][msnsad]
Its very difficult not to, but so far, Iv'e never seen flights cheaper than the ones Iv'e booked, with the same airline......
Katys Grandad
19-10-2012, 04:32
Its very difficult not to, but so far, Iv'e never seen flights cheaper than the ones Iv'e booked, with the same airline......
I think "with the same airline" is the key phrase there.
I suspect that during the school holidays the airlines are much less likely to reduce their fares as the date approaches because there's high demand and all the discounted fares will be snapped up already. I'm fortunate that I don't have to stick to school holiday dates these days and I can see that my approach might not work as well at those times because the market is much less competitive then. However, I still believe that being flexible on airline choice is wise if you want the very best fare.
freddiehollie
19-10-2012, 06:54
I think "with the same airline" is the key phrase there.
I suspect that during the school holidays the airlines are much less likely to reduce their fares as the date approaches because there's high demand and all the discounted fares will be snapped up already. I'm fortunate that I don't have to stick to school holiday dates these days and I can see that my approach might not work as well at those times although I still think that having flexibility on airline choice is wise if you want the very best fare.
Yet again KG, I agree with your comments. Still waiting for that flexibility of no school holidays :-)
Its the only reason I'm still collecting Virgin Points...... I may get to use them one day.......
Lesley S
19-10-2012, 07:16
We booked the other week, we are flying with United...5 of us, so indirect....£3000 inc car hire for all of us...VA wanted £5000 for the 5 of us including car hire. This is for the main holidays July/August... flights we ended up paying was £483 each.. This is from Heathrow (3 of us) and 2 from Glasgow to Orlando.
Thanks for all the info but i am still confused.
Forgetting the car as i always book through here, the flights i have just checked stack up like this:
Travelling 7/9/2013 to 21/9/2013 3 adults and 3 children.
Virgin (using miles plus money) = £3363 direct
United = £3218 indirect
Delta = £3482 indirect.
So i can save £150 by flying indirect and having a 2 hour stop?? If that's the case i'd be flying VA everytime. This is what i continually come up against, seeing posts about Virgin being so much more expensive and that it's better flying indirect but whenever i go get prices, direct flights with Virgin are always the best option.
Still got another month before i can book flights for next October but at the minute it will be Virgin all the way unless someone can explain how i'm getting such good value from Virgin.
p.s.....not using miles plus money adds between £40 and £80 per return flight so perhaps collecting all the miles is worth it?
Laurel Oak
31-10-2012, 13:29
Thanks for all the info but i am still confused.
Forgetting the car as i always book through here, the flights i have just checked stack up like this:
Travelling 7/9/2013 to 21/9/2013 3 adults and 3 children.
Virgin (using miles plus money) = £3363 direct
United = £3218 indirect
Delta = £3482 indirect.
So i can save £150 by flying indirect and having a 2 hour stop?? If that's the case i'd be flying VA everytime. This is what i continually come up against, seeing posts about Virgin being so much more expensive and that it's better flying indirect but whenever i go get prices, direct flights with Virgin are always the best option.
Still got another month before i can book flights for next October but at the minute it will be Virgin all the way unless someone can explain how i'm getting such good value from Virgin.
p.s.....not using miles plus money adds between £40 and £80 per return flight so perhaps collecting all the miles is worth it?
We tend to use miles + money with Virgin and like you have not found much in the prices for flying indirect or Virgin direct. I would always prefer to fly direct with Virgin rather than through one of the hubs unless I'm wanting a stopover or the saving is ridiculous.
canarypam
31-10-2012, 13:51
Man / Orl on your dates for 3 Adults and 3 Children are £3011 at the moment. Virgin £3747. No cars included
£3012 to Tampa which could be a good alternative as it took people 3 hrs to get through MCO yesterday!!
Katys Grandad
31-10-2012, 14:32
Travelling 7/9/2013 to 21/9/2013 3 adults and 3 children.
Still got another month before i can book flights for next October but at the minute it will be Virgin all the way unless someone can explain how i'm getting such good value from Virgin.
p.s.....not using miles plus money adds between £40 and £80 per return flight so perhaps collecting all the miles is worth it?
Hi Gary
Are you travelling in September or October? If it's October and half-term then I'd say those Virgin flights are a good deal.
I know it's an obvious statement but collecting miles becomes more worthwhile if you fly more often. It's just like Tesco Clubcard or Sainsbury's Nectar - always worth it but much less so if you shop there just once in a while.
Just obtained prices for 5 guests for next year travelling on 26th Oct.
Virgin from Gatwick £839
Heathrow Indirect £614
So guests have a saving of £1125 which means that they almost get the villa for free compared to Virgin.
This does not always happen but it happens enough for me to have some very happy guests.
Dave
seanchai
31-10-2012, 22:31
this is being advertised by thomson(holidays) ...UK to Orlando sandford from £248 round trip.
Thomson(thomsonfly) are offering cheap return flights in October and November from London Gatwick for £248...Glasgow £288 ....Manchester £318 to Orlando sandford.
We usually fly from Manchester and have found Virgin consistently the most expensive option. We've also never managed to use the miles we've built up (other than one upgrade). We've even found miles + money more expensive than just money. Perhaps it's because we're still stuck to school holiday time, I don't know.
However, if we had a choice today of direct Virgin or indirect via New York or Philly at the same price, we would go for indirect. And that's the entire family's view. We just find the direct flight too long and prefer the break in the journey
canarypam
01-11-2012, 05:39
I have to say I agree with Tonish we prefer indirect because we like the break in the journey, it gets you through immigration at the point of entry in US
so no queues at Orlando Immigration.
Thanks for all the replies. To answer:
We are going around 15th October 2013 for around 17 nights. I obviously can't check that far in advance yet so just picked any dates for comparison.
You can use miles plus money on any Virgin flight, not particular ones. It saves around £80 per flight on average.
Pam, the £700 ish that virgin were more expensive by would be saved with miles plus money.
The Thomson flights are not for school holiday periods at that price.
I can book early to mid December so I will be checking all options on release date. I have a figure in mind that I would be happy with so if I see Virgin direct for £560 or less then I am in, cannot see indirect being that cheap and whilst I agree it would be nice to break the flight up and save time in immigration, there are 6 kids travelling in total, 3 of them under 6 years old so they may not appreciate hanging around in a hub somewhere.
It is confusing, hopefully it will all start becoming clearer once I can check the actual flight dates.
PAUL GIZZI
05-12-2012, 19:05
a little off topic, but is 1hr 10min enough time between connection with US airlines for manchester?? would you clear customs? also do you have to collect your bag? as the next leg is still US Airlines?
christhear
05-12-2012, 21:23
a little off topic, but is 1hr 10min enough time between connection with US airlines for manchester?? would you clear customs? also do you have to collect your bag? as the next leg is still US Airlines?
If this is a return flight to Manchester you should be Ok, no bags to collect until the UK
a little off topic, but is 1hr 10min enough time between connection with US airlines for manchester?? would you clear customs? also do you have to collect your bag? as the next leg is still US Airlines?
thats what we had in philly last year, our plane from tampa was 20 mins late taking off and we just made it, although they were calling for us over the tannoy. Fair walk through the airport though
We always find VA the best option. We fly out on the 19th and our flights cost £3884 for 5 adults (2 grown ups and three teenage girls). We compared prices and even looked at BA, who were a whopping £6k+ even with a "staff" dscount (my friend is a first officer and will be meeting us out there). We thought it would be nice for him to be our "chauffer".
Having seen on previous threads may try flying into Tampa next time.
Nick
PAUL GIZZI
06-12-2012, 13:19
Sorry typo
Should of read from manchester
freddiehollie
06-12-2012, 17:01
We do Manchester-Philly-Orlando quite often...
Never had any issues, though we have a 2 hour window..
If there is any delay at all, you might find a struggle....
The walk from International to Domestic is not very far, 5 minutes "brisk" walk. "Usually" gates at "A" very occasional Gates at "B"..
We nearly always have time for a meal, at the food court, before our onward flight. That said, we know where were going ;-)
Still way better than our experience with VA has been in the past though.
Flight booking time!!!
Virgin Direct is ridiculous at the moment @ over £900 m+m but i would expect these to drop
Found indirect with Delta for £500.
Thoughts please on MAN-ATL-MCO with Delta and a 2 hour change........Go!!!
Oh and before you say how fantastic it is remember.......4 adults and 6 kids aged 14, 12, 10, 7, 5 & 3.......Now Go!!!!
Thx
Dads_Taxi
12-12-2012, 14:41
Gary,am I mistaken or have you completely U-turned from your original post in this thread? :)
Seems like you now agree that Virgin flights are way more expensive than flying via a US hub.
My vote is grab those Delta flights.
Delta purchased 49% of Virgin on Friday, it was the shares that Singapore brought for about $900M 10 years ago. They paid a bit over a third of what it cost Singapore.
Delta will now link more closely with Virgin and share costs and profits on many Trans-Atlantic routes, also clubs and other awards will be available on both airlines. (Star alliance)
This could also mean that prices will go up as there will be less competition.
At that saving level you could pay for a Sky Cap to carry each child for you and still save enough to pay for the villa and your car(van).
We always travel indirect as it saves the delay at MCO which can be anything from zero to 90 minutes for INS.
Plenty of people on here have used this route and hopefully other will post soon.
Dave
Katys Grandad
12-12-2012, 18:44
Thoughts please on MAN-ATL-MCO with Delta and a 2 hour change........Go!!!
Oh and before you say how fantastic it is remember.......4 adults and 6 kids aged 14, 12, 10, 7, 5 & 3.......Now Go!!!!
Thx
Take Delta - cheaper, easy connection and just about the best stopover route from Manchester. I can't see that fare getting much better between now and next October.
Delta purchased 49% of Virgin on Friday, it was the shares that Singapore brought for about $900M 10 years ago. They paid a bit over a third of what it cost Singapore.
Delta will now link more closely with Virgin and share costs and profits on many Trans-Atlantic routes, also clubs and other awards will be available on both airlines. (Star alliance)
This could also mean that prices will go up as there will be less competition.
At that saving level you could pay for a Sky Cap to carry each child for you and still save enough to pay for the villa and your car(van).
We always travel indirect as it saves the delay at MCO which can be anything from zero to 90 minutes for INS.
Plenty of people on here have used this route and hopefully other will post soon.
Dave
Neither Delta nor Virgin are becoming members of Star Alliance but there will be reciprocal earning/redemption opportunities.
In flight entertainment on the DL65 Man -Atl??
Yes complete U turn although I do expect the Virgin price to come down but not to the level I've seen them for with Delta.
So good experiences flying MAN ATL MCO?? 3.5hr stop off.
Philomena
12-12-2012, 20:34
Travelled this route when we were buying the Villa - but that was 9 years ago!!! Seem to remember that it was a long way from International arrivals to the internal onward flight at the time. From memory they have terminals A to F (?) and a train that runs between them. They were doing work at the airport when we were there so may be a little different now.
The plus side was that it is only a quick flick on to Orlando from Atlanta - only takes as long as it sometimes takes to get through immigration at MCO!!
Delta will now link more closely with Virgin ....... other awards will be available on both airlines. (Star alliance)
Dave
My mistake, typing running ahead of my brain. I should have said Sky Team which has Delta as the founder member.
Branson has had a long fight against this however he’s recently softened his rhetoric and indications are that he’s come around to the view that although global alliances may be unsavory, they are also inevitable.
Katys Grandad
13-12-2012, 06:28
My mistake, typing running ahead of my brain. I should have said Sky Team which has Delta as the founder member.
Branson has had a long fight against this however he’s recently softened his rhetoric and indications are that he’s come around to the view that although global alliances may be unsavory, they are also inevitable.
I see now Dave.
I haven't seen any announcement about Virgin joining Sky Team - have they said they will? Everything I've read indicates they have no current plans to be members and that Virgin flyers won't be able to redeem on Sky Team carriers.
I see now Dave.
I haven't seen any announcement about Virgin joining Sky Team - have they said they will? Everything I've read indicates they have no current plans to be members and that Virgin flyers won't be able to redeem on Sky Team carriers.
Had a newsletter which showed RB's original comments on BA/AA tie up and his new comments which were that they are unsavory, but inevitable.
I don't think it will happen overnight but with cost and profit sharing they are going to have to offer customers something to make this a good deal.
If the United 'merger' with AA happens, now that AA have softened their rhetoric and settled with the pilots union, this will be a big group they will need to compete against.
Well off to Miami and the AA flight back to the UK.
Dave
Katys Grandad
13-12-2012, 13:10
I'm sure you're right and Virgin will join an alliance sooner or later. Just wish they'd gone with Star Alliance independently becuase the Sky Team carriers aren't that attractive to me.
(Isn't it US AIrways that's looking to merge with AA?)
The complete 'U' turn has now done a complete 'U' turn to continue on it's original course!!! ;)
Changed the dates slighly and just booked Virgin direct from MAN for £4700!! That's for 10 people using miles plus money.
Now THAT is a good deal! The countdown has begun :)
I'm sure you're right and Virgin will join an alliance sooner or later. Just wish they'd gone with Star Alliance independently becuase the Sky Team carriers aren't that attractive to me.
(Isn't it US AIrways that's looking to merge with AA?)
Closing up the house ready to leave, reading forum, packing. I think a 24 hour rest from here will get the brain back in gear.
Dave
Katys Grandad
13-12-2012, 16:23
Have a great time!!!