BA Club bargains to Hawaii
Discussion
This is all quite interesting. As a tall person when i go to the U.S. I have to always get exit row seats as I can't fit in normal ones. Looking at flight prices using Dublin it's not much different to go BA business compared to paying the usual ~£100/flight seat upgrade costs with most airlines.
I am researching routes for a holiday right now, for one of them it's fly into Seattle, and out of San Francisco (trip being August into September). If i do this in economy it's £1,200. In business it's £1,400 (though i'd need to get to Dublin first). Given that i'm 6ft4 and need space, it's almost seeming sensible to go business...?! Am i missing something here? This seems wrong...!
Matt.. said:
I am researching routes for a holiday right now, for one of them it's fly into Seattle, and out of San Francisco (trip being August into September). If i do this in economy it's £1,200. In business it's £1,400 (though i'd need to get to Dublin first). Given that i'm 6ft4 and need space, it's almost seeming sensible to go business...?! Am i missing something here? This seems wrong...!
Nope, its all good! fun eh?There are 3 things saving you money here, a lack of (business class) airport departure tax, prices in euros with a strong £, and prices in over seas markets. Good luck and enjoy the nap! Unless you plan on returning to dublin on the way back make sure that if you're arriving into LHR from san fran, that you make your london - dublin flight leave from Gatwick so your return should look like SFO-LHR airport change LGW-DUB that ensures that the check in agent at SFO can only check your baggage to LHR, otherwise you run the risk of them checking it through to DUB...
Mr Trophy said:
JFX to LAX then Hawaii - is this business all the way?
Or just London City to JFX?
Yes, you'll be on new transcon domestic business JFK-LAX which is pretty good by all accounts, and domestic AA First LAX-HNL which is just a big comfy seat as opposed to a bed. Very good deal though.Or just London City to JFX?
Hi guys just thought I would put my 2cents worth in on this. I fly london to hawaii at least 10 times a year. Some points to think about. Basically now there really are only 3 carriers to the west coast of the USA . BA/AA plus others in One World Alliance, United and the Star Alliance, Virgin and whoever there partners are. All planes are full from London to LAX or SFO.
If you fly BA from London to LAX when u get to LAX it's a change terminals job. So its immigration, pickup your bags then walk down the street to the AA terminal for your connecting flight. I was in LA last week..the new immigratation system works well and I got through within 10 mins. AA planes to HNL are usually 757's. The seats are crap in first class. Do not fly economy..it's horrendous. AA sometimes run 767's but only during the summer months.
United is another deal altogether. Most of the airlines have given up some route or another. United don't fly to HNL certain days from LAX or SFO. With Virgin, they merge with United at SFO and LAX. Now United use 767's with flat beds on the route to SFO only. 757's into and out of LAX.
As an alternative you could fly to JFK and then catch Hawaiian Air which is direct to HNL a from JFK. You can book direct with Hawaiian via their website. I have flown them and they are really good. Also you could try flying via Seattle and then changing to Alaska Air which also has direct flights to HNL
For me all the frigging about via Dublin is really not worth it. You only have to have a short delay somewhere and your in trouble. For me I catch the 10.25 out of Heathrow to SFO..3 hour lay over and then on to HNL? I am home indoors by 7pm local time the same day.
To me getting home the same day is worth the extra than travelling for 30+ hours.
If you fly BA from London to LAX when u get to LAX it's a change terminals job. So its immigration, pickup your bags then walk down the street to the AA terminal for your connecting flight. I was in LA last week..the new immigratation system works well and I got through within 10 mins. AA planes to HNL are usually 757's. The seats are crap in first class. Do not fly economy..it's horrendous. AA sometimes run 767's but only during the summer months.
United is another deal altogether. Most of the airlines have given up some route or another. United don't fly to HNL certain days from LAX or SFO. With Virgin, they merge with United at SFO and LAX. Now United use 767's with flat beds on the route to SFO only. 757's into and out of LAX.
As an alternative you could fly to JFK and then catch Hawaiian Air which is direct to HNL a from JFK. You can book direct with Hawaiian via their website. I have flown them and they are really good. Also you could try flying via Seattle and then changing to Alaska Air which also has direct flights to HNL
For me all the frigging about via Dublin is really not worth it. You only have to have a short delay somewhere and your in trouble. For me I catch the 10.25 out of Heathrow to SFO..3 hour lay over and then on to HNL? I am home indoors by 7pm local time the same day.
To me getting home the same day is worth the extra than travelling for 30+ hours.
Geoff Stilwell said:
Hi guys just thought I would put my 2cents worth in on this. I fly london to hawaii at least 10 times a year. Some points to think about. Basically now there really are only 3 carriers to the west coast of the USA . BA/AA plus others in One World Alliance, United and the Star Alliance, Virgin and whoever there partners are. All planes are full from London to LAX or SFO.
If you fly BA from London to LAX when u get to LAX it's a change terminals job. So its immigration, pickup your bags then walk down the street to the AA terminal for your connecting flight. I was in LA last week..the new immigratation system works well and I got through within 10 mins. AA planes to HNL are usually 757's. The seats are crap in first class. Do not fly economy..it's horrendous. AA sometimes run 767's but only during the summer months.
United is another deal altogether. Most of the airlines have given up some route or another. United don't fly to HNL certain days from LAX or SFO. With Virgin, they merge with United at SFO and LAX. Now United use 767's with flat beds on the route to SFO only. 757's into and out of LAX.
As an alternative you could fly to JFK and then catch Hawaiian Air which is direct to HNL a from JFK. You can book direct with Hawaiian via their website. I have flown them and they are really good. Also you could try flying via Seattle and then changing to Alaska Air which also has direct flights to HNL
For me all the frigging about via Dublin is really not worth it. You only have to have a short delay somewhere and your in trouble. For me I catch the 10.25 out of Heathrow to SFO..3 hour lay over and then on to HNL? I am home indoors by 7pm local time the same day.
To me getting home the same day is worth the extra than travelling for 30+ hours.
Geoff - you are travelling for business though, not on a grockle run like the others discussing it. As a guy who does 60 flights a yr I know full well my idea of flying/travelling is a very different thing to when my wife wants to do a grockle run. If you fly BA from London to LAX when u get to LAX it's a change terminals job. So its immigration, pickup your bags then walk down the street to the AA terminal for your connecting flight. I was in LA last week..the new immigratation system works well and I got through within 10 mins. AA planes to HNL are usually 757's. The seats are crap in first class. Do not fly economy..it's horrendous. AA sometimes run 767's but only during the summer months.
United is another deal altogether. Most of the airlines have given up some route or another. United don't fly to HNL certain days from LAX or SFO. With Virgin, they merge with United at SFO and LAX. Now United use 767's with flat beds on the route to SFO only. 757's into and out of LAX.
As an alternative you could fly to JFK and then catch Hawaiian Air which is direct to HNL a from JFK. You can book direct with Hawaiian via their website. I have flown them and they are really good. Also you could try flying via Seattle and then changing to Alaska Air which also has direct flights to HNL
For me all the frigging about via Dublin is really not worth it. You only have to have a short delay somewhere and your in trouble. For me I catch the 10.25 out of Heathrow to SFO..3 hour lay over and then on to HNL? I am home indoors by 7pm local time the same day.
To me getting home the same day is worth the extra than travelling for 30+ hours.
It isn't business, I partly live there and I split my time between the UK and Hawaii. At the end of the day you have to weigh up whether saving a few quid is worth the hassle of 3 or 4 stopovers and it taking 30 odd hours to get somewhere. I was in Hawaii last week and spoke to someone from the UK. It was going to take them effectively 4 days to get back with overnight flights. Their saving on the economy price was £70.00 each. The flights they had where HNL a to LAX..then to Chicago then Cleveland then JFK then London. Fine if your happy doing that but with all due respect if you are scrimping over the flight you can't afford Hawaii. All hotels are currently around 95% full...most of the year...the cheapest hotel on Waikiki will be around $100 plus taxes per night. The Hilton or Westin or the Marriott will all be circa $200 at least per night. They don't really have any real variation in season charges apart from Memorial Day, Labor Day n Christmas when it is more expensive. Gas has come down in price but still $3.00 plus a gallon. You can easily rack up the miles on Oahu as there is so much to see. But don't be fooled into its cheap. Most hotels also charge $30 per night to self park. Most hotels will have various Resort Charges of upwards of $25 per day..so check the hidden costs plus everything has sales tax. On the plus side it is paradise. 
I'm looking at booking: Dublin to anchorage, and Honolulu to Heathrow (then gatwick to Dublin, this I'd not take). Saves me lots of money to do anchorage to Hawaii in economy booked separately. £1.2k for the main flights, and £250 for the anchorage/Hawaii one. Seems ok? Anyone see any problems with it?
Geoff Stilwell said:
It isn't business, I partly live there and I split my time between the UK and Hawaii. At the end of the day you have to weigh up whether saving a few quid is worth the hassle of 3 or 4 stopovers and it taking 30 odd hours to get somewhere. I was in Hawaii last week and spoke to someone from the UK. It was going to take them effectively 4 days to get back with overnight flights. Their saving on the economy price was £70.00 each. The flights they had where HNL a to LAX..then to Chicago then Cleveland then JFK then London. Fine if your happy doing that but with all due respect if you are scrimping over the flight you can't afford Hawaii. All hotels are currently around 95% full...most of the year...the cheapest hotel on Waikiki will be around $100 plus taxes per night. The Hilton or Westin or the Marriott will all be circa $200 at least per night. They don't really have any real variation in season charges apart from Memorial Day, Labor Day n Christmas when it is more expensive. Gas has come down in price but still $3.00 plus a gallon. You can easily rack up the miles on Oahu as there is so much to see. But don't be fooled into its cheap. Most hotels also charge $30 per night to self park. Most hotels will have various Resort Charges of upwards of $25 per day..so check the hidden costs plus everything has sales tax. On the plus side it is paradise.
With all due respect the example you used above is rubbish. We are talking business class and we are talking a potential saving of thousands of pounds. The Dublin thing (or any other none UK hub) doesn't work for economy, it only works for the more expensive classes. Clearly you are very well off, but for some people, travelling business class when they are paying the bill themselves is a very fine balance and for many, it's out of reach entirely.
In summary, not worth the extra aggro for you, but for many it's the difference between flying in business and flying in economy. For me, someone who hates flying in the first place having spent years in the air when I was travelling for business, I wouldn't travel so far in economy, because I would spend the holiday dreading the flight back. But I also would find it hard to justify the flights in business (don't forget we are talking about my family and I and therefore the price difference is a decent family car) so it's the difference between going to such a destination and not.
cashmax is right - most people are not discussing saving £20 on Economy. They're discussing paying only a few hundred more for Business the whole way rather than flying Economy the whole way. For me I'd never think of paying Business to fly myself and my wife to the states, but would be more than happy to spend a day out in Dublin & take slightly longer to get there to be able to fly Business for the round trip.
I currently live in Mauritius and when travelling for personal reasons I fly Economy. When I get to my destination I often find the first day is spent recovering. When travelling with work I fly Business and am able to head straight in to the office - so the "lost" day in Dublin isn't really lost, it is exchanged for an otherwise "lost" day of the holiday.
I currently live in Mauritius and when travelling for personal reasons I fly Economy. When I get to my destination I often find the first day is spent recovering. When travelling with work I fly Business and am able to head straight in to the office - so the "lost" day in Dublin isn't really lost, it is exchanged for an otherwise "lost" day of the holiday.
Geoff Stilwell said:
Hi guys just thought I would put my 2cents worth in on this. I fly london to hawaii at least 10 times a year. Some points to think about. Basically now there really are only 3 carriers to the west coast of the USA . BA/AA plus others in One World Alliance, United and the Star Alliance, Virgin and whoever there partners are. All planes are full from London to LAX or SFO.
If you fly BA from London to LAX when u get to LAX it's a change terminals job. So its immigration, pickup your bags then walk down the street to the AA terminal for your connecting flight. I was in LA last week..the new immigratation system works well and I got through within 10 mins. AA planes to HNL are usually 757's. The seats are crap in first class. Do not fly economy..it's horrendous. AA sometimes run 767's but only during the summer months.
United is another deal altogether. Most of the airlines have given up some route or another. United don't fly to HNL certain days from LAX or SFO. With Virgin, they merge with United at SFO and LAX. Now United use 767's with flat beds on the route to SFO only. 757's into and out of LAX.
As an alternative you could fly to JFK and then catch Hawaiian Air which is direct to HNL a from JFK. You can book direct with Hawaiian via their website. I have flown them and they are really good. Also you could try flying via Seattle and then changing to Alaska Air which also has direct flights to HNL
You can also fly direct from YVR to Maui, and possible some of the other islands, with Hawaiian, and YVR is served by AC and BA. If you fly BA from London to LAX when u get to LAX it's a change terminals job. So its immigration, pickup your bags then walk down the street to the AA terminal for your connecting flight. I was in LA last week..the new immigratation system works well and I got through within 10 mins. AA planes to HNL are usually 757's. The seats are crap in first class. Do not fly economy..it's horrendous. AA sometimes run 767's but only during the summer months.
United is another deal altogether. Most of the airlines have given up some route or another. United don't fly to HNL certain days from LAX or SFO. With Virgin, they merge with United at SFO and LAX. Now United use 767's with flat beds on the route to SFO only. 757's into and out of LAX.
As an alternative you could fly to JFK and then catch Hawaiian Air which is direct to HNL a from JFK. You can book direct with Hawaiian via their website. I have flown them and they are really good. Also you could try flying via Seattle and then changing to Alaska Air which also has direct flights to HNL
Geoff Stilwell said:
For me all the frigging about via Dublin is really not worth it. You only have to have a short delay somewhere and your in trouble. For me I catch the 10.25 out of Heathrow to SFO..3 hour lay over and then on to HNL? I am home indoors by 7pm local time the same day.
To me getting home the same day is worth the extra than travelling for 30+ hours.
I think you're comparing chalk and cheese though. You're looking it as a commute, where I agree the object is to get from A to B as easily as possible. But if you're on a holiday and want to see things, different considerations apply. As for the cash side, as others have explained this is about sitting in a big seat/bed at the front of the plane for X hours fora few hundred pounds more than sitting/standing in economy for the same period of time. Or, if you would rather, spending longer in business class than in economy due to a longer routing (which I would rather do, personally).To me getting home the same day is worth the extra than travelling for 30+ hours.
Silverage said:
Is there a way to force a trip via Heathrow when the airline offers a direct flight from Dublin?
I'm looking at Abu Dhabi in the summer and Etihad appear to offer direct flights there so I can't get the chance to get off at Heathrow on the return leg.
You need to use ITA MatrixI'm looking at Abu Dhabi in the summer and Etihad appear to offer direct flights there so I can't get the chance to get off at Heathrow on the return leg.
https://matrix.itasoftware.com
Under the departing from, and destination tabs theres a thing that says "advanced routing codes" in that you can type LHR which will force a connection in LHR
But what are you looking at? most of these good fares are ba specific, because of BA having a sale on in Ireland, and not being a direct carrier, potentially neither of which apply to Etihad out of LHR either
OK my view.
We are doing Locator flight to Dublin. Dublin to London, London to Las Vegas. Few days later LV to Miami. Few days later back to London then the next day back to Dublin... This has saved £700 flying economy (after the locator flight) - worthwhile.
Now this makes me nervous - on the ticket booking...
Very important information
If you do not check your bags through to your final destination you may incure additional charges
Anyone ever incurred additional charges?
PS - When I tried to book the airline came up with a completely different route at the same price that I could not replicate via Google Flights. As it involved better changes, and better inflight experience I was happy to go with it!
We are doing Locator flight to Dublin. Dublin to London, London to Las Vegas. Few days later LV to Miami. Few days later back to London then the next day back to Dublin... This has saved £700 flying economy (after the locator flight) - worthwhile.
Now this makes me nervous - on the ticket booking...
Very important information
If you do not check your bags through to your final destination you may incure additional charges
Anyone ever incurred additional charges?
PS - When I tried to book the airline came up with a completely different route at the same price that I could not replicate via Google Flights. As it involved better changes, and better inflight experience I was happy to go with it!
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