Do UA have sales at Xmas time?

There are 7 of us travelling to Florida next August and we have several flight options. UA is offering the best route from BHX to MCO (changing in EWR), however the prices, at this present time, are very high. Does anyone know if UA usually have a sale around/just after Christmas time?

We also have the option of flying from MAN, either direct with Virgin or with one stop with US, AA or Delta. Virgin is obviously more expensive being a non-stop flight, however we don't mind having a break in the journey as long as it's only one change of planes. Are the other carriers worth considering (horrendous immigration queues etc.) :confused:? I recall having read that some do not have monitors on the back of seats (something that it important to us having kids in our party).

Many of you flying experts state not to book this far out, but do the airlines often have sale fares on these prime holiday season routes? I don't want to wait and then find out that the chances of getting a cheaper fare for this time is completely remote. So it's not a case of looking into a crystal ball, rather historically, what usually occurs? I can't seem to find much information on the comparison sites concerning this routing.

I did read on another thread that travelling in the opposite direction was coming in at approx $1100 - I wish! I'd need to add another $500 to come anywhere close and that's on a flight with one stop. I'd have to nearly double it for Virgin :eek:

Would welcome any comments. Thanks.

Most of the sales I have seen UA have in the winter time are for the Spring. Not the summer months.

I wouldn't count on it. Summer to Florida...they will fill the planes without much of a sale.

It's doubtful you'll see a sale for air tickets to FL for the summer.

International fares are usually high every summer. I had to fly IAD-MRS last July 2012, and started looking at fares on UA starting in Sept 2011. I held off buying until after Christmas, thinking they would go down in January 2012. They didn't. I finally bought my tickets in February and the price never went down. If I had firm dates for August travel to FL, I'd probably buy now, or at least very soon.

If seat back entertainment is important to you, make sure the plane you will be traveling on has these. FYI, nonstop flights are not always the most expensive.

Okay, so the general consensus is to buy now.

Having looked at several sites, US Airways is coming in at a good price out of MAN and they do have seat back entertainment. I've never travelled with them before, has anyone got any good/bad things to say about them? The route uses A330-300 aircraft and changes in PHL. No-one IMHO could be as bad as Air France, but I would welcome any comments from previous users.

Okay, so the general consensus is to buy now.

 

Having looked at several sites, US Airways is coming in at a good price out of MAN and they do have seat back entertainment. I've never travelled with them before, has anyone got any good/bad things to say about them? The route uses A330-300 aircraft and changes in PHL. No-one IMHO could be as bad as Air France, but I would welcome any comments from previous users.

I'll take AF over US Airways any day. US Airways isn't as bad as it used to be, but I still am not their biggest fan based on my 6-8 experiences. My experiences on Air France (approximately the same number) have all been fine.

I'll take AF over US Airways any day. US Airways isn't as bad as it used to be, but I still am not their biggest fan based on my 6-8 experiences. My experiences on Air France (approximately the same number) have all been fine.

Thanks for your comments.

I mentioned AF as whenever we have booked with them, it's ended in disaster. From being asked to leave my kids behind as they hadn't got room on the flight :eek: to being texted while in the middle of the ocean with: 'your flight's been cancelled' - end of, no apology or contact info; it's been one nightmare after another! So, any carrier that allows us to board as a family, takes off and arrives at our destination with us all still in one piece is great in our book :D. It's rather nice to see your luggage on the carousel as well - not 2 days later! Are US any better?

From being asked to leave my kids behind as they hadn't got room on the flight

Were they adult "children"? Usually minors are the last to be bumped.

.. to being texted while in the middle of the ocean with: 'your flight's been cancelled'

How did you receive a text while in the middle of the ocean? Do you mean while you were on a ship?

You don't list your exact travel dates, but I don't think roundtrip flights for next August, BHX-MCO are horrendously expensive. If you are willing to have two stops, you can find them as low as £483.40 (combination of LH and AC) or £863.15 for one stop on UA.

Seven tickets is a lot of money.

Use this webpage to search:

http://matrix.itasoftware.com

Were they adult "children"? Usually minors are the last to be bumped.

 

 

How did you receive a text while in the middle of the ocean? Do you mean while you were on a ship?

 

You don't list your exact travel dates, but I don't think roundtrip flights for next August, BHX-MCO are horrendously expensive. If you are willing to have two stops, you can find them as low as £483.40 (combination of LH and AC) or £863.15 for one stop on UA.

 

Seven tickets is a lot of money.

 

Use this webpage to search:

http://matrix.itasoftware.com

No, 5 and 7 at the time. My DH and friends (who cruise with us) refuse to use AF any more. We have given them so many chances that now we think we're definitely not meant to fly with them. Yes, we were on a ship.

Thanks for the link, I will check it out as UA are showing £937 for that route on their website. We want to travel around the 14th for boarding Oasis on 17th, not sure if that makes a difference to the prices you quoted?

With regards to LH, I can only praise their services. They have always delivered a very good service.

Let's see...you got a text that an upcoming flight is cancelled. But how is AF supposed to know you are on a ship? And would you have been happier if they had NOT let you know about the cancellation? Seems like you are putting them in a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" situation.

Or is it the upset over having a cancellation at all? Those are never pleasant situations, but they are a fact of life when dealing with machinery and humans.

Of course, if you want the situation where your flight won't be cancelled, there's always NetJets.

As for the children issue....they could very easily have not realized that part of your party were children. And you don't say whether this was a VDB situation where you were being asked if you could stay behind, or if it was an IDB where they decide who stays. Much different cases.

And, if they gave you so much trouble, why did you keep using them? It's not like they are the dominant carrier out of the UK or your only choice? Could it possibly have been....gasp....price??

Back to your original question. No, airlines do not have set "sale" periods, either for purchase or for travel (aside from AS and the PDF timing). Think supply and demand and you will be WAY ahead of the masses. Summer travel TATL is always a high-demand period and waiting for a "sale" in this situation is a fool's errand that has far more downside risk than upside gain. And greater likelihood of loss as well.

I know you and your family will enjoy the vacation.

Whether you change planes in Philly, or anywhere else on this side of the pond, please allow at least three hours to go through Customs and Immigration and get to your next gate. I know it's hard with the kids but this will give you a little wiggle room.

There are 7 of us travelling to Florida next August and we have several flight options.

In the "post-Christmas" sale last year (ie tickets issued on or after 22 December 2011 and on or before 24 January 2012), UA filed sale fares for BHX-MCO valid for outbound travel from the UK on or after 19 August 2012.

The cheapest of these was about £250 less than the lowest fare valid for outbound travel on or before 18 August 2012.

Let's see...you got a text that an upcoming flight is cancelled. But how is AF supposed to know you are on a ship? And would you have been happier if they had NOT let you know about the cancellation? Seems like you are putting them in a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" situation.

 

Or is it the upset over having a cancellation at all? Those are never pleasant situations, but they are a fact of life when dealing with machinery and humans.

 

Of course, if you want the situation where your flight won't be cancelled, there's always NetJets.

 

As for the children issue....they could very easily have not realized that part of your party were children. And you don't say whether this was a VDB situation where you were being asked if you could stay behind, or if it was an IDB where they decide who stays. Much different cases.

 

And, if they gave you so much trouble, why did you keep using them? It's not like they are the dominant carrier out of the UK or your only choice? Could it possibly have been....gasp....price??

 

Back to your original question. No, airlines do not have set "sale" periods, either for purchase or for travel (aside from AS and the PDF timing). Think supply and demand and you will be WAY ahead of the masses. Summer travel TATL is always a high-demand period and waiting for a "sale" in this situation is a fool's errand that has far more downside risk than upside gain. And greater likelihood of loss as well.

Shock, horror, gasp :eek:........ and a drum roll please...........no, not price but convenience. It's one of the main carriers at our local airport and that figures quite heavily when you have children! Funnily enough, BA do not fly out of our local airports and the dominant carriers are either budget lines or AF and KLM. And like you said, I gave them other chances as a felt it could have been been just the luck of the draw - lesson learnt.

My main point was not anything to do with AF and I just wanted to know about sales (to which you kindly answered). I progressed on the thread enquiring about US airways as I am unfamiliar with their services and wondered how they fared? I thought USA pax may have some feedback as US is obviously an American carrier. BTW, they are not the cheapest carrier on the MAN route, there are a few others including Delta.

I know you and your family will enjoy the vacation.

Whether you change planes in Philly, or anywhere else on this side of the pond, please allow at least three hours to go through Customs and Immigration and get to your next gate. I know it's hard with the kids but this will give you a little wiggle room.

Thank you very much for that very useful tip :).

When in August?

 

In the "post-Christmas" sale last year (ie tickets issued on or after 22 December 2011 and on or before 24 January 2012), UA filed sale fares for BHX-MCO valid for outbound travel from the UK on or after 19 August 2012.

 

The cheapest of these was about £250 less than the lowest fare valid for outbound travel on or before 18 August 2012.

We want to travel around the 14th for boarding Oasis on 17th, not sure if that makes a difference to the prices you quoted?

Thank you so much for replying, that's the info I wanted. It's a shame about the date though. As I previously posted above, we plan to fly out on 14th as Oasis sails on 17th August. I thought BHX may be one of their routes with the least amount of usage i.e. compared to London or Manchester, and that's where the sales would occur if anywhere at all.

Thank you for the input. Decisions, decisions.........which route and what carrier to use :confused:.

We want to travel around the 14th for boarding Oasis on 17th, not sure if that makes a difference to the prices you quoted?

There actually appears to be a sale on at the moment that covers your travel dates. The "ticket by" date is 11 October. However, at the moment there is no availability in the correct booking class (K) for your travel dates. That's why you can't see these fares.

The travel dates for the sale fares appears to cover quite a wide span. It's possible that after the sale is over, there will be a return to a more focused approach to the lowest fare. As you seem unlikely to be able to get the sale fare at the moment, I'd sit tight until at least Friday before looking again to see what's happened.

As you might expect, the season break is in the same place in the calendar as last year: 18 August 2013 is the first day of the lower season next year.

I fly US Airways 2-3 times a month including some long hauls and while they aren't perfect (no airline is) they are fine. I find seating to be overall as comfortable as any and they have really stepped up their in flight food and beverage offerings lately--including the ability to pre-order a hot meal in coach for a small premium on long-hauls.

In fact, having a look for these dates shows something that you might need to know.

 

There actually appears to be a sale on at the moment that covers your travel dates. The "ticket by" date is 11 October. However, at the moment there is no availability in the correct booking class (K) for your travel dates. That's why you can't see these fares.

 

The travel dates for the sale fares appears to cover quite a wide span. It's possible that after the sale is over, there will be a return to a more focused approach to the lowest fare. As you seem unlikely to be able to get the sale fare at the moment, I'd sit tight until at least Friday before looking again to see what's happened.

 

As you might expect, the season break is in the same place in the calendar as last year: 18 August 2013 is the first day of the lower season next year.

Thanks for checking, it was most kind. I will wait awhile and check the prices after Friday. It's surprising what happens in the background, nothing is quite what it seems ;)! Thanks again.

I fly US Airways 2-3 times a month including some long hauls and while they aren't perfect (no airline is) they are fine. I find seating to be overall as comfortable as any and they have really stepped up their in flight food and beverage offerings lately--including the ability to pre-order a hot meal in coach for a small premium on long-hauls.

Great to know, thanks. It puts my mind at rest to hear others find their services to be fine.

Great to know, thanks. It puts my mind at rest to hear others find their services to be fine.

Keep in mind the poster to whom you are responding usually does not fly in coach, as stated in her other posts. She is sitting up front.

In economy, US is pretty much the same any anyone else, but they have frequent pitches for their credit cards, and they have no increased legroom section, such as E+ on UA, or Economy Comfort on DL.

Keep in mind the poster to whom you are responding usually does not fly in coach, as stated in her other posts. She is sitting up front.

 

In economy, US is pretty much the same any anyone else, but they have frequent pitches for their credit cards, and they have no increased legroom section, such as E+ on UA, or Economy Comfort on DL.

The credit card pitches have decreased markedly over the past month or two.

I flew in a coach seat yesterday in order to take an earlier flight. It was no better or worse than coach on any other domestic airline.

The poster was asking about economy, not economy plus. In economy, I don't believe any airline is better than the others, although some are worse. I wouldn't put US in the "or worse" category these days.