Any tips for good flight deals to Papeete from Vancouver in Dec. 2010

[banditoo]

I am seriously considering the 10 Day Princess Tahiti cruise for December 2010 however the flight costs are wild....about $5400 pp round trip from Vancouver via LAX. Found one price yesterday for $1500 pp round trip but today prices have gone up again. Is that typical; do the prices fluctuate regularly. Does anyone have suggestions for how to get better flight deals. Are the costs likely to come down again?

[Mercruiser]

I am seriously considering the 10 Day Princess Tahiti cruise for December 2010 however the flight costs are wild....about $5400 pp round trip from Vancouver via LAX. Found one price yesterday for $1500 pp round trip but today prices have gone up again. Is that typical; do the prices fluctuate regularly. Does anyone have suggestions for how to get better flight deals. Are the costs likely to come down again?

 

The fares from LAX on Air Tahiti Nui are very stable at around USD $1300 - $1400 RT for flights around the December 9 itinerary (you didn't say which one you are going on so made a guess).

 

I suspect the wildly fluctuating fares have to do with code shares on airlines that don't even fly the route. For example, Kayak shows a YVR-PPT RT via LAX for $5235 on Qantas (Australian airline). Here is the catch, Qantas doesn't actually fly any part of this route. The YVR-LAX segment is on Alaska, the LAX-PPT is on Air Tahiti Nui. But, for an outrageous mark-up, Quantas would be very happy to sell you code share seats.

 

More reasonably, I'm seeing a YVR-PPT RT on Kayak for $1823. The flights are on Air Canada (YVR-LAX) and Air Tahiti Nui. These are not code shares - these are the actual airlines flying the planes.

 

An important thing to know about Tahiti flights from North America is that only two airlines actually fly the route. They are Air Tahiti Nui and Air France, both from LAX. Everything else you see is a code share.

 

Try putting your itinerary in one of the air fare search sites like Kayak or Momondo.

[banditoo]

Thanks Mercruiser. That is very helpful info. I should have booked the flights for Dec 6 from Vancouver to Papeete when they were at CAD 1500. pp. Seemed it was only that one day that the prices were that low...now the same flights are $1900. I am thinking maybe I will book the LAX to Papeete return and hope to later book a better price for the Vancouver LAX return portion.

[Mercruiser]

Thanks Mercruiser. That is very helpful info. I should have booked the flights for Dec 6 from Vancouver to Papeete when they were at CAD 1500. pp. Seemed it was only that one day that the prices were that low...now the same flights are $1900. I am thinking maybe I will book the LAX to Papeete return and hope to later book a better price for the Vancouver LAX return portion.

 

Yes, it's very frustrating trying to guess when to buy a ticket, given all the non-refundable fares and change fees.