Can you give us the low down on that cheap air fair?
Sure!
Are you related to the pilot or own Virgin airways?
Nope; wish I was!
Hi Matt!
I'm still astounded by the low cost of the airfare myself. There's a number of reasons why it was so low...
• I started looking well in advance, meaning November. I finally booked on December 6th, before peak December travel season when fares increase for not only the holidays, but well out in the calendar. I guess airlines figure holiday travel puts people in the mood for summer bookings and price accordingly.
• I spent a number of very late nights crouched over the computer, haunting my airlines' website. By "my airlines" I mean AlaskaAir, where I have a mileage rewards VISA card and this is also the airline local to me here in America's Pacific Northwest and they partner with several international airlines including BA and AirFrance. To gain air miles, I long ago put my utilities and other revolving charges on autopay using their card and treat it as if I were writing a check, paying it off immediately. With past travel and rewards points, I have accrued enough "mileage" points over several years for redemption. Booking myself, through my airline, using their redemption calendar and my accrued points resulted in a far better price than any of the online firms like Kayak or Travelocity.
• AirFrance had far better partner prices than did BritishAir, even though it meant mandatory routing through Paris CDG airport, which is notorious for being hard to make connections. In the end, going with BA would have made for more difficult connections overall and considerably longer layovers as well and some days/flights being completely unavailable, so worst of all outcomes. AirFrance was better from a travel standpoint as well as price.
• Tuesday nights, just after midnight, is the time when many airfares take a dip among American airlines, according to my tracking of prices and specials. It proved true in this case as well.
• Since I wanted to fly points insofar as possible in lieu of out-of-pocket cost, I booked based on availability through AlaskaAir's Rewards Calendar. These are flights by destination that have award or blackout dates to use your accumulated points. I was willing to fly at bottom-level seating, figuring if I'm on the plane -- even in steerage -- I'll still get there. Minimum redemption levels are 32,500mi and the next bump up is 65,000mi, but the extra boost doesn't always correlate with extra value -- sometimes it means a higher-class low-level seat just one row ahead. Sometimes it is the same bottom-level seat priced higher in reward points and cash. You have to check seat-by-seat and row-by-row. Airplane seating charts became my friend; when you actually redeem your rewards/book your ticket, you can choose your seating. I did, choosing aisle seats near but not close to the restrooms and galley on an aisle that will let me to stand and stretch without disturbing others and grab my bags and get out quickly on landing so I will gain time on my connections. In each case, I am just one seat away from the next higher-priced seat. All my connections are good and should allow transfer without missing a flight unless something goes really wrong with a mechanical problem or weather delays, the latter unlikely at the times/places I'll be flying. Plesae note: My booked flights only allowed seat selection on AlaskaAir and commuter-airline subsidiary HorizonAir. To select my seats on AirFrance, I simply registered for a free account and then made my selection. This also allowed me to select my meals/menu. They look to be good -- unlike the domestic flights which plan to let me starve, AirFranceprovides real dinners and an in-flight buffet.
I ended up getting each leg -- outgoing and return -- for 32,500 air (reward) miles for a total of 65,000 spent. This dropped my out-of-pocket expense to $149.99 for both legs (round trip).
• These are not direct flights. Outgoing is Eugene departing @ 8AM 9May>Portland>Atlanta>Paris>Sofia @ 4:15PM 10May. Return is departing 11Sept @ 3:10PM Bucharest>Paris>Los Angeles with a 14hr layover and me sleeping at the airport as I've done before and then>Portland>Eugene 12May @ 3:30PM.
• I was willing to be flexible on my departure and arrival times and day-of-week. This meant weekdays, which also cut costs. I leave on a Friday and return on a Thursday. Saturday or Sunday arrivals/departures are in higher demand and thus more expensive.
• I am flying out just before peak tourist season and flying home just after.
• I booked an "open-jaw" flight, meaning different arrival and departure airports. Andy -- bless him! -- is willing to pick me up at one and drop me off at the other. This saved on costs as well. One airport is much farther from him in distance, the other involves lengthy border delays.
• I was willing to fly home on September 11th, the date of the 2001 terrorist attacks in America. There is still a general unwillingness by Americans to fly on this date, resulting in domestic underbookings and therefore lower costs. I feel security will be increased on that day and I will likely be as safer or safer than on another date.
• A major savings is realized from not flying with my bike, thanks to Andy's wonderful offer of his. My Ortlieb HB bag will be my "personal item" bag to go under my seat, I'll wear my helmet aboard so it won't get crushed in my bag, I'll have a small carry-on to stow overhead, and a larger bag that meets requirements in the cargo hold. Between them, I will bring my four panniers, my sleeping bag and pad, my 1-man tent, my small electronic gadgets (batteries with watt-hour capacity calculated and marked overtly to meet airline requirements, smartphone, solar panel, GPS), and basic clothing -- I'll wear helmet, jersey, shorts, socks, gloves, and SPD shoes on bike, plus 1 spare each jersey and riding shorts and socks and my raingear plus 1 each 3/4 tights and regular tights. Casual clothes will be an airweave synthetic "dry" t-shirt and cargo pants with zip-off legs to make shorts and my nylon-mesh Merrell clogs/slip-on shoes for the airport, tent/camp and even shower use. I will carry a light zippered fleece and a PrimaLoft "puff" jacket that stuffs very small in case of colder days/nights and my buff and ball cap for sun protection. I'l bring my Mini-Trangia pot and frypan/lid and potlifter and a couple folding spoons as well as the burner head for an iso-butane cartridge. I'll try to buy a multifuel stove in Ruse on arrival, since a friend who recently took a similar air route said he saw tables full of confiscated campstoves at airlines check-in counters in Paris, Atlanta, and LA. When he asked about them, he was told if they looked "used" they were "expected" to not be fume-free and were confiscated as a result.
So, no magic involved on the cheap airfare, just a determination to suss out the best dates cost-wise, some research, price-tracking, and a willingness to be flexible.
Best,
Dan.
