Airlines

[QUOTE=Daddy Rulz]One time United was running a special from IAD to LHR, it was supposed to be $999.00 and somebody entered it at $9.99. It was only available for 30 minutes or so but because it was a published fare they had to honor the tickets. A bunch of travel agents called all their buddies and sold a mountain of them.[/QUOTE]No, not a mistake. Just a really, really, good advertised special.:) a $5500 off sale.

I believe it was "in the market" for over 12 hours. I discovered it after it had been out about 4 hours, and tried to figure it out (what cities you could use it from, stopovers and such) for the next couple of hours.

Newbie here and have been reading the forum. Question: Its about 5 weeks away for my 1st trip to BA and flights out of LAX are over $1000. Checking kayak, sidestep, 1800argentine. Airlines, orbitz, discountairfare, and others) they were $800 plus several days ago. Will prices fluctuate or continue rising? I'm thinking of waiting a few more days to see if they go back down. Does anyone have a take on this? Appreciate it. Dosluna

About $900 is the cheapest I see right now on LAN. (If you book on their website, with a 3% savings) Pricing does vary, so check all LA area airports, plus SFO and LAS. You can sometimes save $200-$300 from these airports. Otherwise, you'll probably have to bite the bullet and buy one now.

You can also try Hotwire or Priceline, if you don't care about routing or getting frequent flyer credit. However, it's usually not worth doing so.

[QUOTE=Jaimito Cartero]About $900 is the cheapest I see right now on LAN. (If you book on their website, with a 3% savings) Pricing does vary, so check all LA area airports, plus SFO and LAS. You can sometimes save $200-$300 from these airports. Otherwise, you'll probably have to bite the bullet and buy one now.

You can also try Hotwire or Priceline, if you don't care about routing or getting frequent flyer credit. However, it's usually not worth doing so.[/QUOTE]Thanks for the info. When I first checked it a couple of days ago, it was about $800. Just purchased it for about $900, considering it might go up again. Btw, kayak indicated there were only 4 seats left on the return flight, but when I checked out the seating preference on the LAN site, there were tons of seats available!

[QUOTE=DosLuna] Btw, kayak indicated there were only 4 seats left on the return flight, but when I checked out the seating preference on the LAN site, there were tons of seats available![/QUOTE]Some travel sites report only a few seats, often to spur you into buying before it disappears. Some carriers also only report a certain number of seats (4, 6 or 9) on each flights fare class, but there are usually more.

$900 isn't bad. The cheapest I've ever flown to EZE from LAX is $399 plus tax. Maybe they'll have another fare war, and tickets will go way down. It's best to set some fare alerts on [url]www.farecompare.com[/url], that way you'll get an email when the price drops. You may have to monitor for 6 months to find a killer deal, but they do usually come.

Many people don't have preassigned seats so lots of open seats on a seat map doesn't mean anything.

I've never had much luck trying to predict what is going to happen with prices either short-term or long-term.

The story begins when I booked on LAN from NYC to Buenos Aires connecting in Lima.

When I left NYC the weather was great no clouds in the sky and the plane was already at the gate when I arrived. Still we started boarding around 40 minutes late then we sat on the runway at JFK for another hour. Before the plane even took off I had missed my connection to BA from Lima.

When I arrived to Lima there was a LAN attendant waiting for me with my next boarding pass to Santiago, Chile where I would be connecting again to BA. I had to wait 2 and a half hours in Lima for that flight. Again with security etc. We get to Chile then again security and another 2 and a half hour wait. Total travel time to BA from NYC was just under 24 hours including airport transfers etc.

Mind you I know that AA has non stops 10 hours from NYC but the seats don't go back and they have no TVS etc. I thought Id go a little out of my way and connect in lima for the extra luxury that LAN offers but it backfired on me.

The moral of the story is fly direct whenever possible. Forget the miles programs and all that crap and just focus on getting there. I guess in a perfect world 1 hr 15 minutes is enough to change planes but the airles are far from perfect.

The flight attendants were absolutely gorgeous which made it even more frustrating. I was fed the entire way even on a 1 and half hour flight from santiago. America sucks! Lol

I happened to have met a heavy metal band on the plane . They are from brazil called ANGRA. They invited me to their concert this Friday. Has anyone heard of them? They have a record deal.

[QUOTE=Artisttyp]The story begins when I booked on LAN from NYC to Buenos Aires connecting in Lima.

When I left NYC the weather was great no clouds in the sky and the plane was already at the gate when I arrived. Still we started boarding around 40 minutes late then we sat on the runway at JFK for another hour. Before the plane even took off I had missed my connection to BA from Lima. [/QUOTE]I always try to book a minimum 2 hours on international connections. If it's from a super busy airport, or prone to weather or ATC delays, I'll add another hour. It sounds like they still did a good job getting you there.

My CO plane out of IAH was delayed about an hour on the ground, but still got in early to EZE.

Let's just hope that the Air Traffic Controllers don't go on strike while we're leaving!

I'm sure you noticed the difference between the LAN response and what America or United would have done to you. If you'd flown American they'd have just cancelled and left you on our own to find out that they just scheduled you for the flight 2 days later. United would have done the same. Jaime is right on the 2 hr connection for international unless you know you're on the same plane (LAN from LAX via Santiago comes to mind. Generally I've found that Continental and LAN seem to be the best at getting me there with the least hassle. I can't speak for Delta since I haven't used them on an international flight.

[QUOTE=Jaimito Cartero]I always try to book a minimum 2 hours on international connections. If it's from a super busy airport, or prone to weather or ATC delays, I'll add another hour. It sounds like they still did a good job getting you there.

My CO plane out of IAH was delayed about an hour on the ground, but still got in early to EZE.

Let's just hope that the Air Traffic Controllers don't go on strike while we're leaving![/QUOTE]Here is a recent link on the strike. Not much is said other than the standard 'in talks' of negotiations.

[url]http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/070517/20070517006133.html?.v=1[/url]

Just purchased my LAN ticket from LAX to EZE with a stopover at Santiago, Chile. Hope I don't run into any problems.

Yes I will be fair and say LAN did there best and were attentive to my needs. If it was American Airlines I would have been left eating out of a garbage can sleeping on the curb.

Strikes I hear. Well thats nice to know. The subway (subte) was on strike today as well and it was total caos.

Be aware that elections for BA proper are in July and for the president in October. Something you should consider before coming or should you? Better to ask an expat living here but be aware ot it.

[QUOTE=Artisttyp]

Strikes I hear. Well thats nice to know. The subway (subte) was on strike today as well and it was total caos.

Be aware that elections for BA proper are in July and for the president in October. Something you should consider before coming or should you? Better to ask an expat living here but be aware ot it.[/QUOTE]Good point. The brinksmanship has started and will continue in the run up to the elections. The unions will be trying to wrest as many concessions from the guvmint as possible. In the bigger picture, Kirchner's kid glove treatment of the left will eventually bite him. Biting the hand that feeds them and all that. And so it goes.

American presents 767-300 business class upgrade during European tour.

Tuesday May 15, 2007

American Airlines' business class upgrade for its 767-300s is progressing as planned, the carrier said last week in Brussels during a tour to present the new cabin.

By summer, all 767-300s operating on Europe-New York JFK routes will be refurbished with the "next-generation" business class and at year end the process should be completed on its entire fleet of 58 -300s, which in addition to transatlantic services are operated on select routes within the US and to Latin America.

The overhaul is part of a broader program to upgrade premium service across its fleet of 124 757s, 73 767s and 47 777s. MD Sales and Marketing-Europe, Middle East and Africa Maria Sebastian told ATWOnline the carrier is investing up to $500 million spread over four years on the upgrade. "This will put us back a level playing field with our competitors from Asia and Europe," she said, admitting that AA, "like all other US carriers, has not been in a [financial] position to really invest in product and services."

She added that the airline's "business class seats date from the '90s. In 2006, we produced our first annual profit in six years and this year's first quarter marked the first profitable Q1 since 2000. This allows us to reinvest in our product."

The new 767-300 business class features Recaro lie-flat seats in a 2-2-2 configuration, Panasonic IFE with audio and video on demand and 10.6-in. Screen, state-of-the-art lighting and larger overhead bins. The Recaro seat is an "exclusive" design for AA, Sebastian noted. Features include a "track forward" capability allowing passengers to move forward while in an upright position and "industry-first" interlocking tray tables--one drops down from the seat back and a second lifts from the center console. The seat width is 58.4 cm. (23 in. And it extends to a length of 195.6 cm.

The carrier's 777-200 fleet will feature a similar next-generation business class, but in a 2-3-2 configuration. A "test" retrofit of a 777 is planned for this summer and fleet-wide refurbishment should begin this fall. Upgrades for 757s are planned for early next year

I am arranging a brief trip to Mendoza next week. I am taking my portena girl and wondering how I might negotiate airfare so I don't get stuck paying gringo prices for both of us. Is there anyway to do that and still use my credit card?

Clueless Dogg

Seems that UA is fighting with Delta on some international flights. You should also check out from ATL and CVG. This is a coach fare, but is a good deal to Buenos Aires. About $530 including tax.

It's possible that that Delta will attack back, so you could check out of UA hubs (IAD, ORD, etc) to see if they match.