V-Flyer

I'm not one for booking flights particularly far in advance. I normally know maybe a week or two in advance if my workload/schedule will allow me to take a few days off to pop back over to the UK.

I've been looking for the past week or so at prices for a flight over next weekend (leave ewr 5th Nov, return 9th Nov) as my family always has a big bonfire party thing. I did the same last year, and the year before, and remember booking both those flights a week or 2 in advance. For some reason though, this particular weekend, flights on VS have been uber expensive, even in economy 2 weeks ago when I first checked, it was about $1000. I just looked now, and an economy ticket on those days is $1800! If you look at the grid, that's actually the cheapest for any departures until next Sunday, and then only if you stay a week. PE is $3300!

I just looked up my confirmation emails for the last year for flights I've taken, I took the same flight last year in Y for $600, booked 6 days in advance. In April this year I booked a Y ticket and flew the next day for $455. (I know that one is more the exception than the rule)

Point is, if they're so expensive now, surely that must indicate they are pretty full flights. All of them? Every flight out of JFK and EWR to London is full? In November? Maybe I'm missing something here, but I thought airlines were doing terribly, hence the cost cutting. In the last 6 months I've taken 3 round trip flights from NYC to LHR, and I believe all of them were full. I got upgraded on two of them because they were oversold.

Instead of sending their 'spare' planes off to collect dust, or leasing them to aspiring artists (cant make my mind up if I like the Aeorsur paint jobs!) how about helping out the NYC route? I guess they have their reasons.

Mysteriously, BA prices are also $1800+ for this coming weekend, but US carriers are cheaper. Air France is also an option (direct too) at $660, so maybe it's time to try another option. The last time I flew over on a non VS flight was 3 years ago.

While I'm ranting, lol, I've never understood how the following works - I also tried in Expedia Philly to London, and inexplicably a flight from Philly to EWR, then Continental to LHR comes up $200 cheaper than just going straight from EWR on the same flight. Always baffles me.

As much as the airlines like to cry that the number of people are down and the prices are the cheapest in years, I have yet to find anything that is really amazing, so no your not alone in this.

As it is right now BA/VS have priced themselves out of the market, we can pick up flights on NZ for far better prices.

Some airlines have cut capacity, more than others, and their flights are full. All my VS flights this year I'd say are 80-90% and sometimes completely full. That's load factor wise but we don't know what the revenue is per seat to be able to judge whether they are profitable flights.

Noting this however, I believe VS has made a mistake in palming itself out to all and sundry and parking planes and that these actions will hurt it. Consequently. as a result of reduced flights and promotions and actual real business, all you see are the most expensive fares and you go elsewhere ... VS, wake up and smell the salt!

While great, I also believe that the VS sale is half hearted, like all of their competitive offerings to BA's this year ... for the same reason. BA, with its greater capacity has had more in the way of sales, but also been leagues ahead of VS in their ingenuity.

I think Mr Ridgeway has got it badly wrong for the airline and I fear next year the results of that.

I couldn't agree more, VS seem to have gotten to the point where they cannot think of something new to do, so they are repeating the same stuff over and over, some good, some bad.

On top of that on some routes their pricing is becoming way to high, just looking quickly at the LAX - LHR route NZ murders them on pricing, with a better product, not a good mix.

However, I guess right now trimming costs and getting the maximum revenue per seat is the name of the game.

Let's just hope they do wake up and smell the salt soon! Perhaps they could take a lesson from US Air and listen to their passengers (never thought I'd hear myself say that one) - they did a U-turn on their charging for soft drinks policy, and now finally dish them out for free again.