V-Flyer

I'm currently looking to book a flight to New York early next month, and was taking a look at both Virgin and Delta availability.

I'm booking Premium Economy, and the price difference is huge - £1,285 if booked on the Delta website (indicated as a W ticket) and £2,605 on the VA website

So, a couple of questions :

• anyone know why there should be such a huge difference in price
• how many tier points would I earn flying Delta, since PE isn't listed on the codeshare tier points chart on the VA website - does it count as business class, and therefore 10pts rtn? (can't believe it could be this tbh)

Any guidance gratefully received.

Quick Q, you say it's the same flight, are you certain (i.e. DL codeshare number is the same VS flight)? I ask in case the DL fare you're seeing is E+ whereas VS is PE ... if it is the same flight please post your dates and I'll do a seat availability check.

I was certain I must be doing something wrong, so re-checked - and checked again. It definitely shows as a Premium Economy (W) flight on the Delta website. Text from the booking screen :

FLIGHTS SUN 01 MAR LHR 7:25 PM to EWR 10:30 PM
ViewDetails
Flight NumberDL 4406
TRAVEL TIME8h 5m NONSTOP
View Seats opens in new window
Premium Economy (W)
In-flight services amenities:
Complete Delta Air Lines Baggage Information opens in new window

FRI 06 MAR EWR 8:30 PM to LHR 09:05 AM ARRIVES NEXT DAY
ViewDetails
Flight NumberDL 4407
TRAVEL TIME7h 35m NONSTOP
View Seats opens in new window
Premium Economy (W)
In-flight services amenities:
Complete Delta Air Lines Baggage Information opens in new window

PRICE OVERVIEW
Price per Passenger £1,062.00
Taxes, Fees and Charges £221.46
Total Price £1,283.46 GBP

I've just looked at both VS and DL for these flights on these dates, and OP is absolutely right!

I have also just had a gander at this and am seeing £2605.46 for the W fare tickets on both sites...

Basic economy is showing as £1686.46 - could it be all the v-flyers logging in to check this anomaly out that is pushing the price up?

Looks like they have fixed the disparity.

Guess I should have booked it when I saw it ^-^ Though whether or not they would have honoured it is another question...

Does anyone know the answer regarding tier points, as this doesn't seem to be covered on the VA website?

joeyc wrote:I have also just had a gander at this and am seeing £2605.46 for the W fare tickets on both sites...

Basic economy is showing as £1686.46 - could it be all the v-flyers logging in to check this anomaly out that is pushing the price up?

Looks like they have fixed the disparity.

It's more likely that the OP is travelling without a Saturday night stopover and within 28 days, hence the fare rules will point to a full Y or W. That doesn't explain why the DL web site was showing the much lower fare however.

Mind you two thousand six hundred for a PE return to New York, that's blinkin' summing'!!! I knew prices had gone up ridiculously, but's that's a biscuit barrel being taken.

I remember seeing this when the partnership first started.

The VS-DL price comparator

I believe it could be to do with the Codeshare, as you can book AA and BA flights for different prices on each others websites. But only seen it where its more expensive on the non-operating airlines website.

If you booked on those dates even as a single traveller with Virgin Holidays you could do VS3/VS18 both in PE for £1656.96 (even less if you phone them and get your FC discount applied instead of the lousy £64.14 online dscount) AND you get a room at the Manhattan at Times Square thrown in :-) As they say on the BBC, other hotels are available.

Definitely do not take the £2605.46 price as with VH you can have PE out and UC back with that hotel included for a maximum of £2455.77 !

Enjoy your trip !

Just as a comment on this, a bit late but hey!!!
I have seen this before, the fare codes were different but I assumed that VS has sold their allocation of a certain bucket and Delta had some left, the cost was approx £300 cheaper on Delta so I got the Co. Travel agent to book it.
All was normal to me the humble traveler. VS metal, etc, etc. Just those damn TP's showed as Non-VS TP's