San Francisco recommendations

Well john did you book it ?

[mitchja]

You guys are all a bad influence.......booked here for next June to SFO in J from DUB :w

Wow that's quick work! Well done. Now you can enjoy the build up to it

Well john did you book it ?

Yes I just have after checking with my 2ic all was okay and checking a few things about where to stay etc. I've had to alter the dates by a couple of days because my OH is one of the most anti-gay gay men you'll ever meet and I discovered the original dates would have put us in SFO on the Pride weekend and he wasn't having that! v( v(

So we're coming back the day before, but I don't mind, I'm going to San Francisco in the pointy end of a 747 baby! ^) ): ^)

Booked ex-DUB and saved £4k on Z fares :0 now that's just amazeballs y) y)

I'm booking my hotel separately via Hotels.com and it looks like the Omni is what I'm going for. I'm thrilled.

Update: Expedia offered me a ridiculous price for hotels as I'd booked a flight so I got the Omni at a steal! And it's refundable if I change my mind! :w :w

Now I need some advice on turnaround time for DUB, my flight DUB-LHR is 19:20, and I plan to fly out in the afternoon as I have to get to LHR from the midlands first. Aer Lingus have a flight arriving at 15:40 or 17:40 - special request to Honey Lamb or anyone in the know, if I arrive at 17:40 will I have enough time to turnaround and get my BA flight at 19:20?

[honey lamb]

Now I need some advice on turnaround time for DUB, my flight DUB-LHR is 19:20, and I plan to fly out in the afternoon as I have to get to LHR from the midlands first. Aer Lingus have a flight arriving at 15:40 or 17:40 - special request to Honey Lamb or anyone in the know, if I arrive at 17:40 will I have enough time to turnaround and get my BA flight at 19:20?

OK, I'm assuming you have done OLCI for these flights and will have no checked bags. EI arrives in T2 and BA leaves from T1 but it is a very short walk between the two. I haven't done it airside because T2 is only a couple of years old but I have seen signs airside from there to T1. I have however arrived landside at T1 and walked over to T2 - less than 5 minutes. You'll be fine. )

Thanks HL, I think we'll have checked bags as we'll be carting them from Lincolnshire down to LHR and won't be able to leave them anywhere. I might just, to be on the safe side, book the earlier flight as we can get to LHR for 12ish to check bags. OLCI as a matter of course.

Many thanks
John

You guys are all a bad influence.......booked here for next June to SFO in J from DUB :w

I'm sure it was a tough decision james )

Well john did you book it ?

Yes I just have after checking with my 2ic all was okay and checking a few things about where to stay etc. I've had to alter the dates by a couple of days because my OH is one of the most anti-gay gay men you'll ever meet and I discovered the original dates would have put us in SFO on the Pride weekend and he wasn't having that! v( v(

So we're coming back the day before, but I don't mind, I'm going to San Francisco in the pointy end of a 747 baby! ^) ): ^)

Booked ex-DUB and saved £4k on Z fares :0 now that's just amazeballs y) y)

I'm booking my hotel separately via Hotels.com and it looks like the Omni is what I'm going for. I'm thrilled.


Update: Expedia offered me a ridiculous price for hotels as I'd booked a flight so I got the Omni at a steal! And it's refundable if I change my mind! :w :w

It's a great feeling encouraging others to spend their money lol !

Bretty - I have been looking at this since you first posted this thread. We had already got SFO and the pacific northwest in our sights for next June, so am sorely tempted by this. Your say you used expedia and your booking suggests that you are going to DUB and back to LHR the day before your SFO flight.

How did you manage that? I have been playing with expedia and all I get are same day flights (meaning I spent the night before at a DUB airport hotel instead of LHR).

Also a question to anyone else familiar with the AMS/DUB trick. I have seen a recent thread which suggested making your final leg from LGW, so that your bags cannot get checked through to DUB. Again anyone know how to make expedia offer you that option. All I get are connections from LHR to DUB. I am paranoid about not being able to short check my bags on the return. Various threads on tripadvisor and flyertalk warn of dire consequences if you ask to check your bags short of the final destination.

[honey lamb]

Thanks HL, I think we'll have checked bags as we'll be carting them from Lincolnshire down to LHR and won't be able to leave them anywhere. I might just, to be on the safe side, book the earlier flight as we can get to LHR for 12ish to check bags. OLCI as a matter of course.

Many thanks
John

An option is to leave your bags in LHR.

[mitchja]

I also selected the BA flight from DUB to LHR the day before as well here.

It was further down in the list on available flights when I booked on Expedia. Look for the long lay-over times when viewing the flight details. I think it did also state that the flight was 'next day' in red as well.

Again for the AMS thing, when I looked at that it was giving both BA flights departing LHR and LGW to AMS for the final leg.

AMS was coming in at about £250 more than DUB though for the dates I wanted.

Not looked yet but I may well use the final LHR>DUB flight anyway here as I'll need a flight to DUB (probably EI from MAN) so will see if it's any cheaper doing a return flight rather than a one way EI flight to DUB and a one way VS flight LHR to MAN.

Okay, I should be working but I'm the boss so sod it!

HL - thank you dear lady, that just made my plans far, far easier, you're a star. y) :X y)

Stagsfan - as James said, the options are lower on the list with a longer layover. I also chose the same option on the return leg so that I have an overnight layover in London, then I can legitimately ask for my bags not to be checked through to DUB. Cunning ):

Blacky - ooh you are awful, but I like you!

So this trip's paid for already but my BOS trip I've still got hotel to pay and my Japan trip needs paying so I'm just gonna have to work bloody hard! That's what you get when you can't resist a bargain lol.

Stagsfan - as James said, the options are lower on the list with a longer layover. I also chose the same option on the return leg so that I have an overnight layover in London, then I can legitimately ask for my bags not to be checked through to DUB. Cunning ):

As cunning as a fox who's just been appointed Professor of Cunning at Oxford University.

Certainly got me thinking with those price differences, even a trip to NYC becomes less eye watering. I feel a plan coming on, possibly based on telling MrsPJH we're "going to Dublin for a few days". We've always wanted to go back to The Clarence....

I've never done AMS/DUB, was thinking to look at it for next year's NYC visits to family.

From what's been said on this thread and others, am I right to think that because it's via Expedia, you can't book M or W and use miles to J, you're simply paying for Z and looking for that to be cheaper than M or W on a VS dummy booking? ?|

Correct. It's a normal Z fare, just significantly cheaper thanks to the bizarre nature of airline industry competition (and cheaper taxes elsewhere).

It's unlikely to be cheaper than an M (typically £1500 for east coast, £1800 for west coast) but obviously doesn't cost any miles, doesn't require any elusive G availability and earns full UC Z fare miles & TPs.

I've never done AMS/DUB, was thinking to look at it for next year's NYC visits to family.

From what's been said on this thread and others, am I right to think that because it's via Expedia, you can't book M or W and use miles to J, you're simply paying for Z and looking for that to be cheaper than M or W on a VS dummy booking? ?|

That's about the gist of it yes. I checked and my SFO Z prices were way cheaper than W fares which were only about £60 cheaper than Z offered by VS, and it was just a couple hundred higher than the H fares offered by VS and approx £80 cheaper than an S as checked on ITA matrix.

ITA matrix has M fares at £1,013.

Wonderful, thanks guys.

Stagsfan - as James said, the options are lower on the list with a longer layover. I also chose the same option on the return leg so that I have an overnight layover in London, then I can legitimately ask for my bags not to be checked through to DUB. Cunning ):

As cunning as a fox who's just been appointed Professor of Cunning at Oxford University.

Certainly got me thinking with those price differences, even a trip to NYC becomes less eye watering. I feel a plan coming on, possibly based on telling MrsPJH we're "going to Dublin for a few days". We've always wanted to go back to The Clarence....

LOL, go for it!

There seems to be a lot of people on here spending a lot of money lately ! Lol

I was explaining the trick to my mother in law today, she couldn't believe the savings!
Simon on the other hand has decided we spend to much on travel especially long haul so I'm not permitted to take advantage of these fares!
I might just do a blacky and go on my own...

Ultreen, maybe you could take the mother in law?

I was explaining the trick to my mother in law today, she couldn't believe the savings!
Simon on the other hand has decided we spend to much on travel especially long haul so I'm not permitted to take advantage of these fares!
I might just do a blacky and go on my own...

Go Darren go Darren ^)
That reminds me I must tell mrs B about Boston

You guys are incorrigible.

I think my Bryan would say I've spent an awful lot on travel in the past 3 years, especially long haul this year (I have gone a bit mad).

The way I look at it is we work hard, we have no dependents and you're a long time dead!

That reminds me I must tell mrs B about Boston

And I have a sneaky feeling that you're not joking........Poor Mrs B ( mind you, she must be used to your last minute travel announcements by now :0 )...You are such a bad Blacky.. ): .

DL