Consolidated thread about Ex-DUB and other Ex-EU travel.

[honey lamb]

As an aside, on the lunchtime news today it was announced that passenger numbers through Dublin were up by 2% up to the end of June. I wonder why?!

Which is why posts were about 2% down on v-flyer !

You can leave you bags at home, checking them in as normal.

Thanks, almost seems too easy...I meant DUB, not CPH.

Also flying out of LCY for the first time to position, can't wait!

An interesting and, if true, concerning development reported by Raffles at headforpoints: http://www.headforpoints.com/2015/07/20 ... u-tickets/

However the consensus over on Flyertalk is that's it's unenforceable and just BA using scare tactics.

Worth reading though, if only to act as a reminder that ex-EU trips are not without risks if you drop the final leg. You are breaking the T&Cs of your ticket and airlines could sanction you for it, particularly if you're in their FF club. Whether they will or not is another question entirely.

Got sick. Couldn't take last leg. Sue me.

[mitchja]

Even taking the last leg and booking another flight from DUB or the EU still makes this worth while doing.

Got sick. Couldn't take last leg. Sue me.

They wouldn't of course, as they'd probably lose.

But for many people an official-looking letter threatening legal action would be enough to scare them off doing it again which is, of course the point of the exercise.

And for those who aren't scared off, they don't need to go anywhere near a court to close your BAEC account and cancel your TPs, status and Avios which for many BA FFs would be akin to the end of the world.

It could well be just scare tactics. But it does sound like BA are getting a trifle annoyed with people playing the system. It was a relatively little known trick until a couple of years ago, with the numbers small enough for BA not to worry about, but thanks to the word spreading on blogs, forums and social media I'd be prepared to bet they've now rocketed to the extent that BA now see it as a problem that needs dealing with.

[mitchja]

It could well be just scare tactics. But it does sound like BA are getting a trifle annoyed with people playing the system. It was a relatively little known trick until a couple of years ago, with the numbers small enough for BA not to worry about, but thanks to the word spreading on blogs, forums and social media I'd be prepared to bet they've now rocketed to the extent that BA now see it as a problem that needs dealing with.

At the end of the day though, the airlines should be charging us the same as people living outside the UK. The airlines cannot seriously expect people to just ignore this and not do it?

I've absolutely no qualms about doing this again if it means I pay the same as someone who lives outside the UK for the very same flight.

We all know that the whole airline fare pricing system is just ludicrous anyway and basically the airlines just make their own rule up as the going along.

I mean where else do you come across the situation when buying something 3 days before you need to use it, it would actually cost you 4 or 5 times the cost of buying the very same item 42 days before you need to use it? But this is just taken as being 'the norm' for airline fares.

I would certainly do it again

Living in Wales, I'd far prefer a leisurely 35 minute drive down to Cardiff & a 30 quid flight to Dublin than traverse the M4 & M25 any day, the latter being the most stressful start to any holiday

Probably quicker too!

ex-dub fares for my dates in September are looking much higher than id like to pay so i did a search for 'M' class fares which took me DUB-LHR-SFO-LHR-DUB FOR AROUND £635.

Does anyone know, if i book this fare through a travel agent is it still upgradeable using points (assuming there is reward availability in Upper Class)?

[mitchja]

Does anyone know, if i book this fare through a travel agent is it still upgradeable using points (assuming there is reward availability in Upper Class)?

It's not possible to upgrade any agent booked fare using miles sorry.

It's only the correct fare type booked directly with VS that can be upgraded using miles.

@Glasgowchill just call VS and they can book it for you which would make the M fare upgradable. They should be able to book ex-EU fares as easily as Expedia etc.

I can see why someone on a VS ticket would drop a BA last leg, but on a BA ticket its 40 Tps in CE and therefore for me I always take the full routing. On a financial cost to the airlines I suspect VS are equally as concerned but more powerless as they couldn't take any penal action against a VS flying club where as BA could technically close a BAEC account. The increase in usage of these tickets will in my option impact VS more as the lost revenue based on total customers carried ( 6.1 million for VS as opposed to 39 million BA in 2014) will represent a higher percent of total possible revenue to VS as a small airline. So what may seem a great saving to us short term may hurt the airline we love more in the long term

There is a whole thread on the BA board on flyer talk (including a whole macho 'my legal qualifications are bigger than yours' sub plot) about a report on head for points that BA are going to crack down on people missing the final leg. Lets just say there is more heat than light and mor legal mumbo jumbo

As to hurting VS I'd just say that if VS didn't offer these fares people wouldn't be able to book them. But they do. What all airlines hope is that 99.99% of people are inertic (is that a new word I've made up?) and really can't be bothered to fly to XXX in Europe to save a shed load of money.

There is a whole thread on the BA board on flyer talk (including a whole macho 'my legal qualifications are bigger than yours' sub plot) about a report on head for points that BA are going to crack down on people missing the final leg. Lets just say there is more heat than light and mor legal mumbo jumbo

As to hurting VS I'd just say that if VS didn't offer these fares people wouldn't be able to book them. But they do. What all airlines hope is that 99.99% of people are inertic (is that a new word I've made up?) and really can't be bothered to fly to XXX in Europe to save a shed load of money.

I love the BAEC DYKWIA board. And I also heard that there was not enough bubbles in the champagne the other day. Poor luvvies.

.... As to hurting VS I'd just say that if VS didn't offer these fares people wouldn't be able to book them. But they do. What all airlines hope is that 99.99% of people are inertic (is that a new word I've made up?) and really can't be bothered to fly to XXX in Europe to save a shed load of money.

"Inertic" Oh okay another label I can add to my label collection coz I'm one of those 99.99%.

I hate travelling and need to get from A to B in the quickest time even if it does mean I miss out on saving "a shed load of money" and the prospect of adding two extra flights fills me with dread

However like you say Tonty for as long as people like me pay the offered base prices rather than travelling to Europe first, then VS and the other airlines will not change their price structure - good economics for them.
Just shows the real mark up on flight prices, although I think it's mainly the government taxes which people save?

[mitchja]

Whilst the tax and fees are indeed lower on ex-EU flights, the actual base fare is also much less as well.

Here's the breakdown on my recent ex-DUB return flight to SFO:

Flight £1,199.00
Taxes & Airline Fees £278.63

Ex-UK tax and fess on the same flight is around £534

I really can't see how doing this will have any impact on VS (or other airlines) TBH, as they are still going to be selling those fares at those prices to people outside the UK, it's just that people living in the UK are now also buying into those fares as well.

There's a lot to be said for doing the initial EU leg the day before the main flight. If something were to go wrong you'd at least have time to try and arrange an alternative, albeit at extra cost.

Yep, have arranged to do the initial trip to Brussles the day before. Too stressful otherwise....

Our next trip is ex Brussels, and the plan is to travel there via Eurostar the day before. Just been reading about the disruption and chaos on Eurotunnel/star today and wonder what the situation would be should this happen when we are due to travel. I know this isn't likely, but if it did, and we were therefore unable to travel to Brussles to get the flight to London, to get the flight to the US, would we be denied boarding in London???

Hmmmn, well, its pretty rare for the actual tunnel to close (personally I think the press is pretty crap in their distinction between the tunnel itself, the Eurotunnel trains which take lorries and cars across, and the Eurostar passenger services), the latter two use the former).

Fair point and something that crossed my mind too. Don't think Eurostar is having the issues Eurotunnel is having as of course no lorries for illegal immigrants to try and get into. But both services use the same tunnels, don't they????

yes the both use the same tunnels but it is rare for there to be a problem with the actual tunnels themselves.

yes the both use the same tunnels but it is rare for there to be a problem with the actual tunnels themselves.

Unless strikers set fire to tyres!!!

I was reading about the latest stuff - delays were mentioned at St Pancras but, when I read further, they were talking about delays in 10 minutes. That I can handle. Have to say though, it still makes for a less than relaxing run up to a trip, even though it's some weeks away.

ex-dub fares for my dates in September are looking much higher than id like to pay so i did a search for 'M' class fares which took me DUB-LHR-SFO-LHR-DUB FOR AROUND £635.

I'd wondered exactly how much thing would save you on a normal direct M class fare.

But went and looked, and it was at 1K for M class fare, all across September. I remember booking this 3 years ago, and the total being 950 quid including the upgrade price, the M class being around around 800 and the upgrade 150. Seems as VS's base M class has went up significantly. Or have they done what they did with the previous one, where they put in a lower booking class... It wasn't originally M was it?

Does anyone know, if i book this fare through a travel agent is it still upgradeable using points (assuming there is reward availability in Upper Class)?

I very much doubt it.

Got sick. Couldn't take last leg. Sue me.

It could well be just scare tactics. But it does sound like BA are getting a trifle annoyed with people playing the system. It was a relatively little known trick until a couple of years ago, with the numbers small enough for BA not to worry about, but thanks to the word spreading on blogs, forums and social media I'd be prepared to bet they've now rocketed to the extent that BA now see it as a problem that needs dealing with.

The company I used to work for started doing this in 2001, starting alot of trips out of Paris, so it has been around for a long time.

Has anybody found any kind of pattern in terms of how far in advanced these ex-EU fares are released? It seems pretty random, I recently booked an ex-dub to nyc on very short notice, just 2 weeks, but now seems all dates to the USA ex-dub are blacked out until the end of November, I check everyday to see if they release nearer dates on short notice but nothing as of yet.