Combi fare. Are FC correct?

I was looking to buy combi fares for August this year from LGW to MCO. When pricing online for the cheapest total return fare (2ad 2ch) the cost was £2930.

There are reward flights for the outbound but not for the return so thought I'd use miles for the outbound to bring the cost down.

Just called FC and she quoted me £2,200 which seems rather high to me but she was adamant that was the cheapest way as the return cash fare had to be R class (although the cheapest online is B Class anyway).

Any thoughts or help would be appreciated before I call again.

Thanks
Jilly

I've definitely booked combi fares in cheaper buckets before. A quick check of the website shows everything down to o bucket as eligible. However, this isn't much help if b is the cheapest bucket left for sale.

You don't mention exact dates or how long you are going to stay so I did the calculation based on 2a 2ch leaving on 1 Aug for 7 nights. ITA Matrix gave me this:




You still pay taxes and fees on the reward leg but your miles replace the base fare for the outbound so the combi cost will be 3792.08 - 2*476 - 2*357 = £2126.08 for this particular set of dates.

There are much cheaper dates at the end of Aug but I'm assuming school holidays will stop those being an option.

Thanks, that does make some sense to me but I am finding it difficult to work out. I have flights on hold 2ad and 2 ch as a combi fare with using a reward on the outbound until 2.30pm.

LGW - MCO VS15 23 Aug
MCO - LGW VS16 02 Sep

There are no flights showing for inbound online now (as I have them on hold). However, the same fare shows for returning a day earlier (01 Sep).

Sorry to be a pain but could you work out your calculations on those dates for me. If the price is right so be it, but really like to be sure.

Thanks
Jilly

I make that £2,566 It might be higher than your quote because you have 4 of the cheaper tickets held that I can't book.

The high base fare for the return leg is killing the savings on this.

It is significantly cheaper to go 2 days later. 25 Aug outbound, 4 Sep return is only £2,324.08 in cash for full revenue fares or £1820 as a combi fare.

Thanks Stuart, really appreciate your help. That does tie in with what I was told. The second person I spoke to yesterday did seem more knowledgeable and explained it better so am not surprised.

Even looked at flying back into GLA, could have got that fare for under £1800. Slept on that and decided it's not worth the saving for the inconvenience.

Just going to 'bite the bullet' and pay the fare, thanks again for your help.

Jilly